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Rodoljub

Jovanovi1 Dea Mari2


University of Amsterdam University of Zagreb

Controversy in The Classroom?
How do history teachers in Western Balkans approach sensitive and
controversial topics? 3

Following numerous studies that looked into history curricula and history textbooks, what
actually happens in the classroom when it comes to these topics is mostly left unexamined.
How do teachers go around curricular expectations, teaching materials and societal context
in teaching the most controversial topics in their societies? What effect have many
international organizations interventions in the field of history teaching had in this respect?
To try to outline the answers to these questions, together with experts in history teaching in
and history didactics South Eastern Europe as well as with practitioners in each of the
respective countries, we developed a large-scale mixed-method study. The principal
technique of the data collection through an online survey was complemented with focus
groups with selected groups of history teachers in each of the respective countries.
Specifically, teachers were asked about different aspects of the history teaching including:
initial teacher training, curriculum, employment procedures, dealing with controversial topics
and others. Out of 866 teachers who participated in the survey 453 were female; the average
age of participants was 24.17 years (SD=9.041) with the average years of teaching experience
13.89 (SD=8.365). History teachers from Albania (77), Bosnia and Herzegovina (235), Kosovo
(72), Macedonia (123), Montenegro (124) and Serbia (235) gave their assessment of the
current state & the needs in history teaching in their country. Following the avoider-risk taker
continuum model of teachers roles when facing controversial topics (Kitson & McCully,
2005), we looked into several factors determining whether history teachers will take a role of
the avoider, container or the risk taker in approaching the contested topics. Moreover, we
examined how certain individual characteristics (e.g. religiousness and level of education)
and school characteristics (e.g. urban/rural and mono-cultural/multi-cultural environment)
affect the teachers position on the continuum. Understanding teachers views and position in
regards to teaching controversial topics will contribute to better understanding of history
teaching in the Western Balkans but also expand our knowledge of the processes of dealing
with troubled pasts in post-conflict societies.

Key words: History teaching, Western Balkans, Avoider, Container, Risk-taker




1
r.jovanovic@uva.nl
2
dea.maric@gmail.com
3
This research was conducted as part of the project e-Pact: Educational Partnership for
Advocacy, Capacity-Building and Transformation implemented by EUROCLIO (European
Association of History Teachers) and CDRSEE (Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in
Southeast Europe) with the financial support of the Austrian Development Cooperation

Dea Mari holds an MA degree in History and Sociology. She currently works as a project
coordinator in a civil society organisation Documenta Center for Dealing with the Past
from Zagreb on programs of documenting, public advocacy and education for dealing with
the past. She is also a Teaching Associate at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
University of Zagreb on courses related to History Teaching Practice. Her research interests
fall in the fields of history education, educational standards, strategies and practices. She is
actively engaged in several national, regional and international initiatives and organizations
for promotion of human rights and innovation of history and civic education.


Rodoljub Jovanovi is currently a tutor at University of Amsterdam's PPLE College
(Bachelor's program in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics) where he teaches several
courses (Cultural Psychology, Decision Making, Statistics for Experimental Research). He holds
a diploma in Psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade and a MA in
Interdisciplinary Research and Studies on Eastern Europe (MIREES) from the School of Political
Sciences, University of Bologna and Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. He is
currently involved in several educational projects dealing with history teaching and dealing
with the past. His research interest is in combining perspectives of social psychology and
political science in understanding post conflict societies.

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