Recognizing that the American right, and specifically the Christian right, has achieved disproportionate power over shaping the landscape of education policy and political culture, the following engages in a twofold analysis of schooling in the United States. We consider the structural transformations that are being enacted as a result of the…

It is almost 20 years since Michael Riley first invited Key Stage 3 history teachers to 'choose and plant' their enquiry questions. Many members of the history education community have taken up that invitation, making use of overarching enquiry questions to structure students' learning. But what is meant by enquiry in this context is sometimes…

This review essay explores the complexities and challenges involved in addressing controversial issues in the K-12 public school classroom, drawing from two recent books: Noddings and Brooks's "Teaching Controversial Issues: The Case for Critical Thinking and Moral Commitment in the Classroom" and Zimmerman and Robertson's "The Case…

This paper reviews two scholars' experiences teaching about the subjects of graffiti and street art to undergraduate students in U.S. universities. Using auto-ethnographical methods, the instructors review the challenges that they encountered and the various strategies they experimented with to overcome these difficulties. Issues discussed include…

This article considers some of the key challenges and opportunities for global learning. It is argued that global learning is a confused terrain that is emotionally 'hot' because it impacts on deep-rooted notions of nationality and personal identity. The difficulty of engaging with controversial issues such as power relations, social injustice,…

Sex and relationships education has been a controversial area of the curriculum in England for many years. Despite changes to the content and the approach to this material, many teachers and parents remained unhappy about issues such as: the right of schools to teach material that some think should be done in a family situation only; the problem…

Author Richard Milner IV is a Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. The author of numerous articles and seven books, his research focuses on urban education, teacher education, and African American literature. Throughout his career studying the…

There are few topics more engaging, polarizing, controversial, and relevant than the issue of race relations in the United States. As race and racism are enduring issues of importance and popularity, it seems fitting to explore the topic through one of the more engaging and divisive eras in U.S. history; the Civil War. National and state standards…

In this article, a veteran teacher expresses the importance of drawing on the life-texts of students and recognizing the ways that personal experience influences a student's perception of the world.

As the current issues about the nature and quality of education are disseminated through the media, gifted students are privy to these issues and educators should be concerned about the intellectual and affective consequences they might have on this population of students. Teaching gifted students to become politically savvy enables them to…

This article addresses some of the curriculum implications of adopting a socioscientific issues (SSIs)-oriented approach to science education, including (a) the need to provide scientific knowledge on a need-to-know basis and adapted to the complexity, multidimensionality, and fluidity of real-world situations and the constraints of particular…

The emergence of the SuperPACs in American politics is a major issue in the current election. SuperPACs, and the media campaigns they fund, also present a major challenge for media and democratic education. This article explores the issues surrounding SuperPACs and the rise of media in elections and politics in general, and presents some starting…

Black Women in America is an upper-division elective course for students majoring in African American or women's studies at California State University Fullerton (CSUF). The author has taught this course at CSUF at least once a year since 2002 and have changed the course readings, lectures, and assignments on a regular basis. In April 2007,…

Despite the dramatic shift in demographics occurring within public schools, there is still a dismal amount of research connecting issues of diversity and race with the curricula guiding educational leadership preparation programs. In the field of leadership preparation, little information has been offered as to how professors facilitate social…

As part of the continuing series of the Reviewing Policy section, this article examines some of the recent literature on the creation-evolution controversy. These controversies are placed within a larger analysis of the growth of authoritarian populist movements in the United States. The article then focuses attention on debates both over a number…