The purpose of this study is to examine how upper secondary school teachers within the social studies subject interpret and transform the mission of preparing students for political participation. Based on teachers' dictums of how the mission is interpreted and transformed ahead of teaching, as well as which factors are expressed to affect this transformation, the study aims to determine what differences exist regarding how the mission is transformed and what can be seen to cause these differences. Through semi-structured interviews with seven social studies teachers, the study aims to answer three research questions addressing how the teachers interpret the mission, their expressions of how the mission is transformed ahead of teaching as well as which factors are mentioned to affect this transformation. The general conclusion of the study is that the teachers express that the mission of preparing students for political participation contain several contrasting dimensions, which in various ways are transformed ahead of teaching. The most central differences can be seen within the knowledge conveying and participation promoting dimensions, where the variations appear as the teachers to a certain extent focus on different areas of teaching and attend to these on different levels. Furthermore, different possibilities of influence and forms of participation are accentuated to various extent. To conclude, the study indicates that the teachers, qua agents of political socialisation, are preparing the students dissimilarly for political participation. / Syftet med föreliggande studie är att undersöka hur gymnasielärare i samhällskunskap tolkar och transformerar skolans uppdrag att förbereda elever för politiskt deltagande. Utifrån lärares utsagor kring hur uppdraget tolkas och transformeras inför samhällskunskapsundervisning, samt vilka faktorer som uttrycks påverka denna transformering, syftar studien till att utröna vilka skillnader som föreligger beträffande hur uppdraget transformeras, samt vad dessa skillnader kan ses bero på. Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju samhällskunskapslärare, syftar studien till att besvara tre forskningsfrågor, vilka behandlar hur lärarna tolkar uppdraget att förbereda elever för politiskt deltagande, hur de uttrycker att uppdraget transformeras inför undervisning samt vilka faktorer som uttrycks påverka denna transformering. Studiens övergripande slutsats är att lärarna ger uttryck för att uppdraget att förbereda eleverna för politiskt deltagande inbegriper flera olika dimensioner, vilka transformeras på olika sätt inför undervisning. De mest centrala skillnaderna kan ses finnas inom de kunskapsförmedlande och deltagarfrämjande dimensionerna, vilket yttrar sig genom att lärarna i viss mån fokuserar på olika undervisningsområden och behandlar dessa på olika nivåer. Vidare framhävs olika påverkansmöjligheter och deltagandeformer i varierande grad. Sammanfattningsvis indikerar studien att lärarna, i egenskap av politiska socialisationsagenter, förbereder eleverna olika för politiskt deltagande.

Que recouvre la politisation des enfants ? Entendue comme synonyme de la socialisation politique, elle désigne traditionnellement l'ensemble des mécanismes et des processus de formation et de transformation des systèmes individuels de représentations, d'opinions et d'attitudes politiques. Elle est aussi l'attribution aux enfants d'un degré d'intégration au sein du monde politique. Cette thèse étudie les différentes dimensions de la socialisation politique des enfants, en analysant à quelles conception du politique les enfants sont amenés à être exposés. Réfléchir en termes d'expositions suppose de se détacher d'une vision développementaliste qui associerait la socialisation politique à l'acquisition linéaire d'un contenu cumulatif. Dans cette optique, la socialisation politique se présente comme une juxtaposition de moments au cours desquels se présentent diverses conceptions du politique, de la recherche du consensus à la capacité à proposer des situations conflictuelles, en passant par des apprentissages centrés sur les procédures électorales et les institutions. Ainsi, les instances étudiées, deux conseils municipaux d'enfants, des écoles primaires et une association de lecture d'albums pour enfants offrent des épisodes de socialisation politique. Il s'avère que les contenus de chaque type de socialisation dépendent étroitement des représentations que l'on se fait des enfants quant à leur capacité à être des acteurs politiques, et des contraintes sociales de contextes d'étude qui associent à des degrés de facilité divers enfance et politique.Que recouvre la politisation des enfants ? Entendue comme synonyme de la socialisationpolitique, elle désigne traditionnellement l'ensemble des mécanismes et des processus de formation et de transformation des systèmes individuels de représentations, d'opinions et d'attitudes politiques. Elle est aussi l'attribution aux enfants d'un degré d'intégration au sein du monde politique. Cette thèse étudie les différentes dimensions de la socialisation politique des enfants, en analysant à quelles conception du politique les enfants sont amenés à être exposés. Réfléchir en termes d'expositions suppose de se détacher d'une vision développementaliste qui associerait la socialisation politique à l'acquisition linéaire d'un contenu cumulatif. Dans cette optique, la socialisation politique se présente comme une juxtaposition de moments au cours desquels se présentent diverses conceptions du politique, de la recherche du consensus à la capacité à proposer des situations conflictuelles, en passant par des apprentissages centrés sur les procédures électorales et les institutions. Ainsi, les instances étudiées, deux conseils municipaux d'enfants, des écoles primaires et une association de lecture d'albums pour enfants offrent des épisodes de socialisation politique. Il s'avère que les contenus de chaque type de socialisation dépendent étroitement des représentations que l'on se fait des enfants quant à leur capacité à être des acteurs politiques, et des contraintes sociales de contextes d'étude qui associent à des degrés de facilité divers enfance et politique. / What covers children politization? Understood as the synonym of political socialisation, it traditionally points to all the mechanisms and processes of construction and transformation of individual systems of representation, opinions and political behaviour. It is also understood as a certain level of entry of children into the political sphere.This work studied the different dimensions of children's political socialisation, determining which political concept children can be exposed to. Thinking in terms of exposition implies to detach oneself from the vision of associating political socialisation to the accumulation of norms and values that add to each other, implying that once an individual acquires a norm, he will never act against it. With this in mind, political socialisation is also an addition of moments during which various political concepts come by: from the search for an unanimous approval to the capacity of proposing conflictual situations, via trainings focusing on electoral procedures and institutions. Therefore, observed instances, 2 children municipal councils, primary schools and a reading club for children provide political socialisation moments. It turns out that concepts of each type of socialisationdepend strongly on how we consider the children capacity to be political actors, and on social restrictions in a studying environment related to the more or less easy association of childhood and politics.

