Mellan fakta och fake news : En studie om hur digital källkritik framställs i samhällskunskapens läroböcker för årskurs 4-6

Sammanfattning

In today ́s digital society, young people are constantly connected and encounter vast amounts of information online, where anyone can publish content. This leads to an increased spread of disinformation and manipulative content, placing high demands on individuals ́ ability to critically evaluate sources online. The consequences of lacking digital source-critical competence can negatively impact our democracy, as it can influence how people interpret information and make decisions. Schools therefore play a central role in developing students’ digital critical thinking skills, which places demands on the content and design of textbooks. The purpose of this study is to examine how digital source criticism, source critical aspects, and critical thinking are presented and addressed in social studies textbooks for grade 4-6. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the conditions textbooks provide for students to develop a critical approach to digital sources. The study is based on four social studies textbooks for grades 4-6 and was conducted using qualitative content analysis. The textbooks were analyzed using three case-level display matrices. The results show that the content of textbooks varies in both scope and depth, which can affect students’ ability to develop digital source-criticism skills depending on which textbook is used. At the same time, previous research shows that textbooks do not serve as the sole determining factor in teaching; rather, the teacher plays a central role in how the content is interpreted, supplemented, and used in the classroom. The variations in textbook content therefore place a significant responsibility on the individual teacher to determine whether the material is sufficient or needs to be supplemented with other resources and current examples. This, in turn, can affect equity in teaching, as students’ learning opportunities depend on both which textbooks are used and how the teacher chooses to work with them. In summary, the study shows that there is clear room for improvement in how digital source criticism is addressed in textbooks, particularly in relation to the demands of today’s digital society.