Controversial Issues in Education

‹› Controversial issues are “those that have a political, social,

or personal impact and arouse feeling and/or deal with
questions of value or belief” (Oxfam, 2006).

‹› “Issues that deeply divide a society, that generate

conflicting explanations and solutions based on
alternative value systems, are considered controversial”
(Stradling, 1990, p. 2).

‹› Some examples of the contemporary controversial

issues that might be discussed in the social studies
classrooms include: child labor, domestic violence, global
warming, racism, terrorism, money laundering, honor killing,
nepotism, ethnic discrimination, the Arab0lsraeli conflict,
democracy, unemployment, co-education, internet privacy,
and sex education (Abu-Hamdan & Khader, 2014).
 Controversial Issues in Education

‹› Controversial issues are “those that have a political, social,

or personal impact and arouse feeling and/or deal with
questions of value or belief” (Oxfam, 2006).

‹› “Issues that deeply divide a society, that generate

conflicting explanations and solutions based on
alternative value systems, are considered controversial”
(Stradling, 1990, p. 2).

‹› Some examples of the contemporary controversial

issues that might be discussed in the social studies
classrooms include: child labor, domestic violence, global
warming, racism, terrorism, money laundering, honor killing,
nepotism, ethnic discrimination, the Arab0lsraeli conflict,
democracy, unemployment, co-education, internet privacy,
and sex education (Abu-Hamdan & Khader, 2014).
 Controversial Issues in Education

‹› Controversial issues are “those that have a political, social,

or personal impact and arouse feeling and/or deal with
questions of value or belief” (Oxfam, 2006).

‹› “Issues that deeply divide a society, that generate

conflicting explanations and solutions based on
alternative value systems, are considered controversial”
(Stradling, 1990, p. 2).

‹› Some examples of the contemporary controversial

issues that might be discussed in the social studies
classrooms include: child labor, domestic violence, global
warming, racism, terrorism, money laundering, honor killing,
nepotism, ethnic discrimination, the Arab0lsraeli conflict,
democracy, unemployment, co-education, internet privacy,
and sex education (Abu-Hamdan & Khader, 2014).
 (Un)democratic Political System and
(Un)democratic Education (1/3)
N Is there a relationship between the two?
I› Governmentality (Foucault, 1991)
tt The way governments produce citizens that are best
suited to fulfill the policies of the very same governments
tt the organized practices through which individuals are
governed

interferes rather
in education, Minimal
economy, and Government
religion
VS.

inteJeres visibly in as many

Maximal social spheres as possible,
Government e.g. in education,
economy, religion.
 (Un)democratic Political System and
(Un)democratic Education (2/3)
‹› State Apparatuses? (Althusser, 2011)
I› Repressive state apparatus functions 6y violence
I› Includes police, government, administration, courts,
army, and prison system
Tf Ideological state apparatus functions by ideology
‹› Is manifested in a variety of institutions, such
as religious, educational, family, trade-union,
etc.

I› Is teaching democracy and citizenship, as two

examples of a controversial issue, as much ideological as
not teaching democracy?

I› Are controversial issues encouraged to enter into

curriculum at all, and if yes, to what extent, and if not, why?
 (Un)democratic Political System and
(Un)democratic Education |3I3)
I› State Apparatuses? (Althusser, 2011)
ft Repressive state apparatus functions 6y violence
Tt Includes police, government, administration, courts,
army, and
prison system
If Ideological state apparatus functions by ideology
I› Is manifested in a variety of institutions, such as
religious, educational, family, trade-union, etc.

ff Are controversial issues encouraged to enter into

curriculum at all, and if yes, to what extent, and if not, why?
N If not reflected in the curriculum, do you think teachers
should reflect them in their teaching? If yes, why; if no,
why?
I› Three forms of teaching citizenship (Westheimer, 2008)
ft personally responsible citizenship
‹› participatory citizenship
 (Un)democratic Political System and
(un)democratic Education: The Case of Iran (1i3)
I› Unification of religion and politics
ft Islamization of education (Ministry of Education and
Cultivation)
Tf Islamic education and Islamic citizenship
‹› Commitment-based citizenship vs. right-based
citizenship (Stein,
2007)

I› Citizenship values in elementary and secondary course

books
(Chanzanagh, Mansoori, & Zarsazkar, 2011)
Tf Farsi: 14 units
‹› Social ethics training: 4 units
I› Religious and Islamic cultural training: 2 units
 (Un)democratic Political System and
(un)democratic Education: The Case of Iran (2i3)
‹ Duty-based citizenship values
1 Respect
2 Commitment to the society
1 Commitment to wOrk and social duties
2 Commitment to society and citizens
3 Defending society
4 Law obedience
2 Right-based citizenship values
3 Freedom
1 the right of social and political freedom
2 the freedom of expression and thought
3 The freedom o1 ideas and religion
4 Equality
1 Equality and indiscrimination based on gender, race, religion and
language
2 The right of cultural and ethic minorities
a Participation
1 POlÏtical participation
z The right of objecting the government
4 SeCUFit/
 (Un)democratic Political System and
(un)democratic Education: The Case of Iran \3I3\

