Conflict and Resolution in Teacher Education: Understanding the Role of Disagreement in Democratic Education

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-20 - Democratic Citizenship in Education SIG Paper Discussion (Roundtable) Session 2

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a study that explored the role of deliberative decision-making during the Foxfire Course for Teachers, an professional development course that provides teachers with opportunities to collectively structure the course while participating in it. Whereas many democratic teaching practices allow for deliberation, the Foxfire Course for Teachers takes this a step further by empowering teachers to make actual decisions and allocate resources. Drawing upon interview and observation data collected during three separate ethnographic case studies, this paper focuses on how conflict arises during deliberation and the ways in which it is resolved. The paper argues that preparing teachers to facilitate deliberative democracy in their classrooms requires them to have concrete experiences with conflict during deliberation.

Author

• Kiel Francis Harell, University of Minnesota - Morris