The Hanna and Rugg social studies textbooks for elementary school: A comparative content evaluation (Harold Ordway Rugg, Paul Robert Hanna)

Among the individuals who were influential in the development of the elementary school social studies curriculum as it exists today, Paul R. Hanna and Harold O. Rugg are two of the most important. The expanding environments sequence, which is still part of the social studies curriculum in the elementary grades, was first used in textbooks by Hanna in the 1930s and 1940s. Rugg's influence on curriculum development is seen in the emphasis on the recurrence of fundamental concepts in his textbooks, which is still important today. This study evaluates chapters from each of these two author's textbooks for the upper elementary grades. An in depth qualitative evaluation is applied to chapters on pre-industrial societies, historical communities and the beginnings of industrialization.; To develop the qualitative evaluation, a content goal for each of the three topics is constructed. The content goal is based on concepts fundamental to each topic and the perspective of each topic's most important groups. Specific examples and information are also included. In order to conduct the evaluation, categories are established for evaluating the clear presentation of fundamental concepts from the content goal and a balanced representation of the perspectives of major groups included in the content goal. The evaluation itself uses rich description for individual and comparative evaluations of each author's chapters. Usually evaluations of curriculum materials concentrate on either the development of fundamental concepts or the perspective of major groups. This study uses both areas of evaluation to conduct an in depth study of the Hanna and Rugg textbook materials.; The Hanna and Rugg text materials acquired different reputations over the last seventy years. Hanna's materials are described as lacking in substantial and worthwhile knowledge, whereas Rugg's materials are described as innovative. This study demonstrates that Hanna's materials are more substantial than his reputation indicates, particularly in the presentation of perspectives from a variety of groups, and that the strength of Rugg's reputation for innovation lies in his development of fundamental concepts in his text materials.