Session Information
SES C 05, Paper Session
Paper Session
Contribution
In Sweden the fostering of democratic values has a long history in schools and since the 1990s the question has been put forward as a very important social issue for education (Öhrn, 2001). Besides teaching students about democracy and how to become a citizen, Swedish schools´ commitment also includes to ensure that all students have real influence in work methods, work structures and educational content (the Swedish Ministry of Education and Science, 1994). International-comparative studies shows that Sweden and the other Nordic countries in that matter have a broader definition on democratic education than many other countries (Birzéa et al, 2004). Students from Sweden and Nordic countries also express larger faith to students’ possibilities to have influence through engagement (Torney-Purta & Henry Barber, 2004). However, the policy transformation in neoliberal direction which has taken place in Sweden and other countries in the last decades has also affected education for democracy and citizenship. For example the meaning of democracy in the core policy documents has gradually changed from an emphasis of the collective and solidarity to individual responsibility and freedom of choice (Beach, Gordon & Lahelma, 2003; Dovemark, 2004).
Previous research on democratic education in schools identifies gender relations as central, albeit in seemingly contradictory ways. On one hand boys have more influence on teachers and take more space in the class room, on the other some recent research shows how small groups of girls are the ones that pursue issues about democracy in school. There are also studies showing variations within the same gender groups depending on social background and educational context (Öhrn, 2002). The paper builds on theories and previous research that pays attention to gender and class perspectives as important to understand processes of democracy in school (e.g. Arnot, 2006; Gordon, 2006; Öhrn, 2005). In the analysis will also the use of Bernstein’s (2003) theory about codes and classification in educational contexts be of help.
The paper emanates from the ongoing Swedish research project Active citizenship? On democratic education in the upper secondary school. The project aims at exploring democratic education in upper secondary school by studying the content and organisation of teaching and learning as well as students' attempts to influence and pursue issues of citizenship and democracy in school. This involves studying rules and regulations employed in schools as institutions as well as the social, material and cultural resources employed by students.
This paper aims at discussing two of the most prominent aspects of students’ collective and individual actions in the two classes in this study, namely to influence the pace and difficulty level of teaching. Of special interest are the processes of the students’ attempt to influence, the responses of teachers and headmaster and what kind of measures it results in.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Application to the Swedish Research Council (2006). Active citizenship? On democratic education in the upper secondary school. Dnr 2006-23855-40762-27. Arnot, M. (2006). Freedom´s children: a gender perspective on the education of the learner-citizen. Review of Education 52(2/3), 67-87 Beach, D., Gordon, T. & Lahelma, E. (2003). Democratic education. Ethnographic challenges. London: Tufnell Press. Bernstein, B. (2003). Class, codes and control. Vol. 4, The structuring of pedagogic discourse. London: Routledge. Birzéa, C., Kerr, D.. Mikkelsen, R., Froumin, I., Losito, B., Pol, M., Sardoc, M. (2004). All-European study on education for democratic citizenship policies. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Dovemark, M. (2004). Ansvar – flexibilitet – valfrihet. En etnografisk studie om en skola i förändring. [Responsibility, flexibility, freedom of choice: An ethnographic study of a school in transition]. Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis. Gordon, T. (2006). Girls in education: citizenship, agency and emotions. Gender and Education, 18 (1), 1-15. Swedish Ministry of Education and Science (1994). Curriculum for the Non-Compulsory School System Lpf 94. [Läroplaner för de frivilliga skolformerna Lpf 94]. Stockholm: Fritzes. Torney-Purta, J. & Barber, C.H. (2004). Democratic school participation and civic attitudes among European adolescents: analysis of data from the IEA Civic Education Study. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. http://www.terpconnect.umd.edu/~jtpurta Downloaded 2009-12-29. Öhrn, E. (2001). Marginalization of democratic values: a gendered practice of schooling? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 5(2/3), 319-328. Öhrn, E. (2002). Könsmönster i förändring? En kunskapsöversikt om unga i skolan. [Gender Patterns Changing? A Review of Research on Young People in Education]. Stockholm: Skolverket. Öhrn, E. (2005). Att göra skillnad: En studie av ungdomar som politiska aktörer i skolans vardag. [To make a difference: A study of young people as political actors in school]. IPD-rapport nr 2005:07. Göteborgs universitet.
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