The banner above is a photo I took of student artwork at Lagan College in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Teaching Controversies
Welcome to Judy Pace’s website on Teaching Controversies.Teaching controversial issues means exploring important questions about the past, present, and future that generate disagreement. A cornerstone of democratic education, it engages classroom learners in inquiry and dialogue on differing perspectives on those questions, informed by evidence, lived experience, and values. Here you will find research-based tools and guidance for taking up the methodology of teaching controversial issues. These tools have been used in a variety of national contexts, including the U.S., Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Controversial issues explored in the classroom can range from global to local levels, for example:
- What should be the boundaries of free speech?
- What is a fair refugee policy?
- Who benefited from South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation process?
- How should the genocide at Srebrenica be commemorated?
- What should be done with controversial public monuments and controversial art?
- Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
- Was building the Geary Expressway in San Francisco racist?
- How should schools deal with racist content on students’ private social media accounts?
Remains of the monument to British colonialist Cecil Rhodes at the University of Cape Town.
The Need
Teaching controversial issues is urgently needed to cultivate young people’s ability to examine and exchange ideas about important questions that matter to them and their society. Discussion of controversial issues develops critical thinking, discussion skills, and political engagement. But taking up controversy in the classroom can be risky and fraught with tension, so teachers need guidance, tools, and support to do this work thoughtfully and skillfully. Which issues should we bring into the classroom, how should we frame them, and what methods and resources should we use? How do we best foster student engagement? How do we deal with issues that bear on teacher and student identities, community allegiances, and emotions? How can we explore controversial issues with students while managing the risks of teaching in an
intensely polarized political climate?
Should teachers disclose their own views?
One of the peace walls built during the Troubles in Northern Ireland to separate Protestant and Catholic communities.
The Book
Hard Questions: Learning to Teach Controversial Issues is based on a study that investigated how four experienced and well respected teacher educators prepared preservice teachers for teaching controversial issues. The book takes us into history, citizenship, and social studies courses in Northern Ireland, England, and the United States and follows how student teachers applied what they learned in different classroom contexts.
Website Pages
Framework
The Framework page features a research-based framework with a holistic set of strategies and 32 resources to guide teachers in reflective practice.
Hard Questions
The Book page provides information about my book, Hard Questions: Learning to Teach Controversial Issues.
About
The About page gives a brief overview of my work, links to my research, and contact information.
Design work provided by Studio Mitchell