Handling ‘Hot Topics’ in School

Talking is central to democracy. It is the only way to reach decisions that are acceptable to everybody. This is why providing children and young people with opportunities to discuss issues that affect them and their community is so important in democratic education. Yet there are some issues that are difficult to talk about in school. They are such ‘hot topics’ that we are wary of mentioning them. We don’t know how students might respond, what their parents might say, or how other groups in society might react. Issues related to sexuality, politics and religion often fall into this category, but any subject can be controversial in school if people feel strongly enough about it.

How to handle controversial issues in school has been the subject of two Council of Europe manuals. The first manual contains a series of training exercises for classroom teachers. The second is an evaluation tool for leadership teams and looks at how to make schools places where controversy is handled constructively. Now these have been joined by a third manual, Learning how to handle controversial issues in schools and other education settings: A good practice guide. This third manual presents the practical lessons that have been learned from implementing the first two manuals in different countries across Europe. It does this through a series of case studies and frequently answered questions (FAQs).  The case studies include training in the context of initial teacher education, teacher in-service professional development, preventing violent extremism, health education, citizenship and social studies, NGOs and higher education. The FAQs covered deal with, among other things, educator impartiality, pedagogical competences, involving school leaders, relevance to young children, and planning a training when time is limited.

For free downloads of these manuals, go to: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/charter-edc-hre-pilot-projects/publications#%7B%2288522015%22:[0]%7D

For more information, contact Ted Huddleston, Young Citizens (UK), at: huddleston8853@gmail.com