Educare (May 2022)
Teachers in the Crossfire
Abstract
This article focuses on the role of the Swedish as a second language (SSL) teacher in the Language Introduction Programme (LIP) in secondary schools in Sweden. Policy analysis is used, with policy comprising of three closely intertwined layers: declared, perceived and practised. The material used consists of official documents, interviews with teachers and principals, and classroom observations. What becomes apparent through these layers is that the SSL teacher’s role is both contradictory and ambiguous. On the one hand, these teachers are trained to teach and plan SSL to support L2 students’ learning throughout the school day and in different subjects. On the other, neither official documents nor the schools themselves provide SSL teachers space for such agency: the space in which they are given agency is restricted to their own subject. National educational policy to increase knowledge about the educational requirements of recently arrived students has not been followed by sufficient changes in the training of and directives for principals and teachers. Solving these issues requires that all teachers and principals receive relevant training and SSL teachers given more responsibility and training.
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