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Full-Text Articles in Education
Agonism In A Classroom Discussion On Strindberg's Miss Julie, Emma N. Tysklind, Linn Areskoug, Eva Hultin
Agonism In A Classroom Discussion On Strindberg's Miss Julie, Emma N. Tysklind, Linn Areskoug, Eva Hultin
Democracy and Education
In many parts of the world, researchers and policymakers alike report possible threats to democracy and its institutions. Accounts in the media of hatred and threats aimed at people taking part in public discourse, and of a polarized political debate, raise general questions about the current state and future of democratic dialogue and processes. Solutions are sought, by both research and policy, in the educational context. Some researchers have turned to the agonistic theory proposed by Chantal Mouffe, highlighting the democratic role of conflict and dissent. Empirical research on agonism in education is, however, scarce. In this article, we explore …
Beyond Just Techniques: Toward Deliberation Facilitation That Minimizes Harm. A Response To “Deliberative Facilitation In The Classroom: The Interplay Of Facilitative Technique And Design To Make Space For Democracy”, Wayne Journell
Democracy and Education
In "Deliberative Facilitation in the Classroom: The Interplay of Facilitative Techniques and Design to Make Space for Democracy," the authors offered several useful techniques for the facilitation of standard classroom deliberations. However, not all open controversial issues are created equal, and many have the potential to implicate student identities. In those cases, it is imperative that facilitators move beyond basic techniques and think about how to conduct deliberations that protect marginalized students and do not validate systemic injustices. In this response to "Deliberative Facilitation in the Classroom," I extend upon the authors' argument and offer suggestions for how to effectively …
Writing That Counts: Grounding A Critique Of The Common Core English Language Arts Standards In Classroom Memories, Katie Nagrotsky, Anaisbely Franjul Grullon
Writing That Counts: Grounding A Critique Of The Common Core English Language Arts Standards In Classroom Memories, Katie Nagrotsky, Anaisbely Franjul Grullon
Democracy and Education
The authors of this article call upon classroom memories to demonstrate the harm of the standardized testing apparatus in the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. Goal setting under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has led to targeted school intervention based on metrics, and many states have chosen to double down on standardized ELA and math test data to determine the quality of a school, student learning, and teacher effectiveness. The authors argue that the assessments associated with the ELA Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are harmful to all students, and particularly students from marginalized communities whose literacies are not …
Supporting Students To Read Complex Texts On Civic Issues: The Role Of Scaffolded Reading Instruction In Democratic Education, Shira Eve Epstein
Supporting Students To Read Complex Texts On Civic Issues: The Role Of Scaffolded Reading Instruction In Democratic Education, Shira Eve Epstein
Democracy and Education
This paper discusses the role of scaffolded reading instruction in democratic education. Focusing on a case study of a high school civic unit on the Syrian civil war and refugee crisis, it argues the importance of such reading instruction. Students noted the challenges they experienced when reading complex texts on the topic. Yet, scaffolded reading activities that helped students interpret and respond to the texts yielded student engagement with disciplinary material and were praised by the students. This paper illustrates the use of such supports and discusses the ramifications of their absence.
The Foot And The Flag: Patriotism, Place, And The Teaching Of War In A Military Town, Brian Gibbs
The Foot And The Flag: Patriotism, Place, And The Teaching Of War In A Military Town, Brian Gibbs
Democracy and Education
This manuscript describes the patriotism taught and not taught by nine teachers to the children of soldiers near a military base in the American South. The nine teachers, all participants in a qualitative study, detail the pressures endured and the pedagogical and curricular decisions made as result. The teachers experienced social and political pressure from the broader community to avoid controversial or complex issues, fear that complicated teaching troubling more simple notions of patriotism would stress or possibly traumatize their students (the children of soldiers), and pressure to teach within the district-assigned curriculum map. The teachers responded in different ways. …
Supporting Students' Choice And Voice In Discovering Empathy, Imagination, And Why Literature Matters More Than Ever, Kimberly Hill Campbell
Supporting Students' Choice And Voice In Discovering Empathy, Imagination, And Why Literature Matters More Than Ever, Kimberly Hill Campbell
Democracy and Education
This article explores why we need to be intentional about the literature we explore in our English language arts classrooms. It explores the question of what literature should be considered and strategies for using democratic practices in support of literature circles. It also reinforces the importance of collaborative practitioner research to explore curriculum decisions and classroom practice to ensure we are meeting the needs of the diverse students with whom we work.
