Are Teachers Still Not Free? Taking Stock of Academic Freedom for Teachers a Century After Beale

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Six
  In Roundtable Session: Freedom Dreaming, Freedom Teaching (Table 19)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an international survey of teachers’ perspectives on academic freedom in the workplace. We questioned 173 social studies and science teachers from the United States and Canada about the importance of academic freedom, their level of comfort in broaching controversial themes, and the factors that influence decision making in this area. The study found that teachers value academic freedom despite being keenly aware of how limited their academic freedom is in practice. It also revealed that, while teachers are highly attuned to the professional risks associated with dealing with controversial subjects, their degree of cautiousness varies significantly depending on the topic, whether they have tenure, and the political climate of the area where they work.

Authors

• Bruce Maxwell, Université de Montréal
  Presenting Author

• David Isaac Waddington, Concordia University
  Presenting Author

• Kevin McDonough, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tessa MacLean, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nasim Tavassoli, Concordia University - Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author