There has been a growing literature among philosophers of education on how to frame questions of moral controversy in the classroom. Through the application of hard moral cases that may be said to leave one 'morally dumbfounded', I take up Michael Hand's influential epistemic criterion and attempt to show why its monistic approach is too limited…

Assuming that the issue of same-sex marriage should be discussed in schools, how should the discussion be framed? Michael Hand first distinguishes this question from the related but distinct question of whether discussion on this topic should be steered. He then examines three possible frames for discussion of same-sex marriage: the perfectionist…

While many instructors closet stigmatized identities, others "downplay" them--a tactic that sociologist Erving Goffman terms "covering." What are the personal, ethical, and pedagogical costs of covering? What are the gains? How can feminist university instructors cover stigmatized identities without fueling oppressive…

Teaching in university education programmes, can, at times, involve the uncomfortable situation of discriminatory speech. A situation that has often occurred in our own teaching, and in those of our colleagues, is the citation of homophobic and heterosexist comments.These are comments that are more likely to occur in foundation subjects such as…

Social work strives to be inclusive of all cultural groups and religious identities. However, a tension exists in the profession between freedom of religious expression and full acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. David Hodge and others claim social work is oppressive to evangelical Christians. This article critiques primarily Hodge's…

This paper provides an overview of the contributions to this special issue in the context of a wider argument about the notion of queering elementary education. When "Queering Elementary Education" was published 10 years ago there was very little writing or research on matters related to primary education, and just finding experienced educators to…

For over a decade, battles have raged between conservative Abstinence Only Until Marriage (AOUM) sexuality education advocates and liberal Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) advocates. While these battles have focused on the inclusion of health information about contraception and whether or not a curriculum must advocate abstinence as the…

The intention of this paper is two-fold. First, it makes explicit a little known and poorly understood area of human experience: transgender. Second, it explores curriculum possibilities opened up by recent legitimating of transgender people through the Gender Recognition Act (2004). The Act foregrounds the necessity for a forum in schools to…

Christian fundamentalist religious beliefs, expressed by social work students, present a challenge to the social work educator. In this paper we explore the tensions between Fundamentalism, diverse sexual orientation and gender expression and social work pedagogy. Particularly, we focus on how an anti-oppressive pedagogical approach, while…

Through examining four episodes from his teaching, the author reflects on the importance of being out in the classroom, not only about his sexuality, but also about his intellectual, moral, and political commitments and uncertainties. While cautioning that being out in these ways can, in certain circumstances, stifle student voices and preempt…

This book contains 12 papers that trace the connections and tensions between the original aims and forms of cultural studies in Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the current settings, goals, and methodologies of cultural studies. The following papers are included: "Introduction" (Nannette Aldred and Martin Ryle); "Marginal…