This study investigated the participant structure and content of discourse in five high-school science classrooms and their connection to scientifically literate practices for talking, reasoning, and evaluating claims. Through a detailed exploration of the way teachers introduced classes to the topic of evolution, I was able to examine how teachers used language to build a social framework for participation, examined the opportunities and challenges stemming from their various approaches, and explored how the structure and content of classroom talk contributed to framing science. This study used techniques from interactional sociolinguistics and conversational analysis to examine videos of interaction in five secondary biology classrooms on the day teachers introduced their students to lessons focused on the topic of evolution. Implications of this study focus on how teacher's discourse moves could open or close a discussion to student knowledge contributions, and emphasize how open discussions offer both challenges and opportunities to teachers wishing to facilitate scientifically literate discourse practices in their classroom. / text

Ett centralt mål för ämnet samhällskunskap är att skolan ska lyfta och arbeta med ämnen som kan anses vara kontroversiella. Kontroversiella ämnesområden är baserade på individens ställningstagande och värderingar i olika ämnen och frågor. Syftet med denna undersökning är att med hjälp av kvantitativ webbenkätundersökning, teorier och tidigare forskning, undersöka lärarnas erfarenheter och synsätt kring olika kontroversiella frågor. Resultatet från enkätsvaren visar att olika centrala begrepp i ämnet samhällskunskap, som till exempel makt, politik, genus och jämställdhet, kan ses som kontroversiella och kan skapa spänningar i klassrummet. Lärare i undersökningen upplevde att de kontroversiella ämnesområdena skiljdes åt beroende på elevgrupp och vilken skola man arbetade på. Lärare nämner effektiva metoder och strategier som de använder i samband med undervisning om kontroversiella ämnesområde. Metoderna som lärare använde sig av bygger på olika kommunikationsstrategier.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to present a specific type of teaching of social sciences in high school, namely the multiparadigmatic type. In accordance with the multiparadigmatic character of social sciences, this teaching type accentuates the plurality of approaches to a given social topic and does not indoctrinate the learner with one specific approach or paradigm. The theoretical part of this diploma thesis describes the concept of scientific paradigms, mostly on the basis of the findings of philosopher T. S. Kuhn, who addresses this issue in the context of natural sciences. Next, it is explained why the concept of paradigms can be related to social sciences and how these two science areas differ. The multiparadigmatic character of social sciences is then applied to their didactics, where selected methodological aspects of multiparadigmatic teaching are discussed, such as the choice of paradigms, working with them, and the attitude of the teacher. This part of the diploma thesis also illustrates the concepts of monoparadigmatism and multiparadigmatism with the comparison of two didactic manuals and two curricular documents from various environments. Furthermore, it describes the reasons for the employment of multiparadigmatic teaching as well as its conditions and limitations. The...

The purpose of this thesis is to study how teachers teaches about controversial topics in the subject of social studies in relations to Albert Banduras theory of self-efficacy. Nine high school social studies teachers have been interviewed in order to fulfill this purpose. The teachers answers where then categorized into different categories of teaching strategies and influencing factors. The result shows that all of the teachers in the study applied teaching strategies that requires a high degree of self-efficacy. These strategies where pupil-centered to a high degree and correlates with ideals of deliberativ democracy as consensus weren’t necessarily the goal with the education. The source of the high degree of self-efficacy amongst the teachers seemed to be prior teaching experiences about controversial topics as all of the teachers claimed that their experiences where a major influencing factor for their classroom teachings. Other influencing factors such as the degree of heterogeneity in the classroom, type of high school program or the societal discourse surrounding the controversial topics where deemed as important but seemed to affect the choice of teaching strategies in a quite limited way. The fact that prior experiences where theprimary influencing factor supports the hypothesis that self-efficacy is an essential factor when teachers choose their teaching strategies as prior experiences of success (so-called mastery experiences) is the most important source for a strong sense of self-efficacy according to Bandura’s theory. / Denna uppsats har till syfte att granska samhällskunskapslärares undervisning om kontroversiella samhällsfrågor i ämnet samhällskunskap i relation till Banduras teori om upplevd självförmåga. För att uppfylla detta syfte har semistrukturerade intervjuer med 9 samhällskunskapslärare på gymnasienivå genomförts. Utifrån samhällskunskapslärarnas utsagor har en kategorisering kring lärarnas val av undervisningsstrategier samt de faktorer som påverkar detta val av undervisningsstrategier genomförts. Resultatet visade att samtliga lärare använde sig att undervisningsstrategier som i hög utsträckning förutsätter en stark upplevd självförmåga. Dessa strategier är elevcentrerade och bygger på samtalsdemokratiska ideal där konsensus inte nödvändigtvis är målet. Källan till denna starka upplevda självförmåga hos lärarna förefaller vara tidigare erfarenheter av undervisning om kontroversiella samhällsfrågor då samtliga lärare lyfte fram deras erfarenhetsgrad som en viktig påverkansfaktor för deras undervisning. Övriga påverkansfaktorer som graden av heterogenitet i klassrummet, typ av gymnasieprogram eller den samhällsdiskurs som omgärdar den kontroversiella samhällsfrågan uppgavs som viktiga men tycktes relativt sällan påverka valet av undervisningsstrategi i någon nämnvärd utsträckning. Att det är just erfarenheter som framförallt styr valet av undervisningsstrategi stödjer hypotesen att den upplevda självförmågan är central för valet av undervisningsstrategi då erfarenheter av framgång (s.k. mastery experiences) utgör den främsta källan till en stark känsla av upplevd självförmåga enligt Banduras teori.

