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The Teaching of Controversial Issues
Author(s) -
DEWHURST D. W.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of philosophy of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.501
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9752
pISSN - 0309-8249
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9752.1992.tb00277.x
Subject(s) - subjectivism , intervention (counseling) , task (project management) , interpersonal communication , epistemology , psychology , pedagogy , interpersonal relationship , teaching method , sociology , social psychology , philosophy , psychiatry , economics , management
The article criticizes certain subjectivist and isolationist stances on controversial issues, and construes the teaching of controversial issues as an interpersonal task. On this view the teacher (1) encourages students to enter into the perspectives of others; (2) establishes points of contact which make reasoned discourse possible; and (3) inducts students into a wider domain where they are provided with knowledge about controversies as well as the skills for handling those controversies. All of this requires considerable intervention on the part of the teacher. Current doubts about such intervention are unjustified.