Tensions and arguments on controversial issues are an inherent part of attending school. Starting point of our research is that tensions in ethnically diverse classes provide opportunities for intercultural education. These may present suitable opportunities to, for example, discuss intercultural relations and social justice and for pupils to reflect on these. Tense situations in the class present teachers with the task of taking pedagogical action. Ways of reacting can broadly be differentiated in firstly the extent to which there is room for pupils to contribute and secondly whether the teacher adopts a personal stance or not (Maslovaty, 2000; Oser & Althof, 1993; Van Veen et al., 2003). In the context of citizenship education aimed at developing critical, democratic citizens, educational strategies are to be preferred that attribute a great deal of value to the active learning of pupils, such as dialogue and cooperative learning (Solomon, Watson & Battistisch, 2001). This paper presents the results of a research into tensions in the classroom as opportunities for a dialogue on living in diversity. Empirical knowledge will be presented about: a. teachers’ experiences of and reactions to tense situations b. pupils’ experiences of tense situations and their appraisal of the reactions of their teacher to these. We assumed that their experiences and appraisal differ according to pupils’ ethnic origin and according to the ethnic composition of the class. It was analysed whether pupils appreciate teachers’ reactions more when there is room for pupils to talk about their perceptions of the situation than when the reactions are more teacher-centred; c. The views and actions of teachers in the preparation and guidance of discussions in ethnically diverse classes about tense issues related to ethnic diversity in society.

Knowledge about teachers’ and pupils’ experiences of, and reactions to, tense situations was acquired by a nationwide survey. 87 teachers and 1987 pupils of 89 classes of 34 different schools in the Netherlands filled in a questionnaire. The questionnaire presented twenty tense situations that were located in the classroom. Respondents were asked to point out how the teacher had reacted to situations that they had experienced. The respondents could choose from options that reflected more teacher-centred and more pupil-centred reactions. The data were analysed using multilevel regression analysis. More in depth insight into the way teachers shaped and guided class discussions was acquired by an interview- and observation study in which 5 teachers of ethnically diverse classes participated. It was analysed whether professional demands that were derived from the literature were reflected in the thinking, actions and behaviour of the teachers who prepared and guided a discussion.

The survey gives insight in tensions in ethnically diverse classes experienced by teachers and pupils and in reactions of teachers to tense situations. Most teachers reacted in particular by talking with the pupils concerned, in combination with a discussion with the whole class. Pupils differed along ethnic lines in their sensitivity to tense situations. Overall, they had appraisal for the way their teachers reacted. This appraisal did scarcely depend on their ethnic background or on the ethnic composition of the class. The way teachers reacted in relation to specific situations did prove to be a significant variable for pupils’ appreciation. In contrast to the survey the dominant impression of the small-scale study was of teachers who experience difficulties in guiding class discussions about sensitive issues. Their insecurities are about an orderly course of the discussion, about introducing different perspectives on the ethnically diverse society and about their own intercultural sensitivity.