The main aim of this study was to research what students’ perceptions of the ideal citizen are. Thus the aim was also to explore which skills or knowledge studets feel they require, with special regards to practical learning exercises, in order to become their ideal citizen. In order to fulfill the main aim, the study also aspired to explore upper-secondary students’ experiences of practical learning exercises within their previous civics education, their opinions on practical learning exercises and what types of practical learning exercises they wish their civics education would include. Semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection method for this study. The data analysis method used was qualitative content analysis. The study found that the experiences of practical learning methods were highly varied amongst the participants. School elections and work or economics related exercises were most common. Furthermore, the study found that 80% of participants were positive to practical learning activities within the subject of civics, the other 20% were neutral. All participants could name a practical learning exercise they wished their civics education would include. The most common desires were exercises related to human interaction in some form. The study found the most commonly identified citizen idealtype to be the personally responsible, the democratically informed and the justice-oriented citizen. Finally, the type of knowledge that was most forthcoming was social reconstructionism and social efficiency. The findings of this study were in accordance with the previous research in the field. The findings of this study are relevant as they provide a guideline for future teaching within the civics subject in Sweden where students’ wishes are accounted for in alignment with the Swedish democracy mission.

In this Bachelor thesis, I conducted a comparative analysis of democratic citizenship seen through the lens of two countries’ academic curricula. The analysis examines how Sweden and Scotland express their ideals of a democratic citizenship, through curricula learning goals, capacities and courses, i.e., Scottish modern studies and Swedish social studies. The purpose of this study is to better understand which democratic ideals are taught in school and how democratic citizenship might differ between two similar, but distinct, free societies. In this study, the notion of democracy is assumed to be similar in both countries. However, they differ in how democratic citizenship is expressed through their curricula. To examine this area thoroughly, this analysis uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative method employed is an ideal type analysis, with its basis on democratic ideal types as defined in literature. The quantitative method used is a content analysis where the frequency of democratic related words is counted. The analysis shows that in the Scottish curriculum the notion of democratic citizens emphasizes a responsible citizenship. This includes the ideal of society as a collective beyond just the individual citizen. The analysis also shows that democratic citizenship in the Swedish curriculum centers on a concept of justice-oriented citizens with emphasis on development of the student as an individual.

For a long time the discourse and orientation of Swedish school research has been focused on rights and democracy as a process, at the expense of the common or the cultural mechanisms that are important for a solid society. The result of the current research has led to this master’s thesis which aims to investigate if the Swedish elementary curriculum is able to reproduce the components that unite the people within a society, what can be referred to as the common. The aim is also to investigate what kind of citizenship ideals the Swedish elementary curriculum is expressing and intended to be implemented. The theoretical framework for this master thesis is liberal and communitarian citizenship and social institutions. The liberal focus on the individual and her relationship towards the state is opposed to the communitarian focus on the common and its social components. The method applied is ideal type analysis which means that an ideal is being designed and the studied object is being compared to the ideal. In this thesis the ideal consists of social institutions, and all the elementary curriculums since 1878 is being compared to this ideal.The result of the ideal type analysis is that social institutions exist in all studied documents but to varying degrees and with varying content and clarity in what is intended. The first governing documents were not very comprehensive and relatively general in their formulations which also is the case of the curriculums from 1962 and onwards. From the breakthrough of parliamentarianism to 1969, the governing documents became much more elaborate and clearer in which citizenship ideal was reproduced and much more open with its intention to reproduce social institutions. Thereafter, the presence of cultural institutions have decreased and the citizenship ideal has moved towards a more liberal ideal. The research provides different answers to why a certain curricula lack social institutions. It is quite possible that the first normal plans were not intended to engage in citizen education. The curricula that constituted the governing document for the modern elementary school may have diffuse formulations and fewer traditional elements because the Swedish school system has become more focused transferring knowledge and not foster. It is not always clear what citizenship ideal the curriculums express. The conclusion is that from 1878 to 1955 the curriculums, with some reservations for guesses, had the intention to implement communitarian citizenship. The curricula of 1962, 1969, 1980 and 1994 are more or less instances of liberal communitarianism. Today's curriculum is very liberal in its discourse, although it may be that citizenship education is not a purpose. It may be that today's primary school is entirely aimed at transferring knowledge and not fostering, which comes with risks

Financial literacy is a debated concept and field of knowledge. There are various interpretations regarding what the financial literacy education should contain and aim for. This study focuses on financial literacy and how it is presented in various teaching materials intended for Swedish upper secondary school and the subject of social studies. The purpose of the survey is to analyze what appears to be important financial knowledge and how the content is presented. The survey also aims to examine what kind of “ideal citizen”  that the materials seek to create. To examine this, I use the citizenship conceptions outlined by Westheimer and Kahne. The analysis shows that the teaching materials convey similar content despite being produced by different providers. There are, however, some differences in what aspects the various teaching materials highlight and choose to focus on. Income, expenses, budgeting, loans, savings and debts are recurring themes in all teaching materials. These can therefore be interpreted as important financial knowledge. The content is mainly presented in an explanatory and normative way. The analysis reveals that the three citizenship conceptions "the personally responsible citizen", "the participatory citizen", and "the justice-oriented citizen" are expressed in almost all teaching materials. However, the citizenship conception that predominates and is particularly evident is "the personally responsible citizen". The overarching goal appears to be to educate students to become responsible citizens who manage their finances, plan, budget, save, avoid unnecessary loans and debt, and make effective and responsible decisions. The content of the teaching materials largely mirrors the OECD's definition of financial literacy and has generally a strong focus on individual financial behavior, responsibility and choices.