Papers by Ninni Wahlström
Equity, Teaching Practice and the Curriculum, 2022
Closing the gap between high-and low-performing schools is an aim of countless local, national an... more Closing the gap between high-and low-performing schools is an aim of countless local, national and international educational policy documents. However, as demonstrated in the introductory chapters, there is often a great deal of undertheorisation, if not outright conceptual confusion, surrounding theories of knowledge and definitions of equity that undergird these policy documents. Given the pressing nature of the problem and the reality that students in low-performing schools are not receiving the educations they deserve, it is tempting to dismiss philosophical and theoretical investigations as irrelevant to addressing a problem that has real and immediate consequences. But this would be a mistake. Even the best-intentioned policy or practice will have unintended negative consequences when key conceptssuch as equity-are understood differently by key constituencies tasked with implementing the policies. Those most impacted by the policies-students, parents, communities-may also have different understandings of ideals such as equity than the parties implementing or constructing the policies, and this can lead to further unintended negative consequences, such as a widened performance gap and deepened distrust (Schultz, 2019). This volume has also emphasised how even good policies can lead to constrained agency, which also often has negative consequences. If we want to close the gap between high-and low-performing schools, then teachers and principals in schools labelled low performing must feel like they have a voice and that they can exercise agency. Overzealous policy implementation can silence the insight of experienced school personnel and undercut their agency. This can lead to cycles of distrust and demoralisation that will often only widen the gap between high-and low-performing schools (Santoro, 2018; Schultz, 2019). One way to empower school personnel is to facilitate conversations about the purposes of education so that members of a school community can have a say in how school goals are developed, making it far more likely that these goals will align with their own values and aspirations. Doing this cultivates voice and agency. Philosophical and theoretical conversations are not sufficient to closing the elusive performance gap, but they are necessary. Given the enormity of the problem, the reality that each child has only one childhood, and many are not receiving an education that will open them to a future of possibility,
Bulletin Monumental, 2016
Det okande intresset for evidensbasering av verksamheter inom utbildningssektorn har ater aktuali... more Det okande intresset for evidensbasering av verksamheter inom utbildningssektorn har ater aktualiserat fragor om forskning, politik och pedagogisk praktik. Det finns hoga forvantningar pa att forsk ...
This report presents and describes an evaluation project of the most recent Swedish curriculum re... more This report presents and describes an evaluation project of the most recent Swedish curriculum reform, Curriculum for the compulsory school, preschool class and the recreation centre, Lgr 11. The purpose of the evaluation project is to generate new knowledge concerning the influences of international educational reform movements, national curriculum reforms and the implications for local teacher assessment practices. In this study we: (i) build on the framework of classical, explanatory curriculum theory by relating the societal, the programmatic and the classroom curriculum level, (ii) add a transnational perspective to the societal/ideological arena, (iii) link educational policies in the various arenas and levels by using the concept of recontextualisation, (iv) approach the question of what counts as knowledge as a struggle between basic curriculum orientations, and (v) introduce discursive institutionalism to curriculum theory as a way of including agency and change in educatio...
Surveyjournalen
Under 1900-talets andra hälft genomfördes två genomgripande reformer inom skolområdet, reformen o... more Under 1900-talets andra hälft genomfördes två genomgripande reformer inom skolområdet, reformen om grundskola respektive reformen om en decentralisering av skolans styrning. Dessa båda reformer utgör samtidigt varandras motsatser vad gäller reformernas respektive innehåll och argumentation. Även reformprocesserna skiljer sig åt, vilket illustrerar hur utredningsväsendet och statens beslutsprocesser förändrades från slutet av 1950-talet till slutet av 1980-talet. Jag kommer att i denna inledning ägna visst utrymme åt dessa båda reformer, eftersom Maktutredningen från 1990, som står i fokus för föreliggande studie, blev en viktig vattendelare för två helt olika sätt se på styrningen av svensk skola, liksom på innebörden av begreppet "en likvärdig skola". I grunden handlar brottet, som det kom till uttryck i Maktutredningen (SOU 1990:44), om två olika sätt att förstå begreppet demokrati.
Utbildning & Demokrati – tidskrift för didaktik och utbildningspolitk, 2016
What is required of a democratic school? John Dewey's Democracy anD eDucation in a contemporary c... more What is required of a democratic school? John Dewey's Democracy anD eDucation in a contemporary curriculum theory perspective. The purpose of this article is to explore a topical issue raised by John Dewey in his book Democracy and Education: How shall we secure the diversity of interests, without paying the price of isolation? To problematize the tension between individuals' beliefs, desires and needs and a society's need for cohesion, I read Dewey's book through a lens of curriculum theory to elucidate the role of the school as deeply imbedded in the society's interpretation of the concept of democracy. By analyzing the society arena, the programmatic arena and the classroom arena in Democracy and Education, it becomes clear that the fundamental principles for democracy in society also have implications for the curriculum and the teaching in classroom. By recognizing the democratic needs of a lively dialogue between different social groups, and to base the school on such a principle, we can reduce the risk that pluralism is manifested in the form of isolated communities and enclaves.
Utbildning & Demokrati – tidskrift för didaktik och utbildningspolitk, 2014
The condiTions for educaTion iia denaTionalized concepTion of educaTion. In my inaugural lecture ... more The condiTions for educaTion iia denaTionalized concepTion of educaTion. In my inaugural lecture at the Linnaeus University in May 2014, I explored the policy discourse of a denationalized-instrumental understanding of school and education as I introduced in a corresponding lecture at Örebro University 2011(Wahlström 2011) and which since then has been the recurring focus of my research interest. The theme concerns the relationship between social change and perceptions of social needs on the one hand and the implications for what counts as knowledge and good education on the other hand. The article discusses globalization and the changing role of the state, with Europeanization as one of the consequences of globalization. In recent years, the EU has broadened its influence by also including the Member States' compulsory schools and their curricula in its policy. In the article, results from analyzes of the Swedish curriculum for compulsory school, Lgr 11, from the perspectives of curriculum typology, citizenship education and equity are presented.
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Papers by Ninni Wahlström