Journal of Social Science Education (JSSE - Universität Bielefeld)
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Report on the Present Trainer Training Course of the Pestalozzi Programme (Council of Europe) “Evaluation of Transversal Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge” (Module A)
Get PDFTurkish Social Studies Teachers’ Thoughts About the Teaching of Controversial Issues
Get PDFIn today’s world, one of the primary goals of education is to raise individuals as citizens equipped with the skills of communication, high-level thinking, problem solving and questioning as well as with a global viewpoint. Introducing controversial issues into the classroom environment may be among the steps to be taken to achieve these goals. In this context, this study has the primary goal of revealing Social Studies teachers’ thoughts about the teaching of controversial issues in the classroom environment. This study adopted mixed methods. The study participants consisted of Social Studies teachers working in Bursa, which is a large-scale province of Turkey, in the 2014-2015 school year. According to the study findings, while terror was the most controversial issue, faith in creation was the least controversial issue. In addition, teachers mainly preferred to introduce issues related to the Social Studies curriculum and that were appropriate for the students’ preparedness. However, another result is that controversial issues contributed to students’ acquisition of personal critical skills such as high-level thinking and communication. It was also observed that the teaching of controversial issues was related to the Social Studies lesson and was important for the achievement of the goals of the lesson
Unintended Revelations in History Textbooks: The Precarious Authenticity and Historical Continuity of the Slovak Nation
Get PDFPurpose: This article proposes an analytical framework that helps to identify and challenge misconceptions of ethnocentrism found in pre-tertiary teaching resources for history and the social sciences in numerous countries.Design: Drawing on nationalism studies, the analytical framework employs ideas known under the umbrella terms of primordialism, constructivism and ethno-symbolism. In applying it, the conceptualisation of the Slovak nation, as presented in the history textbooks currently used in lower secondary schools in Slovakia, is examined as a case study.Findings: A conceptually inconsistent picture emerges from the findings, displaying prevailing patterns of primordialism and a degree of ethno-symbolism. Nevertheless, the article concludes that history textbooks lend, on a number of occasions, unintended support to constructivism. Hence, both this inconsistency in theoretical approach, and frequent use of problematic assumptions based on primordialism and ethno-symbolism show that the attempts of textbooks’ authors to demonstrate the authenticity and historical continuity of the Slovak nation remain precarious.Research implications: The analytical framework used in this article is well-suited for multi-country examinations of national narratives in curricula and textbooks of history and the social sciences.Practical implications: Teaching materials and pedagogic approaches drawing on constructivism could enhance critical engagement with ethnocentrism in Slovakia and beyond.
Drama and Citizenship - Devised Drama for Education
Get PDFPurpose: In this article I will give an example of a linguistic program I have been doing with sixth form college students from Finland and the Netherland and link this action research to the meaning of drama education, and of the potential of devised drama as a part of civic Education.Method: I will explain the theory of devised drama, then I will highlight the research and finally, I will conclude the research findings. The analytical framework used in this article is well-suited for drama education with youth. I would like to characterize drama education dramaturgy not as Aristotelian nor Brechtian, but as an \u27open or joint - making together - dramaturgy\u27.Findings: The term \u27drama\u27 is often used to describe the process of making work that does not necessarily demand an outside audience, and \u27theatre\u27 to identify work, that is focused on performing to an outside audience. \u27Devised drama\u27 relies both on process and product. Leaning how to make devised drama is an important as learning about its processes and start thinking: \u27why we came up with these ideas of us and fictional drama world?\u2
“Mobilising for the Values of the Republic”- France\u27s Education Policy Response to the “Fragmented Society”: A Commented Press Review
Get PDFPurpose: This article focuses on recent developments in the domain of civic education in the French education system, the new programme on “Enseignement moral et civique” (EMC), and the debate about the relevance of the basic values of the Republic which came up after the terror attacks in January 2015.Method: The study is based on a press review which provides a contrastive choice of exemplary texts from different perspectives (e.g. educational policy documents, scientific and journalistic articles, interviews, statements of teachers and experts) collected between January 2015 and March 2016.Findings: The contribution examines public reflections on the design and implementation of the programme and gives an overview of the aims, content and methods of the new initiative to teach values in schools
Why We Need to Question the Democratic Engagement of Adolescents in Europe
Get PDFSince the beginning of the 21st century, academics in various disciplines have stressed the need to address democratic deficits in Europe as well as lacunae in the citizenship development of European youth. In this article we explore the value of various types of democratic engagement for strengthening the democratic character of local and international communities throughout Europe. To this end, we present our democratic engagement typology and its derivation from empirical and conceptual research, and discuss several strengths and limitations of each type of engagement. We also explain the additive value of our typology in relation to existing engagement typologies, and conclude that in order to vitalize democratic communities, local and (inter)national communities and institutions also need to cultivate a thick type of democratic engagement among European youth
Economics from a Different Point of View − Good Practice in Teacher Training: How to Handle, Use and Judge External Standardized Tests in Schools
Get PDFThe Economic Actions in Education training module (EAE) teaches how to handle, use and judge external standardized tests in schools. The EAE programme was implemented in teacher training at the University of Kiel, because teachers are increasingly under external scrutiny and are being held accountable for student and school achievements. The EAE programme includes a reader (in English), through which prospective teachers understand and analyze core terms of the field. Furthermore, different didactical methods such as think-pair-share, role play and short lectures provide a group dynamic in which students gain an insight into standardized tests at a macro level. Students learn what is involved in standardized tests and they develop the ability to make a critical judgement about how they will use or refuse standardized tests in schools. EAE enables teachers to use standardized tests for curriculum and instruction improvement as well as refuse standardized tests to highlight autonomous teaching and decline governance from outside
Real-World Engagement with Controversial Issues in History and Social Studies: Teaching for Transformative Experiences and Conceptual Change
Get PDFControversial issues have been established within the larger framework of civic education as an effective pedagogical approach to developing critical thinking in the classroom, preparing students with intellectual habits necessary for participation in scholarship, civic life and democracy. In this study, we found that a pedagogical intervention, Teaching for Transformative Experience in History, in some cases led to significantly higher engagement with political concepts beyond the classroom, and in other cases, the intervention led to significantly improved conceptual change. The study addresses some of the challenges presented by the research on civic education, providing a potential framework for developing pedagogical practice in history and social studies education that grounds a participatory, meaning-making process in curriculum design and assessment framed by controversial issues
Argument, Counterargument, and Integration? Patterns of Argument Reappraisal in Controversial Classroom Discussions
Get PDFBeing challenged by opposing views in a controversial discussion can stimulate the production of more elaborate and sophisticated argumentations. According to the model of argument reappraisal (Leitão, 2000), such processes require transactivity, meaning that students do not only give reasons to support their own position (e.g., pro/contra argument) but also try to refute the opponent’s claims (e.g., counterargument) and respond to critique (e.g., integration). However, there is little research in the field of political education that systematically examines how processes of argument reappraisal unfold in student-centered classroom discussions when students were asked to defend (randomly) assigned positions (pro/contra). In this study, four civic education classes (8th/9th grade) in Germany received the same standardized political learning unit and conducted a controversial fishbowl discussion. A total of 452 argumentative moves were coded for argumentative transactivity. The characteristics of this type of discourse will be described regarding the use of argumentative moves and the complexity of argumentations. Explorative sequential analyses revealed five patterns of argument reappraisal that will be illustrated by transcript excerpts