This article describes the process taken by members of a seminar course on radical geography in a primarily quantitative geography department. This course was taught during tumultuous times necessitating the need to explore radical topics and abstract conceptualizations of space and place. We offer our experiences and lessons learned while…

This paper critically evaluates societal reactions to integrating LGBTQ+ content into the Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum in England and Wales. Utilising Stanley Cohen's theory of moral panics, it examines the roles of media, moral entrepreneurs, authorities, and the public in shaping debates around educational reforms. The paper…

Since the publication of the first edition of "Understanding Academic Freedom," the never-ending struggle to defend academic freedom has entered a demonstrably new phase. Legislation determining what can and cannot be taught in schools in Florida, Texas, and other states has intensified governing board activism that impinges on widely…

Public education reflects the ideas that various stakeholders hold about relationships between schooling and society and the forms of knowledge that are deemed most socially valuable (Kliebard, 2004; Spring, 2016). Public education can be used to support human flourishing and the cultivation of skills needed for civic participation in democratic…

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…

The authors describe the politicization of the process to revise Michigan's social studies standards from 2005 to the present. In 2005, critics objected to the omission of topics they considered important, even though the content expectations document was not intended to be an exhaustive list of material to be covered. The latest, more limited…

This study assessed the capacity of a major Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Assignment to improve students' content knowledge surrounding relevant course concepts in two sections of "The Politics of Welfare Reform," a 200-level class offered at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. The hypothesis was that performance on the PBL assignment, which…

Much of the content of college courses on the Vietnam War is superficial and biased toward the American point of view. The greatest problem is ignorance about the Vietnamese perspective, both Communist and non-Communist. (MSE)

Outlines a model for incorporating critical thinking about politics within a rhetorical schema in writing courses. Provides an outline of four units of study on political semantics, psychological blocks to perceiving bias, models of biased and deceptive rhetoric, and locating and evaluating partisan sources. (SR)

Three essays related to peace and security education in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) are presented. The first essay, "An Example of Controversial Themes in Education: Peace and Security," by Clemens Lessing, uses a 1980 controversial discussion of the Committee of the Cultural Ministry as an example of controversial themes in…

Special education teachers (n=407) were surveyed regarding coverage of 45 controversial or sensitive topics in their instruction of students with learning disabilities, mental retardation, or behavior disorders. Topical issues were addressed only to a very limited extent, but were addressed more with students having behavioral disorders and at the…

The findings of a study that examined the impact of peace studies courses at the college and university level upon students is reported. The study involved 260 undergraduate students at 3 midwestern universities. At the beginning of each course, students filled out a questionnaire; at the end of the course, students were given identical…

An overview of the curriculum of a college course entitled "Politics and Sex" and several strategies found to be effective in transforming students' attitudes about sexual violence are presented. The structure of the course rests on two fundamental principles, both associated with feminist theory. First, the personal is political.…

This report brings together recent research, analysis, and textbook evaluations to explain what lies behind today's school wars over teaching about religion. It concludes that textbook controversies involving religion are an important part of a large cultural debate. Some of the most divisive and important curriculum issues of current times,…

The Kanawha County textbook controversy of 1974 sparked profound changes in the American political landscape and American education. The roots of this controversy go back to the 1960's, when drug use, women's liberation, violence, and sex education convinced conservatives that America was in moral decline. Parents in Kanawha County fingered school…