Lärares perspektiv på studiebesök och gästundervisning inom samhällskunskapsundervisningen : Möjligheter och utmaningar

Sammanfattning: One of the main purposes with the subject of social studies is, according to The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket), to foster future democratically active citizens and one way to achieve this is to use study visits and bring guests to the social studies education. The purpose of this study was therefore to research teachers’ opportunities and challenges to organize and conducting study visits and guest education. The study was based on three research questions which were related to the types of study visits teachers carried out and what kinds of guests they invite to the classroom and the purpose of these visits, factors that can hinder or in other ways affect study visits and guest education and how teachers perceive students’ attitudes and behaviour during study visits and guest education and their knowledge acquisition in social studies. Eight social studies teachers working at lower and upper secondary schools in Sweden were interviewed though semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the teachers organize study visits and guest education with several purposes and that study visits to the local courthouse, the Swedish Riksdag, local businesses and to the local municipal council were common. Common types of guest education included visits from governmental authorities or other organizations, businesses, and politicians. The results also showed that the teachers were largely affected by factors such as time and school funding to organize study visits and guest education but also by factors such as logistics, lack of control and the pandemic. The teachers believe that students can learn a great deal through study visits and guest education as they have the opportunity to see things first hand, but also that students have a varied ability to ask questions during these occasions and may behave in a non-desirable manner. The discussion section includes result comparisons to previous research and suggestions for future research.