Teaching Controversial Issues in a Time of Polarization

Autor/inn/en	Kawashima-Ginsberg, Kei; Junco, Rey
Titel	Teaching Controversial Issues in a Time of Polarization
Quelle	In: Social Education, 82 (2018) 6, S.323-329 (7 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0037-7724
Schlagwörter	Controversial Issues (Course Content); Civics; Citizenship Education; Social Change; High School Students; United States Government (Course); Discussion; Opinions; Persuasive Discourse; Elections; Current Events; Political Issues + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Controversial issues; Kontroverse; Staatsbürgerkunde; Citizenship; Education; Politische Bildung; Politische Erziehung; Staatsbürgerliche Erziehung; Sozialer Wandel; High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Diskussion; Lehrmeinung; Persuasion; Persuasive Kommunikation; Election; Wahl; Aktualität; Politischer Faktor
Abstract	Although civic education has experienced a significant revitalization during the past two decades, America's high schools are not adequately preparing young people for self-governance and civic participation. While an estimated 90 percent of American high school students take a Civics or American Government course, a majority of graduates are deemed less than "proficient" in their knowledge of civics in a standardized exam. Simply taking a course may not translate into civic action, as turnout among America's newest voters (18- to 20-year-olds) was only 15 percent in the 2014 midterm elections and 39 percent in the 2016 presidential election. Furthermore, young people's access to civic-learning opportunities varies greatly by race, ethnicity, geography, and income level, producing unequal capabilities to participate fully in civic life. Empirical data on overall levels of youth participation and on staggering inequality warrant a need to explore new approaches, along with ways to improve current practices. In this article, we explore the latter by asking how discussion of controversial issues--one of the Six Promising Practices presented in "The Civic Mission of Schools"--can be more widely deployed so that all students, regardless of their background, have access to meaningful and productive discussions about contentious topics that affect our society. We focus on the role of two sets of prospective allies--families and principals--in fostering these discussions. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 Sixteenth Street #500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 800-683-0812; Tel: 301-588-1800; Fax: 301-588-2049; e-mail: membership@ncss.org; Web site: http://www.socialstudies.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01