This study primarily investigates the conceptions of democracy held by young Swedes: What conceptions can be found? How are these conceptions similar to and different from each other? My main intention is to present nuanced pictures of different ways of viewing and of arguing for and against democracy. Some attention is also paid to possible differences between different youth groups, in terms of age, gender, and socioeconomic background. In addition, I will relate the investigation to research concerning school and the socialisation that is supposed to take place there. What concepts of democracy do Swedish schools seem to inculcate in students? Theoretical discussions of democracy serve as the framework of the study, and throughout the work democracy is regarded as an ambiguous concept. I have designed an analytical tool by depicting the discussions of democratic theory from three perspectives. The first concerns what democracy is and how the rule of the people should be designed. The second deals with the justifications for democracy, and why it is or is not to be preferred. The third perspective focuses on some crucial matters in discussions of democracy. The empirical material analyzed consists of ten focus group interviews with students in two age categories: 14–15 and 18–19 years old. The groups were composed so that the members would include both genders and a range of socio-economic backgrounds. The main idea of focus group interviews is to take advantage of group-interaction dynamics. Opinions are often formed in interaction with other people, and since consideration and reflection are central concerns of this thesis, focus group interviews are thus very suitable. The findings indicate that there is a dominant understanding of democracy. The young people interviewed emphasize that democracy means that everybody has a right to participate in decision making, that, for example, universal suffrage and freedom of speech are necessary features and that democracy in practice connotes an elite/electoral democracy (at the national level) with politicians as the real power holders. Although some features of Sweden’s existing democracy are widely criticized, democracy as a fundamental concept is celebrated. The main justification for this support is that democracy includes everybody. A view of everybody’s equal value is implicit. The critical matters highlighted concern human nature in relation to democratic requirements, how to handle extremist political movements, and the limited possibilities and unequal opportunities for people to participate in the existing democracy. Within this overall picture, somewhat different conceptions can also be detected. Two themes are particularly prominent in the discussions. Without overtly mentioning the word, the young people interviewed strongly emphasize the concept of equality. One line of discussion concerns the participants’ own experiences of being subordinate to adults, another the concept that equality presupposes equal opportunities to influence society. Democracy is also considered to be a human matter. Notably,when speaking of equality and freedom, the interviewees rarely mention these words directly. Mention of political institutions is also lacking from the discussions. Some of the findings can be regarded as reflecting the conceptions of democracy manifested in and passed on by schools. The study may also provide some guidance concerning how to approach social and political issues in the school.

The central issue in this study is political socialisation and its implications within a rural setting in South Africa with a particular focus on Calais village in Limpopo Province. The aim of the study is to determine how adult residents of Calais village, are politically socialised; and furthermore to assess the impact of the socialisation process on the residents’ political behaviour within a democratic South Africa. In order to achieve the research purpose, face-to-face interviews were conducted with forty (40) adult residents in Calais village. The study revealed that the respondents were politically socialised by the media, immediate family, peers, extended family, political parties, local municipality, school, traditional leadership, ward committee and religious institutions. The media were the most important agent, while the religious institutions were the least. Furthermore, NGOs and trade unions were not socialisation agents in Calais village. The socialisation process had an impact on the respondents’ political behaviour in terms of political interest, party identification, political beliefs, efficacy, knowledge, awareness and participation. / Political Sciences / M.A. (Politics)

This dissertation seeks to explore how the exercise of political power and the music industry impacted each other in South Africa under apartheid during the 1980s. It does so by looking firstly at the ways in which the South African government used music to promote apartheid. Secondly, it looks at the role of South African popular musicians in the struggle against apartheid in the country, specifically their role in civil society and the methods they employed to fight apartheid while avoiding censorship. It looks at key musical developments of the decade and explores their political implications, focusing on three popular genres: bubblegum (or disco), crossover and reggae. Thirdly, it explores the role of South African music and musicians in the struggle against apartheid outside South Africa. Finally, it looks at the role of music in the international anti-apartheid movement and the contribution of the international music community to the struggle. / Political Sciences / M.A. (African Politics)

This dissertation seeks to explore how the exercise of political power and the music industry impacted each other in South Africa under apartheid during the 1980s. It does so by looking firstly at the ways in which the South African government used music to promote apartheid. Secondly, it looks at the role of South African popular musicians in the struggle against apartheid in the country, specifically their role in civil society and the methods they employed to fight apartheid while avoiding censorship. It looks at key musical developments of the decade and explores their political implications, focusing on three popular genres: bubblegum (or disco), crossover and reggae. Thirdly, it explores the role of South African music and musicians in the struggle against apartheid outside South Africa. Finally, it looks at the role of music in the international anti-apartheid movement and the contribution of the international music community to the struggle. / Political Sciences / M.A. (African Politics)