This presentation builds upon an ongoing project about the history of the idea of crisis in education in Sweden. The project explores change and continuity in the crisis discourse from the 1950s to the present times. In this presentation I will focus on one fundamental aspect of how crisis narratives are constructed, namely the role of heroes and villains (cf. Stone 2012; Seeger & Sellnow 2016). These opposite roles play a central role when it comes to interpreting the different meanings of a crisis. Heroes and villains are ‘good to think with’ in the sense that they provide input about the reasons, the nature and the measures against a particular crisis. Therefore, heroes and villains seem to have played a central role in defining the goals and means of educational policy. In the presentation I will address a series of questions related to the roles of the villain and the hero. Which actors have, in different time periods, been ascribed roles as villain/hero? How can we understand the need for scapegoats or villains in crisis discourse, and what are the functions of scapegoats in educational discourse? Given the stigmatized role of the scapegoat, what techniques of policy actors avoid blame? And, in contrast, what techniques ascribe guilt? I will argue that the role of the villain and that of the hero is a mirror or the counterpart of a bifurcated understanding of the future, where dystopic and utopic future scenarios are equally possible. The social world of the villain is a creation of a world in which the future will look different from now, and where certain actors are seen as responsible for changes for the worse (or for the better). Creating categories of people that separate the good from the bad can be seen as an attempt to create order out of chaos. The very strict separation of two opposite groups of people can convey the message that, after all, it is possible to govern the world in the right, even the ideal, direction. However, individual persons can often shift their position over their career. Thus, the villain, the person who allegedly is responsible for the crisis in education, has sometimes a past as a hero. In other words, the position as a hero is always precarious and needs to be defended.

Seeger, M.W. & Sellnow, T.L. (2016). Narratives of crisis: telling stories of ruin and renewal. Stanford Business Books. Stone, D. (2012). Policy paradox: the art of political decision making. (3rd ed.). Norton & Co.