הוראת סוגיות שנויות במחלוקת: נקודת הראות של מורים לאזרחות בישראל

Israel is a conflict-ridden society, divided by national, religious, and equality issues. Discussing controversial issues in societies with a legacy of oppression and violent conflict may lead to strong emotions, and therefore to a deep involvement and resistance (Zembylas & Kambani, 2012). Teachers who discuss controversial issues in their classrooms are often worried about losing control of their classes, and about being accused of inappropriate disclosure of their political opinions (McAvoy & Hess, 2013), the possibility of sanctions by the school community, and even being fired. Considering these difficulties, in this study we aim to expand our knowledge on the difficulties and dilemmas of running discussions on controversial topics, and to explore that in the Israeli context. The current study is based on in-depth and semi-structured interviews with 10 civics teachers who shared their experience of running discussions of controversial issues in their classrooms. Two themes emerged regarding the struggles and dilemmas that they face in their classrooms. First, the difficulties of holding a discussion in a reality of extremism and nationalism – trying to do educational work within a social discourse that enshrines nationalistic and ethnocentric agendas rather than educate for diversity and the living in a pluralistic society. Second, exposing and explaining the sources of this discourse as they are viewed and interpreted by the teachers themselves. The results of this inquiry highlight the significance of paying more attention to preparing pre-service and in-service teachers to teach controversial issues, so that teacher-education programs and the Israeli Ministry of Education provide them the pedagogical tools and knowledge on how to deal with the increasing nationalistic, intolerant, and extremist responses of their students.