FRÅN KLASSRUM TILL VALLOKAL: : Gymnaiselärarnas förberedande arbete inför valet 2026

Sammanfattning

This study aims to examine how civic upper secondary teachers educate about democracy before the Swedish general election, happening in September 2026. With the purpose of analyzing how education may be understood in relation to the democratic mission of the Swedish school system, and under which conditions the teachers work to implement it in their teaching. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with civic teachers working in upper secondary schools. The material was analyzed based on a perspective of implementation with focus on the specific terms understanding, will and can, but also from a didactic perspective focusing on John Dewey's concept of learning by doing and Gert Biesta's qualification, socialisation and subjectification. The result shows that the civic teachers generally implemented practical methods in their education around the upcoming election, whereas school-elections, debates and visiting political parties occurred frequently. The study also showed that some teachers had the understanding and the will to implement the democratic mission, but lacked resources to practically do it, where limiting factors were time, funds and inadequate cooperation with their colleagues and management. The conclusions from this study above all highlights the central role of civics in carrying out the democratic mission of the school system, but also that the implementation of the mission is affected by organizational conditions. An education in democracy may also have a compensatory function which lessens the differences between students in their democratic socialisation.