Teaching controversial issues through education for democratic citizenship and human rights E-Book

David Kerr

• Herausgeber: Council of Europe
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 120

Beschreibung

A professional development programme for teachers, designed to support and promote the teaching of controversial issues in schools in Europe. This publication offers practical guidance, support and training to help strengthen the handling of controversial issues in schools and other educational settings. It seeks to help teachers, leaders and trainers to effectively address controversial issues as part of their everyday professional practice. This is essential if education is to equip children and young people with the competences needed to protect and defend human rights, democracy and the rule of law, to participate effectively and to live peacefully with others in our culturally diverse societies.

Leseprobe

 

TEACHING CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES THROUGH EDUCATION FOR DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP AND HUMAN RIGHTS

 

TRAINING PACK FOR TEACHERS

 

Contents

 

Click here to see the whole table of contents, or go on the « Table of contents » option of your eReader.

Acknowledgements

Project partners

Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, Ministry of Education and Culture, Cyprus

Curriculum Development Unit, City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB), Ireland

UNESCO Chair in Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights, Montenegro

Centro Nacional de Innovación e Investigación Educativa, Spain

Citizenship Foundation (now Young Citizens), United Kingdom (lead partner)

Pack editors

David Kerr and Ted Huddleston, Citizenship Foundation (now Young Citizens), United Kingdom

Pack authors

Elena Papamichael, Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, Ministry of Education and Culture, Cyprus

Mary Gannon, CDETB Curriculum Development Unit, Ireland

Bojka Djukanovic, UNESCO Chair in Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights, Montenegro

Rosa Garvín Fernández, Centro Nacional de Innovación e Investigación Educativa, Spain

David Kerr and Ted Huddleston, Young Citizens, United Kingdom (lead authors)

Associated partners

Institute for Development of Education, Albania

Demokratiezentrum Wien, Austria

Ministère de l’enseignement supérieur, de la recherche et de l’innovation, France

Swedish National Agency for Education, Sweden

Council of Europe

Sarah Keating, Katia Dolgova-Dreyer, Arzu-Burcu Tuner, Gloria Mannazzu and Pierre Varasi

Introduction

This training pack is a professional development programme for teachers, designed to support and promote the teaching of controversial issues in schools in Europe.

Why is the pack needed?

Learning how to engage in dialogue with people whose values are different from one’s own and to respect them is central to the democratic process and essential for the protection and strengthening of democracy and for fostering a culture of human rights.

Yet in Europe young people do not often have an opportunity to discuss controversial issues in school because these are seen as too challenging to teach, for example in the case of issues such as extremism, gender violence, child abuse or sexual orientation. Unable to voice their concerns, unaware of how others feel, or left to rely on friends and social media for their information, young people can be frustrated or confused about some of the major issues which affect their communities and European society today. In the absence of help from school, they may have no reliable means of dealing with these issues constructively and no one to guide them.

The idea for this pack resulted from a call from policy makers and practitioners in a number of European countries for more effective training for teachers in the teaching of controversial issues.

Why now?

Public concern arising in the aftermath of a number of high-profile incidents of violence and social disorder in different European countries has combined with new thinking in education for democracy and human rights to make the handling of controversial issues in schools a matter of educational urgency.

Firstly, incidents such as the 2011 London riots, the 2011 Norwegian hate crimes and the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris in 2015 have prompted a wholescale review of the part played by schools in the moral and civic development of young people in these countries and across Europe.

Secondly, European policy on education for democracy and human rights has shifted in recent years from reliance on textbook exercises and the acquisition of theoretical knowledge to an emphasis on active and participatory learning and engagement with “real-life” issues. There is a growing consensus that democratic citizenship, respect for human rights and intercultural understanding are learned more effectively through “doing” rather than “knowing”, in the sense of just accumulating facts. As a result, curricula for democratic citizenship and human rights education across Europe have been opened up to new, unpredictable and controversial types of teaching content.

What do we mean by “controversial”?

