The aim of my study is to investigate how some actors, taking part in a process that results in classroom teaching, interpret their task of contributing to the curricular-equalizing goal, where pupils attending different educational programmes (academic or vocational) are offered a broad and refined repertoire to use while reading critically. The aim is primarily to shed light on what ideas these offers rely on. The research questions are: How do textbooks, teachers and national tests satisfy the curricular intentions of critical reading of non-fictional texts? On what ideas do the actors rely, when satisfying curricular intentions of critical reading of non-fictional texts? What ideations do they express as the functions of teachers and the position of pupils? When text activities take place in the classroom, they are influenced by different fields. In the official recontextualizing field, educational authorities such as the National Board of Education and national tests act; in the pedagogic recontextualizing field, textbook producers and teacher training colleges act; and in the specialised field, researchers act. They all contribute perspectives and resources to the local recontextualizing field where pupils participate in the actual teaching. The intention of the study is to link the different recontexualizing fields. Presuppositions of and activities by all the parties involved are juxtaposed. Conclusions are drawn about the aggregative pedagogical identity of the institution that is the upper secondary school. This identity is affected by discursive changes and educational ideologies characteristic for all of Europe. The theoretical framework is based on Basil Bernstein's pedagogic theory (1990, 2000), particularly the concepts 'horizontal' and 'vertical discourse'. Bernstein has identified the most effective pedagogy from an equalization perspective and the visible, radical pedagogy's assumptions of education thereby serves as guidelines for the conclusions drawn. Bernstein’s theory of pedagogy expresses a clear equalization aspiration and shares assumptions of literacy instruction that are in line with what is motivated by the specialized field of research (Snow, Griffin & Burns, 2005, Rosenshine & Stevens, 2002).

The methods used are a combination of three studies, each study focusing on a recontextualizing field. The first study is a contrasting textual analysis of textbooks belonging to the pedagogic recontextualizing field. The material in the second study consists of interviews with teachers who are occupied in the local recontextualizing field. Lastly, there is a study of national tests from the official recontextualizing field. Such a triangular design is motivated by my theoretical standpoint. Bernstein argues that various fields contribute important resources in a recontextualizing process concerning the process whereby an activity from the academia is relocated into the classroom. The empirical material in all studies are chosen to meet the need to compare conditions for vocational and two for academic programmes.

The results show that critical-analytical activities have a weak position in the classrooms. Policy documents have assigned less importance to analytic skills such as study technique. Likewise, critical-integrative activities seem to be decreasing. Critical-ideological reading also appears to be decreasing. Such activities and solidarity issues have an increasingly weak position in policy documents. In contrast to the other activities, critical-evaluative activities are expanding. For example, a focus on ICT competences has accentuated the idea of evaluating credibility. Moreover, critical-evaluative activities are encouraged by a discursive change, the dramatizing of risks (Giddens, 1991). These tendencies have neo-liberal characteristics and constitute neo-liberal literacy activities focusing on information. Such a focus risks pointing out the need for superficial, extrinsic evaluation rather than intrinsic evaluation. This runs counter to what the visible, radical pedagogy points out as being important: classroom reading and discussion, and advanced activities.