Civic teachers in Swedish upper secondary schools are facing a more challenging job than ever due to the current polarized political climate. They are expected to teach about controversial issues whilst keeping the classroom at peace and at the same time allowing each student the opportunity to express their opinion. This research overview strives to explore how teachers teach and deal with controversial topics in civic studies. How can teachers work with controversial issues in the classroom? And what does previous research say about this work? In order to answer these questions a literature search has been done and previous research and empirical material has been analyzed. The findings show different approaches, such as denying the controversy or presenting different perspectives of the controversy, when teaching controversial topics in the classrooms. The results of this research review also presents different perspectives from both teachers and students on the subject, teachers’ dilemma as well as pedagogical tools that can be beneficial for students’ development. The findings also show that there is no clear answer or manual that teachers can follow or be guided by when teaching about and dealing with controversial issues. However, depending on one's goal of the lesson, one can strategically use a certain approach in order to try and reach a certain outcome.

This study is about teachers in socially oriented subjects and their attitudes and experiences regarding working with controversial issues in teaching. Previous research has shown that there are shortcomings and major challenges in handling controversial subjects in the classroom. Therefore, I chose to investigate this by interviewing eight subject teachers in socially oriented subjects. The purpose of the study was to examine different teachers' work with controversial issues and their experiences of opportunities and challenges respectively in teaching controversial subjects. After conducting a qualitative interview study with eight teachers, the results were consistent with previous research. The results of the study indicate a lack of time and challenges associated with working on controversial issues, as they are difficult to handle and can lead to conflicts and disruptions in the classroom. Consequently, some teachers choose not to teach about controversial issues. However, on the other hand, the results of the study show that there were teachers who encouraged working with controversial issues as they considered it important to socialize students into society by addressing controversial topics. They believed that by doing so, students develop into democratic citizens with political tolerance. Another interesting finding from the interview study is that certain schools as a whole choose not to work with controversial issues to avoid negative consequences. This is interesting because other schools in the study, for example, those with UN profiles, focus on challenging students with controversial issues to develop them into democratic citizens of society. One can therefore conclude that working with controversial issues is a task that must involve the entire school, not just the teacher, as it requires efforts from management, colleagues, teachers, and students. Thus, in schools where only the teacher is responsible for addressing controversial issues without support from management or colleagues, it may lead to a reduction in teaching on controversial subjects.

In a world characterized by constant changes and increasing diversity, controversialevents unfold in society on a daily basis. Given the School's role in educating democraticcitizens, it is imperative for educational institutions to adapt and incorporate current andcontroversial topics into their curriculum. This thesis explores the perspectives of socialstudies teachers on controversial issues in the classroom. Employing a phenomenologicalapproach and conducting in-depth interviews with social studies teachers, the studyanalyzes their subjective experiences, definitions of the subject, and approaches toteaching controversial topics. Therefore, our purpose and research questions are groundedin three themes, which are also pervasive throughout the work: Teacher management,teacher experience, and teacher definition of controversial issues in education.In summary, the results from our interview study reveal that teachers acknowledge theemotional impact associated with these issues, a finding supported by prior research. Thechallenge lies in the complexity of these topics and the ability to strike a balance betweenintellectual challenge and emotional understanding. The study highlights the difficultyteachers face in maintaining objectivity while navigating through their own values, andthe intricate interplay between subject content, emotions, and the teacher's ownperspective. It is evident that a conscious effort is required to create a classroomatmosphere that fosters open dialogues and respectful confrontations to promotedemocratic values, where diverse perspectives can be included.

1 Abstract The thesis titled Partisans perception of controversial topics in online news and influence of hostile media effect is dedicated to a modern phenomenon from the field of media effects and media audience research called hostile media effect. Its theory has been shaping since the mid 80s of the previous century and it is defined as a tendency of polarized partisans to perceive even-handed and balanced media coverage of a controversial topic as biased against their own opinion. With this effect, both polarized groups evaluate unbiased media content as more favorable towards the contrary point of view. Theoretical part includes the history of the phenomenon, its context within development of new digital media and social media, factors that influence its impact and how it affects cognitive processes, therefore why there is a tendency of such perceptions within polarized partisans. The last chapter of theory covers a summary of major studies and their findings. In the research part, I conducted a questionnaire inspired by an American study from 2012 that observes different perceptions of media coverage among partisans in the topic of mandatory children vaccination. This is the first research that confirmed a tendency of hostile media phenomenon on Slovak online population.

This diploma thesis focuses on the process of civic and political socialization of adolescents in the context of the reflexion of current political topics in the lessons of civic educational basis on secondary technical schools in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part of the thesis contains the explanation of basic terms regarding the chosen topic. It is then followed by an analysis of curricular documents of secondary technical education in the Czech Republic on the national level, from the point of view of the possibilities of the inclusion of current political topics into the teaching lessons. After the theoretical consolidation of the topic, a practical part of the thesis follows, which consists of a case study. This study aims to describe (with the help of the methods of mixed research) the reflexion of current political topics in the Civics lessons on a chosen secondary technical school, for example regarding the teaching methods, also the frequency and intensity of including the topics into the lessons, or expression of personal opinions of the teachers on current political topics. Through the realisation and evaluation of a questionnaire survey is at first found out the perception of teaching about current political topics, as the pupils of the chosen secondary technical school perceive it. Then is through the realisation of half-structured interviews with the teachers and the following analysis in the whole context found out also their position towards teaching about these topics. The ending part of the thesis then includes the conclusion of all important and interesting findings the study brought, evaluation of reaching the goals which were set for the research, recommendation for the pedagogical praxis and also a reflexion on the use of the findings on an own future praxis.