Las Vegas City Wire

The University of Nevada, Reno has announced that an assistant professor has conducted a study that shows young students are capable of having complex political discussions.

William Toledo, assistant professor of elementary education and co-author of Deliberation on the Public Good during COVID-19: A Case Study Examining Elementary Students’ Use of Civic Perspective, noted it was important critical issues in the classroom.

“All of our students saw that the common good exists,” said Toledo. “The difference was on what level. Some students saw the common good just in relation to their neighborhood or school. Some saw it in relation to the City of Reno, or the United States. Some students went global and saw the world as more interconnected.”

According to the university, the study showed that third graders were able to back distinct perspectives related to today’s political issues and were able to develop opinions correlated to what they have experienced and what they perceive as “common good” about where they live.

Toledo co-authored the study with Esther Enright, assistant professor at Boise State University’s College of Education, and talked with area teachers who provided students an opportunity to discuss issues with historical context and voice their opinions, according to the university.

“First, we want to bring locally relevant public issues into the classrooms. This focus helps to combat polarization around these issues because it gives students a structured academic space to debate and deliberate,” Toledo added. “Second, we center our educators as curriculum designers, which gives them agency when moderating discussions about these issues. Our teachers are so capable and incredible in terms of their capacity to navigate these difficult conversations and help students develop their perspective-taking skills.”