Mänskliga rättigheter i samhällskunskapen: Utifrån ett lärarperspektiv

Abstract

Human rights have been added to the new curriculum which came into force the 1st of July 2011 in the Swedish Upper Secondary school. The purpose with this master thesis is to compare the old and the new curriculum as part of an examination of what way they affect the Social Science education. Further the analysis focus on what is affecting discourses in the Social Science about human rights, as well as its communication and incorporation in its education. The empirical material consists of the schools steering documents and interviews with Social Science teachers. The theoretical framework is based on human rights education (HRE) and curriculum theory. The first approach explains why HRE is important in order to improve the respect and understanding for human rights. Following the curriculum theory, it explains why the curriculum is constructed in a certain way, which has historical, political as well as aspects of power. Together with the concepts discourse and hegemony an established order is identified together with perceptions seen as expressions of the truth. Discourse is understood as ways of presenting and explaining the reality. Another tool used for analysis is a conflict free Social Science, which means that the education is only teaching about the society and different domains within it, as well functioning without issues or conflicts. The methodological approaches are influenced by a critical discourse analysis with the purposes of identifying a social problem and examining its obstacles and solutions. The identified discourses within this thesis reveal a discourse order where they are arranged. It shows what resources are available for its members, so called members´ resources for the teachers. The order is currently set in a certain way and express values and interpretations about human rights in the Social Science. But it is constantly exposed to struggles and contradictions from competing discourses. My conclusion is that the human rights as a concept is unclear in its meaning for the teachers, which complicates the ambition of a human rights based perspective and what is included in such knowledge. The teachers own knowledge and interest affect the teaching and if the human rights were more implemented together with the school values, the understanding and respect for them could increase.