Deciding What Is a Controversial Issue: A Case Study of Social Studies Curriculum Controversy
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Theory and Research in Social Education
Volume
36
Issue
4
Publisher
National Council for the Social Studies
Publication Date
2008
First Page
290
Last Page
307
Abstract
Frame analysis was used to examine how competing stakeholders framed a sixth grade curriculum controversy over whether the WWII internment of Japanese Americans should be categorized as a controversial issue. Teachers and administrators in a northwestern U.S. school claimed that the internment was clearly wrong and not controversial, but these claims were challenged by a small group of activists. Three data sets were analyzed: 11 semi-structured interviews, 40 public documents, and curriculum materials. Although activists could not change the school's claims, they were able to change the curriculum. Findings illustrate the ways that stakeholders in social studies curriculum controversies negotiate whether an issue should be categorized as controversial. Categorizations were dynamic and contingent on historical, contemporary, and ideological contexts.
Recommended Citation
Camicia, S. P. (2008). Deciding what is a controversial issue: A case study of social studies curriculum controversy. Theory and Research in Social Education, 35(4), 290-307.
Comments
Originally published by the National Council for the Social Studies. Abstract available through remote link via ERIC. Subscription to Theory and Research in Social Education required to access article fulltext.