VETANDE OCH KUNNANDE, eller en hermeneutisk studie om kunskapssynen i de samhällsorienterande ämnenas kursplaner från 2022

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to interpret the new 2022 Swedish secondary school syllabi in the four Social study subjects. The study sought to examine if, and if so, how the syllabi were revised to emphasize learning of factual knowledge and skills more equally. The purpose was to understand the epistemological beliefs with regards to the concept of knowledge which can be interpreted in the urriculum. Theory: The theoretical point of departure was Theory of Knowledge (or Epistemology) as a perspective in Educational sciences. The focus was on different concepts of knowledge according to which knowledge can be differentiated into different forms of knowledge. Method: A two-part study was carried out by using hermeneutics as method. The first part examined the epistemological beliefs, with regards to the concept of knowledge expressed by the Swedish National Agency for Education and the Swedish government in a sample of publications. The second part focused on the revised subject syllabi with help of insights from the first part. Results: The new Social subject syllabi seem to emphasize factual knowledge more than previously. They can also be understood as mediating new epistemological beliefs with a new concept of knowledge. The new concept of knowledge seems to be differentiated in the two forms of knowledge that are suggested to be called (1) “know that” (vetande) and (2) “know how” (kunnande).