Simundervisning för praktiserande muslimska flickor : Hur olika sociala aktörer upplever att simundervisningen genomförs i den svenska skolan

Sammanfattning: Since Sweden can be considered to be a secular society it is interesting to investigate how different actors experience swimming education in the course syllabus of sports and health education, for practicing Muslim girls in middle and high schools. The investigation is based on qualitative interviews with sports teachers, practicing Muslim girls and the staff of the public swimming center in Växjö. The result shows that swimming education can be somewhat problematic, since the Muslim girls only want to attend lessons that are gender separated. In the public swimming center, there are no pools exclusively intended for women, and there are only a few times available for women every week. However, the teachers stress opportunities instead of obstacles, and the students’ experience that their teachers are trying to create possibilities for them to have a gender separated swimming education. The question of swimming education for Muslim girls is analyzed by using Berger’s theories on secularization, pluralism and privatization, as well as discussions on gender and intersectionality. The school and the public swimming center can be seen as secular arenas, which are characterized by secular values and standards. This may lead to consequences, since the swimming education is not designed according to the wishes of the practicing Muslim girls. The subject of swimming education is to some extent negotiated in society, but the swimming education is not fundamentally changing. However there are some possibilities for the Muslim girls to attend, but this may be problematic based on a gender view.