Conclusion:

“All citizenship values have been articulated whether

directly or indirectly inside political Islam’ s
discourse, and that each of citizenship values should
be found inside political Islam' s discourse in
connection with present signifiers. The religious,
Ideological nature of Islamic Republic of Iran’ s
elementary and secondary educational books is the
main cause of attempting to socialize the students
inside Islamic, social, political culture” (Chanzanagh,
Mansoori, & Zarsazkar, 2011, pp. 3023).
 Why Teach Controversial Issues?
‹› ShOUId teachers teach controversial issues? If yes, why?

‹› Some arguments in favor of teaching contentious topics:

‹› They are in the curriculum: Oxfam (2006) notes that curricula
addressing contentious issues can make students aware of the
complexity of these types of topics, and the necessity of
discussion, in order to learn to co-exist and negotiate with people
who have differing views.

‹› Young people need to explore their values and develop their

skills: Most ethics, social science, and citizenship curricula
emphasize the need for students to discover their values, express
their positions on controversial issues, and consider other people's
positions (Oxfam, 2006).

‹› These issues help develop thinking skills: (a) infOF elation-processing

skills which help students manage pieces of information; (b)
reasoning skills where students justify their opiniOns and actions;
(c) enquiry skills which enable students to investigate different
issues; (d) creative thinking skills which help students come up
with a variety of ideas; (e) evaluation skills where students assess
various values and actions (Oxfam, 2006).
 How do you Best Handle Controversial Issues? (1/4)

1. Ground rules. Oxfam (2006) includes the following as examples

of ground rules:
(I Only one person to talk at a time —
no interrupting. ft Show respect for the views
of others.
tt Challenge the ideas nOt the people.
I Use appropriate language — no racist
or sexist comments.
(I Allow everyone to express his/her view to ensure that
everyone is heard and respected.
I Pupils should give reasons why they have a particular
view. (p. 6)
 How do you Best Handle Controversial Issues? (2/4)

2. Role of the teacher. Harwood (1997) has identified six possible

roles for teachers when handling contentious topics in the
classroom. These roles include:
‹I Committed: a teacher expresses own view while attempting to
be
balanced.

‹› Objective or Academic: a teacher presents all possible viewpoints

without stating own position.
‹› Devil' s advocate: a teacher adopts the most controversial
viewpoint,
forcing students to justify their own.

‹› Advocate: a teacher presents all available points ol view, then

discloses and justifies own position.
‹› Impartial chairperson: a teacher facilitates the discussion through
pupils'
opinions and authentic resources, without stating own view.
‹› Declared Interest: after registering every participants' viewpoint, a
teacher
discloses own position, which can help the students judge the
 How do you Best Handle Controversial Issues? (3/4)

3. Interactive activities for teaching controversial topics and their

benefits: tt Community of enquiry helps students develop
listening skills and respect
others' views. In this approach, students are encouraged to
listen to other people's ideas, think about their own views,
express these opinions openly,
and modify their views in regards to what they hear.

‹› Thinking skills activities, such as mysteries. diamond ranking,

and the values continuum (also called the happy/sad
continuum) can develop
students' ability to justify their arguments and Organize their
ideas. In the values continuum, students have to investigate,
think critically, and justify
their own and other people's values and attitudes.

‹› Activities which use photos can encourage students to question

why and how certain images are used in a specific context.
Therefore, they can discuss different global feelings and reactions
regarding a particular issue. They can also explore bias and
improve their analytical, enquiry, and critical
thinking skills. (Oxfam, 2006)
 How do you Best Handle Controversial Issues? (4/4)

‹› Hess (2004) outlines four approaches teachers take when teaching

controversy.
These are:
‹› Denial: When teachers do not believe an issue to be
controversial, since there is a right answer to it, and therefore
teach students to develop that answer.

‹› Privilege: When teachers believe an issue to be

controversial, but they think there is a clearly right answer tO it,
and therefore they teach students to accept their particular
perspective.

‹› Avoidance: When teachers believe an issue to be

cOntrOversial, but they have very strong views about it, and
therefore they do not think they can teach it without bias or do
not want to teach such a topic at all.

‹› Balance: When teachers believe an issue tO be

controversial and teach it without favoring a particular
perspective, so that students will be exposed to various positions
in a neutral way.
 Implications of Teaching Controversial Issues (1/2)

‹› Harwood and Hahn (1990) point that students who participate in

controversial issues discussions often demonstrate more positive
political attitudes and higher participation in political activities.

