2022 Volume 96 Pages 13-24
In recent years, teaching controversial issues has attracted considerable attention in social studies as an effective tool to train the keepers of a democratic society. However, a recent national survey by Japan’s MEXT revealed that few high schools conduct “discussion activities on real political events.” Why are so many teachers avoiding controversial issues? In light of this problem, a survey and analysis were undertaken to answer the following question: What factors cause teachers to avoid controversial issues? Specifically, based on previous studies, a questionnaire was prepared that asked respondents about existing practices, attitudes, and perceptions of teachers in relation to teaching controversial issues. This was then distributed to all high schools and secondary education schools in the Kyushu and Chugoku-Shikoku regions of Japan.
Intergroup comparison, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were then conducted on the response data from 348 civics teachers. This process revealed the following three main points: (1) While many teachers talk about controversial issues in class, others avoid such issues or do not allow their students to discuss them. (2) Teachers generally seek to maintain political neutrality by presenting a variety of views or by refraining from asserting their own views. This choice reflects teachers’ own judgments rather than a request from MEXT. (3) Many teachers are aware of the potential benefits of studying controversial issues but tend to avoid teaching them because they find them too difficult to handle. In other words, teachers avoid controversial issues due to their low self-efficacy in handling such matters. While it should be noted that this case study covered only a limited area, the results suggest the need for teacher education to improve self-efficacy.
