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Exploring civics in early 20th century Sweden: A study of final exam questions at four teacher training colleges between 1915 and 1937

Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Highlights: – Modern society is reflected in exam questions at Swedish teacher training colleges from 1914 to 1937. – Despite not being part of the curricula, civics appear in final exams at four Swedish teacher education institutions. – Some topics evolved, from hygiene-related questions in the 1920s to racial biology in the 1930s. – 182 out of 924 exam questions can be classified as civics-related in Sweden today. Purpose: This article’s purpose is to examine the manifestations of the evolving modern society and what we now identify as civics or other contemporary social issues in the final examination questions from 1914 to 1937 at four teacher education institutions in Uppsala, Falun, Lund, and Landskrona. Design/methodology/approach: The method can be described as a qualitative text analysis, primarily of examination questions. This analysis aims to gain insights into the meaning of the examination questions and to understand which concepts of knowledge, subject ideals, and contemporary inspiration emerge in the material. Findings: The results are that 182 exam questions from a pool of 924 questions could be interpreted as civics in Sweden today. Most are questions about economics. Another finding is that citizenship education questions increase and evolve over time. Until 1921, there were nurture-related questions regarding physical education, technology, and organisation. In the 1920s, the focus of exam questions corresponding to civics shifted to themes of thriftiness, sobriety, and hygiene. In the 1930s, while thriftiness and hygiene continued, several questions related to racial biology also emerged during that decade. Practical implications: Our results indicate that topics that we consider to belong to civics today existed long before the subject of civics was outlined in the curriculum plans.
DOI: 10.11576/jsse-7454
Authors: Andersson Hult, Lars, Persson, Anders
Language: English
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W6922225714
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