Towards a Theoretical Framework for Teaching Controversial Socio‐scientific Issues

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual basis for a model on the teaching of socio‐scientific controversial issues for secondary or high school students. I argue that the teaching of controversial issues needs a stronger theoretical base. Drawing on a liberal democratic conception of possible sources of conflict, three strands are developed that provide a framework for teachers when teaching socio‐scientific issues: these are categories of reasonable disagreement, the communicative virtues, and modes of thought. Examples are given to illustrate how the framework can be used by teachers in which the features of controversy are made explicit to students.

Notes

1. There is no reference to risk in the National Curriculum for England.

2. Little emphasis was given to the teaching of citizenship through science in the Crick report. In paragraph 10.3, explications of controversy are given specifically for History, Geography, English literature and Religious Education. At the end of the paragraph we have “And the sciences, technical subjects and the arts are not exempt from controversy, both about their theories and their applications in society”.

3. It would follow that although race in society would constitute a controversial topic, someone with a racist viewpoint could not take part in a controversy. However, I think the point is that someone intending to articulate a viewpoint that could be interpreted as racist would have to enter the controversy with the will (and its constitutive internal feeling) to have their viewpoint contested and to be open to being affected by alternative viewpoints.