This article examines how teachers can navigate "difficult knowledge" embedded within digital stories, particularly those sourced from openly licensed literacy platforms. These platforms offer a rich tapestry of narratives reflecting diverse cultural contexts and experiences, but may also present challenging themes that require sensitive…

In the context of global crises, the priorities of vocational education and training (VET) need to be reconsidered. VET should educate critically reflective global citizens who are capable of acting to create a more just and sustainable world both in their workplaces and in society at large. This study examines VET teachers' views on addressing…

Friction in the classroom may create useful tension for teachers when they attempt to discuss sensitive topics as part of democratic learning. Due to the openness and indeterminacy of these topics, students can experience what it is like to be (political) subjects in a diverse society and become aware of other people's subjectness in a charged…

The past decade has seen significant changes in our country's political landscape, some of which have spilled over into higher education. One change that has impacted millions of students is recent legislation in many states (such as Florida, Texas, Utah, Alabama, and North Dakota) and from the federal government intended to inhibit diversity,…

Controversial topics may be uncomfortable for teachers to include in their in-class discussions. However, there are considerable cognitive and social-emotional benefits to engagement in controversial conversations, or classroom discussion about controversial topics. It is critical that teachers support students in respectful discussion to help…

Risk-taking in honors education entails not only anxiety about grades and intellectually disturbing ideas but also painful emotional responses to course materials. Rather than censoring such "dangerous" materials, faculty should compassionately encourage vulnerable students to acknowledge their pain safely in an open and accepting…

In light of a national reckoning with racism in the U.S., many instructors are assessing their own pedagogical practices with regard to handling these topics in their classrooms. In developing my authentic teaching philosophy over the course of 18 years, I have adapted many practices I used in my prior career in dispute resolution. To clarify, I…

Critics of safe spaces in campus teaching often fail to understand the complexity of instructors' practices in teaching controversial topics. Beginning with recent controversy regarding safe spaces in the higher education classroom, this paper explores strategies for fostering more complex learning when teaching classes on sensitive topics, whilst…

In a divisive age, how do we support beginning teachers in taking up the challenge of teaching controversial topics and creating classroom environments that promote civil discourse? For insights, the author looked to the work of teacher educators in Northern Ireland, a region that is still affected by many generations of intense sectarian…

Purpose: Even as sites for higher education work to transform curricula and strive for greater diversity among students and faculties, little is done to create safe, inviting environments for people to openly discuss the contradictions and challenges in teaching about differences. The authors' purpose is to examine multiple and intersecting…

Based on a cross-national study conducted in Northern Ireland, England, and the United States, this article expands current literature by examining 4 teacher educators' efforts to prepare preservice teachers to teach controversial issues. Teaching controversial issues, strongly advocated for decades, is both urgent and risky, especially in divided…

As sociology instructors increasingly include materials on sexual violence in their courses, both instructors and students express anxieties over how best to handle such sensitive conversations. This article critically examines the conventional advice to offer a trigger warning, which can interfere with student education (e.g., requiring survivors…

The current divisive presidential election highlights the importance of teaching students the skills of constructive public discourse. This article discusses the role teachers play in teaching students how to exchange ideas, listen respectfully to different opinions and experiences, try out ideas and positions, and give--and get--constructive…

This article examines how scripts that circulate among culturally and theologically conservative Christian students, whether they are categorized as "born again," "Religious Right," "Christian Right," "nondenominational," "evangelical," or "fundamental," aim to prime students for the…

Fear, or rather the recognition of and consequential "transcendence" of fear, is potentially a very powerful pedagogical tool--especially in educational settings that purport to strive for democratic teaching practices. In this study, secondary English teacher candidates (TCs) were encouraged to imagine the ways they could overcome fear…