Teaching Through Turmoil: Social Studies Teachers and Local Controversial Current Events

Swalwell, Katy; Schweber, Simone

doi:10.1080/00933104.2016.1201447

Cited by 42 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…At the same time that these implications encourage local, authentic forms of writing, we are also aware that these suggestions arise during a time in which the spaces for dialogue and empowerment that embody contemporary participatory readiness require teacher courage. We know that some teachers are fearful of engaging in political discourse, particularly around controversial topics (Ayers & Ayers, 2011; Hess & McAvoy, 2015; Swalwell & Schweber, 2016). This study’s findings imply a growing necessity for teachers to take on the mantle for supporting youth participatory readiness that is deftly enacted outside of schools daily.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Dear Future President of the United States”: Analyzing Youth Civic Writing Within the 2016 Letters to the Next President Project

Garcia

Levinson

Gargroetzi

2019

American Educational Research Journal

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This article investigates the civic writing practices of more than 11,000 students writing letters to the next president in the lead up to the 2016 U.S. election. We analyze how letter topics are associated with socioeconomic factors and reveal that 43 topics—including ones prevalent among students such as immigration, guns, and school costs—were significantly associated with socioeconomic and racial majority indicators. Furthermore, we conducted a qualitative analysis of the kinds of arguments and evidence developed in letters from five schools serving predominantly lower income students and/or students of color in different regions of the country. Student arguments and types of evidence used were site dependent, suggesting the importance of teacher instruction. This analysis expands previous conceptions of youth civic learning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Dear Future President of the United States”: Analyzing Youth Civic Writing Within the 2016 Letters to the Next President Project

Garcia

Levinson

Gargroetzi

2019

American Educational Research Journal

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“…However, as the example of marriage equality illustrates, these consequences are intensified when issues intersect with the identities of students and teachers. Although prior research has discussed the inherent challenges in broaching controversial issues that intersect with aspects of one's identity, such as race, gender, sexuality, and religion (e.g., Beck, 2013;Evans, Avery, & Pederson, 1999;Journell, 2011a), or deal with issues that directly affect teachers and students (e.g., Swalwell & Schweber, 2016), these studies have largely focused on how teachers should respond to issues already deemed open (e.g., creating tolerant classrooms, whether or not to disclose one's opinion) as opposed to determining whether such issues should be framed as open or settled.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should Marriage Equality be Taught as Controversial Post-Obergefell v. Hodges?

Journell

2018

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

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Background Having students engage with controversial issues is considered a hallmark of a quality civic education, in part because it requires students to interact with perspectives that contradict their existing worldviews, evaluate the legitimacy of positions based on evidence, and develop the skills and dispositions necessary for participation in an increasingly pluralistic democratic society. Most of the research on the teaching of controversial issues, however, has focused on how teachers and students respond to controversy as opposed to how controversy is framed. Teachers must determine whether an issue should be considered “open,” or controversial, or “settled,” or noncontroversial, in their classrooms, a decision that is both pedagogically important and often controversial. For issues that have been settled for some time, such as slavery or woman suffrage, the decision whether to frame them as open or settled is typically easy for teachers; however, issues that are in the process of tipping from open to settled, or vice versa, are more challenging and require that teachers make instructional decisions based on evidence and logical reasoning. Purpose The purpose of this article is to critically analyze whether the issue of marriage equality should be framed as controversial in the aftermath of the 2015 landmark Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States. In doing so, this article also offers several implications for the teaching of controversial issues broadly, particularly those that intersect with the identities of students and teachers. Research Design This article makes an analytical/theoretical argument using three commonly cited criteria for determining the openness of controversial issues: the epistemic criterion, the political criterion, and the politically authentic criterion. Conclusions/Recommendations After evaluating marriage equality using each criterion, I conclude that no rational reason exists for treating marriage quality as an open issue post-Obergefell. I also argue that the issue of marriage equality illustrates the need for teachers to be cognizant of how discussions of controversial issues that implicate students’ identities may impact students who may be marginalized by those issues. I recommend that when such issues have reached the point where subjective decisions must be made in determining whether they are framed as open or settled, deference should be made to framing those issues in a way that promotes public values as opposed to legitimizing private views.

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“…Another relevant research field that has theoretically informed this study concerns the teaching and educational discussion of controversial issues. The span of topics within this field is wide, but the majority of the studies focus upon the teaching of social sciences (Camica, 2008;King, 2009;Swalweel and Schweber, 2016;Zimmerman and Robertsson, 2017). Hand (2007Hand ( , 2008 states that it is useful to distinguish between three different forms of controversy.…”

Section: Ideological Dilemmas and Controversiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hiding in the classroom: How neo-Nazi leaders prepare their children for schooling

Mattsson

2021

Power and Education

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As part of the general curricular ambitions of contributing to the development of a democratic society, Swedish schools are mandated to actively combat racism and extremism. This causes particular challenges when teachers encounter students who have been brought up in environments where racist and extremist worldviews dominate. This study analyses four Swedish neo-Nazi leaders’ experiences of schooling and how they have utilised these experiences when establishing an approach for their children’s schooling. The focal point of the analysis is the ideological dilemmas that arise from clashes of conviction among neo-Nazi leaders, their children and the teachers. The results show how neo-Nazi leaders use their own negative experiences of schooling to prepare their children on how to escape both democratic education and prevent social stigmatisation.

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Teaching Through Turmoil: Social Studies Teachers and Local Controversial Current Events

Cited by 42 publications

References 47 publications

“Dear Future President of the United States”: Analyzing Youth Civic Writing Within the 2016 Letters to the Next President Project

“Dear Future President of the United States”: Analyzing Youth Civic Writing Within the 2016 Letters to the Next President Project

Should Marriage Equality be Taught as Controversial Post-Obergefell v. Hodges?

Hiding in the classroom: How neo-Nazi leaders prepare their children for schooling

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