När samhälle i samhällskunskap testas : En kvalitativ studie om elevers användning av samhällsbegreppet

Sammanfattning: This study examines how pupils in two first year science classes in the upper secondary school use the concept "society" in a home examination. The aim of the study is to contribute to the ongoing research debate on central concepts and the perceived lack of them within the social science didactics. To reach this aim a teaching theme in sociology was planned and executed, which resulted in a home examination where the pupils´ use of the "society" concept was examined through a qualitative method. The analysis is based on how pupils through basic and advanced terms use the "society" concept to analyze the content of the examination. The results show that pupils have used the "society" concept in six different ways - norms as an affecting force, changing norms with new technology possibilities, the individual´s opportunities to act against the norms of the society, borderline between the inappropriate and illegal, values as a reason for conflict and values as a condition for a functioning existence in society. The pupils’ usage of the "society" concept can relate to the nature of the concept, by lifting both actor- and structure driven explanations in their analyzes and by reasoning around the relational factor between the formal and the informal society. In summary, the results give support for the suggestion that the "society" concept can work as a dynamic and cohesive didactic tool for the social science subject, when it is placed as the subject’s central concept.