Att fostra demokratiska medborgare : Hur lärare möjliggör demokratifostran i ämnet samhällskunskap för årskrurs 4-6

Sammanfattning: The purpose of the study is to investigate teachers’ perceptions regarding the task of raising pupils into democratic citizens. Therefore, I will investigate how teachers apply this task in teaching. Research shows that Swedish adolescents to a very small extent engage in democtatic processes, compared to other countries. At the same time, the amount of studies performed in Sweden is very limited regarding how teachers integrate the assignment of democracy in primary school, specifically in year 4-6. Thus, it sparked an interest in how teachers apply and include the civics subject. The study was conducted by a qualitative in terms of semi-structured interviews. Six teachers participated and everyone are currently teaching civics in grade 4-6. The theoretical approach has been based on John Dewey and pragmatism. The theory has been used in combination with previous research to analyze the statements of the respondents.   Firstly, the results show that teachers experience their role of educating democratic citizens as unique and important. They believe that there are great opportunities in affecting students' roles as democratic citizens. However, the teachers also describe certain difficulties while teaching about the democratic processes, since the subject is very complex. A large part in the complexity is that school accommodates many different individuals with various sociocultural backgrounds, perceptions and opinions about the world, which constantly needs to be addressed. Additionally, the teachers also experience that using assignments where students actively practice democratic participation should be given a larger share in school. The most effective way to practice this, according to the teachers, is by using communicative methods, e.g., conversations. Finally, the studies conclude that there is a need for developing the communicative parts in the education materials, especially concerning the democracy education.