The issue of parental control over public school curricula has been a longstanding concern, with courts generally limiting the extent of parental influence. While the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes parents' right to choose educational settings, it has not granted them the authority to dictate public school curricula or demand exemptions. Lower…

A diverse democracy brings together people whose differences include partisan leanings, life experiences, histories, religious beliefs, racial identities, and sexual orientations to address common problems and build a shared future. Social studies educators can help prepare youth to pursue this goal by advancing core commitments to respectful and…

The spring 2025 teacher survey--developed by EdChoice and conducted by Morning Consult between March 21-27, 2025, among a sample of 1,032 teachers--reveals a strong rebound in teacher morale, classroom conditions, and support for educational options. After hitting a low point last year, teachers are now reporting meaningful improvements--and a…

This article sought to give an overview of different interpretations and characterizations of socioscientific issues (SSIs) by identifying single entities that could form components of SSI and give examples of where single entities were combined to involve SSI in enhancing scientific literacy. Through a narrative literature review, the article…

Even after you have decided to tackle a problem like racial equity, it may seem daunting to broach the subject in a physics classroom. After all, the idea of a (typically White) instructor in power tackling a sensitive topic such as social justice can be scary in any (mostly White) classroom. Not only that, but physics is typically viewed as a…

If the authors have learned anything working with schools across the United States, they've learned this: When it comes to educational equity, the trouble is not a lack of multicultural programs or diversity initiatives in schools. Nor is it a lack of educators who appreciate and even champion diversity. The trouble lies in how so many diversity…

This article addresses the pedagogical choices and the visceral reverberations involved in teaching porn in the university classroom. The author discusses different aims and goals for teaching pornography, as well as the some key pedagogical considerations and options involved in this, drawing on her own experiences teaching porn in Finnish gender…

What happens when a class assignment becomes a source of controversy? How do we respond? What do we learn? By describing the controversy surrounding an assignment on religion and representation, this article examines conflict's productive role in teaching about New Religious Movements (NRMs) and religion. It suggests that we consider how our…

A primary rationale for studying the Holocaust (Shoah) involves the opportunity to consider the moral implications that can be drawn from examining the event. Studying the Shoah forces students to consider what it means to be human and humane by examining the full continuum of individual behavior, from "ultimate evil" to "ultimate good". This…

In preparing cadets to be officers, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (CGA) is committed to developing "the whole person." CGA has increasingly developed program-specific ways to achieve educational goals and learning outcomes. While character development and ethical education have long been important learning outcomes, today's CGA curriculum…

How can teachers effectively use documentary film to teach history, and toward what goals? This article addresses these important questions by: (1) exploring what we know about secondary teachers' practices with documentary film and secondary students' beliefs about documentary film as a source of knowledge about the past, (2) proposing a…

This paper challenges a pervasive curricular justification for educationally acquainting young people with stories of genocide and other moral horrors from history. According to this justification, doing so favours the development of psycho-social soft skills connected with interpersonal awareness and the establishment and maintenance of positive…

Students are well served by course simulations that employ active learning styles and student-driven interaction. For debate on political issues, particular public policies are quite effective in stimulating that discussion. We developed an in-class simulation of political debate on the issue of Social Security. We describe the simulation itself,…

What is a teacher to do when confronted with a student who says "I understand that theory (e.g., evolution), but I don't believe it"? The purpose of this article is to provide a rationale for answering this question. First we describe the various ways in which the terms "know/knowledge" and "believe/belief" are used and summarize the distinctions…

The reasons for offering a course in bioethics to law students and some approaches to take in addressing controversial issues are examined. The use of hypothetical vs. real cases, emphasis on clinical problems, and overall course objectives are discussed. (MSE)