Abstract

This grounded theory study examined the perceptions of 14 high school social studies teachers from three school districts in the Central Florida area. They were interviewed to uncover the decision-making process that high school social studies teachers use to choose methodologies when teaching controversial public issues (CPIs). The result was a three-phase model, the CPI Decision-Making Model, in which teachers move through three conceptual phases to decide on a particular methodology. By working through this process, teachers analyze the benefits and drawbacks of different methods for teaching controversial public issues. Significant results from this study included: (a) teachers were choosing to avoid teaching CPIs with standard-level students with student-centered methods, (b) teachers received little to no training in alternative methods and no training in how to deal with controversy in the classroom, (c) teachers possibly overestimated their ability to remain neutral in the classroom, and (d) teachers were learning their methodologies for teaching CPIs through unorthodox means.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2019

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Russell, William

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Learning Sciences and Educational Research

Degree Program

Curriculum and Instruction

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0007672

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0007672

Language

English

Release Date

August 2019

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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