Student teachers’ task perceptions of democracy in their future profession - a critical discourse analysis of students’ course texts - Article 5

Oct 15, 2026

The education system remains central for establishing and maintaining democracy in society. Teachers’ interpretations of their duty to teach for democracy are expected to shape classroom practice. This paper examines Swedish student teachers’ task perceptions as part of their professional role, using critical discourse analysis on course texts written as assignments. Findings distinguish narrow and broad democracy discourses and relate them to outside-in and inside-out professionalism strategies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Democracy and education after World War II

Teachers’ roles and interpretations for teaching democracy

Swedish teacher education and student teachers’ task perceptions

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 43 | Issue 7 | Article 5 | | --- | --- | | 2018
Student teachers’task perceptions of democracy in their future profession – a critical discourse analysis of students’course texts
Silvia Edling
Faculty of Education and Business Studies, [silvia.edling@hig.se](silvia.edling@hig.se)
Johan Liljestrand
Faculty of Education and Business Studies, [jonlid@hig.se](jonlid@hig.se) | | Recommended Citation Edling, S., & Liljestrand, J. (2018). Student teachers’ task perceptions of democracy in their future profession – a critical discourse analysis of students’ course texts. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43 (7). [http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n7.5](http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n7.5) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss7/5](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss7/5) Australian Journal of Teacher Education Student Teachers’ Task Perceptions of Democracy in their Future Profession – a Critical Discourse Analysis of Students’ Course Texts Silvia Edling Johan Liljestrand, University of Gävle, Sweden Abstract: The education system is still important for establishing and maintaining democracy in society. In relation to this, it is reasonable to suggest that teachers ’ different interpretations of their mission to teach for democracy will influence their teaching practices. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on student teachers ’ task perceptions as a dimension of their professional role to teach for democracy in school. An analysis of Swedish student teachers ’ course texts written as an assignment during a course focusing on democracy is conducted using critical discourse analysis as an analytical tool. The task perceptions are described according to two main discourses: as narrow and broad approaches to teaching for democracy. These two approaches are further analyzed in terms of two corresponding strategies for teacher professionalism: outside-in professionalism and inside-out professionalism. The result partly confirms earlier studies of student teachers, where narrow approaches to democracy have been found to be most common. Introduction Hence, from the sufferings and chaos of the war came the demand ofpeople’s sovereignty and individual’s right to co-influence in the state and social life. Democracy came to be the general key word for social development. (SOU, 1946:31, p. 14) This paper addresses student teachers’ task perceptions in relation to the educational aspiration to teach for democracy, using Swedish teacher education as a case. The motivation for introducing democracy as an ideological starting point for state governing and education in many western countries can be traced back to the traumas ofthe First and Second World Wars (cf. Englund, 1986; Liedman, 1997; McCowan, 2009) . Accordingly, the ways in which totalitarian ideologies stressed the necessity for blind obedience, the existence of humans and non-humans, weak and strong and the need to silence or extinguish those who were considered as weak or different from the human norm, can be said to be important indicators for altering the very political foundation on which many societies rested at that time (cf. Arendt, 2004; Ofstad, 2012) . In relation to this, a central idea that was established in the wake of the war(s) was that war and peace are not primarily created through external devices, but through people’s perceptions or mindsets. Indeed, when the UNESCO Constitution [United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization] was written in 1945, it was emphasized that: “[t]he governments ofthe State Parties to this Constitution on behalf of their peoples declare: That since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defense of peace must be constructed”(UNESCO, 1945) . Similar ideas have been stressed in Vol 43, 7, July 2018 82

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the paper?

To examine student teachers’ task perceptions as a dimension of their professional role to teach for democracy in school.

How is the analysis conducted?

Swedish student teachers’ course texts written as assignments in a democracy-focused course are analyzed using critical discourse analysis.

What discourses and professionalism strategies are identified?

Task perceptions are described through two main discourses—narrow and broad approaches to teaching for democracy—then analyzed in terms of outside-in and inside-out professionalism strategies.

Oct 15, 2026

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