Magister Educationis - MEd / Schools played an important role during apartheid in shaping the mindsets of learners. In contemporary South Africa schools can now play a similar role in promoting democratic values in order to build a more just, humane and democratic society in a democratic South Africa. Through democratic citizenship, democratic schools can be created. Apple and Beane (1999, p. 10) state that democratic schools are the result of specific attempts by educators to put arrangements in place that will bring democracy to life. These arrangements and opportunities involve the production of democratic structures and processes through which life in a school is carried out and the creation of a curriculum that will allow young people the opportunity to experience the nature of democracy.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The use of literature-based reading has a significant impact on the development of critical literacy (Tung and Chang, 2009). Based on the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and Vygotsky’s theory of collaborative learning, this interpretive qualitative case study aimed at exploring how Grade 10 English Home Language poetry was taught in the development of critical literacy. Research was conducted at two schools in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town in which lesson observations, focus group discussions, post-observation interviews, and field notes were used to amass data. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, Critical Discourse Analysis, and insights from Boler’s (1999) pedagogy of discomfort were used to analyse data. This study found that despite teachers’ being favourably disposed towards poetry, they harbour covert feelings of inadequacy in teaching the genre which lead to the adoption of coping mechanisms. / 2023

Scholars agree that there may be no better time for Sub-Saharan African countries to create the conditions for a more peaceful and democratic reality than now. This optimism is driven in part by the possibilities for development unleashed by neoliberal globalization and the current tremendous human and material potential of African countries. Where consensus fails, however, is how to create these peaceful and democratic conditions. As the status quo of transition countries in Sub-Saharan African countries shows, the amalgamation of the distant legacy of the colonial past and the not so promising threats of the deleterious effects of neoliberal globalization are creating a mix of prosaic socio-political delirium that compromises possibilities for democratic participation and peaceful coexistence. Perhaps the new threat yet that is driving this optimism down within the region is the emergence of Islamic radicalism that has unleashed a wave of terror activities in countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania. Still, education for democracy has and can significantly mitigate rampant acts of violence and help countries move towards a more peaceful and democratic reality. And this begs the question: In light of the challenges of neoliberal globalization, how can education contribute to building peace and promoting democratic citizenship in Sub-Saharan Africa? Extant research suggests that since the end of the Cold War, many Sub-Saharan African countries have been going through severe crises, most of which involve violent conflicts. Although these violent conflicts have been attracting attention within the international community in general, and the academic circle in particular, violence continues. We are yet to find effective ways to address it and to develop theoretical and practical resources that can help us to work towards more peaceful realities. Using critical theory, in this study I bring the literature on peace and democratic education to the SSA context in order to rethink how education may better contribute to peace efforts. Findings from this study suggest that critical democratic education can help birth a more democratic and peaceful reality in transition countries in Sub-Saharan countries. However, in order to achieve this goal, substantive reforms are needed in the current education systems. Additionally, school stakeholders must receive the training needed about practical ways to employ this vision of education. It is my hope that the results of this study will enhance our understanding of the process of deploying education in support of democracy in post-conflict countries within an era of globalization where the demands upon educational institutions to support economies are serious distractions from the core problems that post-conflict countries face.

Students should be given the opportunity to learn about, through, and for democracy in order to be able to act in the present and the future. In the subject of social studies, students should be given the opportunity to develop factual knowledge about democracy, and this should be done through democratic methods. According to Curriculum for the compulsory school, preschool class and the leisure-time centre Lgr 22 (the Swedish curriculum, 2022a), stu- dents should be developed into democratic citizens with good values and skills. In order for students to develop into that, they need to learn about, through and for democracy. When students acquire factual knowledge about democracy and learn through democratic methods, they learn for democracy, and both of the school's main missions are pursued. To answer the purpose and research questions regarding how the democracy mission is de- scribed in textbooks for social studies in grades 4-6, Biesta and Dewey's views on educa- tion and democracy are used.The study was conducted using a qualitative method in the form of a qualitative text anal- ysis of the textbooks. The collected data from the seven textbooks generated an analysis of text and tasks to determine how the democracy mission was presented and described. The results showed that parts of the democracy mission were presented in all textbooks, but there were two textbooks that presented the entire mission about, through, and for de- mocracy. It emerged that the teacher's role in instruction is important for students to be given the opportunity to learn about the democracy mission, as not all textbooks covered the entire mission. / Elever ska ges möjlighet att lära om, genom och för demokrati för att kunna verka i samti- den och framtiden. I samhällskunskapsämnet ska elever ges möjlighet att utveckla fakta- kunskaper om demokrati och detta genom demokratiska arbetssätt. Läroplan för grundsko- lan, förskoleklassen fritidshemmet Lgr 22 (Skolverket, 2022a) skriver att elever ska ut- vecklas till demokratiska medborgare med goda värderingar och färdigheter. För att elever ska utvecklas till det behöver de lära sig om, genom och för demokrati. När elever får faktakunskaper om demokrati och lära genom demokratiska arbetssätt lär de sig för demo- krati och hela skolans två huvuduppdrag arbetas utifrån. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar kring på vilka sätt och hur demokratiuppdraget beskrivs i läromedel för samhällskunskap i årskurs 4–6 används Biesta och Deweys syn på utbildning och demo- krati.Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod i form av en kvalitativ textanalys av läro- medel. Insamlade data från de sju läromedlen genererade i en analys av text och uppgifter för att få fram hur demokratiuppdraget framställdes och beskrevs. Resultatet visade på att delar av demokratiuppdraget framställdes i alla läromedel men det var två läromedel som framställde hela uppdraget om, genom och för demokrati. Det framkom att lärarens roll i undervisningen är viktig för att elever ska ges möjlighet att lära kring demokratiuppdraget då alla läromedel inte täckte hela uppdraget.

