"110 procent" eller "Absolut inte"? : En kvalitativ fokusgruppsstudie om samhällsengagemang och erfarenheter av samhällskunskapsundervisning

Sammanfattning

This study aims to explore how upper secondary students experience and understand the importance of social studies education and how that influences their interest in social issues and civic engagement. It further examines which teaching methods students perceive as meaningful for fostering their interest in social issues. To explore these questions, focus group interviews were conducted with twelve students from two upper secondary schools in Malmö. The empirical material was analyzed thematically, and the theoretical framework is grounded in John Dewey’s pragmatism and the concept of agency. The findings show that students’ understandings of civic engagement are broad and multifaceted, where each student expresses an individual understanding of the concept. Civic engagement is described through both everyday actions and formal forms of participation. The results further demonstrate that students’ civic engagement is closely connected to their personal experiences, identities and family background, illustrating how engagement is shaped through interaction between education, social context and lived experiences. The findings also show that students with lower socioeconomic background cannot be understood as a homogeneous group, as their understanding of civic engagement, their relationship to education and their perceived agency differ both between and within the groups. In addition, the findings suggest that the most meaningful and engaging teaching methods are those that allow students to relate the content to their own experiences and create personal meaning through the learning process. Ultimately the study emphasizes the complexity of creating social studies education that is meaningful, engaging and intellectually challenging for students with diverse experiences, perspectives and needs.