Research

Educators will be aware, concerned even, by the increasing social, political and cultural polarisation affecting our teaching spaces. Topics once considered neutral or apolitical are now politically divisive and lead to emotionally charged responses. Where there was once consensus there is now contention. This tense atmosphere is further challenged by students whose lives and well-being are impacted by the seeming perma-crisis of conflict, social injustice, displacement and trauma, not to mention the youth mental health crisis profoundly exacerbated by the pandemic.  

These realities raise complex questions for teaching and learning across all disciplines in higher education. In response, many educators have turned to approaches such as trauma-informed teaching (e.g.,  Carelo & Butler, 2014; Crosby, Howel & Thomas, 2018), and pedagogies of hope, kindness and care (e.g., Denial, 2024; Matesan, 2025). We are looking at educating the whole student, developing competencies and values such as continuous improvement, respect for diversity, integrity and accountability (UNESCO Competency Framework, 2016), as well as contributing to students’ moral and ethical development, drawing on the manner of traditions such as Pestalozzi’s “head, heart, and hand”.

This special issue invites reflective contributions that explore what it means to teach sensitive issues in their field/discipline, in current challenging times, and how educators approach such teaching. Contributors are invited to reflect on their teaching experiences related to sensitive issues.

Read more and submit your abstract here.

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Abstract deadline: 10 February 2026 

Full paper submission deadline: 10 April 2026

Anticipated publication date: October 2026

First published: 18 January 2026