Controversial Public Issues in the Secondary Classroom: Exploring Teachers’ Thoughts and Perceptions

The present empirical study seeks to explore the perceptions novice educators have toward the use of controversial public issues (CPI) in the secondary classroom. The research attempts to do this by examining the following research questions: (a) To what extent do new teachers associate the use of CPI in the classroom with broad principles of democratic education? and (b) To what extent do new teachers view the practicality of integrating CPI within the classroom? Findings suggest that participants associate CPI with citizenship education (e.g., voting) instead of reform-oriented components of democratic education (e.g., providing spaces for historically marginalized groups and overturning the status quo). Additionally, findings suggest that although novice educators remain enthusiastic about using CPI in their pedagogy, several constraints prevent them from feeling confident about discussing critical and current issues in their classrooms. On the basis of these findings, future research should explore ways in which teacher preparation programs can foster a deeper understanding of democratic education in teachers and ways in which CPI can be effectively integrated into the secondary classroom.