Principles and Issues in Teaching
Political Science
POLITICAL SCIENCE
 A social science concerned chiefly with the
description and analysis of political and
especially governmental institutions and
processes
 It deals extensively with the theory and practice
of politics which is commonly thought of as
determining of the distribution of power and
resources.
 According to the American Political Science
Association, political science is the study of
governments, public policies and political
processes, systems, and political behavior and
issues.
1. Done in an Active Manner
2. Develops Critical Thinking Skills
3. Students are personally involved
4. Student’s interests are driven
5. Lessons should appear Controversial
6. Develop problem-solving skills
Done in an Active Manner
 Learning political science should take place in
an active context.
 It should not be simply reading books, it has to
be put up in a meaningful context to make
retention of knowledge possible
Develops Critical Thinking Skills
 Students are engaged with a body of knowledge
rather than being trained in specific skills only.
 In the course of this engagement, students
acquire methods of understanding and become
analytical in their approach of the material.
 It should allow and promote independent
learning as a sustainable method of
communicating knowledge.
Students are Personally Involved
 This involves making them talk about their own
experiences and letting them use their
imagination.
 They are being required to argue all sides of the
issue or problem of their choosing and search
out the different sources that back up what they
are trying to argue.
Student’s Interest are Driven
 Political education is linked to the experiences
and interests of those being addressed.
 This makes them participate and engage in the
discussion.
 If different points of view are swept under the
carpet, options ignored and alternatives remain
unexpressed, students would not be interested to
communicate anymore.
Lesson should appear controversial
 Politics must also appear controversial in the
lesson.
 The teaching content should be as practical and
controversial as possible, and be communicated
in a clear and marked manner.
 Controversial lessons would capture students’
attention since they can relate to it.
Develops Problem-solving Skills
 Political education should be rooted in real
problems and in the foreground communicate
the knowledge and skills required for dealing
with a problem.
 The ability to solve problems has priority over
gathering knowledge.
 Dealing with a topic should always move from
the specific to the general, i.e. give preference to
induction before deduction.

Issues in Teaching Political Science
1. Dealing With Controversial Topics
2. Dealing With False Knowledge
3. Multiple Preps
4. Staying at the Lower Level of Bloom's
Taxonomy
5. Need to Vary Instruction
6. Making Connections to Students' Lives
Dealing With Controversial Topics
 This deals with sensitive and at times
controversial issues.
 For example, in Public admin. Teachers are
required to teach about how the government run
by the officials.
 In American Government, topics like abortion
and the death penalty can sometimes lead to
heated debates. In these instances, it is
important for the teacher to maintain control of
the situation.
Dealing With False Knowledge
 It is not rare for students to come into your class
with inaccurate Political science information
that they were either taught at home or in other
classes.
 This can be really hard to combat.
“One year I had a student who swore that
Abraham Lincoln had slaves. There was really
nothing I could do to dissuade them from this belief.
They had learned in in 7th grade from a teacher they
loved. This can be really difficult to handle at
times”.
Multiple Preps
 Teachers are often faced with having to teach
with multiple preps.
 This can be especially tough for the newer
teachers who have to prepare so many new
lessons from scratch.
Staying at the Lower Level of
Bloom's Taxonomy
 Because much of the teaching political science
revolves around names, laws, and dates, etc. it is
very easy to create assignments and tests that do
not move beyond the Recall level of Bloom's
Taxonomy.
Need to Vary Instruction
 It can be very easy for Political science teachers
to stick to one method of instruction.
 There is a tendency to give a great deal of
lectures.
 It can be very tough to cover the depth of
material without relying on lectures and whole
group discussions.
 Of course, there are some teachers who go to the
other extreme and have mainly projects and role
playing experiences. The key is to balance the
activities.
Making Connections to Students' Lives
 While some social studies courses like
comparative politics and public administration
lend themselves well to making connections to
students and their lives, others do not.
 It can be tough to connect what was going on in
abolition of slave trade in American politics
contexts. Political science teachers have to work
very hard to make these topics interesting.
REFERENCES:
 Gregušová, G.(2005). How to Teach Political
Science. The Experience of First-time
University Teachers. Paris, France: epsNet.
 http://712educators.about.com/od/socialstudies/t
p/social_studies_concerns.htm#
 http://er.educause.edu/~/media/files/article-
downloads/eqm0732.pdf