Teaching Controversial Issues: A Pragmatic View of the Criterion Debate

Abstract

This article addresses the ongoing debate over which criteria should determine what teachers ought to teach as controversial. I argue that this debate rests on false assumptions. It is a mistake to assume that 1) there should be a context-transcending criterion, 2) such a criterion can be prescribed a priori and universally, and 3) this criterion can be utilised by teachers by means of deductivism. Instead, I argue in favor of a situationist stance in which the means and ends are both worked out from within the situation. This implies that a theory must begin from a practical starting point. In practice, the situation should be the foremost guide rather than a definite criterion.

Controversial Issues and the Rhetoric of Common Values

“…I shall use two examples, namely Norwegian core curricula since the 1970s and former Prime Minister David Cameron's public argument for making schools promote 'fundamental British values' (FBV). This contributes to the emerging literature on controversial issues in school (Anker and von der Lippe 2016;Hand 2008;von der Lippe 2019;Saetra 2019Saetra , 2020Toft 2020;Woolley 2020). In particular, it supports, broadens and deepens the insights provided by Lockley-Scott (2019a, 2019b into the political and educational use of fundamental British values in recent education policy.…”

“…RE discussion has been entwined with a parallel discussion concerning the concept of 'safe space' as a pedagogical ideal (Arao and Clemens 2013;Barrett 2010;Boostrom 1998;Callan 2016;Flensner and von der Lippe 2019;Holley and Steiner 2005;Iversen 2018;Osbeck et al 2017;Redmond 2010), initiated by the promotion of the RE classroom as a safe space in Signposts (Jackson 2014), the influential Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) primer on religion education as intercultural education. The topic of controversial issues has been discussed since the early 1980s but has been reinvigorated in the last decade, initially by scholars of citizenship education and education for democracy (Rangnes and Ravneberg 2019;Saetra 2019Saetra , 2020.…”

“…All of these criteria accept the underlying assumption that when a topic is controversial, it should be taught in a non-directive manner and that schools should not take sides or attempt to influence the views of the students. However, von der Lippe (2019) and Saetra (2019) both refer to the work of Bryan Warnick and Spencer Smith, as well as their own work, to argue that this link should be treated with more flexibility. A school might have a formal mandate that clearly settles a potentially controversial issue.…”

The Beutelsbach Consensus – the approach to controversial issues in Germany in an international context

“…In the course of this discussion, various criteria for what are to be regarded as controversial issues in education have been developed; first of all, by Diane Hess and Paula McAvoy, whose book 'The political classroom' is based on both educational theory and empirical research (Hess & McAvoy, 2015). This is in contrast to a more theoretical discussion by Michael Hand based on the philosophy of education and moral education (Hand, 2007;compare Yacek, 2018 andSaetra, 2019). A different view is provided by an influential training pack for teachers from the Council of Europe (Kerr & Huddleston, 2015).…”

Αντιλήψεις Μαθητών Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης Για Τον Ρόλο Του Σχολείου Στην Ανάπτυξη Της Ιδιότητας Του Πολίτη

“…Προς αυτή την κατεύθυνση εκτιμάται ως ιδιαιτέρως σημαντική η ανάπτυξη δεξιοτήτων κριτικού εγγραμματισμού που για την Andreotti (2006) (Print, 2013). Στον τομέα αυτό η ερευνητική βιβλιογραφία εξετάζει τη σχέση μεταξύ της ανάπτυξης των ικανοτήτων που πρέπει να διαθέτουν οι ενεργοί δημοκρατικοί πολίτες και του αναλυτικού προγράμματος σπουδών (Eurydice, 2005;Keating et al, 2009;Kerr et al, 2010 (Lockwood, 1996;Byford et al, 2009;Philpott et al, 2011;Cowan & Maitles, 2012;Bartels et al, 2016;Noddings & Brooks, 2017;Kuş & Öztürk, 2019;Saetra, 2019). Δύο από τους λόγους για τους οποίους οι εκπαιδευτικοί αποφεύγουν να αξιοποιήσουν μια παιδαγωγική προσέγγιση που στηρίζεται στην πολιτική διαμάχη και στην επίλυση προβλημάτων είναι (Print, 2013: 47): α) η πιθανότητα να δημιουργηθούν διασπαστικές τάσεις, διαχωρισμοί και διαφωνίες στη σχολική τάξη καθώς και η πολυπλοκότητα στη χρησιμοποίηση τέτοιων στρατηγικών διδασκαλίας και β) οι εκπαιδευτικοί συχνά αναφέρουν ανεπάρκεια σχετικά με τις γνώσεις τους που αφορούν στο πεδίο των πολιτικών διαδικασιών (Oulton et al, 2004 (Schuitema et al, 2009).…”