Magis: Revista Internacional de Investigación en Educación (Jan 2009)

"The children don't have any idea": How case studies of controversy can help build democratic habits of mind

  • THOMAS MISCO

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 2
pp. 329 – 340

Abstract

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This article explores the pathways and challenges to strengthening civic education in nascent democracies. I first provide a rationale for employing controversial issues as a way of achieving this end, especially when used in conjunction with reflective thinking. Then, by drawing on three recent studies, I cinch together the cross-cultural contextual features of school experiences and provide an emergent typology for researchers and policy-makers in other contexts as they work to explore conscious and deliberate treatment of controversial issues in unique settings.