"I Don't Want to Give Them More": Teacher Identity, Disclosure Dilemmas, and Framing Controversial Issues

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Sixteen
  In Roundtable Session: Social Studies Teachers' Decisions, Disclosures, and Dilemmas (Table 10)

Abstract

Discussing controversial issues in schools serves the academic and democratic aims of schooling. This qualitative case study explored the role of one teacher’s identity in her approach to disclosure and controversial issues in her eighth-grade social studies classroom. Data sources for this entirely virtual study conducted fall 2020 included classroom observations, teacher interviews, a teacher’s journal, and instructional materials. Findings reveal the teacher attempted neutrality when teaching controversial issues like the 2020 presidential election, but included racism and White supremacy in her curriculum as settled topics integral to the curriculum. The teacher’s identity as a Black woman influenced how she framed issues in her classroom and the extent to which she shared her own opinions.

Author

• Casey Holmes, Drake University
  Presenting Author