“Det ska finnas i benmärgen” : en fokusgruppsstudie om hur lärarstudenter uppfattar och prioriterar skolans kunskaps- och demokratiuppdrag

Sammanfattning

National and international studies, reports and surveys show that young people’s democratic engagement, as well as their tolerance and acceptance of minority groups, as well as the state of global democracy in society, are in decline. Previous research shows that students’ knowledge of democracy and democratic processes can be strengthened through teaching methods that are adapted to the conditions and needs of the student group, while teaching that does not take the contextual conditions into account risks having the opposite effect. Against this background, the present study examines how student teachers understand and attribute meaning to the school´s mission in a contemporary educational policy context, with a particular focus on the school's democratic mission. This is analyzed in relation to the forthcoming reform of the Swedish teacher education, where the concepts of democracy and human rights are no longer explicitly stated in the degree outcomes. Gert Biesta's three educational dimensions; qualification, socialisation and subjectification, serve as an analytical framework for examining empirical material collected via focus groups with student teachers as participants. The findings indicate a strong ideological commitment among the student teachers in relation to the future teaching mission, where democracy and human rights are given a prominent role. At the same time, this is mainly described from a values- based perspective that is intended to permeate educational practice and thereby contribute to students' acquisition of democratic knowledge. At the same time, there are also assigned a role as tools for academic achievement in the school´s core subjects. The results indicate a need for continued research into how reforms in teacher education may affect teachers' understanding of the school´s democratic mission.