Syfte med uppsatsen är att ta reda på om ungdomar efter diskussioner kring politiska och samhälleliga frågor påverkar varandras åsikter och blir mer lika. Studien baseras på enkätsvar från gymnasieelever som följts från årskurs ett i gymnasiet till årskurs två från tre skolor i Örebro. Totalt deltog 1688 elever i denna longitudinella studie. Multipel regressionsanalys visade att ungdomarna påverkar varandra men deras åsikter blev inte mer lika varandra över tid och att det fanns en svag skillnad mellan könen. Diskussionen tar upp hur dessa resultat skiljer sig ifrån befintliga studier på området och indikerar att "politik" är ett abstrakt ämne som vid diskussion skiljer sig från andra diskussionsämnen.

Society and Identity- Developments and Challenges in Swedish Youth Politics in the 1990´s. There are many ways to describe and value young people’s interest and engagement in politics. While some defend extraparliamentarian activism as an important road to political engagement, others stress the need for young people to become familiar with the political system. These two contradictory views express a common concern for the importance of involving the young in the political process – this is an issue that the system has to deal with. Should the established political system affirm the youths’ active participation and desire to make a change? Is it possible to do this without a loss of respect for democracy? Is it possible to develop democracy without changing it radically Behind these questions, lies the deeper question about how the established democratic system, in practice in the state and municipalities, handle a) the political involvement of youths and b) the transmission of democratic values to new generations. Furthermore, these questions are based on the fundamental assumption that a democratic culture can only be communicated and upheld through processes of political socialization, where norms, knowledge and values are passed on from one generation to the next. In order for this particular kind of communication to succeed, it is crucial that people see their citizenship in a democratic society as an important part of their identity. One of the main functions of the democratic political system is to create and uphold identities and attitudes that are intimately connected to the system itself. Therefore, the political institutions are central actors in the communication process of political socialization. Communication is a paradoxical concept. It is a human activity that everyone is involved in, but few can define unambiguously. Professor James Carey, who analyses the concept in Communication as culture, essays on media and society (1989), introduced the idea of communication as ritual. Although broad in meaning, this definition highlights communication as central in the construction of both society and identity. Society exists and works through the communication between people and because we learn the codes of interaction that exist in the societal context: But, whatever the details of the production and reproduction of social life, it is through communication, through the intergraded relations of symbols and social structure, that societies, or at least those with we are most familiar, are created, maintained, and transformed. In this dissertation, the notion that communication is pivotal in the formation of both society and identities, is fundamental. Communication is the core of democratic development and the passing on of democratic values from one generation to the next. Political socialization is a question of communication processes. Objective and research questions The objective of this dissertation is to investigate how the main actors in the Swedish political system; the state and the municipalities, deal with processes of society- and identity formation. This is achieved through an analysis of the perspectives on political socialization that are expressed by these actors in youth politics in the 1990’s. Three main research questions are central in this dissertation: Do the state and the municipalities understand their role in the process of political socialization as mainly hierachical or interactive? How is the role of the youth construed by these actors? Are they seen as active or passive in the process of political socialization? Do these actors regard political socialization chiefly as a matter of continuation or as development? Over the years, political socialization research has generated different views on the youth, democracy development and the political system. Early research tended to regard the youth as a passive group in a hierarchical political system that acted mainly on behalf of it’s own preservation. This perspective saw political socialization as a matter of teaching the young to assimilate to the existing political system. Later research has shown that the process is more interactive than was previously thought: youths are influenced, but at the same time they also influence others. This shift in perspective raises questions of how the political system construes the process of political socialization, it’s own role in this process, the role the youth and ultimately; how democracy best can be developed. Conclusion The findings of the different studies in this dissertation show an overwhelmingly hierarchical construal of political socialization by the state and the municipalities. The idea of interactivity and development, advocated by later research, is only visible in some of the municipalities. Furthermore, youths are considered as having some political awareness, but this awareness needs to be cultivated through teaching. Therefore, youths are seen as passive receivers in the communicative process of political socialization – and not as active participants. At the same time, –on a rhetorical level–both the state and the municipalities express an ambition to create possibilities for youths to take responsibility and to find their own organizational solutions for political engagement. However, this dissertation also shows that this ambition is nowhere matched by any willingness to change the existing system, if that is what is required in order for the youth to develop own organizational solutions. The state regards the process of political socialization from a perspective of continuation and conservation. Youths are therefore mainly seen as a problem until they have reached a level of political awareness that allows them to function within the existing political system. The municipalities wants to get involved in the political socialization of youths through their “youth-councils”, but it is obvious that the main perspective is one of socialization into the existing political system. In order to be able to participate and have influence on decision-making, youths have to learn the form and the language required by the existing political system. It is not, according to the municipalities, the system that needs to change. The state and the municipalities consider youths as mouldable object that also have the ability to participate and shape society. When the states and municipalities’ assumptions about the youth’s political interests and enthusiasm do not correlate to the youth’s, the process of identity-formation becomes paradoxical. A hierarchical system meets young people who do not want to interact with the system. A system aimed at its own continuation and preservation of the existing order, that mainly aims to teach youths to fit into the system, will meet youths who want to create new forms of organizations. Therefore, when the state and municipalities in the ambition of socializing youths into the political system, shut the door to real participation and influence that would mean actual change and development, it is perhaps not so surprising that some youths canalize their political commitment through extraparliamentary activism. On a rhetorical level everyone applauds ideas of development of the political system. But in reality, the state and the municipalities regard this development as challenging when the suggested changes threatens the established order.

