The University of Wisconsin Madison has a speech code that punishes faculty who make offensive remarks in the classroom. The code, declared unconstitutional in 1991 by a federal judge, has now been revised by a panel of professors, administrators, and students to allow faculty to teach controversial subjects, even if some students are offended in…

Suggests the ultimate competition for writers of contemporary adolescent fiction is life--the world that children inhabit is getting stranger and stranger. Discusses parents' and adolescents' different reactions to the novel "Boys Lie," which addresses the issues of rape and sexual harassment. Presents reactions to the speech and the responses of…

Focuses on the reproduction of knowledge in science education and how socio-scientific issues are depicted/accounted for. Reviews contemporary epistemological questions of knowledge production. Outlines the Actor Network Theory (ANT), an alternative epistemology, describing the principal tenets using examples from the nature/nurture debate.…

The issues that arise in a college course on multiculturalism can touch students very personally and may be a first opportunity for many students to talk face-to-face about important social issues. Anticipating when students may become defensive, angry, hurt, or when conflict might erupt will help faculty know when to lower or raise the…

The question of whether religious explanations about the origin of life should be taught alongside scientific accounts in compulsory science education has sparked controversy in several countries for decades. An important site for these controversies is media reporting. This article presents the results of a quantitative and qualitative analysis…

Recent reform initiatives, especially the No Child Left Behind Act, tend to rely on a variety of highly debatable assumptions that fail to reflect the diversity of today's classrooms and also place pressure on educators in a manner we characterize as accountability by assumption. Such reform initiatives have become so political, complex, and…

Content analysis of the curriculum and textbooks for the last four grades of compulsory education used in Bosnia and Herzegovina are presented. The major aim in this research has been to identify how issues related to democracy and human rights are presented.--Do the curriculum and textbooks support the ideas and behaviours recognized as…

The oil drop experiment is considered an important contribution to the understanding of modern physics and chemistry. The objective of this investigation is to study and contrast the views and understanding with respect to the experiment of physicists or philosophers of science with those of authors of physics or chemistry textbooks and…

Designed as a supplementary resource for any classroom that incorporates global education, this workbook describes the issues and outcomes of 12 famous historical court cases. The court cases familiarize students with recurring controversial social issues. Each reading section begins with a brief outline of the time period and background of each…

This information packet was formulated to help school administrators and other educators in Maine both understand and manage controversies associated with sexuality and HIV/AIDS education. Common tactics used by opponents to these programs are outlined along with effective strategies to manage controversies. First discussed are ways to develop and…

"Politically correct" is a pejorative label applied to activities that in some way question, subvert, or threaten the dominant power structure. In discussing how best to educate students, some composition professionals assume that the composition classroom can be made apolitical. Freshman English, like all classes, is politicized…

The diversity of values about sexuality among administrators, teachers, parents, and children creates serious challenge for public schools. This case study offers an insider's view of what happened in a community when conservative parent groups challenged a senior high health curriculum. In the "Laketown Public Schools," conflict erupted…

This paper addresses the problem of faculty members being confronted, in or out of the classroom, with students' personal reactions to some of the subject matter, especially sex and gender material, found in today's college sociology courses. The paper suggests some ways in which sociologists view student sharing of personal reactions and…

Practitioners at all levels of education have begun to recognize that addressing the complex social and environmental problems of the future will require individuals capable of reflective and critical thought. Critical thinking has been defined as utilizing a number of cognitive processes and attitudes that undergird intelligent action in diverse…

An interview with Elise Boulding, a U.S. sociologist, concerning her views on peace education is presented. Dr. Boulding has undertaken numerous transnational and comparative studies on conflict and peace, development, family life, and women in society. She has taught at the University of Colorado and Dartmouth College and, at the time this…