Sweden is a multilingual country since almost everyone is taught English in the early grades. In addition, Sweden has one of the highest proportions of the population with a migration background in Europe, with 20% of the population being foreign-born (SCB, 2024). However, in the Swedish educational context, including special education, multilingualism has a negative connotation, which is a particular problem in super-diverse societies with monolinguistic norms, such as Sweden.

This raises important questions about the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the persistence of this monolingual norm when designing and implementing support measures. The status quo is that special education measures are used to support multilingual pupils in Swedish schools to ensure their right to education. This leads to the questions of how multilingualism is reiterated as a problem within the context of special education and in what ways it is manifested or marginalized in classroom practices and support structures. What mechanisms sustain this monolingual norm, and how do they affect the adequacy of support for multilingual racialized students? These issues highlight the need to explore the intersection of linguistic diversity and equitable special education. This study seeks to address these issues through the following questions: 

1.     How is multilingualism described in key policy documents and on education agency websites in the Swedish special education context?

2.     What do these descriptions reveal about the framing of multilingualism in relation to special education measures?

3.     How do these framings, in relation to previous research, influence the design and implementation of support measures for students with diverse language backgrounds?

This paper, based on a study of the case of Sweden, will begin with a description of the way multilingualism is addressed in school policy contexts. It will then present data from (n)etnographic (Kozinets 2019) studies analyzing how multilingualism is framed on education agency websites. The analysis will focus on how these framings affect special education measures for students with diverse language backgrounds, drawing on insights from previous research.

The research focuses on two main sources: policy documents and previous research. By analyzing key policies, such as The Swedish Education Act (Skollagen) and The National Curriculum for Compulsory School (Lgr22), the study explores how multilingualism is described and framed for students with migration backgrounds who are often racialized. Previous research provides further insights into the challenges multilingual students face in special education (Tajic and Bunar, 2020; Tajic, 2024). To understand how these ideas play out in practice, the study also uses (n)ethnographic method (Kozinets, 2019). It examines how multilingualism is presented on educational agency websites, such as Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket) and The National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools (SPSM), and how this influences special education measures. This helps connect the gap between policy, representation, and what actually happens in schools. The analysis is conducted from a raciolinguistic perspective (Cioè-Peña, 2021; Flores & Rosa 2015) to pinpoint instances which will lead to re-think the position of multilingualism within the sphere of special education. This situates the case study in the theoretical framework of social justice in educational research, in Disability Studies, Critical Race Theory and raciolinguistics, more specifically to interrogate the intersection of ableism and linguicism in special education. The goal is to uncover how multilingualism is seen as a problem in special education and how that impacts students. Ultimately, the study aims to challenge these views and show how multilingualism can be a resource in education.

Call for teacher education to be designed so that all prospective teachers gain sufficient knowledge of language development from a second language perspective. Also, literacy and mathematics development from a second and multilingual perspective in special needs teacher education.

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