Curriculum Goals Embodied: Constructed Groups as Identity Options in Geography and Religion Textbooks

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Examining Critical Social Studies in Teaching, Teacher Education, and Curriculum

Abstract

In the Finnish national core curriculum, a central goal of both geography and religion is to support the construction of pupils’ own identity and worldview. This paper examines how this relatively abstract goal is met in textbook discourse. In the paper, secondary school geography and religion textbooks are analyzed from the perspective of collective identity options. Two elements are studied: the construction of cultural groups by naming and first person plural references. Most revealing are the points where the two overlap and construct an explicit ingroup: in the data, "we" refers either to humans in general or to Finns. The results reflect the goals set in the curriculum in many ways; however, also questions about exclusion are raised.

Authors

• Henri Satokangas, University of Helsinki

• Anita Hannele Jantunen, University of Helsinki