This essay focuses on how students in the later years of elementary school evaluate/assess the democratic values ​​that the school board has justified as a cornerstone of education. In order to measure this, students from grades seven, eight and nine in a medium-sized school in a medium-sized Swedish city participated in interviews where they were asked to evaluate ten statements that deal with the five values ​​that the school board has put forward. This study used both quantitative and qualitative elements. The quantitative element was that the students receive a form with statements that they then rated from 0-7 and the qualitative element was that a group interview was conducted after which the students discussed their answers and then re-evaluated them. The only background variable of interest was the grade the students were in. As this study was not on a larger scale, the results can only give an indication of how students evaluate/assess the democratic values. On a larger scale with more schools, in different cities and with more students, the answer could have been broader and clearer. The results show that students in upper primary school assess the different democratic values differently before and after the group interviews are done and that the students that participated from the three classes assess the democratic values differently from each other. / <p>Godkänd 2023-03-13</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to carry out a qualitative study of the perceptions of language teachers as to their role in the teaching of values and morals to pupils. Five language teachers have been interviewed about their perceptions of how values are taught and their role therein. The interviews serve to investigate the reality of teaching values to pupils in a Swedish secondary school and the work involved in this on-going process, this being with a view to having a better understanding of just how important a role the teaching of values plays in the daily working life of a teacher. Terms such as fundamental values and morals can be difficult to define as they are highly personal and can differ from person to person depending on one’s background, experiences and family circumstances, for example. The main values that are referred to in this piece of work are the fundamental democratic values and human rights as outlined in the national curriculum for Swedish secondary education (GY 11). It is insufficient for pupils to leave high school with a high academic aptitude and subject knowledge without having been guided by the school with regards to basic human values thus allowing them to develop into democratic citizens. Similarly, parents also have an important role to play when it comes to instilling their children with democratic values. Adolescents are highly influenced by the actions and opinions of adults in their immediate surroundings, therefore it is imperative that schools actively take a stand against and work to prevent all forms of discrimination, prejudice and negative attitudes that go against the school’s fundamental values. The results show that all teachers who have been interviewed are in agreement that teaching core values is a fundamental part of their teaching role. However, although they are aware of the National Curriculum´s guidelines regarding the teaching of values it is not a document to which they would often refer in their daily teaching role. Instead, they allow their own moral compass to guide them in how best to work with moral issues. Most of the teachers agree that it is important for teaching staff to have a unified view on how best to work with core values However, one teacher highlighted the danger of a combined ideology based solely on state doctrine and stressed that freedom of speech should still be respected. The teachers have expressed a wish to have more discussion, lectures and training about how to actively work with ethics and morals in the classroom. This is due to the fact that they are still unsure as to how to implement practical exercises involving core values into their lesson plans. They did, however, mention the importance of working with carefully selected literature, texts and films, for example, in order to put these moral issues into focus.

This essay focuses on the pedagogical benefits of using fantasy literature in the classroom as it relates to the Swedish school’s democratic values of anti-racism and working for a just society. It examines the representations of racial prejudice, discrimination, and othering among wizards and muggles which are explicitly or implicitly present throughout the Harry Potter series as well as what the representations of inequality can offer in terms of inculcating democratic values and critical thinking in a Swedish upper secondary classroom. This essay also argues for the use of Harry Potter in the EFL classroom since the novel’s complexity and popularity can work as an incentive for students to analyze the ways that the fantasy world relates to our own society. Since the focus of this essay is racial discrimination, prejudice, and otherness the critical lens is Critical Race Theory and anti-oppressive education theory.

A study on far-right populism voters and democratic attitudes in five countries, France, Hungary, India, Russia and Sweden. The purpose of the study is to create a deeper understanding on the far-right populist voters view on a selection of democratic values. It is a quantitative study using datafrom International social survey program (2016). The focus is on the voters of these political parties.We conducted an exposé of the right-wing populism, using the theory of Cas Mudde and others, and of the far-right populist voter. Presentations were also carried out on every country´s far-right populism background. Democratic values were operationalized in different indicators, freedom of assembly, limitations of civil rights, limitations of public information, corruption and trust for MP: sand civil servants. The study did not result in a clear correlation between far-right populism voters and non-democratic values. However, we did find some correlations and the strongest effects were in France, Hungary and Russia. The patterns we found were on limitations of civil rights and the result showed that far-right populist voters tend to have a more non-democratic view on these issues.

