Premium
Meaning of Political Controversy in the Classroom: A Dialogue Across The Podium
Author(s) -
Belgrave Linda Liska,
Celaya Adrienne,
Gurses Seyda Aylin,
Boutwell Angelica,
Fernandez Alexandra
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1002/symb.1
Subject(s) - autoethnography , negotiation , meaning (existential) , strict constructionism , symbolic interactionism , context (archaeology) , sociology , politics , relevance (law) , face (sociological concept) , grounded theory , epistemology , performative utterance , ethnography , value (mathematics) , pedagogy , psychology , qualitative research , gender studies , social science , political science , paleontology , philosophy , machine learning , anthropology , computer science , law , biology
The abstract value of academic freedom is enjoyed (or not) in concrete settings, as interactional and emergent experiences. We examine classroom political controversy in our experiences, understandings, and values, using grounded theory methods and collective autoethnography by a team of five teachers and students. Our data were generated through electronic and face‐to‐face dialogues. Our analysis, guided by a symbolic interactionist and constructionist framework, yields a picture of Controversy in Action, whereby we navigate Barriers to Open Discussion and Costs of Controversy. Results highlight insights into taken‐for‐granted meanings unexamined in day‐to‐day classroom interaction. We attend to the relevance of the local context in which our classrooms are embedded and the interactional, meaning creating work that goes on in those classrooms, as we negotiate controversy.