Det finns en vilja från samhällets institutioner att det politiska engagemanget i Sverige ska öka och att detta engagemang, och i förlängningen inflytande, ska vara mer jämlikt fördelat med avseende på kön, ålder, bakgrund, socioekonomisk status och så vidare. Ett jämlikt inflytande kräver att alla ges samma förutsättningar för att engagera sig och i det avseendet kan skolan sägas ha en viktig roll att spela. För att diskutera kring samhällskunskapsämnets betydelse när det gäller ungdomars förutsättningar för ett samhälleligt och politiskt engagemang, deras politiska socialisation, har åtta elever i årskurs nio intervjuats rörande politik, samhälle och samhällskunskap. Samhälleligt och politiskt engagemang kan ta sig uttryck på olika sätt, därför undersöks detta ur tre olika perspektiv, det valdemokratiska, deltagardemokratiska och samtalsdemokratiska demokratiidealet. Studien ger stöd åt uppfattningen att samhällskunskapen lägger (för) stor vikt vid faktakunskaper vilket leder till att ungdomarna är mest förberedda på ett politiskt och samhälleligt engagemang sett ur det valdemokratiska perspektivet som innebär att de är mogna att delta i allmänna val. När det gäller att förbereda ungdomarna på att samtala kring samhälle och politik samt att skapa förutsättningar för ett djupare engagemang och deltagande verkar samhällskunskapsundervisningen lämna mer att önska. / <p>Godkännandedatum: 2019-01-20</p>

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.

The general view among researchers is that a well-functioning democracy rests in the handsof the political behaviour of citizens. In this behaviour, political interest is one of thecornerstones. Thus, there are reasons to regard it as a threat to democracy when young peopletend to have ever-lower levels of political interest. Therefore, to know how interest couldincrease, there is a need to know where it comes from and why it differs. There is yetuncertainty regarding this, notably since political interest as a concept rarely is used as adependent variable. Consequently, this thesis was aimed to explain why political interestdiffers among upper-secondary school students in Sweden. The focus was on the two types ofnational programmes, political socialization and socio-economic background. The findings of survey data (N=398) suggest that the average youth has low levels of politicalinterest. As hypothesized, there are, on average, higher levels of political interest amongstudents in preparatory academic programmes compared to vocational programmes. Alonethough, this pattern cannot explain variations of interest. Instead, agents of politicalsocialization have strong explanatory power, in particular friends and media. Also, family dohave a direct effect on political interest. However, this relationship appears to be dependent onsocio-economic background. The school as a political socialization agent cannot explaindifferences in political interest.

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.