Public Discourses in Schools: Purposes, Problems, Possibilities
Parker W.C.
2006
Educational Researcher
111
10.3102/0013189X035008011
Classroom discussion can play an important role in the formation of citizens, and in more ways than one. Yet recitation persists as the discursive norm in classrooms, and the literature on discussion lacks clarity as to purpose. This article contributes a delineation of two purposes—interpretation (enlightenment) and decision making (engagement)—and argues that they are elemental to both discussion pedagogy and citizen formation. As practices, they upend recitation and offer an occasion for liberal education, including opening oneself to difference. The author aims to show that classroom discussion is useful both pedagogically and politically when the two purposes are articulated in a diverse school setting, and that critics risk their own interests when they dismiss the possibilities of discussion. © 2006, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.
Allen D.S., Talking to strangers: Anxieties of citizenship since, (2004); Allington R.L., Big brother and the national reading curriculum: How ideology trumped evidence, (2002); Alvermann D.E., Commeyras M., Young J.P., Randall S., Hinson D., Interrupting gendered discursive practices in classroom talk about texts, Journal of Literacy Research, 29, 1, pp. 73-104, (1997); Alvermann D.E., O-Brien D.G., Dillon D.R., What teachers do when they say they-re having discussions of content area reading assignments, Reading Research Quarterly, 25, pp. 296-322, (1990); Apple M.W., Official knowledge, (1993); Applebee A.N., Langer J.A., Nystrand M., Gamoran A., Discussion-based approaches to developing understanding, American Educational Research Journal, 40, 3, pp. 685-730, (2003); Bakhtin M.M., The dialogic imagination, (1981); Barr S., Notes on dialogue, (1968); Baumann G., Schiffauer W., Baumann G., Kastoryano R., Vertovec S., Introduction, Civil enculturation: Nation-state, school, and ethnic difference in the Netherlands, Britain, Germany and France, pp. 1-18, (2004); Billings L., Fitzgerald J., Dialogic discussion and the Paideia seminar, American Educational Research Journal, 39, 4, pp. 907-941, (2002); Boler M., Boler M., All speech is not free: The ethics of “affirmative action pedagogy., Democratic dialogue in education: Troubling speech, disturbing silence, pp. 3-13, (2004); Boler M., Democratic dialogue in education: Troubling speech, disturbing silence, (2004); Bridges D., Education, democracy and discussion, (1979); Burbules N.C., Dialogue in teaching, (1993); Burbules N.C., Rice S., Dialogue across differences: Continuing the conversation, Harvard Educational Review, 61, 4, pp. 393-416, (1991); Carbonaro W.J., Gamoran A., The production of achievement inequality in high school English, American Educational Research Journal, 39, pp. 801-827, (2002); Cazden C.B., Classroom discourse, (2001); Chinn C.A., Anderson R.C., Waggoner M.A., Patterns of discourse in two kinds of literature discussion, Reading Research Quarterly, 36, 4, pp. 378-411, (2001); Cormack M.J., Ideology, (1992); Dewey J., Boydston J.A., Democracy and education, John Dewey: The middle works, 1899-1924, 9, (1985); Dewey J., Boydston J.A., How we think, and selected essays, John Dewey: The middle works, 1899-1924, 6, (1985); Dillon J.T., Using discussion in classrooms, (1994); Doble J., The story of National Issues forum: The effects of deliberation, (1996); Du Bois W.E.B., The souls of black folk, (1990); Finn C.E., Terrorists, despots, and democracy: What our children need to know, (2003); Gadamer H.G., Truth and method, (1982); Garrison J., A Deweyan theory of democratic listening, Educational Theory, 46, 4, pp. 429-451, (1996); Gee J.P., An introduction to discourse analysis, (2005); Geertz C., Common sense as a cultural system, Local knowledge, pp. 73-93, (1983); Goffman E., Forms of talk, (1983); Greene T., The art of responsible conversation, Journal of General Education, 8, pp. 34-50, (1954); Habermas J., Moral consciousness and communicative action, (1990); Hall S., Hall S., Hobson D., Lowe A., Willis P., Encoding/decoding, Culture, media, language, pp. 128-138, (1980); Haroutunian-Gordon