This study will be potentially beneficial to teachers as it guides them on how they can work with important but often neglected aspects of the curricula by using the book Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. My thesis statement is that goals from the core contents of English 7 and Social science 3 syllabuses are intertwined and have a connection to democratic values and, as I demonstrate in the analysis that follows, can be taught in connection by using Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) as a method and Frankenstein as the content from which this collaboration can be created. CLIL will be used to show teachers how they can work in connection to create joint lessons that address both syllabi's goals when teaching content from Frankenstein and how it can be connected to democratic values. Liberatory teaching is one of the methods which match well with teaching content from Frankenstein and democratic values, as it gives the students the autonomy they need to develop their absorptive habits and critical thinking skills. The key concepts that will be used to analyze the chosen content in Frankenstein are alienation, mechanisms of inclusion, and exclusion. The key concepts are transparent in the content taken from Frankenstein, as the book is very well suited for such research. The analysis is split into two parts that show how the key terms affect Victor and the monster. Content for the analysis is taken in chronological order and is comprised of several different scenes and passages from Frankenstein where the key terms are most transparent. The pedagogical discussion will show how a teacher can use the content showcased in the analysis to connect to different goals in the respective syllabi and how teaching can be connected to teaching democratic values from the upper secondary school curricula. Further, it will recommend how teachers can create teaching content and activities suited for the content in Frankenstein, depending on the lesson's goals. Teachers will also be recommended different approaches and methods when teaching content from Frankenstein and what they need to avoid and think about to make liberatory teaching effective in the classroom.

Democracy and democratic values have stagnated and are under attack. Current criticism of democracy points towards problems with efficiency, leniency towards undemocratic elements, collective problem-solving, and a suspension of the rule of law for public good. One solution to these problems could be to focus on teaching democratic values through literature in school. A suitable novel for this endeavor is the science-fiction novel Starship Troopers, written by Robert A. Heinlein in 1959, since it functions as fictional criticism and an alternative to democracy. However, most of the previous research conducted on Starship Troopers have focused on aspects regarding militarism and fascism. This research paper differs because it focuses specifically on how democracy is critiqued in the novel and how this critique could be used to teach democratic values. Teaching democratic values should be conducted since democracy and democratic values are arguably the most essential aspects of the fundamental values of the Swedish school system. Still, the relevant school policy documents do not define how these fundamental values are connected to the system of democracy and how they could be taught in a classroom. In order to fill that gap, this paper aims to use the theories and methods of didactic potential, Socratic pedagogy, and the politics of advocacy, attack, and assent to help students become more self-aware of their fundamental democratic values. The analysis demonstrates that Starship Troopers criticizes essential elements of democracy and complements those elements with its own alternative fundamental elements and values. The analysis also demonstrates how this critique can be used as a complement in a philosophical discussion that helps students become more self-aware of their fundamental democratic values.

The main purpose is to study the meaning that teachers give the Holocaust as a field of knowledge; the subsequent nature of their teaching; and how it is understood by the students. In connection to this, the purpose is also to discuss the potential of developing a historical consciousness among the students as well as the possibility of bringing insights into the importance of fundamental democratic values. The intentions described by the teachers when teaching the Holocaust as a field of knowledge vary relatively much. Five main themes are found that show these variations. These are: “Never again!”; “Not only the Holocaust!”;“Think critically!”; “Understand the psychology of man!” and “Realize the value of democracy!” Common to the first two themes is the teachers' intention to inform students about crimes against humanity during the Nazi rule and/or under communist regimes. These teachers are mainly using tools that illustrate the horrific aspects of the crimes, focusing on the victims and the perpetrators. The three following themes differ from the first two as they focus the teaching on the steps to Auschwitz, instead of on the Holocaust itself. The intention here is to create an understanding of factors that can contribute to an explanation of what made the Holocaust possible. The concept of a historical consciousness is not expressively used or explained in the teaching, although it is obvious that some of the teachers expect their students to think in the dimensions of the past, the present and the future, as well as understand the relation between these dimensions.

