Socio-scientific issues, which are often controversial, involve the use of science and are of interest to society, raising ethical and moral dilemmas. Examples of these issues could include genetic technology or air pollution. Following a curriculum reform in England in 2006, socioscientific issues now have a heightened presence in the 14-16…

In this article, a veteran teacher expresses the importance of drawing on the life-texts of students and recognizing the ways that personal experience influences a student's perception of the world.

The content of sex education in government-funded schools in the USA varies dramatically and reflects its contested nature and goals. Drawing from 50 interviews with sex educators working in the public, government-funded school system in a Midwestern US state, this study explores the processes through which sex educators decide what and how to…

As the current issues about the nature and quality of education are disseminated through the media, gifted students are privy to these issues and educators should be concerned about the intellectual and affective consequences they might have on this population of students. Teaching gifted students to become politically savvy enables them to…

The University of South Africa (UNISA) has recently redesigned its honors degree in Gender Studies. The course design team members have been mindful of three key factors while redesigning this degree. First, we are aligning our course design with the demands of open and distance learning (ODL) and UNISA's institutional move to online delivery of…

This article addresses some of the curriculum implications of adopting a socioscientific issues (SSIs)-oriented approach to science education, including (a) the need to provide scientific knowledge on a need-to-know basis and adapted to the complexity, multidimensionality, and fluidity of real-world situations and the constraints of particular…

Preparing a generation of citizens to respond to the impacts of climate change will require collaborative interactions between natural scientists, learning scientists, educators and learners. Promoting effective involvement of scientists in climate change education is especially important as climate change science and climate impacts are…

This study explores the enactment and evolution of moral education in Beijing, China. In particular, the author examines the extent to which moral education teachers develop reflective thinking and broach controversial issues within their classrooms. Drawing on interview data from secondary moral education (deyu) teachers, professors who prepare…

The latest round in Canada's History Wars was set off by reports on May 2, 2013, that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage was going to "undertake a thorough and comprehensive review of significant aspects in Canadian history." As details of the Heritage Committee's review emerged, controversy erupted as politicians, historians,…

Communicative self-efficacy serves as an important link between discussing controversial issues and civic engagement because confidence in one's discourse skills is important to managing conflicting perspectives and developing solutions to community-based problems. Freely available to schools, "Word Generation" is a cross-content…

The purpose of this phenomenological multi-case study was to explore with four secondary social studies teachers their experiences teaching controversial issues. Through a better understanding of the motivation of these teachers, the successes and challenges they experienced, and the strategies they utilized, more informed decisions about teaching…

Over the past two decades, sexual citizenship has emerged as a new form of citizenship coupled with increased interest in the challenges to citizenship and social justice faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and, in particular, by sexual minority youth within education systems. In South Africa, the rights of…

Teaching social studies from a global perspective has been resisted by many since its inception (Kirkwood, 2009). Critics have labeled the theory anti-American and unpatriotic (Schlafly, 1986; Burack, 2001). Others are concerned with its shifting perspectives and apparent lack of core facts (Finn, 1988). Over time, some critics have changed their…

There is a divide between what students are being taught within the science classroom and what they experience out in the real world. This study sought to explore possible relationships between a socioscientific issues embedded curriculum and outcome variables addressing environmental attitude and knowledge, oral and written argumentation and…

The emergence of the SuperPACs in American politics is a major issue in the current election. SuperPACs, and the media campaigns they fund, also present a major challenge for media and democratic education. This article explores the issues surrounding SuperPACs and the rise of media in elections and politics in general, and presents some starting…