The “flawless” school and the problematic actors: Research on policy documents to counteract discrimination and degrading treatment in schools in Sweden

Abstract

AbstractIn Sweden, the anti‐discrimination initiatives and the efforts against degrading treatment are promoted by two laws indicating self‐regulatory and transparent actions toward preventing both. To be successful, it is important that everybody involved in the work has the same understanding of the task and that everybody understands written formulations of local policy documents, here labelled equity plans, in order not to reinforce inequalities when counteracting discrimination and degrading treatment. Our aim is to explore the world‐views that are expressed by the schools in their equity plans. We ask what are the perceived causes of discrimination and degrading treatment within the schools, what solutions in the equity plans emerge and which subject positions are constructed and made possible. The analysis rendered three discourses of which we can see recurring signs in the material and these have been labelled The perfect school discourse, The designated discourse and The educational discourse. These discourses are different in how they relate to discrimination and degrading treatment in school and they also provide different opportunities for students. We conclude that policy‐making is important as a means to change discriminatory patterns and we suggest how to avoid drawing on discourses that are likely to counteract the goals.