Teachers´souce-critical approach in civics education : Teaching strategies and challenges in the higher grades of compulsory school when students are surrounded by disinformation and fake news

In todays ́ society, with its vast flow of information, new demands are placed on pupils ́ source-critical approach. Research shows that many pupils are not adequately equipped for it, and that teaching practices in civics vary both in content and scope when aiming to strengthen this in pupils. The focus in this study is therefore to contribute to an understanding of the challenges teachers face in their professional practice, as well as what methods and strategies they use to strengthen pupils ́ critical approach to information. The study is based on five semi-structured interviews to gain deeper insights into teachers ́ perceptions, strategies and methods. The results shows that teachers view source-critical thinking as a natural and important part of civics education, though there ́s both similarities as well as differences in their practices. Identified challenges include pupils ́ pre-existing strong opinions, limited reasoning skills, and habits of consuming fast-paced information flows in social media, perceived by some teachers as a major source of information outside school. Dialogues, authentic examples, and joint source analysis occurs, often focusing on news. The study shows that facing these challenges requires conscious, flexible, and committed teaching to equip pupils for active democratic participation and the ability to critically navigate today ́s vast flow of information.