In the state of Arkansas there has been minimal interaction or communication among social studies methods instructors. Instructors in all sixteen institutions offering teacher certification programs were surveyed in order to determine the status of social studies methods. The profile which emerges indicates that (1) over half the state’s 2000 social studies teachers received their initial certification in another field; (2) among those initially certifying in the social studies, 25‥ take no special methods course and depend on portions of a general methods course for whatever specialization they may receive; (3) most students are exposed to recent national concerns and trends through up-to-date texts and NCSS materials; (4) roughly 60‥ of those taking a special methods course are supervised in their student teaching by the same instructor; (5) there are large variations in the structure and content of the special methods courses; and (6) more than half of the instructors expressed dissatisfaction with the course as presently conducted.
