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,…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of students' prior attitude on the processing of conflicting information regarding a controversial issue (is eating organic better for health and the environment?). In study 1, 314 seventh graders watched a set of videos that provided conflicting arguments on the issue. Students were then…

The state of democracy facing expanding political division and pervasive racial and social inequalities. Discussing and deliberating controversial social and political issues functions help foster students' civic contribution. I conducted a qualitative case study and recruited 14 participants, with whom I conducted interviews, self-reflection,…

Dr. Jessie Wallace Hughan was a trailblazing New York City public school educator and pacifist. Hughan was a socialist, and she was among numerous teachers who faced investigations for anti-patriotic activities at the turn of the 20th-century, when teachers across the country faced intense scrutiny and legal challenges if they were suspected of…

This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore how community college students describe their motivations and reasoning when learning about controversial science topics at a southwestern community college. Anti-science attitudes have been increasing globally, but is not fully understood. Two research questions were developed using the theory…

This qualitative case study examined five preservice social studies teachers (PSSTs) working in an urban teacher preparation program as they learned methods of critical historical inquiry (CHI). Moving from a critical multicultural citizenship education frame, CHI supports analysis of multiple perspectives and sources to construct equitable,…

Students possess alternative conceptions of many science topics, and these conceptions can act as obstacles for learning scientific concepts. In the field of biology education, students' alternative conceptions of evolution have been widely investigated. However, there is little research on how teachers diagnose and deal with these alternative…

This paper draws on Bakhtin's ethico-ontological vision of dialogue to theorize "relational becoming" on a micro-level. To do so, it introduces three "ethical dimensions of dialogue" (responsibility, responsiveness, and capacitation) and develops the interrelated concepts of addressability and presencing as analytical lenses.…

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to understand teaching and learning not just as cognitive but also as affective experiences that are imbued with emotional complexity. There is also an emergent body of research on how to teach difficult knowledge of war. Joining this scholarship, this article presents research…

This study explores the beliefs of non-science majors in an undergraduate biology classroom as part of a larger study on evolution education. Groups of students (n=12) were given fourteen questions, some potentially controversial and some non-controversial, and asked to create categories based on what type of authority students would turn to as a…

The polarizing nature of many science-based topics often causes people to engage in a hostile manner with those who have differing perspectives. As the next generation of scientists and industry professionals, students studying in science-based disciplines must understand the value of civil discourse. Additionally, they need the skills necessary…

Teaching about gender-based violence involves dealing with a form of difficult knowledge and as such calls for substantial emotional, political and pedagogical labour on the part of educators. In this paper, we discuss how we have drawn on theoretical perspectives offered by Judith Butler, along with the Deleuzian notion of affective assemblages…

As a settler colonial state, Canada has used education to advance colonialism in an effort to erase the experiences of Indigenous peoples. Today, education has a critical role to play in advancing the truth of our shared history just as it has played a role in enacting colonial practices and violence on Indigenous peoples. This action research…

English remains the only subject mandated throughout the years of schooling in Australia. The compulsory nature of this subject reflects its responsibility for the personal, and literate, development of students. Literature has often been charged with the social and moral dimensions of English. Increasingly, in Australia and elsewhere, literature…

Drawing on recent work on affective citizenship and agonistic emotions, this article explores the role of emotions in discussions of controversial issues in Norwegian high schools. Empirical material was collected through individual interviews with 11 teachers (two of whom were interviewed together) and group interviews with 28 students (five or…