By studying activities of educational support, the research to be presented makes visible how these are conditioned by policy processes involving major actors on different levels of the educational system. One of the findings is the recurring intersection of dynamics related to accountability (Hopmann 2008) when problems are conceived and constructed, as well as on the subsequent provision of measures of educational support intended to serve as solutions.

Policy and practice regarding educational support on micro and macro levels have been analyzed, with specific interest in the role of discourses, subjective positionings and problematizations (Foucault 1972/2002; 1988: 257). The theoretical approach is operationalized in the research design with Critical Policy Sociology (Ozga 2021) through content analysis of nine LEA’s plans, 100+ interviews and three semesters of field work at two schools. 

Findings from the study reveal how the strive for inclusive education through systematic and equal provision of educational support based on students’ needs is corrupted by both explicit and implicit policy on the micro level. To give three examples: Students experiencing problems due to neurodevelopmental disorders seem to get more appropriate provision of educational support when having active and engaged parents, as well as students whose problems are understood to require a quick fix rather than a longer engagement from the teacher. A third example is how the provision of educational support is racialized (Miles 1989) from the macro to the micro level of the educational system, resulting in less inclusion and less educational support provided to students whose families have migrated to Sweden.

The presentation at AARE will discuss preliminary results regarding the problematizing and power dynamics revealed when researching provision of educational support in two lower secondary schools where there are 50% above average share of students with low socio-economic status. 

References

Foucault, M. (2002). The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language. Routledge.

Foucault, M. (1988). Politics, Philosophy, Culture (L. Kritzman, Ed.). Routledge.

Hopmann, S. T. (2008). No child, no school, no state left behind: Schooling in the age of accountability. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 40(4), 417–456.

Miles, R. (1989). Racism. Routledge.Ozga, J. (2021). Problematising policy: The development of (critical) policy sociology. Critical Studies in Education, 62(3), 290–305.

Ozga, J. (2021). Problematising policy: The development of (critical) policy sociology. Critical Studies in Education, 62(3), 290–305.