Swedish progressive school politics and the disciplinary regime of the school, 1946–1962: a genealogical perspective

Abstract

This article examines the vision of the Swedish comprehensive school reform between 1946–1962 as it pertains to the ever-troubling questions of discipline and order in school. Inspired primarily by the work of Michel Foucault and his genealogical perspective, the article problematises the notion that character formation and school discipline during this period underwent a radical democratic transformation, and that this was the successful result of a progressive political agenda. This account of school discipline is shown to be problematic since it conceals a complex and even ironic historical process, where a disciplinarian discourse in school lingered and even widened and deepened disciplinary practice during the period.