Teachers' instruction is influenced by a multitude of factors, such as state standards, curriculum materials, student needs, world events, and district or school policies. Since spring 2021, some teachers have had to consider a new factor: state policies that limit instruction about social and political topics, such as those related to race,…

This column examines ways of teaching gifted students the meaning of politics. The author focuses on the verbiage of politics and methods for understanding, discussing, and role-playing politics.

In a world of great complexity, understanding the manner states act and react becomes more and more an intriguing quest due to the multiple relations of dependence and interdependence that characterize "the global puzzle". Within this context, an analysis based on a geopolitical approach becomes a very useful means used to determine not…

We all have a sense of evil, but many of us do not ponder its nature or the ways in which our beliefs about evil shape what we teach and learn about the actions of citizens in historical or contemporary times. We argue that the word and concept of evil can be detrimental to the development of good citizens when it is used as a political and…

Culture has been theorized as pedagogy. In several languages and many contexts "culture" and "education" can be used interchangeably. This issue of the journal "Educational Philosophy and Theory" seeks to explore the dual proposition (1) that pedagogy is central to politicized cultural theory, but (2) that it has been…

Concerns regarding political knowledge and participation among young people continue to spur research into effective civic instruction. Through a quasi-experiment involving 361 students in four high schools as well as the parents of 152 of these students, we measured the effects of incorporating news magazines and discussion into social studies…

Using an example, this article demonstrates how instructors can make use of popular off-the-shelf board games to model politics. I show how the rules of the popular board game "Battleship" can be manipulated to simulate centralization of power and, more specifically, the differences between the Articles of Confederation and the…

In the United States courses on civics or government are often marginalized in most states' social studies curricula in favor of courses in United States or world history. The origins of this history-dominated approach have roots in the debates between the American Historical Association and the National Education Association at the turn of the…

Latino students, in particular, often feel alienated from politics, especially at the federal level, and this political disengagement often correlates with the immigrant status of students or their families. However, recent research suggests that the amount and quality of social studies coursework taken by immigrant students can reverse these…

Conceptualising difference is a key task for inclusive pedagogy, and vital to the politics of inclusion. My purpose in this paper is to consider the place that imagination has in helping us to conceptualise difference, and to argue that imagination has a key part to play in inclusive pedagogy. To do this I draw closely on the work of Maxine Greene…

This paper examines the report of the "Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy" (Department of Education, Science & Training (DEST) 2005) and explores the claims it makes about reading pedagogy and the centrality of particular "methods" or "approaches" to teaching backed by "scientific" evidence. Discourse…

"Politics and the Primary Teacher" is an accessible introduction to some of the thorniest aspects of a primary teacher's role. It aims to support your understanding of the constant changes in education policy, give you confidence to engage critically with current political debates, and consider how you might shape your response accordingly.…

Combining an overview of the history of communication scholarship with lessons learned from 20 years of experience as a prison abolitionist and peace activist, Hartnett argues that the discipline of communication can be enriched intellectually and made more politically relevant by turning our efforts toward community service, problem-based…

In this article, the author shares his experience in teaching a course called "American Political Theory" at Nanjing University in Nanjing, People's Republic of China. The course the author designed was intended to explore the philosophical background of what drove the North American colonists to declare their independence; what ideas…

In this classroom narrative article I discuss some of my experiences as a teacher in an Australian government-funded English language development aid project during the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The program formed part of an emergency response to the devastating violence that accompanied the Indonesian…