This paper is part of an ongoing PhD research project;”The teacher, democracy and diversity”. The main interest of my research is directed towards teacher education in Swedenand the preparation of teachers to work with the civic mission of schools in a multicultural society. The aim of the thesis is to study the construction of the teacher subject in discourses of democracy and the civic mission of schools and in discourses of multicultural education as articulated in teacher education policy texts and curricula, as well as the consequences of this/these subject positioning/s for the teacher subject’s possibilities of action.

The main purpose of the conference proposal’s paper is to provide an international research overview of issues and questions concerning teacher education in relation to the civic mission of schools in a multicultural society. The paper will include both normative and descriptive research based on various theoretical and methodological perspectives. There is extensive research on teacher education, democracy and citizenship education and multicultural education respectively but there seem to be less research connecting these issues.

In an increasingly globalized world where nations social, political and economic system are changing and affecting educational systems too, there is a need to address issues of democracy, social justice, equality and human rights from a multicultural perspective (Wang, Lin, Spalding, Odell, & Klecka, 2011). The often referred to “death of multiculturalism” in policy and practice over the last couple of decades (Joppke, 2004; Kymlicka, 2010; Vertovec & Wessendorf, 2010) has influenced the debate in Europe as well as in USA and Australasia. Main issues are that the policy of multiculturalism denies problem and stifles debate, refuses common (nationalistic) values or is leading to marginalization and segregation. Similar discussions can be found in relation to education and curricula too (Coulby, 2006; May & Sleeter, 2010). David Coulby discusses the fact that this criticism of multicultural education lead to an unquestioned shift from multicultural to intercultural education in Europe. But contrary to the beliefs of scholars singing the death of multiculturalism there is a continued interest of intercultural issues in education and a growing awareness of racism in many societies, although much remains to be done (Coulby, 2006). Furthermore, the Eurydice Network (EACEA, European Commission) concluded in the report Citizenship Education in Europe that 31 of the Eurydice Network countries include citizenship education in national curricula but that the competence of teachers and school heads needs to be strengthened.

Multicultural education, as well as citizenship education and democracy are contested conceptions with various interpretations. Considering alternative conceptions (intercultural education/cultural pluralism/ civic education/student participation/ moral and political socialization etc), the field becomes even more complex. A second purpose is to bring some clarity to the field by examining the various discourses in use. As the review is restricted by the time span and the descriptors and databases used, the ambition is not to provide a comprehensive overview but rather to bring some conceptual clarity and structure to a limited area of the field.

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