Resolved: Academic Debate Should Be a Part of Political Science Curricula

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Issue Date
2007Author
Omelicheva, Mariya Y.
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Should political science educators use debate for teaching their undergraduate students? This
paper argues for incorporation of academic debate into curriculum of undergraduate courses. It
demonstrates the process of arriving at a decision favorable of debate through exploration and
analysis of competitive reasons, arguments, and evidence for and against using academic
debate as a method of teaching and learning. Empirical evidence for assessing strengths and
limitations of academic debate was collected in the undergraduate political science classes by
means of educational action research. A corollary of the study is that potential problems of
debates should not deter educators from using this instructional technique. The knowledge of
debate’s weaknesses can assist in improving the effectiveness of this teaching strategy in
promoting students’ skills of critical thinking, and understanding of complex political issues.
Awareness of obstacles to academic debate can help to implement this method of instruction in
a way which is positive and non-threatening to students.
Description
This is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The publisher version is available on its site.
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Citation
Omelicheva, Mariya Y. Resolved: Academic Debate Should Be a Part of Political Science
Curricula, Journal of Political Science Education 3:161-177, 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15512160701338320
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