The definition that has proved most useful for those in European countries involved in the pilot project is that “controversial issues” may be defined as: “issues which arouse strong feelings and divide opinion in communities and society”.

They vary from the local to the global, for example from the building of mosques to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Some are long-standing, such as the sectarian divisions between communities in a number of European countries, others are very recent, for example the Islamic radicalisation of youth.

They also vary with place and time. Crucifixes in schools may be highly contentious in one country but an accepted part of life in another, as is also the case with bilingual education, paying for metered water or Islamic headscarves. Almost any topic can become controversial at any time and new controversies are arising every day.

Why are controversial issues challenging to teach?

Controversial issues embody major conflicts of value and interest, often coupled with disputed claims about underlying facts. They tend to be complex with no easy answers. They arouse strong feelings and have a tendency to create or reinforce divisions between people, engendering suspicion and mistrust.

Opening up the school curriculum to issues of this kind raises difficult pedagogical questions, such as how to protect the sensitivities of students from different backgrounds and cultures, how to prevent friction in the classroom and how to teach contentious material even-handedly, avoiding criticisms of bias. It also raises questions about academic freedom and the role of the teacher’s own beliefs and values.

For school leadership and management controversial issues raise questions of policy, such as how to support teachers in teaching about them, how to provide additional opportunities for dialogue within the school community (for example through democratic forms of school governance), how to promote a supportive school ethos, how to monitor the overall quality of provision and how to address the anxieties of parents and others outside the school.

How does the pack help?

The training pack seeks to address the challenges of teaching controversial issues through the development of a comprehensive package of training and professional development material.

It aims to help teachers recognise the value of engaging young people in controversial issues and develop the confidence and competences to make it a part of their everyday practice, in particular through:

the creation of “safe spaces” in the classroom where students can explore issues that concern them freely and without fear;

the use of teaching strategies and techniques which promote open and respectful dialogue.

The pack acknowledges that while there are no “quick fixes” and not every issue will be suitable for every age group, ultimately there is no good reason why controversial issues should be avoided in schools and classrooms and every good reason why they should not.

How has it been developed?

The training pack has been developed through the Human Rights and Democracy in Action Pilot Projects Scheme, jointly implemented by the Council of Europe and the European Commission. It draws for its inspiration and aims on the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE), the Council of Europe Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education programme and the European Commission Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training (ET 2020). It also draws on the Council of Europe’s work on history, intercultural and religious education, and on non-violent conflict resolution.

The pack has been scoped, designed and piloted by the pilot project and is the work of representatives from a range of different European countries. It brings together policies, practices and research literature from across Europe and beyond.

Who is it designed for?

The pack is designed primarily for the benefit of classroom teachers. Controversial issues can arise in every phase of education, type of school and area of the curriculum, so the pack will be relevant to teachers across all educational settings and in all subjects, from pre-primary to tertiary, and from citizenship education and social studies to languages and science. It has been devised for use in professional development sessions and/ or pre-service teacher training under the guidance of an experienced trainer or facilitator.

It will also be useful for school leaders and senior managers. Controversial issues cannot be restricted to classrooms; they invariably spill out into other areas of the school – corridors, cafeterias, playgrounds and staff rooms.

The pack is not country-specific and is suitable for use on a Europe-wide basis.

What sort of approach does it take?

The pack promotes an open and collaborative approach to teaching and learning, with a special emphasis on self-reflection and thoughtful, informed action. Teachers are encouraged to reflect on the way their personal beliefs and values affect their professional attitudes towards and handling of contentious material.

The professional competences around which the pack is constructed are rooted in the core values and goals of the Council of Europe and fall into three categories:

personal, e.g. self-reflection;

theoretical, e.g. understanding the role of dialogue in democracy;

practical, e.g. teaching and learning strategies.

How is it structured?

The training pack is composed of two main parts:

Part A – the “Scoping paper”;

Part B – the “Programme of training activities”.

