Browsing by Author "Enbacka, Heidi"

The aim of the study was to illustrate the phenomenon of diversity in education through the language in discourses. The research question was How are worldviews constructed in the national core curricula of Finland and Sweden? My interest for the comparison of discourses in these countries arose from the differences in how RE is arranged practically. The theoretical setting was grounded in poststructural and postcolonial perspectives. I particularly looked at hierarchies and speech through the concepts of discourse and otherness. The data consisted of chosen parts from the latest versions of national core curricula in Finland (2014) and Sweden (2011). With Fairclough's critical discourse analysis as a base, I examined what kind of discourses worldviews were constructed through, with the help of the thematised categories pupil, worldview and society. The study also contained a comparative perspective where I compared orders of discourses in Finland and Sweden. In the curriculum worldviews were constructed through several discourses. In Finland the order of discourse comprised a benevolent discourse, a discourse constructing hierarchies between worldviews, discourse of the presence of worldviews, a discourse of the normative voice and the discourse of one's own worldview. In Sweden the worldviews were constructed through the discourse of mankind, the equality of worldviews, a discourse of the values of the social democratic welfare state as a foundation, the dominance of Christianity and the discourses that emphasise potentials and disagreements. The discourses of equality and hierarchies were discourses that the Finnish and Swedish curricula had in common. The distinction between the countries showed in the way worldviews were constructed considering the individual's (or pupil's) perspective. The Swedish curriculum was based in a distanced discourse of mankind, whilst the Finnish perspective, in addition to the informative aspects, also emphasised the individual existential part of worldviews. Sensitivity towards a plurality of worldviews will be needed in the future. It is therefore essential to discuss different viewpoints to RE, and if, in addition to information about different worldviews, the subject also should emphasize the development of student's own worldview.