Musik är en väsentlig del i identitetsskapandet för barn och unga världen över. Genom globaliseringen har musik, klädstilar och dylika centrala delar i uppbyggandet av jaget spridits världen över och kombinerats och inspirerats av varandra (Sernhede, 2006). Identitetsskapandet är en betydande del i huruvida ett aktivt medborgarskap tar form eller inte hos olika individer och grupper. Därav är identitetsskapandet en väsentlig del att bejaka vid undervisningen av medborgerlig bildning. Medborgare refererar till en person som reagerar på sin omgivning med medvetenhet om de sociala och politiska funktionerna i samhället (Hartsmar et al, 2013). Vad en medborgerlig bildning specifikt består av beror på vilka system, traditioner och värden som är förekommande där bildningen genomförs. Likheten med all medborgerlig bildning är att det syftar till en bildning som har målet att stärka medborgarnas förmåga att påverka samhällsutvecklingen positivt (ibid.)Ovanstående resonemang har lett mig till frågeställningarna "Hur används musik i skolor i Tanzania?", "Hur uttrycker sig lärare och elever gällande betydelsen av musikutbildning utifrån ett individ- och ett kollektivt perspektiv?" samt "Hur kan läroplanen appliceras på medborgerlig bildning för demokrati?". Anledningen till att just tanzaniska skolor står i fokus är det faktum att Tanzanias läroplan har ett ämne kallat vocational skills, där 12 ämnen ingår. Musik är ett av ämnena inom vocational skills som till störst del står för den medborgerliga bildningen i skolan. Enligt den svenska läroplanen ska medborgerlig bildning vara en del av samtliga ämnen, men skillnaden är att den tanzaniska läroplanen beskriver något mer specifikt hur det ska gå till - i synnerhet när det gäller musikundervisningen. Jag ansåg därför att det kunde vara intressant att undersöka musikens koppling till medborgerlig bildning i skolor i Tanzania. Detta har jag gjort genom en kvalitativ studie innehållande 15 intervjuer, varav tre personer var lärare och resterande elever i åldrarna 12 -14 år. Det visade sig i mitt resultat att musik ansågs vara en viktig del av identitetsskapandet och det framtida medborgarskapet, men även att detta är en möjlig väg för medborgerlig bildning, bland många andra.

Ambitionen med denna uppsats är att kartlägga i vilken omfattning det förekommer intoleranta attityder avseende etnicitet och i vilken omfattning dessa attityder uttrycks i form av verbala kränkningar, hot och misshandel, bland elever i årskurs nio i en kommun i södra Sverige. Med utgångspunkt i ”Citizenship education” och den riksomfattande Intoleransrapporten, genomför jag en enkätundersökning på två skolor med olika elevsammansättning. Undersökningen visar i vilken utsträckning eleverna har en intolerant inställning till personer av annat etniskt ursprung samt i vilken omfattning eleverna blivit utsatta för eller utsatt andra för intoleranta uttryck i form av verbala kränkningar, hot eller våld. Resultaten av min undersökning visar på en högre grad av intolerans i samtliga avseenden jämfört med tidigare rikstäckande undersökningar.

This essay aims to contribute to the field of criticism of religion and citizenship education by analyzing how two Swedish textbooks portray different forms of criticism of religion. Based on Stenmark´s definition of criticism of religion that contains internal, external, negative and constructive criticism of religion and content analysis, the occurrence of the various forms of criticism of religion is categorized and counted. Furthermore, the portrayal of criticism of religion is analyzed based on agent and existence in order to examine the type of citizen that the textbooks' portrayal can give rise to. The use of content analysis contributed to being able to identify and categorize different forms of criticism of religion. The second part of the analysis, which was based on agent and existence, contributed to creating a deeper understanding of what the depiction of criticism of religion can mean from a citizenship education perspective. The results showed that all forms of criticism of religion appeared in both textbooks, but to different extents. Furthermore, the results showed that the portrayal of criticism of religion in the textbooks probably affects citizenship education.

The 2021 Census reported that immigrants with a Chinese ethnic background take up 4.7% of the Canadian population. Although Chinese immigrants represent a significant part of the Canadian population, how they understand their relationship with Canada has not been studied directly in educational research. In response, this manuscript-based thesis examines the lived experiences of six adult (aged 18 and above) Chinese immigrants who have arrived in Canada and obtained their permanent residency or Canadian citizenship after 2010. Adopting Connelly and Clandinin's narrative inquiry, this study presents stories of participants with the hope to shed light on the process of Chinese immigrants becoming Canadian. Through these presentations, this study attends to the complex relationships participants have gone through in the process of negotiating their acceptance in Canada. Data gathered from two rounds of semi-structured interviews with six recent adult Chinese immigrants living in Ontario and Quebec were interpreted and discussed using Berry's acculturation framework, a critical multiculturalism framework and a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework in three individual research articles. Findings reveal that Chinese immigrants actively participate in social, cultural, political and economic affairs in Canada. Their participation in Canadian society exhibits their acceptance of Canadian cultures and values while living in Canada. Based on these understandings, they offer their suggestions to make Canada a more democratic, just and livable place. Racism, discriminations and stereotypes received from some members of the host society have created tangible damage to their relationship with Canada. Nonetheless, Chinese immigrants express their desire to be included and integrated into Canadian society. These narratives from recent adult Chinese immigrants supplement literature in citizenship education. Policy makers, scholars, educators and the general public should listen to their stories and find more ways to include Chinese immigrants in the building of democracy and multiculturalism in Canada.

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