Session Information
99 ERC SES 08 M, Research on Citizenship Education
Paper Session
Contribution
Liberal democracy is in crisis (Sant, 2021). The deepening of structural inequalities, ideological polarization, and advancing neo-fascist discourses are concrete manifestations of this scenario (Askanius & Mylonas, 2015). In the educational field, efforts have been made to address this panorama through education for democratic citizenship (EDC) (Eurydice, 2018; UNESCO, 2016). An ECD pedagogical response is the discussion of controversial issues (DCI) (Cassar, 2023; Ho et al., 2017), where teachers and students exchange perspectives based on empathetic listening and deliberation on matters of difficult consensus. Migration policies, hate speech in social media, and the State´s role in facing wealth concentration are examples of controversial issues that spark hated debates in the public space.
Researchers in EDC argue that DCI among school students has high educational potential (Ho et al., 2017). In addition, they maintain that DCI promotes the acquisition of civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes for democratic life (Kohlmeier & Saye, 2014; Misco, 2016). They also suggest that schools are ideal contexts for discussing controversial issues since there is more social and ideological diversity than students usually find in their social circle of belonging (Parker, 2010).
Based on the above, DCI in the school classroom has represented a relevant area of research for citizenship education (e.g., Hess & McAvoy, 2015; Journell, 2022; Wansink et al., 2023). Recently, Theory & Research in Social Education, one of the most important journals in the area, has published that "Why teachers address unplanned controversial issues in the classroom" (Cassar et al. 2023) was the most downloaded article of 2023. This data shows the considerable interest in this topic.
Unfortunately, studies report that DCI in a school context is rare and is concentrated in social studies. The teachers' lack of knowledge and training experiences and the fear of the reactions of students, families, and administrators are among the main reasons for their low presence (Cassar et al., 2023). However, recent literature has shown that discussion of public controversies arises spontaneously in the classroom. Discussing controversial issues at school occurs as unplanned and unforeseen experiences to which the literature needs to pay more attention (Cassar et al., 2023; Pace, 2021).
Considering this background, we set out to systematically review empirical studies that have deployed DCI among primary and secondary students in different school areas (e.g., sciences, arts, social studies). The questions that guided our review were: What findings about students learning in discussing controversial issues at schools are reported on empirical research? What unforeseen situations during the discussion are informed by the literature?
Our review contributes to the field of EDC and to academics interested in DCI in the school space first because it maps the production of knowledge in the area and recognizes research gaps second because it identifies research and findings from different school areas, not just social studies. Third, because informs teacher educators and teachers in preparation and practice about the characteristics and challenges of teaching strategies for DCI and contributes to their institutional and didactic decisions.
Method
We analysed articles published between 2012-2023 in Web Of Science, Scopus, and Scielo. These databases lead the academic discussion of American, European, and Ibero-American concerts. For the search, we developed a syntax with words associated with three dimensions: discussion of controversial issues, citizenship education, and students' educational level. The words we combined were deliberation, discussion, controversial issues, conflict teaching, citizenship education, civic education, citizen training, citizenship teaching, student, elementary school, primary education, key stage 1, key stage 2, school middle, secondary, and K 12. Following the PRISMA protocol (Page et al., 2021) we applied inclusion and exclusion criteria to 451 articles obtained from the three databases. The focus of the search was to find empirical research that activated discussions among school students to identify their findings regarding student learning and unforeseen situations. Therefore, and under expert judgment, we excluded literature reviews, quantitative works that analysed secondary databases, documentary studies, works on conceptions and beliefs of students and teachers, research on teacher training in preparation and service, theoretical articles, and research that did not have DCI as an object of study. The 30 selected articles were subjected to systematization. We register the theoretical approach, design, purposes, sample, country, school level, teaching strategy, topics under discussion, learning findings, and unforeseen situations. The reflective thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the findings resulted in four emergent themes: a. the conceptual complexity of DCI; referred to the evidence presented by empirical studies about the sophistication of the conceptual complexity that encourages the discussion of controversies among school students; b. the skills to participate in DCI; referred to the evidence presented by studies in the area regarding the gain of discussion skills by the students; c. the role of DCI in critical analysis of the reality; referred to the findings that show the benefits of discussion for reflection and questioning of reality; d. DCI for social coexistence; referred to the results of a group of research that showed the contribution of discussion to the promotion of democratic values, such as empathy and collaboration. To answer the second question of the review, we decided to report the unforeseen situations reported by the literature for each of the four major themes.
