QUISST (Quality in Social Science Teaching) examined teaching quality in social science classrooms across Nordic countries, focusing on how knowledge, skills, and values crucial for democratic participation are imparted to students.
An important aspect of this is what researchers call "higer order thinking," which involves applying knowledge to complex problems rather than just recalling facts.
A key finding from the study revealed that there is sometimes a trade-off between students forming opinions and engaging with complex knowledge.
Social science teaching was similar across Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, with a few interesting differences; Danish teachers often integrated challenging tasks with subject knowledge, Swedish teachers focused more on subject knowledge, and Norwegian teachers emphasized intellectual challenge.
The QUISST findings show that balancing subject knowledge with students' everyday knowledge and opinions is challenging for teachers, but the use of classroom videos in teacher education and training could help them manage this balance.