Teachers’ Challenges and Practices in Handling Contentious Issues: Cross-Country Analysis and Recommendations

This conclusive article builds on the data collected within the framework of the H2020 project PARTICIPATION to provide a cross-country analysis of the main challenges and contentious topics teachers face in the classroom, along with the possible responses they may adopt to address these issues. After having described the whole sample of teachers involved in this research, the article reports on the most frequently experienced challenges and
contentious topics in the classroom, including issues relating to the perceived level of support received by teachers when dealing with contentious issues, their relationship with the student’s parents, and their feelings about existing
educational tools. The second part of the article will focus on training needs, good and bad practices, as well as what are, in the teachers’ view, the main obstacles to dealing with challenges and contentious topics at school, and the main suggestions provided by the teachers to tackle these problems. To conclude, the article provides a set of recommendations directed towards policymakers and school administrations to support teachers in handling challenges and contentious issues that arise in the classroom.