ERIC Number: EJ1255613
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1085-3545
EISSN: N/A
The Value of Conflict and Disagreement in Democratic Teacher Education
Harell, Kiel F.
Democracy & Education, v28 n1 Article 3 2020
Deliberative democracy surfaces disagreements so that people holding conflicting stances understand each other's reasons for the purpose of decision-making. Democratic education approaches should provide students with the opportunity to learn and practice how to address conflict in the collective decision-making process. In this paper, I examine the Foxfire Course for Teachers, a professional development retreat in which teachers learn to practice democratic teaching by themselves experiencing democratic decision-making. In particular, a series of disagreements among course participants is analyzed in detail to understand the learning that resulted and the conditions that supported that learning. As a result of this experiential learning opportunity, teachers came to realize the importance of allowing students to experience and reason through disagreement although it may cause discomfort. Teachers also came to view democratic participation as a developmental process that requires practice.
Descriptors: Democratic Values, Democracy, Faculty Development, Experiential Learning, Teaching Methods, Participative Decision Making, Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Discussion (Teaching Technique), Student Participation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A