Gräsrotsbyråkraten i transformeringsarenan: : En jämförande studie över lärares tolkningsutrymme i samhällskunskap mellan Gy11 och Gy25

Sammanfattning

This independent study seeks to compare the degree of autonomy that teachers in the Swedish subject of social studies face, when interpreting curricula. The comparation and the collection of empirical data has been utilized by conducting a content analysis between the policy documents for the Swedish high school (gymnasium) reforms of Gy11 and Gy25. The study is limited to research study level 1b (in social studies) for Gy11, and the corresponding level for the subject in Gy25. The analysis of the findings in the policy documents has been conducted by using curriculum theoretical perspectives. Furthermore, the study goes on to discuss how the changes in space of interpretation affect teacher autonomy, and more specifically through the theoretical lens of street-level bureaucracy. Overall, the results of the study have found that the degree of autonomy seem to differ in the sense that a broader scope for personal interpretation by the teacher has been observed in the policy documents for Gy25. The reasons behind this expanded space of interpretation seem to exist because of the presence of more abstract, concise, less complex, and varied writings and formulations in the policy texts of Gy25. Moreover, a more evident and less fragmented progression has been tied to Gy25, where the less complex writings seem to imply a larger discretion regarding content and level in-depth knowledge that corresponds to the specific subject level. These comparative differences between the policy documents highlight the broader degree of interpretation in Gy25 in comparison to Gy11, which in conclusion contain the opposite properties in the policy documents.