Taboo Topics: Cultural Restraint on Teaching Social Issues

• Published in: The Clearing house Vol. 73; no. 5; pp. 295 - 302
• Main Authors: Evans, Ronald W., Avery, Patricia G., Pederson, Patricia Velde
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Taylor & Francis Group 01.05.2000; Heldref Publications; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Beginning Teachers; Censorship; Class discussion; Classroom Communication; Controversial Issues (Course Content); Cultural Background; Cultural Context; Cultural instruction; Culture; Curricula; Curriculum; Educational administration; English teachers; History instruction; Secondary Education; Secondary school social studies; Social Problems; Social sciences; Social Studies; Social studies learning; Student Teachers; Taboos; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Educators; Teachers; New York; United States > US

Presents a cultural analysis of the process by which controversial subject matter in social studies remains deemphasized or omitted. Examines research related to taboo topics in schools. Notes that the closer and more meaningful a topic is to students' lives, the more likely it is to be taboo....