Browsing by Subject "Normutmanande pedagogik"

This study focuses on how Swedish-language textbooks in history describe Westerns, especially Europe and European in relation to other parts of the world. Previous research has shown that the textbooks used in Finnish schools focus on a Eurocentric view of the world. Postcolonial theory is used as background information to highlight the issue of an Eurocentric world view and what it leads to. The textbooks are analyzed using norm pedagogical theories to enlighten which norms are presented in the books. The textbooks assume that the reader is from West and that’s why norm pedagogical theory is used together with postcolonial theory. In this study two different series of books in history for grades 5 and 6 in elementary school are analyzed. The sample consists of both text- and workbooks. The method used for the sample was thematic analysis. The method is known for identifying common themes in the sample. Recurring themes confirm the Westerners superior status in the history books. The examples that are presented in the result show that people are put in unequal positions depending on where they come from. When the textbooks talk about religion they refer to Christians, the poor are described poor on a Western scale and men are still portrayed as more superior than women. The textbooks use statements that strengthen the Eurocentric world view.