Competing language perceptions: A study of compulsory school curricula in Finland, Norway and Sweden

Abstract

This article analyzes Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish curricula for compulsory school, focusing on how linguistic diversity is construed and the power relations expressed through the curricula. An analysis of these three curricula is especially important given the language situation where languages and linguistic communities are connected over nation borders and the linguistics diversity in each country. The aim is to describe and problematize linguistic diversity and the norms and ideologies that are reflected in the curricula and that organize linguistic diversity. The critical discourse analysis shows that the Finnish and the Norwegian curricula have a positive approach to linguistic diversity. However, what languages are included in a student’s multilingual competence impacts how it is perceived. Moreover, monolingualism is the norm in the Swedish curriculum. The view of language and the hierarchization of languages identified suggest a competitive relationship between different languages. The study shows that the language selection in the curricula contributes to maintaining unequal power relations between students speaking the languages prioritized and the ones who do not. The discussion illuminates the importance of critically interrogating the curricula’s implicit differentiation between languages and thus speakers of these languages.