Drawing on a review of published sources from a number of countries in Europe and beyond and using evidence from research and initial piloting by the pilot project, the “Scoping paper” examines the major challenges of teaching controversial issues, suggests ways in which these challenges may be met, identifies the professional competences required to meet them and makes recommendations for the development of a set of training activities based on these competences. The training activities themselves are set out with full instructions in the “Programme of training activities” which follows.

How should it be used?

Ideally, the pack should be used in its entirety. The two parts are interrelated and designed to build upon and reinforce each other. However, this is not absolutely essential and the pack is sufficiently flexible to be implemented in different ways.

The “Scoping paper” provides the rationale for teaching controversial issues and explains why the training activities have been chosen. It can be read before, during or after the training activities, or a combination of all three.

The “Programme of training activities” is designed to form a continuous course of practical training of about two days in length, though it could easily be divided up into shorter sessions held over a number of days. Individual activities could also be used as stand-alone sessions if required.

How does the pack relate to current educational priorities and imperatives?

The content, approach and flexibility of the pack make it well-suited to contribute to multiple current educational priorities and imperatives. In particular, it helps to strengthen the role of education in promoting the core values of the Council of Europe – democracy, human rights and the rule of law – and the concept of education as a bulwark against social evils such as extremism and the radicalisation of youth, xenophobia and discrimination, violence and hate-speech, loss of faith in politics and politicians.

PART A

Scoping paper – Exploring the challenges and developing competence

Introduction

Purpose

Learning how to engage in dialogue with people whose values are different from one’s own and to respect them is central to the democratic process and essential for the protection and strengthening of democracy and for fostering a culture of human rights.

Yet in Europe young people do not often have an opportunity to discuss controversial issues in school because they are seen as too challenging to teach, for example in the case of issues such as extremism, gender violence, child abuse or sexual orientation. Unable to voice their concerns, unaware of how others feel or left to rely on friends and social media for their information, young people can be frustrated or confused about some of the major issues which affect their communities and European society today. In the absence of help from school, they might have no reliable means of dealing with these issues constructively and no one to guide them.

This “Scoping paper” examines the major challenges of teaching controversial issues in European schools and suggests ways in which these challenges may be met. It focuses in particular on the need to increase the confidence and competences of teachers in addressing controversial issues in their classrooms and across their schools.

These suggestions form the basis of a series of recommendations for the development of a new training pack on the teaching of controversial issues, comprising the “Scoping paper” (Part A) and a “Programme of training activities” (Part B). These are intended to be accessible and have application across Europe and have already been successfully piloted with teachers, trainers and facilitators in a number of European countries.

Approach

The “Scoping paper” promotes an open and collaborative approach to teaching and learning, with a special emphasis on self-reflection and thoughtful action. Teachers are encouraged to reflect on the way their personal beliefs and values affect their professional attitude towards and practice in the handling of contentious material.

It also emphasises the creation of “safe environments” in classrooms and schools where controversial issues can be discussed and debated openly by students, supported and facilitated by teachers. Such environments help students to deal with differences, defuse tension and encourage non-violent means of conflict resolution. They encourage self-reflection and listening to others, promote intercultural dialogue, give minorities a voice, build mutual tolerance and respect, and foster a more critical approach to information received from the media.

The context

Public concern arising in the aftermath of a number of high-profile incidents of violence and social disorder in different European countries has combined with new thinking in education for democracy and human rights to make the handling of controversial issues in schools a matter of educational urgency.

Firstly, incidents such as the 2011 London riots, the 2011 Norway hate crimes and the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris in 2015 have prompted a wholescale review of the part played by schools in the moral and civic development of young people, an imperative which has been echoed across Europe.

Secondly, European policy on education for democracy and human rights has shifted from reliance on textbook exercises and theoretical knowledge to an emphasis on active and participatory learning and engagement with “real-life” issues. There is a growing consensus that democratic citizenship, respect for human rights and intercultural understanding are learned more effectively through “doing” than accumulating facts – just “knowing”. Accordingly, curricula for democratic citizenship and human rights education across Europe have been opened up to new, unpredictable and controversial types of teaching content.