This interdisciplinary study seeks to explore the extent to which graduate students enrolled within a teacher preparation program associate the use of Controversial Public Issues (CPI) in the K12 classroom with broad principles of democratic education. The study also attempts to understand how twelve teacher candidates view the practicality of using CPI within the K12 classroom setting. Preliminary findings suggest that participants -- though enthusiastic about integrating CPI into their pedagogy -- associate the use of CPI with citizenship education (e.g., voting) instead of reform-oriented components of democratic education (e.g., providing spaces for historically marginalized groups or overturning the status quo). Future research should explore ways in which teacher preparation programs can foster a deeper understanding of democratic education in teachers.