The master’s thesis explores how controversial social issues and sensitive topics are dealt with in the teaching of history in Slovenian gimnazija secondary schools and examines how they are covered in the school curriculum and textbooks. It also considers which content teachers recognize as sensitive, how they address it in the classroom, and what challenges they encounter in the process. Controversial social issues raise dilemmas, differences of opinion, and conflicts of values, while also opening up political questions in society. When such questions enter the school environment, they become sensitive topics due to the subjective nature of those involved. In Slovenia, sensitive historical topics most often relate to the period of World War II and its aftermath, as they are strongly linked to collective memory, ideological disputes, and symbolic burdens. An analysis of the school history curriculum has shown that sensitive topics are often unevenly represented across objectives and contents. In certain topics selectivity is apparent, where some aspects are highlighted while others are left unaddressed – a tendency particularly visible in our analysed history textbooks. Interviews with history teachers revealed that most of them associate sensitive topics primarily with contemporary history, though they also recognize them in earlier periods as well as in contents that might initially appear neutral. As a rule, teachers stick to the topics specified in the curriculum, but they also allow for discussions of contents beyond it, especially where they point to gaps. To address these topics, they apply a variety of strategies, ranging from cautious avoidance to encouraging critical debate and active pupil engagement. Among the key challenges, teachers point to the lack of didactic guidelines, inadequate textbooks, personal reservations, and time constraints, and they therefore express a need for stronger professional and institutional support. Addressing sensitive topics in gimnazija secondary schools thus emerges as an important and complex process that calls for more systematic integration into the school curriculum and adequate support for teachers.
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