The Exploration Of The Law-related Education In American Elementary And Secondary Schools

As an indispensable part of American civic education, the law-related education in American elementary and secondary schools always aims at fostering the spirit of the rule of law by teaching the youth the knowledge about law, legal system and legal process, fostering the civic skills and building up the belief, attitudes and values necessary for understanding and supporting the constitutional democracy society. It devotes to making the American youth the active, responsible and participatory citizens. This dissertation first presents the definition and the five outstanding characteristics of the law-related education to help others gain clearer understanding of the law-related education. The law-related education in American elementary and secondary schools has its origin from the teaching of some fundamental documents including American Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence in 1960s. For about forty years since its beginning, it has experienced three developmental periods: the period of "the law studies movement ", the period of the expansion of organizations and the development of curriculum and the period of the expansion to the whole country and each period has its own representative who promoted the development of the law-related education in American elementary and secondary schools by their special efforts. Since its beginning, the law-related education in American elementary and secondary schools aims at the demystifying of law. Under the leadership of this overall objective, it giving the knowledge, the skills and the belief, attitudes and values the youth should gain by the law-related education. The core content of law-related education is based on five concepts: law, power, justice, liberty and equality. According the objective and the concepts, the law-related educators choose the teaching strategies and contents. The law-related education in American elementary and secondary schools focuses on the legal issues that can be transferred to the real and personal experience. When implemented, it emphasizes the youth's status as a membership in community, not the status as a student. It promotes the youth's civic abilities through active studying, which decides that community involvement is the major way of implementing the law-related education. Concerning the real situation of the education in the law in our country, this dissertation introduces the connation and implement of community involvement in the law-related education in American elementary and secondary schools, hoping to explore the way our country can borrow from it.