Kunskaperna eller eleven i centrum? En idéanalys av en svensk riksdagsdebatt om utbildning

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how two recurring perspectives on education, one knowledge-centered and the other student-centered, are articulated in a contemporary political debate on schooling, and how these perspectives relate to differing conceptions of knowledge, learning, and the societal role of education. The study aims to clarify the relationship between educational policy and foundational pedagogical ideas, and to highlight the ideological fault lines that shape the positions within the debate. The study employs ideational analysis as its theoretical and methodological framework. This approach is grounded in social constructionist theory, which claims that reality is not objective or independent of language, but socially constructed. Methodologically, the study combines two main components: first, the construction of two ideal types; one termed knowledge-centered and evidence-based, the other student-centered and democratic; second, an analysis of a parliamentary debate in the Swedish Riksdag to investigate whether and how the ideas represented by these ideal types are expressed. The results show that these two ideal types are reflected in the parliamentary debate almost uncritically, with distinct alignments observable across party lines. The findings suggest that conceptions of knowledge are inherently ideological, reflecting broader views on society, human nature, and the individual, rather than being limited to pedagogical methods. The results further indicate that the debate over schooling in Sweden is highly polarized, and that certain conceptions of knowledge are closely tied to specific political positions due to their historical and ideological roots. The study highlights the normative tensions between policy and pedagogy and emphasizes the importance of making implicit educational values visible in political decision-making.