Developing Political Thinking And Discussion Skills In Civics Classrooms. A Book Review Of Teaching Politics In Secondary Education: Engaging With Contentious Issues, Patricia G. Avery
Developing Political Thinking And Discussion Skills In Civics Classrooms. A Book Review Of Teaching Politics In Secondary Education: Engaging With Contentious Issues, Patricia G. Avery
Democracy and Education
In Teaching Politics in Secondary Education: Engaging with Contentious Issues, Wayne Journell displays his passion for politics, teaching, and research. He provides secondary social studies teachers and teacher educators with practical ideas for reorienting civics and government instruction toward the political sphere as it is, not the idealized politics often portrayed in textbooks. Drawing heavily from his research on civics classes during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Journell focused on two primary instructional goals: developing students' skills in political (or policy) thinking and discussions of controversial political issues. This accessible, informative, and inspiring book offers teachers a good first …
Political Simulations: An Opportunity For Meaningful Democratic Participation In Schools, Isolde De Groot
Political Simulations: An Opportunity For Meaningful Democratic Participation In Schools, Isolde De Groot
Democracy and Education
Political simulations are considered promising tools to instigate democratic learning in schools. This article reports a qualitative inquiry into student involvement in the organization of the 2012 mock elections—the shadow elections that schools can organize in conjunction with the official elections—in eight high schools in the Netherlands. The objective of this inquiry is twofold: to evaluate student involvement in mock elections in these schools and to lay the theoretical groundwork for further quantitative inquiries into student participation in political events. For the deductive analysis of student roles in organizing the mock election, I adapted Fielding and Moss’s (2012) “patterns of …
Last Year's Choice Is This Year's Voice: Valuing Democratic Practices In The Classroom Through Student-Selected Literature, Michael D. Boatright, Amelia Allman
Last Year's Choice Is This Year's Voice: Valuing Democratic Practices In The Classroom Through Student-Selected Literature, Michael D. Boatright, Amelia Allman
Democracy and Education
The authors of this article explore democratic practices in the classroom by using student-selected literature. After multiple class sets of student-selected young adult novels were purchased using grant money, the authors set out to see what happens in a classroom when student choice is at the forefront of pedagogical decision-making and how students resonated with and voiced their experiences reading about those chosen novels. Because canonical texts are often used to help students understand allusions in contemporary texts, one adolescent novel and one canonical novel became the focal points for this project. With democratic practices undergirding this project, the authors …
Deliberating Public Policy Issues With Adolescents: Classroom Dynamics And Sociocultural Considerations, Margaret S. Crocco, Avner Segall, Anne-Lise S. Halvorsen, Rebecca J. Jacobsen
Deliberating Public Policy Issues With Adolescents: Classroom Dynamics And Sociocultural Considerations, Margaret S. Crocco, Avner Segall, Anne-Lise S. Halvorsen, Rebecca J. Jacobsen
Democracy and Education
Classroom discussion and deliberation have been widely touted in the research literature as a centerpiece of high quality civic education. Empirical studies, however, of such processes are relatively few. In a public policy deliberation on immigration conducted in three Midwestern high schools during the academic year 2015–16, the authors found that analysis of a set of deliberations on the subject of immigration policy in the United States reveals the ways in which sociocultural identity aspects of the settings and participants influenced the processes and dynamics of these classroom events. Reflecting upon this analysis suggests a set of factors that reveal …