David Waddington
A new study co-authored by David I. Waddington, co-director of the CSLP, sheds light on how classroom teachers in Canada and the United States perceive and navigate academic freedom in increasingly polarized educational environments.
Published in Teachers and Teaching, the article presents findings from an international survey of 173 social studies and science teachers. The study was co-authored by CSLP members Bruce Maxwell and Kevin McDonough, along with Tessa MacLean and Nasim Tavassoli.
The research explores teachers’ perspectives on the importance of academic freedom, their comfort in addressing controversial topics, and the factors that shape their pedagogical decision-making. Across both countries, teachers expressed strong support for academic freedom as a professional value, even while recognizing that their freedom is often constrained in practice.
Participants were asked about their willingness to engage students in discussions across four broad domains: politics, economics, health and safety, and science. The findings reveal that many teachers approach such discussions cautiously, particularly when topics are highly contentious. Issues such as safe injection sites, abortion, prisons, medically assisted dying, and same-sex marriage were among those identified as especially sensitive in classroom settings.
The study also examined whether individual characteristics influenced teachers’ approaches. Using statistical analysis, including Mann–Whitney U tests, the researchers found that factors such as gender and years of experience had little effect on teachers’ comfort levels. Instead, institutional and contextual factors played a more significant role. Teachers with greater job security—particularly those with tenure—were more likely to feel comfortable addressing controversial issues, while the broader political climate of their communities also strongly shaped their decisions.
These findings align closely with ongoing work at the CSLP on the challenges of teaching in polarized contexts. Several of the study’s authors are involved in the Centre’s research theme on addressing the polarized classroom, which examines how educators can navigate increasingly complex social and political dynamics in schools.
As public debates around topics such as public health, climate change, and social justice continue to intensify, teachers are often on the front lines of these discussions. The study highlights the tension between the ideal of academic freedom, and the realities teachers face, including community pressures, institutional constraints, and concerns about professional risk.
By better understanding how teachers perceive and exercise their academic freedom, this research contributes to broader efforts to support educators in fostering open, informed, and respectful dialogue in the classroom.