Recognising, Naming, and Resisting Racialisation and Ethnicisation in Swedish Compulsory Schools

Abstract

Swedish schools and teachers are responsible for implementing measures that promote social justice. Based on qualitative data from observations, interviews, and student reflections and perspectives on intersectionality, the study critically analyses how students and school staff partake in ethnicised and racialised oppression of Swedish compulsory school students. The interplay between different bodies in school contexts and children’s responsive capacities to resisting oppression is of particular interest. The findings indicate that the oppression and control of body space based on ethnicity and race are often intertwined with various power structures, such as social and economic background, age, religion, and masculinity. Moreover, the majority’s silence plays a crucial role in perpetuating oppression. However, students who experience oppression have the ability to resist the coercive power of their peers and adults. The article proposes that students and school staff should enhance their ability to recognise and identify oppressive power dynamics within their local contexts. By developing these competencies, individuals can reflect on their role in perpetuating oppression, performatively open new possibilities, and learn how to take transformative action and enhance social justice