In the United States of America, democratic education has evolved philosophically over 200 years from Jeffersonian ideas of educated citizenry to Deweyan principles of democracy as a "mode of associated living." In contemporary society, Dianna Hess has written about democratic education as a process of deliberative democracy. Yet the…

This essay elaborates on the notion of risk in relation to democratically challenging situations in education. This refers to situations in which liberal democratic values are potentially challenged, such as in teaching about controversial issues and in moments of expressions of hurtful speech, which can create in teachers an ambivalence for how…

In 2021, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 233. The bill has three provisions: 1) it mandates an "intellectual viewpoint diversity" survey that asks students, faculty, and other employees at Florida's public colleges and universities to report on their levels of comfort to express their ideological and political opinions; 2) it…

Public schools are currently at the center of a set of multifaceted culture wars around questions about who decides the purpose of and sets the agenda for what should be taught in our nation's schools. Although culture wars are not new, today's conflicts are distinguished by their intensity and hostility directed toward marginalized and…

Drawing on theories of deliberative democracy, this article analyzes initiatives in educational settings to develop deliberative capabilities--defined here as a person's motivation and abilities to explain their views based on thoughtful considerations, reciprocal engagement, and more inclusive and respectful communication. Building and expanding…

The rise of anti-immigration arguments within the European Union (EU) poses significant challenges to our democratic existence. As such, the promotion of critical thinking (CT) for the development of a multicultural citizenship education has been underlined. Recent research also shows a close connection between emotions and cognition with positive…

While the teaching of controversial issues has generally been supported by schools and education scholars, new laws and public outcry have impacted whether and how controversial issues are taught. Calls to ban or limit teaching of controversial issues have largely been spurred by conservative parents, policymakers, and political groups. Some…

The issue of parental control over public school curricula has been a longstanding concern, with courts generally limiting the extent of parental influence. While the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes parents' right to choose educational settings, it has not granted them the authority to dictate public school curricula or demand exemptions. Lower…

In this essay, we consider how reconstructing our ideas about the nature of democracy, and its relationship to education, can help us respond to contemporary challenges. We focus specifically on the ongoing fights about critical race theory (CRT), providing an overview of the CRT controversy--we argue that its cultivation for political reasons has…

This chapter focuses on effective preparation for civic reasoning, discourse, and problem solving. It reviews literatures, including major synthetic reviews and studies from the science of learning and development (SoLD), civics education, and mathematics education. Based on these reviews, the authors make the case for a more comprehensive form of…

Friction in the classroom may create useful tension for teachers when they attempt to discuss sensitive topics as part of democratic learning. Due to the openness and indeterminacy of these topics, students can experience what it is like to be (political) subjects in a diverse society and become aware of other people's subjectness in a charged…

We examined LGBTQ inclusion in state social studies standards. Our content analysis revealed widespread exclusion as shown in the frequencies of the words "lesbian," "gay," "bisexual," and "transgender." We discussed the implications of this exclusion for LGBTQ students, as well as all students. We…

Commemorations are events or actions that honour and memorialize significant events, people, and groups from the past. In recent years there have been numerous contentious debates about commemorations of historical events and people in countries around the world, including Canada. In this article I argue that commemoration controversies should be…

The author discusses what it means to be a "good" citizen in a democracy, whether schools are teaching children to be good citizens, and ways to implement citizenship education in schools.

This paper reports on interviews exploring pre-service English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher attitudes towards the inclusion of controversial issues in EAL classrooms. The paper examines how teachers perceive the role of the teacher in fostering EAL students' democratic understandings, skills, and dispositions, and whether these…