This paper has two main purposes. The first, more informational, is to introduce, re-introduce, the German-Nordic concept of "Bildung" to Canadian environmental education. This includes a brief attempt to define, a short overview of its history which stretches back to the Eighteenth century at least, and then an exploration of why and…

Scholars in the field of education for sustainable development argue that it is vital that educators take emotions into account when teaching about global problems such as climate change. How to do this in the best way is still debated, however. This article aims to contribute to this discussion by arguing for the importance of critical emotional…

As Social Studies teachers with decades of combined experience and as teacher educators at a predominantly white midwestern university, the authors center their curriculum around teaching challenging and whole histories, analyzing primary sources, and creating classroom community spaces where difficult dialogues can safely happen. While the…

This paper examines yard signs as a site for public pedagogy that engages two concurrent, and comorbid, public health crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and racism. Specifically, I reflect on how yard signs responding to the George Floyd murder in my own Minneapolis neighborhood exist during a kairotic moment; as myself and my students are increasingly…

This paper attends to the emotional and affective relations that manifest through political discussions in secondary classrooms. In particular, the focus is on the dynamics of classrooms during discussions of political issues. Specific attention is given to interpretations of movements and manifestations of emotions as well as the ways that…

Cases like that of John Howard Yoder--a pacifist theorist who perpetrated sexual violence--raise difficult questions about teaching material implicated in traumatic pasts. This paper argues that "moral injury" provides a useful framework for understanding the dynamics of teaching prominent cases of tainted legacies like Yoder's and for…

Recent examples of police brutality perpetrated against black bodies have called into question issues of class and race relations in the USA. State forms like schooling reconstitute social and racial inequities and allow the perpetuation of abuses. In this cultural moment, this essay turns to two texts by Roger Simon, "Teaching Against the…

The authors argue that deliberation should be an integral part of secondary civics classrooms and teacher education programs. Drawing on a wide range of research, they contend that teaching and learning deliberative skills has the potential to build individual and group civic capacity. They share some of the results of an evaluation of one…

The Chinese Communist Party has invoked the Faure report as part of a large-scale learning initiative involving 61 cities and numerous streets, neighbourhoods and villages. By embracing western ideas and infusing them with Chinese characteristics, the Central School of the Communist Party has embarked on what looks increasingly like the 5th…

Literacy educators are troubled by the isolated nature of many contemporary reading programs. Too often in middle school classrooms, students read alone, take computerized tests, and do not engage in authentic dialogue with peers. In this article, the authors argue that reading texts individually, while necessary, is not sufficient, and through…

Notes that social issues books can enrich the understanding of history and life by giving voice to those who have traditionally been silenced or marginalized. Discusses how these books show how people can begin to take action on important social issues and rarely end with "they lived happily ever after." Presents four accounts of teaching with…

Provides demographic profiles from "Executive Educator's" fourth annual survey of U.S. school executives. Regarding disaster preparedness, only a small percentage of all districts in earthquake-prone areas have earthquake and fire action plans. Concerning controversial issues, teaching about substance abuse, child abuse, and teen suicide meets…

This article discusses the results of a mainly qualitative study into possible impacts of recent controversial socio-scientific issues on a group of Portuguese secondary school students regarding their conceptions about scientists. The 86 participants: (1) answered a questionnaire with open-ended questions; and (2) wrote a science fiction story…

This study is a history of the societal-problems approach in social studies education as revealed in secondary school social studies textbooks used in Problems of Democracy courses from 1895 to 1985. The central thesis is that the definition of the problems approach and the problems selected for study by educators as illustrated by the textbooks…

Discusses theoretical and practical problems arising from an educational and political commitment to challenging racism through geography teaching. Focuses on student reactions to the anti-racist approach by reviewing the findings of an evaluation of a course taught at University College London. Provides teaching strategies for using this…