Utsatta elevers maktlöshet: en studie om elevers sociala samvaro som förbättringsarbete i åk 8-9

Abstract in English

The aim of the thesis is to examine how everyday social interactions and relations in a school class in years 8-9 are experienced by pupils and teachers and how they can be understood and improved. The research design is an action research approach and is carried out as a case study involving four teachers and 24 pupils. Four issues are formulated and the teachers and the researcher together suggest how certain problems might be solved, which in turn directs the action process over the period of three school terms. Analytical concepts are used to map and understand pupils’ everyday social relations in terms of peer groups, positions and norms. Eriksson’s (2001) sociological theory on bullying is used to analyze and explain the complexity of a case of bullying.

Defined dominating norms that appear to guide the pupils’ social interactions are: (1) You should make room for yourself, be visible and heard, (2) you should have many friends and (3) you should look down on those who study. The everyday social relations are affected by the pupils’ positioning and by the groupings that are formed in the class. Crystalized groups that emerge in the study are: (1) those who make a lot of noise and take up a lot of room, (2) those who study, (3) pupils who are frequently absent, (4) those who feel uncomfortable and (5) those who are outside (a marginalized group). In addition to these findings, three dominating norms among the teachers emerge. These norms guide and affect how the teachers act and think when victimized pupils and their situations are discussed. Teachers’ dominating norms seem to prevail in situations where some pupils are victimized by other pupils in the class. This in turn could contribute to various kinds of moral disengagement on the part of the teachers when dealing with victimizing acts among pupils. From the perspective of the victimized pupils, such a way of acting could be understood as teachers, in their role as “security guarantors”, are unable to prevent the powerlessness of victimized pupils.