To talk about the difficult things : A qualitative study of how primary school teachers discuss death and life issues in relation to children's maturity and the guidelines of the curriculum

The purpose of the study is to investigate how teachers engage with their pupils about death and other heavy topics, based on their views on children’s maternity. Additionally, the aim is to explore how prepared teachers feel for such conversations and the didactic strategies they use in these contexts. A qualitative method was employed in this study, interviewing six primary teachers. The results show that teachers use various methods and didactic strategies to address these challenging topics. However, Lilla Aktuellt emerges as an important didactic tool for all teachers when discussing current social issues. It is evident that teachers use Lilla Aktuellt in different ways, depending on the teacher’s perception of children’s maturity and their comfort in addressing heavy topics in the classroom. The study revealed that there is no correlation between experience, education or workplace in terms of how heavy topics are addressed in the classroom. Rather, it is the teacher’s personality and values that play a more significant role.