Helping gifted students to analyze public issues: The jurisprudential approach

Abstract

The jurisprudential approach to social studies is appropriate for gifted students because they tend to be concerned with moral issues and are likely to be in leadership positions as adults. The approach focuses on the analysis of public issues—political‐ethical issues about proper aims and actions for the society and its members. It is based on the assumptions that controversy is inevitable and that learning to recognize and handle disputes over values is, along with learning concepts for dealing with factual and language disputes, essential to valid decision‐making about public issues. The approach provides a rationale for curricula, as well as for case discussions.