Level 3 is concerned primarily with supporting students in their attempts to formulate their own opinions on important issues and establish their own value positions, rather than with promoting the “official” or textbook view (the prime motive of what Levinson [2010] called the “deficit view” of citizenship education). It focuses much more overtly on values clarification, developing strong feelings about issues, and actively thinking about what it means to act wisely, justly, and “rightly” in particular social, political, and environmental contexts. In building this alternative curriculum, or any curriculum for that matter, we need to pay very careful attention to the values we wish to promote and to the values that might be implicit in the materials and methods we employ. This is not to say that we should seek to indoctrinate students into a particular way of thinking, on the one hand, or try to present a value-free education, on the other. Though the former is ethically unacceptable (though clearly discernible in many science and technology curricula, as a number of critical theorists have pointed out), the latter is impossible. Addressing SSI necessarily entails consideration of values. Indeed, for Zeidler et al. (2005) this is the very raison d’être for including SSI in the curriculum. If we are to prepare students to deal with controversial issues rationally, diligently, tolerantly, and morally, we need to ensure that they have the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and confidence to scrutinize diverse views and analyze and evaluate them; recognize inconsistencies, contradictions, and inadequacies; reach their own conclusions; argue coherently and persuasively for their views; use them in making decisions about what is right, good, and just in a particular context or situation; and (in stage 4 of the curriculum) formulate appropriate and effective courses of action. The curriculum I am advocating here is rooted very firmly in a commitment to reject actions that are merely convenient, expedient, or solely in our own interests in favor of careful and critical consideration of what is good, just, and honorable. It is driven by a deep commitment to antidiscriminatory education; that is, exposing the common roots of sexism, racism, homophobia, Eurocentrism, and Westism (or Northism) in the tendency to dichotomize and generate a sense of other; working actively to confront the “us and them” mentality that invariably sees us as the norm, the desirable and the superior. It culminates in commitment to the belief that alternative voices can and should be heard in order that decisions in science and technology reflect wisdom and justice rather than powerful sectional interests.
The final (fourth) level of sophistication in this issues-based approach is concerned with students findings ways of putting their values and convictions into action, helping them to prepare for and engage in responsible action, and assisting them in developing the skills, attitudes, and values that will enable them to take control of their lives, cooperate with others to bring about change, and work toward a more just and sustainable world in which power, wealth, and resources are more equitably shared. Socially and environmentally responsible behavior will not necessarily follow from knowledge of key concepts and possession of the “right attitudes.” As Curtin (1991) reminded us, it is important to distinguish between caring about and caring for. It is almost always much easier to proclaim that one cares about an issue than to do something about it. Put simply, our values are worth nothing until we live them. Rhetoric and espoused values will not bring about social justice and will not save the planet. We must change our actions. A politicized ethic of care (caring for) entails active involvement in a local manifestation of a particular problem or issue, exploration of the complex sociopolitical contexts in which the problem/issue is located, and attempts to resolve conflicts of interest.
Level 3 is concerned primarily with supporting students in their attempts to formulate their own opinions on important issues and establish their own value positions, rather than with promoting the “official” or textbook view (the prime motive of what Levinson [2010] called the “deficit view” of citizenship education). It focuses much more overtly on values clarification, developing strong feelings about issues, and actively thinking about what it means to act wisely, justly, and “rightly” in particular social, political, and environmental contexts. In building this alternative curriculum, or any curriculum for that matter, we need to pay very careful attention to the values we wish to promote and to the values that might be implicit in the materials and methods we employ. This is not to say that we should seek to indoctrinate students into a particular way of thinking, on the one hand, or try to present a value-free education, on the other. Though the former is ethically unacceptable (though clearly discernible in many science and technology curricula, as a number of critical theorists have pointed out), the latter is impossible. Addressing SSI necessarily entails consideration of values. Indeed, for Zeidler et al. (2005) this is the very raison d’être for including SSI in the curriculum. If we are to prepare students to deal with controversial issues rationally, diligently, tolerantly, and morally, we need to ensure that they have the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and confidence to scrutinize diverse views and analyze and evaluate them; recognize inconsistencies, contradictions, and inadequacies; reach their own conclusions; argue coherently and persuasively for their views; use them in making decisions about what is right, good, and just in a particular context or situation; and (in stage 4 of the curriculum) formulate appropriate and effective courses of action. The curriculum I am advocating here is rooted very firmly in a commitment to reject actions that are merely convenient, expedient, or solely in our own interests in favor of careful and critical consideration of what is good, just, and honorable. It is driven by a deep commitment to antidiscriminatory education; that is, exposing the common roots of sexism, racism, homophobia, Eurocentrism, and Westism (or Northism) in the tendency to dichotomize and generate a sense of other; working actively to confront the “us and them” mentality that invariably sees us as the norm, the desirable and the superior. It culminates in commitment to the belief that alternative voices can and should be heard in order that decisions in science and technology reflect wisdom and justice rather than powerful sectional interests.The final (fourth) level of sophistication in this issues-based approach is concerned with students findings ways of putting their values and convictions into action, helping them to prepare for and engage in responsible action, and assisting them in developing the skills, attitudes, and values that will enable them to take control of their lives, cooperate with others to bring about change, and work toward a more just and sustainable world in which power, wealth, and resources are more equitably shared. Socially and environmentally responsible behavior will not necessarily follow from knowledge of key concepts and possession of the “right attitudes.” As Curtin (1991) reminded us, it is important to distinguish between caring about and caring for. It is almost always much easier to proclaim that one cares about an issue than to do something about it. Put simply, our values are worth nothing until we live them. Rhetoric and espoused values will not bring about social justice and will not save the planet. We must change our actions. A politicized ethic of care (caring for) entails active involvement in a local manifestation of a particular problem or issue, exploration of the complex sociopolitical contexts in which the problem/issue is located, and attempts to resolve conflicts of interest.
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