From the immature six-year-old to the school-obliged preschool class pupil – a document analysis of the six-year-old child in the Swedish educational landscape from the 1940s to present day

Abstract

This study analyzes how the discursive representation of the six-year-old child has changed throughout history, depending on how society has handled issues of compulsory schooling, school maturity and school start. Policy documents from the 1940s up to 2017 have been analyzed using the concepts of subjectification and qualification. Policy discourses formulate meaning and truths about the child as well as the problems in education and how these problems should be solved. Policy discourses also contain economic arguments and formulate the role of education in preparing children and young people for future education and working life. We answer the questions: who is the six-year-old child in the policy documents, and what should this child be qualified for through education? The results show that there is a shift from descriptions of the immature six-year-old to the performing and school-obliged pupil. At the beginning of the period, discourses are formulated about the immature and problematic child who was not expected to be able to pass the eye of the needle to be admitted to school. However, around the turn of the millennium, there is a discursive shift where the child’s abilities are in the foreground. The problem then came to be about how the school should adapt to the individual child’s prerequisites. However, the period is short, and in the 2010s, it is the school-obliged performing and measurable pupil who is expected to adapt to the state’s requirements. This shift is discussed in a global context that emphasizes competition, knowledge efficiency and financial incentives for a schoolarisation.