A study which explored the degree to which belief in a politically responsive/unresponsive world might be related to opinions concerning nuclear disarmament, the insanity defense, and women's rights is described. A total of 206 male and female undergraduates completed a 63-item questionnaire consisting of 46 Likert-format I-E items and 17 attitude…

The adult capacity for critical thinking has many implications for adult education, and it is on this capacity that some writers have pinned their belief that adult education (as opposed to schooling) can be a liberating--even emancipating--experience. (Critical thinkers are able to learn through the reflection of self and one's relationship to…

In December of 1978 the New York State Board of Regents ordered the New York State Education Department to conduct a detailed study of the way in which the subject of origins should be treated in a revised version of the Regents Biology Syllabus. The author was invited to supply scientific information to the Bureau of Science Education, which was…

The educational value of presenting a controversial speaker is indisputable. The stated purpose of most educational institutions is to broaden the intellectual, cultural, and personal attitudes of their students and constituents. A controversial lecture serves as a powerful stimulus for developmental growth. (MLW)

An English professor answers the most difficult questions from people who would censor school reading materials. The "secular humanism" controversy has provoked such diverse moral and legal meanings that librarians often avoid book selections. Educators can make informed decisions about good literature, even if the reality depicted appears…

This article examines conflicts occurring between health education with various students' cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds through the example of the religous teachings of Judaism. Suggestions for health educators are offered to prevent instruction from leading to conflict between home and school values. (Author/CB)

Discusses reading and writing assignments for a course on the nuclear peril. (MS)

Questions who has the right and responsibility to determine the content of foreign affairs education. Discusses the University of Denver's Center for Teaching International Relations and the controversy aroused by the curriculum materials which it developed. Acknowledges the need for better global education but expresses concern that government…

Discusses: (1) the theology of creation (religion); (2) evolution (science); and (3) scientific creationism (religious doctrine and pseudoscience). Points out that contrary to its claim, the latter is a sectarian religious doctrine in the guise of science demanding to be taught in the classroom "as a science." (JN)

Shows how philosophical paradigms can be ideologically exploited, often unwittingly, by the teacher in a way that sacrifices truth and clarity to utility. Provides three examples and draws a distinction between teaching a skill and teaching an insight. (Author/JDH)

Summarizes a nuclear power workshop that presented techniques useful in controversial issues education. An introductory exercise and an overview of propagandistic techniques (listed in "The Propaganda Game") related to self-deception, language, irrelevance, exploitation, form, and maneuver are included. Outline of workshop presentation…

Highlights a workshop with children focusing on the treatment of controversial issues and guidelines typically provided by school districts or organizations. Activities designed to stimulate discussion on three issues (endangered species, acid rain, and predator control) are included. (BC)

Argues that a compromise must be struck between the transmission of values and the unfettered questioning, analyzing, and evaluation of values. (FL)

While schools cannot--should not--attempt to provide answers to controversial questions, they do need to teach children to pose those questions themselves and to examine them objectively. Regular forums in public schools in which various social issues are analyzed and discussed from a variety of viewpoints are one possibility. (Author/DCS)

Threats to the freedom to teach and to learn are examined; what can be done to counter these threats is discussed. The threats or problems are of two kinds: (1) internal, i.e., self-censorship of professional educators; and (2) external pressure from individuals and groups outside the schools, e.g., book banning. (RM)