Controversial Issues - Teachers' attitudes and practices in the context of citizenship education

 A survey of the literature suggests that the principles and methods relating to the teaching of controversial issues are themselves controversial. This irony is more relevant to teachers now than ever before. This paper explores the issue of teachers' readiness to use controversial issues in the classroom, and reports on research involving focus groups and questionnaires. We suggest that many teachers are under‐prepared and feel constrained in their ability to handle this aspect of their work.