Social science in Nordic lower primary schools?- Justifications, premises and contents
Social science is taught at the lower primary level in three out of the five Nordic countries: Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. During the last decades, attention has been
attributed to the lower primary level in general, in terms of early intervention, basic skills and the social transition to school. The purposes, contents and methods of the subjects: social sciences, social studies and “the SO-subjects” respectively, have attracted less attention (Hidle & Helgesen, 2024; Lilliestam et al., 2020).
We present a comparative curriculum analysis (Sivesind, 2024), focusing on the lower primary level of the national curricula of Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. By employing qualitative content analysis, we elucidate how identity, belonging, human rights as well as political and democratic education, topics traditionally connected to social science, is expressed in the curricula. Based on the findings, we discuss alternative approaches to initial education in social science.
attributed to the lower primary level in general, in terms of early intervention, basic skills and the social transition to school. The purposes, contents and methods of the subjects: social sciences, social studies and “the SO-subjects” respectively, have attracted less attention (Hidle & Helgesen, 2024; Lilliestam et al., 2020).
We present a comparative curriculum analysis (Sivesind, 2024), focusing on the lower primary level of the national curricula of Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. By employing qualitative content analysis, we elucidate how identity, belonging, human rights as well as political and democratic education, topics traditionally connected to social science, is expressed in the curricula. Based on the findings, we discuss alternative approaches to initial education in social science.
Publisert i NoFa X: The10th Nordic Conference on subject didactics, 2025
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