Four Views of Teachers Discussing Controversial Issues

Year 2018, Volume: 10 , 92 - 105, 12.09.2018

Bulent Alagoz Ozkan Akman

Abstract

Discussions on the nature of social reality and the
characteristics of a good society, as well as the role of the school in this
context, lie at the core of social studies. In this context, the teachers have
always been and will always be criticized for the values they did not or were
unable to convey from all ideological references. Often deemed a misfortune
associated with the fate of teachers, this issue would be an incentive for more
efforts in some senses, and poses an obstacle in others.
The teachers are often accused of embracing racist and sexist discourses and
expressing associated norms of cultural and economic domination on the one
hand, and of voicing a sinister secular humanism claimed to lay the foundations
of the superiority of capitalism and its democracy. In this context, the roles
the teachers are required to assume in the discussion of controversial issues
in their daily classes is a hot topic. This paper aims to present four critical
perspectives regarding controversial issues expressed by teachers. These
perspectives are often called exclusive neutrality, exclusive partiality,
neutral impartiality and committed impartiality. Studies so far assume
committed impartiality to be the most defensible teacher position.

Keywords

Controversial issues, exclusive neutrality, exclusive partiality, neutral impartiality, committed impartiality

References

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