Education and Racism, Discrimination and Integration
The establishment of this theme in 2022 was a strategic initiative on CEMFOR’s behalf, as we saw a need to coordinate and consolidate the previously unconnected disciplinary research environments across Uppsala Univerity that engaged with the relationship between education, racism, discrimination and integration.
Our multidisciplinary work within this field is interested in on how public pedagogy of racism, discrimination and wider politics of exclusion runs as inherent element of various institutional and other practices of education in Sweden and beyond. We are also interested in how various forms of racism, discrimination, and exclusion are enacted and perpetuated in educational contexts and how these nest intersecting forms of stigmatisation and gatekeeping in both everyday/informal and institutional/formal dimensions.
Formal research networks:
Uppsala Interdisciplinary Network for Studies on Racism and Education
Funded by: The Centre for Integrated Research on Culture and Society (CIRCUS), Uppsala University
Despite the democratic mission that guides the Swedish school system, racism and discrimination is part of everyday life at Swedish schools, from preschool to upper secondary school. Studies show that racism and discrimination are more commonly expressed at school than elsewhere in society. Studies also show that school staff lack knowledge of racism and discrimination and that there are big and important differences between schools in respect to their work to promote equality and combat racism and discrimination. The purpose of this research network is to collect and coordinate the academic expertise in Sweden on racism and discrimination in the Swedish school system. We want to offer a meeting place for discussion between researchers from different disciplines, theoretical fields, and methodological practices. In this regard, the network strives to bridge the divides and lack of interaction that characterizes research on racism and discrimination in the education system. The need for bridging this divide is urgent, if we are ever to get a systematic view of the scope, expressions, causes, and consequences of racism and discrimination within the Swedish school system.
Learning, prevention and consequences of antisemitism in the Swedish educational system: National research network
Funded by: Vetenskapsrådet/The Swedish Research Council
The network has been designed to bring together researchers who are active across a range of research projects concerning the Jewish minority and antisemitism in the Swedish school and educational system. The focus of the network will be to facilitate and initiate empirically as well as theoretically informed multidisciplinary research on 1) understanding 2) learning about and 3) preventing antisemitism in the Swedish school and educational system more broadly, in order to help and guide educational initiatives that strive to reduce antisemitism. The network will also develop research initiatives that recognize the importance of including the perspectives and experiences of the Jewish minority and Jewish individuals, when researching, producing knowledge, and teaching about antisemitism.
