A school for all? On moral recognitions and violations in a school desegregation project

• In Sweden, the responsibility for counteracting the negative effects of school segregation primarily lies with the municipalities and, in practice, the schools at the local level. In this presentation, we analyze a municipal initiative of redistributing students from a structurally disadvantaged area to four schools in other parts of the city. The analytical focus is on the social processes that occurred in these schools, and the obstacles and possibilities experienced by the “new” students in their efforts to integrate into their new school communities. Empirical data in the project consists of interviews with 60 students and 55 teachers, as well as over 300 observations. Our analysis is guided by Axel Honneth’s (2003) theory of recognition, in which different forms of moral recognition are described as necessary for individuals to develop their identity and maintain a positive self-image and relationships with others. Honneth also shows how the violation of recognition has detrimental effects on the way people view themselves and interact socially. In the presentation we use Honneth’s theory to identify, conceptualize and illustrate how the manifestation and violation of different forms of recognition (i.e., care, respect, and solidarity) affected the new students’ ability to develop a positive self-image and positive relationships with others, something that played a decisive role in their opportunities to learn and develop. The result show that the students experience both recognitions (such as pedagogical care, mutual respect, and social inclusion) and violations (such as pedagogical vacuum, unequal treatment and social exclusion). From the result follows that there is need to pay closer attention to the complex power relations that permeate social environments in schools’ desegregation projects. Furthermore, the results can be used by school staff to reflect on power relations and how to create an inclusive social environment in education, as well as how their own relational work can be developed and adjusted in relation to different groups of students.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Desegregation

education

recognition

violation

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)