Student Diversity Challenges in Learning to Teach Controversial Issues: Implications for Social Studies Teacher Education

• In Event: Contemporary Issues in Social Studies Teacher Education

Abstract

Teaching controversial issues is urgently needed but students who are racially, economically, and/or educationally privileged have greater access than students identified with groups traditionally marginalized in schools and society. This paper presents an analysis of fifteen preservice teachers, located at universities in Northern Ireland, England, and the United States, and their learning to teach controversial issues. It focuses on PSTs’ perspectives on teaching in lower- versus higher-track classes, in non-selective versus selective schools, and with students identified as racial/ethnic minorities, immigrants, and working-class as well as politically polarized. The paper raises questions about how teacher education prepares PSTs to expand rather than foreclose access to democratic learning opportunities for students who need them most.

Author

• Judy L. Pace, University of San Francisco