Controversial issues in the classroom: The role of schools and teachers in the education of an engaged citizen. A comparative study

• Main Author: Zein, Jane R.
• Other Authors: Hamm, Deborah
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: Wichita State University 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10057/2500

This thesis is a comparative based on the report published by the Qualifications and Curriculum authority, and on a paper written by Oulton et al. in the United Kingdom. This study tries to explore the similarities and differences between the challenges facing democracy in the United Kingdom and the United States, in addition and to exploring the connection between the definition of citizenship, its practice, and the role that the teaching of controversial issues and teachers' attitudes towards controversy in the classroom can play in creating more awareness in the young generation and more involvement in the democratic process. The responses to the questionnaire indicate the need for more support needed for the teachers to introduce topics that are considered sensitive and may create tension in the classroom. Criterion based testing results in teaching content at the expense of critical thinking at times; as a result there is a need to create a space in the curriculum for the teaching of controversial issues if the current trend of focusing on standardized testing is to continue === Thesis (M.Ed.) - Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction