The tutors were also asked about topics they would not reveal their opinions about. Even though at first, two of them could not mention any such topics, eventually they agreed that they would not necessarily share their opinion about topics they are not knowledgeable about and about politics. In their discussion, the tutors also touched upon the fact that they see politics as taboo and that avoiding politics as a discussion topic is “an inherently cultural issue” (Ulrich, T/FG-TT-16), just as it is posited by Hunyadi and Wessenauer (2016). The same ideas have been underscored by Studies 1 and 2, in which tutors and secondary school teachers also pointed at the taboo nature of politics and stated that they would rather avoid them in their lessons in order not to open a can of worms and upset the students. Therefore, the approach they take in connection with politics can be regarded as avoidance.

 

When asked what topics they would not reveal their opinion about, first, many participants said that there were no such topics. Nevertheless, as the discussion unfolded, they agreed that they would not like to take a stand on political issues and they would not reveal much about their personal life or gossip about their colleagues. Similar to the teacher trainers, the teachers also agreed that politics is a hot button topic and even if it is important to talk about such matters, they would rather not. As one of the reasons, they asserted that they are afraid of influencing the students in any way and possibly being accused of having hidden political motives. Consequently, their stance on politics can be considered as avoidance.

 

All the roles enumerated by both university tutors and secondary school teachers are suitable in the classroom, nevertheless, teachers need to vary them consciously in order not to impose their views on their students. The implications are first and foremost for teacher training: as there are many different approaches to dealing with controversial content, it would be advisable to show them to teacher trainees in practice and train them in choosing the most suitable approaches for their discussions. Moreover, even if teachers do not like dealing with political affairs in school, young people who are becoming eligible to vote in some months or years may need some guidance in understanding what is happening in their immediate surroundings. Therefore, it would be paramount to deal with politics in school without touching on party politics or without trying to convince people which party to support, so that students gain an understanding of how the political system works and why it is important to be active citizens. Thus, it would be beneficial to teach trainees how to lead discussions where students can explore complex issues and different viewpoints in a safe space, without championing any views. To this end, during their teacher training years, trainees should acquire personal competencies (e.g., being aware of their own beliefs and values, self-reflection), theoretical competencies (e.g., understanding how controversy arises) and practical competencies (e.g., using a wide range of teaching roles, presenting issues fairly) (Council of Europe, 2016). Moreover, in secondary schools, it would be ideal to set up working teams who could discuss effective ways of incorporating politics into the curriculum, e.g., in the form of projects and other experiential learning activities. Working on these issues together with other teachers could help in-service teachers examine their own biases and beliefs and develop them in their roles of globally competent teachers (Goodwin, 2019). Moreover, teachers could feel safer addressing political matters by consciously incorporating them, and by complying with the guidelines developed with other teachers, this approach could also save them from the charge of indoctrination.