S., Turning the soul, (1991); Hess D., Controversies about controversial issues in democratic education, PS: Political Science & Politics, 37, 2, pp. 253-255, (2004); Hess D., Posselt J., How high school students experience and learn from the discussion of controversial public issues, Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 17, 4, pp. 283-314, (2002); Houston B., Boler M., Democratic dialogue, Democratic dialogue in education: Troubling speech, disturbing silence, pp. 105-120, (2004); Jones A., Boler M., Talking cure, Democratic dialogue in education: Troubling speech, disturbing silence, pp. 56-67, (2004); Kelly T.E., Discussing controversial issues: Four perspectives on the teacher's role, Theory and Research in Social Education, 14, 2, pp. 113-138, (1986); Mansbridge J., Murchland B., Democracy, deliberation, and the experience of women, Higher education and the practice of democratic politics, pp. 122-135, (1991); Mitchell K., Educating the national citizen in neoliberal times: From the multicultural self to the strategic cosmopolitan, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 28, 4, pp. 387-403, (2003); Mosher R., Kenny R.A., Garrod A., Preparing for citizenship: Teaching youth to live democratically, (1994); Narayan U., Working together across difference: Some considerations on emotions and political practice, Hypatia, 3, 2, pp. 31-47, (1988); National Research Council, Learning and understanding: Improving advanced study of mathematics and science, (2002); Nie N.H., Junn J., Stehlik-Barry K., Education and democratic citizenship in America, (1996); Noguera P., Cohen R., Patriotism and accountability, Phi Delta Kappan, 87, 8, pp. 573-578, (2006); Nussbaum M., Cultivating humanity, (1997); Nystrand M., Gamoran A., Carbonaro W.J., Tymjala P., Mason L., Lonka K., On the ecology of classroom instruction: The case of writing in high school English and social studies, Writing as learning tool, pp. 57-81, (2001); Oliver D.W., Shaver J.P., Teaching public issues in the high school, (1974); Orfield G., Schools more separate: Results of a decade of resegregation, (2001); Oulton C., Day V., Dillon J., Grace M., Controversial issues: Teachers- attitudes and practices in the context of citizenship education, Oxford Review of Education, 30, 4, pp. 489-507, (2004); Paley V.G., You can-t say you can-t play, (1992); Parker W.C., Teaching democracy: Unity and diversity in public life, (2003); Parker W.C., Hess D., Teaching with and for discussion, Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, pp. 273-289, (2001); Piscatelli J., Character/citizenship education: Pledge of allegiance, State Notes, (2003); Pocock J.G., Shafir G., The ideal of citizenship since classical times, The citizenship debates, pp. 31-41, (1998); Power F.C., Higgins A., Kohlberg L., Lawrence Kohlberg's approach to moral education, (1989); Raphael T.E., McMahon S.I., Book club”: An alternative framework for reading instruction, The Reading Teacher, 48, pp. 102-116, (1994); Rochester J.M., Unaddressed issues, Phi Delta Kappan, 86, 9, pp. 654-657, (2005); Schultz K., Listening: A framework for teaching across differences, (2003); Schwab J., Westbury I., Will N., Eros and education: A discussion of one aspect of discussion, Science, curriculum, and liberal education, pp. 105-132, (1978); Shepard L.A., The role of assessment in a learning culture, Educational Researcher, 29, 7, pp. 4-14, (2000); Simon K.G., Moral questions in the classroom, (2001); Stodolsky S.S., Ferguson T.L., Wimpelberg K., The recitation persists, but what does it look like?, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 13, 2, pp. 121-130, (1981); Walzer M., Politics and passion: Toward a more egalitarian liberalism, (2004); Weber M., Swedberg R., Sociological categories of economic action, Max Weber: Essays in economic sociology, pp. 199-241, (1999); White S.K., Political theory and postmodernism, (1991); Williams M.S., Kymlicka W., Norman W., The uneasy alliance of group representation and deliberative democracy, Citizenship in diverse societies, pp. 124-152, (2000); Wortham S., Interactionally situated cognition: A classroom example, Cognitive Science, 25, pp. 37-66, (2001)
Article
Scopus