Teacher Education in Social Science in Sweden in Historical and Comparative Perspectives

Abstract

In this paper, we will examine teacher education in social science. In the Swedish context, teacher education is part of the university system, but teacher education in social science is differently organized than social science education for other students. Teacher education in social science today is also, as a result of the deregulation at all levels of the Swedish educational system in the 1990s, locally designed and there are significant differences between universities. The aim of this paper is twofold. The first aim is to explore the roots of the current situation in the history of teacher education in social science in Sweden from the mid 1900s and into the early 2000s. The other aim is to describe and discuss comparatively how this education is organized at different Swedish universities today. The analysis revolves around questions about disciplinarity, organization and teacher education as a “trading zone” between the traditional academic disciplinary organization of social science and the conceived needs of the school subject Civics.