Social studies in school in the Nordic countries consist of several subjects (social science, history, geography, and religious education), which together and apart are aimed at helping children and young people to participate in society in various arenas and ways, for example through work, culture and politics. But the school subjects also address students’ own lives and their Bildung. In sum, these processes concern the potential of social studies in terms of facilitating students’ opportunities to ‘be’ and to ‘act’ in the world. This special issue focuses on this being and acting, in and outside of school, related to social studies and takes inspiration from the political philosopher Hannah Arendt (2004, 2013). Arendt was concerned with the significance of the situated and experiential for a rich and qualified understanding of the world and society, which highlights the importance of the very process through which the students as unique beings give rise to their own unique understanding and formation of the world and society through social studies teaching and learning (Persson & Olson, n.d.).
Our goal with this special issue is to help gather and systematize ongoing social studies research in the Nordic countries based on various theoretical, empirical and methodological frameworks with a focus on the student as a subject. In this way, we want to contribute to advancing the social studies didactic field of knowledge in a way that facilitates continued Nordic knowledge accumulation and dialogue in the field.
Research in the Nordic context has pointed to the need for more insight into how students’ role as citizens comes through in the social studies classroom, how teachers relate the subject matter to student perspectives, and how various activities in social studies can contribute to student engagement, responsibility, historical and value-based understanding and the different ways in which these processes can matter in students’ lives in and outside of school (Björklund & Sandahl, 2020; Blanck & Lödén, 2017; Blennow, 2019; Børhaug, 2017; Christensen, 2011; Deldén & Törnegren, 2020; Dessen Jankell & Örbring, 2020; Edling, Sharp, Löfström, & Ammert, 2020; Ledman, 2019; Mathé, 2018; Olson 2020; Persson & Thorp, 2017; Sandahl, 2015; Sandahl & Olson, n.d.; Solhaug, 2021; Tväråna, 2019).
Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:
Focus on students’ lifeworld in the subject teachingTeacher and student perspectives on the significance of the social studies for the students’ role as citizensLinks between the social studies and students’ leisure timeStudents’ opportunities to challenge/influence teaching and the subjectsSubject didactic theory and method development related to the students as subjects in the social studiesTeacher, student and disciplinary perspectives on the role and function of social studiesThis special issue focuses on the importance of opening up to and strengthening students’ expanded opportunities to take a place in the world and society as independent, unique beings through the social studies subjects in school. Of clear relevance here is also the question of how the students bring with them academic and value-based perspectives, knowledge and skills into their lives in and outside of school.
We hereby invite contributions that focus on the relationship and potential tensions between social studies and the students’ lifeworld. By drawing attention to this, our hope is to contribute with knowledge about the potential of social studies in students’ expansion of opportunities to ‘be’ and ‘act’ in the world.
We invite contributions in Scandinavian languages or in English. If their abstract is accepted, authors should be prepared to act as peer reviewers together with external peer reviewers for another article submitted to the special issue.
About the editors
The editors of the special issue are Professor Maria Olson (Stockholm University and Dalarna University) and Associate Professor Nora E. H. Mathé (University of Oslo and member of the Acta Didactica Norden's editorial team).