Case Studies Help Teachers Tackle Ethical Classroom Dilemmas

As education becomes increasingly charged and highly political, ethical and moral challenges are inevitable for teachers and students. But as Professor Meira Levinson stresses, simply ignoring the big issues doesn’t make them go away.

“We have this culture in education of pretending that we face no moral quandaries,” says Levinson, “And that’s just not true."

A scholar who studies educational ethics and civic education, Levinson knows the importance of having difficult conversations across differences. But she also knows that talking about ethical challenges in an educational environment wrought by social and political polarization can be difficult.

“When I was a middle school teacher, those were things that I could never talk about openly with my colleagues,” Levinson admitted during a workshop that was part of the Instructional Moves Live series, which aims to demonstrate how “normative case studies” support ethical dialogue across differences. The case studies are part of Levinson’s larger work to establish a global field of educational ethics using these cases to explore complex issues and build strategies to teach them in the classroom and beyond.

Brief-Cases

The Instructional Moves workshop — part of Harvard Graduate School of Education’s larger initiative to promote constructive dialogue across differences — presented a “brief-case” called “By the Book,” which described a fictional situation where a high school English department weighed assigning current U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy as required summer reading.

The one-page case detailed how different groups reacted — some teachers critiqued the book or argued it didn’t fit the school’s values. More liberal-leaning students organized a petition against the book. Parents learned about the plan and contacted the principal. Meanwhile, conservative-leaning students confided in guidance counselors that they feel isolated and their voices are not heard equally. The case ends with a question for the district superintendent: Should they make Hillbilly Elegy required summer reading for ninth grade?

“Please do not answer this last question,” Levinson advised after reading the one-page case study co-written by herself and Sara O’Brien. “We are not asking you to say whether they should make Hillbilly Elegy required summer reading for ninth grade. Instead, we are asking you to think about what are the dilemmas in this case, and for whom are they dilemmas?”

The cases, though fictional, are heavily researched to present multiple viewpoints to show how different stakeholders in a situation make up the complex choices often found in classrooms for teachers, students, and administrators in districts and settings across the United States.

“These cases are designed to help us forefront complex conversations about the ethical choices that we face as educators and educational policymakers,” explained Levinson. “And to do so across lines of difference.”

A Change in Perspective

According to Levinson, educational case studies offer nuanced lessons for everyone. The first step for many people is realizing that these conversations, while difficult, are possible to have in a classroom without causing conflict and how important they can be to working to solve the larger issues across the educational landscape.

“What we tend to leave with is a greater appreciation for the variation in viewpoints and values and perspectives, beliefs, and even actions that other people might take,” she said. “A big part of the success of this work is if we can start to open up space to admit a moral uncertainty and moral failing. … But we can only do that if we start by admitting that we have challenges and that we’re working on them.”

For educators wanting to have similar discussions in their schools:

• Consider the goals of the discussion, who is taking part, and what materials may be needed.
• Consult the facilitator’s guide for tips on helping set norms for group discussions, acknowledging emotions in the discussion space, making decisions with incomplete information, and doing a case study in a virtual setting.

To ensure the conversation is productive and healthy, the guide offers tips based on Leveraging Norms for Challenging Conversations, a tool developed by Whitney Polk and HGSE Lecturer Aaliyah El-Amin:

• Respect for Self and Others
  Actively listen, maintain confidentiality, and challenge ideas, not people
• Acknowledge the Different Backgrounds and Experiences of Others  
  Consider the role of your identities and power dynamics
• Accept Challenge and Anticipate Discomfort 
  Push your thinking, hold yourself and others accountable, and contribute to the conversation
• Keep an Open Mind
  Allow for growth, listen before responding, and stay engaged
• Embrace Uncertainty and Non-Closure
  Don’t expect all questions to be answered