Abstract:
The Independent Education Board (IEB) introduced the need to facilitate critical conversations
on controversial topics in the Life Orientation (LO) classroom at the National Conference in
2016. This shifted the focus of discussions to a facilitated critical narrative within IEB Subject
Assessment Guidelines (SAGs) topics. This push followed youth activism against systemic
racism at educational institutes, which initially created the perception that these conversations
related to the socio-political status quo alone. However, the LO curriculum includes a range of
topics that require critical narratives. Courageous conversations may trigger cognitive and
emotional dissonance in both the teacher and learner. It is, therefore, crucial to interrogate the
LO teachers’ lived experiences in facilitating courageous conversations. This study employed
individual phenomenological interviews and a focus group discussion. The participants
consisted of nine LO teachers from Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and North West
province. Each individual interview focused on determining the contexts and the phenomenon
of their lived experience of courageous conversations and each participant’s agency in their
private capacity as professional educators. The focus group discussion centred around
establishing gaps in the motivation, training and skill development of LO teachers to facilitate
these conversations. The findings indicate that the courage required of teachers to challenge
and be challenged, albeit in a safe environment, results in teacher vulnerability
