Stockholm university

Research project The emergence and development of national pupil-associations as collective actors 1938-2008

During the covid pandemic, the Swedish school student movement emerged as a major critic of distance education, but what has it looked like historically? How did the school student movements come about and how have they developed?

Elev talar i mikrofon utomhus.
Foto: Mickes fotosida

The youth is on the move! In recent years the youth has emerged as a significant social force through e.g. Fridays for Future and Black Lives Matter. During the covid pandemic the Swedish pupil-movement advanced as a great critic of distance education and its negative impact on students. Given the many great challenges in the Swedish school it is plausible that pupils will continue to act collectively to participate in the debate and influence the school politics.

Unfortunately, we experience a lack of general understanding regarding school youth as organized collective actors. This lack is in large due to insufficient historical knowledge about pupils’ collective coalitions. The dissertation addresses this shortage through a historical-sociological case study of the Swedish pupil-associations. The study focuses the emergence, claims and ideologies of the associations, as well as their conditions in relation to transformations within Swedish politics, school system and youth culture.

Project members

Project managers

Victor Johansson

PhD student

Department of Education
Victor Johansson

Members

Daniel Lövheim, Main Supervisor

Department of Education