This paper describes and evaluates student teachers' virtual simulation training on teaching a controversial issue. In the fourth year of their program to become social science teachers at lower and upper secondary schools, 43 student teachers in Sweden conducted simulation teaching on conspiracy theories as an example of a controversial issue.…

This research addresses the concerning influence of far-right extremism on pupils in England, highlighting risks leading to potential radicalisation and violent extremism. Conducted through focus groups at the national RE conference 'RExChange 2022', the study explores whether and how far-right extremism should be integrated into the Religious…

Until the beginning of the 21st century, the Tulsa Race Massacre was omitted mainly from the social studies curriculum and state-mandated standards in the United States. However, the featured lesson provides a valuable springboard to explore the historical perspectives and injustices against the Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 31, 1921.…

Since 2021, people across the political spectrum have become preoccupied with questions of free speech and censorship on college campuses, and state legislators have driven the proliferation of new policies that limit spending and programming related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); alter academic autonomy or shared governance…

Most of the history education research that addresses controversial issues suggests that disputes arising in the history classroom are rooted in students' diverse identities that relate differently to history. Therefore, a history education that wants to ease tensions must try both to make these different identities and their relations to history…

This article aims to utilize an adapted version of Trentham's Inverse Consistency Protocol (ICP) as a way in which any ecclesial organization can act productively when confronted with seemingly controversial paradigms such as social emotional learning (SEL). The ICP can help Christian leaders discern potential areas of inconsistency or affirm…

In this brief essay, I respond to four critics of my most recent book, "Teaching Honesty in a Populist Era: Emphasizing Truth in the Education of Citizens" (Oxford University Press, 2024). I attend to their concerns regarding who is included in the "we" of the fundamental civic question, "What should we do?" That…

How should educators deal with conspiracy theories in the classroom, if at all? Do the epistemic deficiencies of some conspiracy theories make them easy prey for debunking? Can the moral and political dangers that certain conspiracy theories pose to democratic societies justify educators avoiding addressing conspiracy theories in the classroom?…

Sixty percent of college freshmen entering American colleges and universities were unprepared for college level discussion and analytical skills. Though the many researchers I detailed in the literature review showed how effective the use of controversial or difficult topics in the classroom as a means for civil discourse was for imparting the…

Controversial issues are often regarded as abundant in history education. Most topics can be regarded as controversial in one way or another. The purpose of this article is to analyse the way history teachers in Swedish lower secondary schools relate controversial issues to a particular view of the nature of the subject of history. By analysing…

In the United States of America, democratic education has evolved philosophically over 200 years from Jeffersonian ideas of educated citizenry to Deweyan principles of democracy as a "mode of associated living." In contemporary society, Dianna Hess has written about democratic education as a process of deliberative democracy. Yet the…

Increasing depictions of kink in mainstream society are leading to a rise in people seeking to learn about and participate in bondage/discipline, domination/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM). For many, this initial education process is likely to focus on the Internet and pornography specifically. Existing research into the impact of…

This article examines how teachers can navigate "difficult knowledge" embedded within digital stories, particularly those sourced from openly licensed literacy platforms. These platforms offer a rich tapestry of narratives reflecting diverse cultural contexts and experiences, but may also present challenging themes that require sensitive…

The authors provide an overview of teaching war and explore ways to situate these notions in the elementary classroom. As part of this discussion, they offer a guide for selecting appropriate texts for a thematic text set for children involving issues of war and peace.

In this article, I will begin by describing recent divisive concepts legislation, which bans teaching about aspects of racism, sexism, and equity, speculating briefly on the motivations behind it and the implications resulting from it. I will then describe how discussing divisive concepts in classrooms may be a helpful way for students to better…