: The attitudes of primary school teachers towards problem topics influence whether they decide to include texts with such topics in literature class. To understand the attitudes of teachers towards problem topics, we must also focus on the attitudes of students – preservice teachers – towards them. Only in this way can we better educate students and enable them to think critically about texts with a problem topic and using them in literature class.
The aim of the research was to find out what are students’ attitudes towards problem topics and using them in literature class, what reservations they have about using texts with problem topics and what methods they would use while using texts with problem topics in class. We compared the results with a survey among Slovenian teachers and analysed the differences between students in different Years of study.
In the research, we used a descriptive method and an empirical approach with an emphasis on quantitative research with a questionnaire. The purposeful sample included students of all Years of the Undergraduate First Cycle Programme Primary Teacher Education and the Postgraduate Second Cycle Programme Primary Teacher Education (with English) at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education in the academic year 2020/21. Overall, 141 students participated filled out the questionnaire, which represents 25.4% of the basic population.
The results of the research showed that students have distinctly positive attitudes towards using texts with problem topics, they are aware of the positive effects of using such texts and believe that teachers should use texts with problem topics in class. Students agree most with using texts on the topic of children with special needs and texts about a different, foreign world, and they least agree with using texts depicting the Holocaust, sexual abuse, and suicide. Our findings show that Primary Teacher Education students have reservations about using problem texts – they do not know how to find quality work depicting a problem topic, they are afraid that they do not know problem topics well enough to use texts about them in class, they do not feel qualified to use them, and they have a fear of a negative parental response. Analyses show that study at the university has a large impact on reducing reservations about using problem texts in literature class. Students would most often use the teaching method of conversation when using texts with a problem topic. Students of higher Years of study would use the teaching method of explanation and frontal teaching less often, compared to students of lower Years of study.
With the help of the reviewed literature and the obtained research results, we formulated recommendations for primary school teachers and Primary Teacher Education students – preservice teachers – for addressing problem topics in literature lessons, which include guidelines for using texts with problem topics, review of institutions and scientific literature and a list of quality books to discuss in class. The purpose of the recommendations is to reduce the reluctance of students and teachers of classroom to use texts with problem topics in literature lessons.
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