På grund av ett intresse för de olika metoder som använts för att kunna arbeta på ett effektivt sätt med barn och ungdomar, valde jag en specifik ungdomsverksamhet. Verksamheten är, på grund av sina avskiljande metoder, unik jämfört med andra ungdomsverksamheter. Stränga och klara regler samt direkta åtgärder är några av de avskiljande metoderna. Då syftet med undersökningen var att undersöka Rapatac’s syn på hälsofostran, och tillämpningen av demokratisk värdegrund i praktiken, gjordes studien i form av en kvalitativ undersökning inspirerad av narrativ teori. Studiens resultat baserades på fyra intervjuer, vilka genomfördes med fyra anställda som var i direkt kontakt med barn och ungdomar inom verksamheten. Studien visade att verksamheten hade delade åsikter om pedagogiska åtgärder i jämförelse med de forskningar som togs upp i studien. Personalen inom verksamheten Rapatac hade genomtänkta pedagogiska metoder i sitt sätt att fostra barn och ungdomar. Demokratisk värdegrund tillämpades både i praktiken och i teorin. Trots att man inte kopplade en bra självbild och sociala relationer direkt till hälsa, var man medveten om dess effekter på individens framgång i samhället. Studiens resultat delades upp i olika teman; berättelse om demokratisk värdegrund, berättelse om ungdomars hälsofostran, berättelse om personalens påverkan på ungdomars socialfostran, berättelse om att skapa förtroende och trygghet, berättelse om personalens arbetsglädje och utvecklingsidéer samt berättelse om samverkan med omgivande samhälle. Det som tidigare forskning har visat, bekräftas genom denna studie. Den valda metoden anpassades efter studiens syfte.   Nyckelord: Hälsofostran, Demokratisk värdegrund, Socialfostran, Ungdomsverksamhet, Fysisk aktivitet   Keywords: Health education, Democratic values, Social education, Youth club, Physical activity

The curriculum for upper secondary school clearly states that every school is obliged to ensure that teaching centres on and implements democratic values in order to prevent discrimination (Skolverket, 2013). How to do this however, is up to the local school to decide. Norm-critical pedagogy shows that in order to inculcate democratic values in education, the individual teacher must design the teaching material so that it focuses on such values (Bromseth &amp; Darj, 2010). The purpose of this study, and the aim of this essay, is to investigate how democratic values can be implemented in classroom practice using Shakespeare’s The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of The Shrew. English classes in the courses English 5 and English 6 were asked to read extracts from each of the plays, and then evaluate the play of choice in terms of the socio-political reality of the late Renaissance portrayed in the extracts, through the prism of today’s democratic values. The pupils were assisted in the task by having close-reading questions to answer, and later a smaller written assessment in form of a blog-entry, in order to help develop their thinking. The results of the study show that the pupils were perfectly able to evaluate and discuss values and practices such as equality, racism or sexism based on their reading. From a normpedagogical approach to teaching, it therefore seem that Shakespeare’s The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of The Shrew can be utilised as teaching material in order to help foster the development of democratic values, and discussions around the same, into the classroom.

The curriculum for upper secondary school clearly states that every school is obliged to ensure that teaching centres on and implements democratic values in order to prevent discrimination (Skolverket, 2013). How to do this however, is up to the local school to decide. Norm-critical pedagogy shows that in order to inculcate democratic values in education, the individual teacher must design the teaching material so that it focuses on such values (Bromseth &amp; Darj, 2010). The purpose of this study, and the aim of this essay, is to investigate how democratic values can be implemented in classroom practice using Shakespeare’s The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of The Shrew. English classes in the courses English 5 and English 6 were asked to read extracts from each of the plays, and then evaluate the play of choice in terms of the socio-political reality of the late Renaissance portrayed in the extracts, through the prism of today’s democratic values. The pupils were assisted in the task by having close-reading questions to answer, and later a smaller written assessment in form of a blog-entry, in order to help develop their thinking. The results of the study show that the pupils were perfectly able to evaluate and discuss values and practices such as equality, racism or sexism based on their reading. From a norm-pedagogical approach to teaching, it therefore seem that Shakespeare’s The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of The Shrew can be utilised as teaching material in order to help foster the development of democratic values, and discussions around the same, into the classroom.