Teachers' Perspectives on Incorporating Current Controversial Issues into the Curriculum.

Autor/inn/en	Wilson, Elizabeth; Sunal, Cynthia; Haas, Mary; Laughlin, Margaret
Titel	Teachers' Perspectives on Incorporating Current Controversial Issues into the Curriculum.
Quelle	(1999), (26 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Attitude Measures; Controversial Issues (Course Content); Current Events; Elementary Secondary Education; Interviews; National Surveys; Social Studies; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Surveys + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Controversial issues; Kontroverse; Aktualität; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Gemeinschaftskunde; Lehrerverhalten
Abstract	Does a current controversial issue become part of the social studies curriculum in a context where the media focus largely on the issue? A study explored this question through surveys and in-depth interviews that investigated K-12 social studies teachers' perspectives on the incorporation of current controversial issues into the curriculum. A total of 468 surveys were mailed to middle and secondary social studies teachers in 48 states. The survey asked if respondents had taught about the Clinton impeachment proceedings during at least two class periods. Teachers who had done so were asked to respond to six open-ended, short answer questions; teachers who responded in the negative were asked to explain why they had not addressed this topic in their classes. Additionally, respondents were asked to check one or more of 11 statements that applied to their views of teaching controversial issues and current events. Over half of the teachers responded that they had taught about the Clinton impeachment for at least the minimum time required on the survey. For all teachers in grades 5-12, the overwhelming reason for not teaching the impeachment was that it was not relevant to the content of the curriculum. A second study involving an interview extended what had been examined in the first study by exploring in-depth the views of teachers about controversial issues. (Contains 14 references.) (BT)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC