This bachelor's thesis explores how social studies teachers in grades 7-9 perceive and handle controversial issues in their teaching. The study is grounded in the democratic mission of the Swedish school system as outlined in Lgr22, where critical thinking, respect for human rights, and open dialogue are emphasized as core values. At the same time, previous research shows that teachers often face difficult didactic decisions when teaching topics that evoke strong emotions, polarized opinions, or relate to students’ identities. The purpose of the study is to deepen the understanding of how teachers’ reason about the concept of "controversial issues," how such topics are integrated into their teaching, and what opportunities and challenges arise in the process. The method used is qualitative interview analysis. The interview guide was designed using prior research and curriculum documents, and the analysis is thematically structured. The results show that what is considered controversial varies greatly depending on context. Issues such as honor culture, gender equality, immigration, and climate change are addressed to different extents depending on the composition of the student population. The teachers express a strong desire to promote democratic education but also point to barriers such as fear of conflict, unclear guidelines, and a lack of organizational support. The classroom climate appears to be crucial for how safely and constructively these topics can be addressed. 

The results are theoretically analyzed using the didactic triangle (Bronäs & Runebo, 2016), Dewey’s concept of the school as a democratic microcosm (1916), and the models for deliberative teaching developed by Hess (2009) and Tryggvason (2015). These perspectives highlight how teachers must constantly balance subject content, students’ needs, and their own normative position. The study shows that teachers adopt different roles in practice from neutral facilitators to norm-driven guides, and that this is influenced by both personal confidence and organizational conditions. The thesis concludes with a discussion on the need for structural support, common guidelines, and teacher training. There is a demand for clearer frameworks that not only emphasize the school’s democratic mission in abstract terms but also provide concrete guidance on how controversial topics can be handled in the classroom. The study also emphasizes the importance of including students’ perspectives in future research, in order to better understand how classroom discussions on controversial issues are experienced by those who actively participate in them.