Att undervisa om kontroversiella frågor i samhällskunskap : En studie om lärares hantering av kontroversiella frågor i samhällskunskapsundervisningen

Teaching controversial social issues is a central yet complex part of social studies education, involving cognitive, emotional, relational, and normative dimensions. This study explores how social studies teachers understand and handle such issues, and which didactic practices support meaningful engagement. Based on qualitative interviews and analyzed through Klafki’s critical-constructive didactic theory, the study combines deductive and inductive thematic analysis using Klafki’s five didactic questions and four areas of teaching-method planning as a framework. This study aims to shed light on how teachers engage with the school’s democratic mission in practice and highlights the potential value of an integrated didactic perspective for addressing the complexity of teaching controversial social issues. Findings suggest that teachers view controversial issues as relational and context-dependent, shaped by interactions between content, students’ experiences, emotions, and classroom context. Their didactic handling is flexible, situational, and assessment-oriented, with attention to emotional work, relationship management, and timing as essential for effective teaching. Content analysis and methodological considerations often occur simultaneously rather than sequentially, reflecting the complexity of everyday teaching practice.