Teaching Social Studies as Edgework in Chinese International Schools

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Complex Identities: Historical Inquiry and Citizenship in Education (Table 6)

Abstract

Teaching with controversial issues requires careful attention to context, and Chinese international schools pose a unique combination of risk for foreign social studies teachers who teach Chinese students in an authoritarian state. Contained risk-taking (Pace, 2019; 2021) provides a theoretical framework for analyzing teacher practices to contain risk while also taking it, but extant research has omitted teachers at Chinese international schools. This interview study investigated how these teachers use contained risk-taking while teaching safely with controversial issues. The experiences of ten participants, seven social studies teachers and three administrators, revealed the ways in which teachers reduced risk and adapted their methods to protect controversial issue discussions. Findings suggest possible adaptation for teachers in other difficult contexts.

Author

• Kyle P. O'Brien, Indiana University