Conflicting truths in educational settings — Université du Québec à Montréal professor aims to understand how teachers and students navigate between beliefs and scientific knowledge in dealing with controversies

Date published: March 11, 2026 | Estimated read time: 5 min Social SCiences and Humanities Research Council

Gender and sexual orientation issues, evolution theories, vaccination: how to tackle these topics without inflaming the classroom at a time when societal debates are increasingly polarized? Such complex, controversial and socially heated issues are the focus of a research project headed by Stéphanie Tremblay, professor in the Université du Québec à Montréal’s department of religious studies and director of the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie.

With the help of an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in 2024, Tremblay is leading a project to examine how schools in Quebec, Belgium, France and Switzerland deal with conflicting truths—situations where two truths clash, with scientifically proven knowledge on the one hand and personal convictions linked to beliefs, values or identity on the other.

“Currently, societies are highly polarized and established knowledge is being challenged,” says the researcher. “The focus of my work is to analyze the pedagogical challenges that arise when the knowledge taught at school is questioned, debated or rejected by contradictory personal or cultural beliefs.”

For democratic society to be resilient, we have to learn to distinguish between facts, beliefs, values and emotions—without excluding or marginalizing. School is an ideal place to start.

Differentiating registers of truth

At the heart of the project is the “registers of truth” concept, that is, the different ways of considering a statement to be true, in scientific, moral, identity or emotional terms.

“In discussing vaccination, for example, some arguments are based on science, while others are linked to fear, experience or personal values. My goal is to see how these different registers of truth intersect among secondary school teachers and students,” the researcher explains.

To this end, Tremblay and her team set three research objectives: describe how teachers and students understand conflicting truths; analyze how disagreements are negotiated in francophone classrooms; and compare different models for managing conflict in school.

“We’re trying to better understand how the school draws the line between what is considered legitimate knowledge and what is perceived as an ideological or unfounded belief,” says Tremblay.

Young people in search of autonomy

A teacher speaks with a group of high school students.

Photo: Eduard Figueres

The project arose from a previous study by the researcher into student perceptions of conspiracy theories.

“We observed the importance of emotions and of the desire for autonomy among young people. Many want to make up their own minds rather than simply accept what institutions say,” says Tremblay.

This desire to act intentionally, make decisions and influence one’s environment rather than simply be passive can be both positive and destabilizing.

“Agency is both a catalyst for freedom and a cause of isolation, because it transforms the relationship to knowledge,” says the researcher, who, interested in the transformations of modern society and the mix between the religious and secular worlds, views school as a true social laboratory. “In schools today, we see a mixture of beliefs and types of knowledge. Understanding this phenomenon is essential to preserving democracy.”

International collaboration

Conducted in Quebec, France, Belgium and Switzerland, the project brings together experts in sociology of religion, science education, communication and social psychology.

“The richness of this project lies in its interdisciplinary scope. Conflicting truths are not just a scientific issue; they are also societal, media and psychological issues,” says Tremblay.

The team is about to enter secondary schools to conduct interviews and observe teachers and students. A questionnaire will then be drawn up based on the data collected, the aim being to combine qualitative and quantitative methods to get a more complete picture of how different francophone societies deal with controversy in schools.

Teaching people capable of nuance

Although the research is still in its early stages, its anticipated impacts are considerable. From a scientific point of view, it will provide a better understanding of how young people form their opinions when faced with information from multiple and sometimes contradictory sources. On the social front, it will provide teachers with tools and strengthen students’ critical thinking skills.

The research team also plans to hold conferences, record podcasts and write articles to help the general public understand the controversial topics being studied.

“In these ways, we want to help depolarize debates as, all too often, discussions boil down to left-right oppositions, when the reality is more nuanced,” says the researcher.

For Tremblay, the issue extends far beyond school walls.

Want to learn more?

To learn more about this topic, read the special issue “À l’école de l’incertitude : théories du complot et autres conflits de vérités en Belgique, en France, en Suisse et au Québec” [At the school of uncertainty: conspiracy theories and other conflicts of truth in Belgium, France, Switzerland and Quebec], to be published in June 2026 in Recherches en éducation (in French). You can also visit Stéphanie Tremblay’s page (in French) on the Université du Québec à Montréal website for publications and events related to the research project.