Taboo Topics: Cultural Restraint on Teaching Social Issues

Identity, Discourse, and Safety in a High School Discussion of Same-Sex Marriage

“…One robust finding in the literature on controversial issue discussions is the need for psychological safety Downloaded by [University of Auckland Library] at 14:05 07 December 2014 4 Beck in classrooms to encourage student participation (Angell, 1991;Evans et al, 1999;Hahn, 2001;Hahn & Tocci, 1990;Passe & Evans, 1996;Rossi, 1996). The call for teachers to attend to student safety is based on observations that students do not all experience classroom discussions in the same way.…”

“…I selected data from this class for careful analysis because many of the student exchanges seemed fraught with situations I struggled to understand. By exploring potential difficulties around the discussion of same-sex marriage in schools, I join Evans, Avery, and Pederson (1999) in arguing that teachers, teacher educators, and researchers must be willing examine the difficulties of classroom practice and "approach them realistically, with eyes wide open . .…”

12. Obstacles, Challenges, and Potential: Envisioning the Future

“…Exploring complicated issues takes time away from test preparation. Furthermore, "taboo topics," controversial topics, seem to disappear in a time of stress, concern over lawsuits and parent complaints, and a focus on specified standard objectives (see Evans, Avery, & Pederson, 2000). The NCLB bias toward "scientifically based research" (selected quantitative studies) adds a chill to the air of educational research, innovation, and inquiry in general, as many qualitative researchers feel their work is no longer supported, even theoretically (see, e.g., Eisenhart & Towne, 2003;Smith, 2003).…”

Harnessing emotions to deliberative argumentation in classroom discussions on historical issues in multi-cultural contexts

“…Accordingly, the majority of teachers tend to avoid charged and emotive issues in history teaching (Levstik, 2000). Issues arousing strong (negative) emotions are often considered "taboo" and are formally or covertly sanctioned (Evans et al, 1999). Evasion is more frequent with topics that shed unpleasant light on learners' in-group, and may elicit collective shame or guilt which are aversive emotions (Helmsing, 2014;Wohl, Branscombe, & Klar, 2006).…”

“…This issue is particularly challenging in historical reasoning: since psychologists showed that strong emotions and loyalties hinder rational thinking in general (Bless & Fiedler, 2006), some researchers in History education suggest avoiding strong and negative emotions holding a sway over cognition (Foster, 2013). Moreover, politicians and decision makers are often adamant to avoid negative emotions in history classes for ideological reasons (Evans, Avery, & Pederson, 1999). In other words, although research has shown the intricate relations between rationality and emotion, many opt lessening bursts of strong emotions in history classes.…”