Suchergebnisse

Discusses the notion of a civic education curriculum that includes controversial political issues to teach about democracy & democratic participation & to encourage political engagement. The controversial nature of teaching students how to engage with hot political issues is first addressed, delineating why there is a general aversion to controversy & the offering of issue-loaded civic education programs. Differences in the kind of participation such classes should encourage are touched on as well as the potential for such programs to be viewed as a form of indoctrination. Four approaches adopted by middle & high school teachers in their decisions to teach to controversial political issues are then considered: denial, privilege, avoidance, & balance. It is concluded that controversy over teaching controversial issues in democratic education programs is viewed as inevitable, but the challenge there can be met if the teacher is prepared & supported by informed administrators & parents. 16 References. J. Zendejas

Helping students develop their ability to deliberate political questions is an essential component of democratic education, but introducing political issues into the classroom is pedagogically challenging and raises ethical dilemmas for teachers. Diana E. Hess and Paula McAvoy argue that teachers will make better professional judgments about these issues if they aim toward creating ""political classrooms,"" which engage students in deliberations about questions that ask, ""How should we live together?""Based on the findings from a large, mixed-method study about discussions of political issues