Expected Outcomes
We present the results of the review with two focuses. The first refers to the presentation of a mapping of empirical research in the area (geographical origin, methodologies, school levels, teachers' participation, teaching strategies, discussed topics). The second focus responds to the review questions by reporting the four categories from the qualitative analysis. We decided to write the unforeseen situations for each of the four major themes to answer the second review question. Some of these situations are rapid acceptance of the conclusions raised in the discussion, search for the correct answer in the face of controversy, censorship, verbal aggression, and emotional silence of some students. A relevant finding of our review is that most unforeseen events coexist with learning contributions. We discuss the results of the review with some emphasis. First, we expose challenges for the academic community around the democratization of knowledge production and the relationship during fieldwork with school teachers. Second, we will present our point of view on the results that show the coexistence between the contributions of DCI to student learning and unforeseen events associated with undemocratic practices. An agonistic and affective perspective of DCI could constitute an alternative to face this challenge. Finally, we present the value of our review for trainer educators and pre-service and practicing teachers interested in citizenship education through DCI. The presence of the DCI in university and school contexts is relevant. However, the international literature review poses challenge we must face through collective reflection and specific pedagogical proposals. ECER 2024 is a great space to promote discussion and create possible scenarios. We acknowledge Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo ANID and Beca de Doctorado Nacional 21220336 and Fondecyt 1241017 for the funding that supports these research processes and outputs.
References
Askanius, T. y Y. Mylonas (2015): “Extreme-right Responses to the European Economic Crisis in Denmark and Sweden: The Discursive Construction of Scapegoats and Lodestars”, Journal of the European Institute for Communication and Culture, 22(1), pp. 55-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2015.1017249 Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa Cassar, Ch., Oosterheert, I. & Meijer, P. (2023) Why teachers address unplanned controversial issues in the classroom, Theory & Research in Social Education, 51:2, 233-263, 10.1080/00933104.2022.2163948 European Commission, European, E., Culture Executive, A., Sigalas, E., & De Coster, I. (2019). Citizenship education at school in Europe, 2017. Publications Office Hess, D. E., & McAvoy, P. (2015). The political classroom: Evidence and ethics in democratic education. Routledge. Ho, L.-C., McAvoy, P., Hess, D., & Gibbs, B. (2017). Teaching and learning about controversial issues and topics in the social studies: A review of the research. In C. M. Bolick & M. M. Manfra (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of social studies research (pp. 321–335). Wiley Blackwell. Journell, W. (2022). Classroom Controversy in the Midst of Political Polarization: The Essential Role of School Administrators. NASSP Bulletin, 106(2), 133-153. https://doi.org/10.1177/01926365221100589 Kohlmeier, J., & Saye, J. W. (2014). Ethical Reasoning of U.S. High School Seniors Exploring Just Versus Unjust Laws. Theory & Research in Social Education, 42(4), 548-578. https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.2014.966218 Misco, T. (2016). “We are only looking for the right answers”: The challenges of controversial issue instruction in South Korea. Asia Pacific Journal Education, 36(3), 332-349. 10.1080/02188791.2014.940031 Pace, J. L. (2021). Hard questions: Learning to teach controversial issues. Rowman & Littlefield. Page, M. J., J. E. McKenzie, P. M. Bossuyt, I. Boutron, T. C. Hoffmann, C. D. Mulrow, et al. 2021. “The PRISMA 2020 Statement: An Updated Guideline for Reporting Systematic Reviews.” BMJ 372 (71), doi:10.1136/bmj.n71. Parker, W. (2010). Listening to strangers: Classroom discussion in democratic education. Teachers College Record, 112(11), 2815-2832. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811011201104 Sant, E. (2021). Educación política para una democracia radical. Revista Departamento de Ciencia Política, 20, 138-157. https://doi.org/10.15446/frdcp.n20.84203 Unesco. (2016). Educación para la ciudadanía mundial: preparar a los educandos para los retos del siglo XXI. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000244957 Wansink, B. G. J., Mol, H., Kortekaas, J., & Mainhard, T. (2023). Discussing controversial issues in the classroom: Exploring students' safety perceptions and their willingness to participate. Teaching and Teacher Education, 125, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104044
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