‹ Patrick (1967) finds that people who took part in disputable issues
discussions in schools outperformed their counterparts in measures of
› political efficacy.

‹› Long and Long (1975) indicate that there is a positive

relationship between contentious topics discussions in schools
and students' interest in following present events in the media
and discussing political issues with friends and family.

(i When students are provided with the right environment to

state their opinions about various debatable subjects, there are
usually positive effects on these students' feelings of political
interest, efficacy, confidence, and trust (Hahn, Angell, & Tocci,
1988).
 Implications of Teaching Controversial Issues (2/2)

(i Goldenson (1978) indicates that discussing controversial issues helps

students develop a greater civic tolerance towards contrary points of
view.

(i Harwood and Hahn (1990) argue that although social studies courses
are often considered boring and irrelevant to the real world, Remy
(1972) finds that students are very keen to attend social studies
classes which include discussions about controversial topics.
‹ Westheimer (2008) emphasizes that in order to solve social
problems and improve society, students have to acquire thinking
› skills (Oxfam argues that these skills, namely inquiry, critical
thinking and analytical skills are gained through controversial
issues diScussiOns) which would allow them to be democratic,
pOlitically-engaged, and ethical citizens.
 Gaps in the Literature Related to Teaching
Controversial Issues in the Classroom

TJ There is not much research to demonstrate the importance of

including teaching controversial issues in the teachers' pre-service
training program, which may account for teachers' reports of its lack.

tt There is little research on how parents can prepare their

children to handle contentious subjects. Moreover, there is little
work that has been done on assisting teachers in responding to
parents' reactiOns to the content and methods used to teach their
children about controversial issues.
 Activity

Q: Match each activity with its appropriate title, students' age,

and aim. Then, reflect on it.

For example:

Diversity. All About Me(EarlyYears)

This activity is adapted from Oryefo!ping Cirrl time by Teresa
Bliss, George Robinson and
Pupils become aware
Barbara Maines.
of similarities and
differences oetween t. \I/ithin sharing or circle time, suggest the beginning of one of the
people, improve their following sentences and asL each pupil to finish it:
listening skills, and a ‘I am special because...’
gain a sense of e ‘Something I really liLe is...’
identiy and self-
a ‘A time I was brave was...’
worth.
e ‘Something that makes me happy/sad/cross/upseits...’
 Discussion Questions

ff What factors encourage/discourage

the inclusion of controversial issues in
school curricula?
tf Do multiculturalism and the teaching of
controversial issues stand at two opposite poles?
I› If not in the curriculum, would you
consider approaching controversial issues in the
class? Why? Why not?
tf Do you think the religious backgrounds of the
teachers can be
detrimental to discussing religiously controversial
issues?
N You think it is ethical to address controversial issues in
your class. School authorities and/or some of your
students' parents do not agree with you and
complain. How would you react to their complaint?
 References

(I Stein, J. G. (2007) Searching for Equality. In J. Stein, D. Cameron, J.

Ibbitson,
W. Kymlicka, J. Meisel, H. Siddiqui & M. Valpy (Eds.) Uneasy partners.'
Multiculturalism and rights in Canada (pp. 1 - 22). Waterloo, ON: Wilfred
Laurier University Press.
tt Westheimer, J. (2008). On the relationship between political
and moral engagement. In F. Oser & W. Veugelers (Eds.), Getting
involved: Global citizenship development and the sources of moral values
(pp.17-30). Rotterdam: Sense.
 References

(t Stein, J. G. (2007) Searching for Equality. In J. Stein, D. Cameron, J.

Ibbitson,
W. Kymlicka, J. Meisel, H. Siddiqui & M. Valpy (Eds.) Uneasy partners.'
Multiculturalism and rights in Canada (pp. 1 - 22). Waterloo, ON: Wilfred
Laurier University Press.
tt Westheimer, J. (2008). On the relationship between political
and moral engagement. In F. Oser & W. Veugelers (Eds.), Getting
involved: Global citizenship development and the sources of moral values
(pp.17-30). Rotterdam: Sense.
 References

(t Stein, J. G. (2007) Searching for Equality. In J. Stein, D. Cameron, J.

Ibbitson,
W. Kymlicka, J. Meisel, H. Siddiqui & M. Valpy (Eds.) Uneasy partners.'
Multiculturalism and rights in Canada (pp. 1 - 22). Waterloo, ON: Wilfred
Laurier University Press.
tt Westheimer, J. (2008). On the relationship between political
and moral engagement. In F. Oser & W. Veugelers (Eds.), Getting
involved: Global citizenship development and the sources of moral values
(pp.17-30). Rotterdam: Sense.
 CURRENT ISSUES IN
PHILIPPINE EDUCATION
DON’T BLAME HEAVY
WORKLOADS FOR SUICIDE OF
TEACHERS – BRIONES