The classroom in turmoil: teachers’ perspective on unplanned controversial issues in the classroom

Abstract

Controversial issues characterise life in democratic societies and they often arise unexpectedly in the classroom, without being planned for by the teacher. However, controversial issues are rarely addressed beyond a mandatory curriculum and are often avoided. The aim of this exploratory study is to investigate what teachers identify and address as unplanned controversial issues in the classroom and the content of such issues. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 teachers from primary, secondary and upper-secondary schools across Europe. Unplanned controversial issues identified fell into three categories (1) mainstream controversy, (2) teacher-initiated controversy and (3) controversial pedagogy. Mainstream controversies follow mainstream definitions of controversial issues. In teacher-initiated controversies, teachers reacted to statements made by students, taking a stand against examples of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. Controversial pedagogy refers to instances in which the teachers' behaviour was deemed controversial by the teachers themselves. The content of the unplanned controversial issues that teachers identified and addressed is multi-faceted and draws upon personal, current, cultural and historical dimensions. The findings suggest that more attention needs to be paid, among other things, to the political dimension of education, teacher vulnerability, and who the person in teaching is.

Leaning Into Difficult Topics: Inquiry Communities as Teacher Professional Learning for Turbulent Times

“…The study thus contributes a promising case to the literature on inquiry communities (e.g., Wolkenhauer & Hooser, 2021) by illustrating how inquiry communities can be adapted to support teachers' professional learning in polarized contexts. The study further contributes by affirming that teachers' difficulttopics professional learning needs are not tied to particular grade levels or content areas (e.g., Cassar et al, 2021;Pace, 2019).…”

“…Within this context, some teachers are required by their standards or curricula to teach difficult topics such as slavery, genocide, or human rights abuses (e.g., Florida Legislature, 2023; New York State Education Department, n.d.).Far from being limited to social studies, however, teachers irrespective of grade level or content area face a growing slate of difficult topics that can arise at any moment, entangling them in discussions of controversial issues such as abortion, policing, or gun violence. Regardless of whether such discussions occur within planned instruction or as "unplanned episodes" (Cassar et al, 2021), teachers continually make decisions about whether and how to address difficult topicswhile news media, social media, school boards, and legislation contribute to a climate of fear surrounding any engagement with these topics (Carter Andrews et al, 2018).Previous research has identified numerous reasons why teachers tend to avoid difficult topics (Cassar et al, 2023). Teachers may fear community backlash (Ranschaert, 2023), particularly when there is disagreement over which topics should be open to discussion or considered settled.…”

How to Create a Safe Space When Teaching Controversial Issues in China

“…Furthermore, these controversial issues will come up unannounced in class. If this is the case, the controversial issues are not part of the teacher"s lesson plan, and there is a risk that the teacher will avoid them (Cassar et al, 2021). In particular, Lynch and McKenna (1990) emphasise the importance of explicitly considering the nature of the following six issues in teaching about controversial issues in science.…”

Meningsmangfold og ubehag i klasserommet

“…Iversen (2012) argumenterer for at laerere gjerne søker å etablere et «enighetsfellesskap» for å håndtere meningsbrytning (se også Flensner, 2018), heller enn å søke å utvikle «uenighetsfellesskap». Laerere gir uttrykk for at det kan vaere tryggere å unngå temaer som skaper engasjement og følelser, ettersom følelser er vanskelig å kontrollere og fordi elever kan komme til å ytre seg på uakseptable måter (se Anker & von der Lippe, 2015;Cassar et al, 2021). Upopulaere meninger kan skape spenninger og splittelse, og elever som ytrer seg kritisk kan bli stilt i et dårlig lys (Beck, 2013;Toft, 2021).…”