Critical literacy in the subject of Swedish

- What can we learn from the national reading tests?

Abstract

According to the syllabi of the subject of Swedish, students are expected to develop knowledge on how to critically use sources and evaluate information. However, it is less clear what this involves more specifically, or what progression throughout schooling looks like. This study aims to explore how Critical literacy, CL, is tested in the national tests in Swedish for various age groups, thereby shedding light on what CL in Swedish might entail. Based on a wide range of theories on CL ranging from a focus on text to a focus on text in context, data consisting of national tests for years 6, 9 and 10 were analysed through qualitative thematic analysis.

Findings reveal that the most common type of CL concerns higher order text comprehension. In contrast, tasks aimed at making visible underlying ideologies or power relations are scarce. Progression is shown by an increasing number of CL-oriented tasks and by increasing expectations on being able to contrast different per­spectives and understanding implied content as well as understanding the function of stylistic features, the effect of narrative techniques and interpretation of symbolism. In addition, a few year-10 tasks support reading against the text, e.g. by examining author intent, positions and underlying ideologies.

Finally, consequences of the findings and implications are discussed. The findings suggest that the tests contribute to concretising what is stated in the syllabi, and to making visible expected CL progression through the school years. However, source criticism does not have a prime position in the tests.