Dealing with controversial issues

Some information and tips on how to deal with controversial issues that may be raised in the classroom.

The nature of relationship and sexuality education means that controversial issues will be raised. Although teachers may find that handling such issues is not easy, their inclusion in the educational program is justifiable if it enables students to gain skills in analysis and gives them opportunities to test their values and to support their opinions with facts. It should enable students to develop skills in distinguishing between fact and opinion, between relevant and irrelevant arguments and between important and unimportant issues.

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What are controversial or sensitive issues

Controversial or sensitive issues are those that have a political, social or personal impact and arouse feelings and/or deal with questions of value or belief.

Dealing with controversial issues can be complicated as people often have strong and heavily defined views .These views may have been formulated by;

previous experiences
values , beliefs, attitudes
family and friends
interests
societal views and expectations

Benefits to students

Developing controversial issues helps young people to develop a number of skills, including:

inquiry
critical thinking
analytical skills.

There are many controversial issues that students are interested in and teachers have a key role by providing opportunities for issues to be raised that will enable young people to learn to:

make reasoned judgements
respect the opinions of others
weigh up different viewpoints
participate actively in arguments and debates
resolve conflicts.

The classroom setting allows students to express their ideas in a safe environment through clearly identifying issues, considering multiple perspectives and formulating their personal positions to develop their informed opinion. It is important to remember that as teachers we are not trying to persuade them to adopt our point of view but rather give them the opportunity to explore different aspects of the controversial issue.

Teaching students how to handle controversy is an essential life skill as they are taught how to make informed choices as to how they exercise their own rights and their responsibilities to others. Identifying and clarifying controversial issues empowers students with an awareness of depth and breadth of the issue. They are provided with background information and this forms a solid foundation to build their own case. Through a process of understanding opposing points of view students can move forward to informing their own opinions.

Providing opportunities to discuss controversial issues offers a process by which young people can:

absorb new information
judge its bias and reliability
analyse it
synthesise it through a process of reflection on their own current views
draw their own conclusions
make informed decisions
take considered action on these controversial issues.

The Teacher's role

The teacher plays a key role when discussing controversial issues and it is important to judge when, how and if to express their own personal views and opinions. The teacher may adopt the position of:

Devil’s Advocate – teacher adopts provocative and oppositional stances irrespective of own viewpoint. This enables the teacher to ensure that all views are covered and challenged if a consensus view emerges early on. It also helps to challenge young people’s existing beliefs.
Objective or Academic – teacher adopts a position that expresses all possible viewpoints and an explanation of all opinions without stating their own opinion.
Declared Interest – teacher declares own viewpoint so that students can judge later bias, then presents all available positions as objectively as possible.
Advocate – teacher presents all available viewpoints then concludes by stating own position and including reasons. The teacher can then make the point that it is important for students to evaluate all viewpoints before forming their own opinions.
Committed – teacher propagates own views. Care needs to be taken with this role as this can lead to a biased discussion.
Impartial Chairperson – teacher ensures that all viewpoints are represented either through student statements or published sources. Teacher facilitates but refrains from stating own position.

Teaching and learning strategies

Effective teaching and learning strategies for developing controversial issues include:

debate
drama
role-play and simulation
mysteries
diamond ranking
values continuum
happy/sad continuum
use of photos

Teacher preparation

According to the Guiding Principles for the Provision and Practice of Sexual Health Education, teachers who are not adequately trained in sexuality education may have difficulties in dealing with cultural and social attitudes, beliefs and values about sexual health. Therefore it is important for teachers to clarify their own values in order to be aware of them.

The online course "Teaching Sexuality Education", available to Department of Education teachers addresses this need.

Parent preparation

It is essential that parents receive adequate information with regard to the content and the context of the controversial issue to be discussed. Parents should receive reasonable notice and information about the program that will allow them to examine the issues, seek further clarification from the school if necessary, and to withdraw their child from the program if they choose. Template for parent letters are available within the resources section.

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