Are civics teachers different from teachers of other disciplines in their handling of controversial issues?

Abstract

Conducting discussions on controversial political issues is an important vehicle to promote students’ democratic values and critical thinking in schools. This schoolwide task cuts across all disciplines and different subject matter. Israeli civics and social studies teachers are often required to touch upon such issues and manage the situations that follow. This study examined whether civics and social studies teachers are different from teachers of other disciplines in their attitudes toward controversial political issues and in their reported behaviors. Civics and social studies teachers scored higher in all the variables related to discussions of controversial political issue and reported more relevant behaviors. In examining the variables that predict teachers’ self-efficacy to conduct controversial political issue discussions, variables that related to professional identity were the strongest predictors alongside pluralistic attitudes. We concluded that teacher training should emphasize the importance of discussions of controversial political issue and develop teachers’ ability to conduct such discussions as part of their professional role.