Neulanreiästä panoraamaksi : Ruotsin kulttuurikuvan ainekset eräissä keskikoulun ja B-ruotsin vuosina 1961-2002 painetuissa oppikirjoissa

Abstract

Väitöskirjan tutkimusmateriaali koostuu kahdeksasta keskikoulun ruotsin tai peruskoulun B-ruotsin kirjasarjasta. Kalle Karjala nostaa tutkimuksessaan esiin kulttuurien välisten suhteiden vaikutuksen oppikirjoissa esitettyyn kuvaan. Kulttuurien välisen toiminnan kompetenssi edellyttää aina myös oman kulttuurin tuntemista, lingvistisen tason kielitaitoa ja vieraaseen kulttuuriin perehtymistä, samoin kuin lajikohtaisten ajattelutapojen kuten stereotypian, rasismin, etnosentrisyyden ja ennakkoluuloisuuden hallitsemista. Jokaista sukupolvea on Karjalan mukaan kouluopetuksessa ohjattava haluun ymmärtää muita kulttuureita.

The aim is to bring into awareness the quality of the manipulation which Finnish school youth has been subjected to through their Swedish language textbooks in order to develop their mental schemata of Sweden. In this way the manipulation can be controlled and developed in order to maintain optimal peace between the two cultures and to keep racism, stereotypical thinking, prejudice and ethnocentrism under control. The research task was divided into four problems: 1. What means do the textbooks use to tell about Sweden and its people? 2. What information related to Sweden can be found in the textbooks? 3. What are the attitudes of the writers towards the culture they deal with? 4. Why is Swedish culture described? The research material consisted of 40 middle or comprehensive school textbooks (a total of 9069 pages). The research method was qualitative content analysis based on the strategy of gradual reduction. The stories and illustrations were summarized to obtain a mental representation of the culture. This representation was compared with the contents of some self-images held by the Swedes. The main results show how the cultural content increases and becomes more authentic. There are more illustrations and pragmatic minidialogues in the compherensive school textbooks than in those used in the middle school. This is due to advances in reproduction techniques, state directives which from 1970 on emphasize presenting foreign culture, and commercial interests. The unreserved admiration for Swedish culture changes to an equal partnership. Important issues are fruitful co-operation between Finnish and Swedish youth and the presentation of urban life. Sweden is a western democracy, an industrialized wellfare state with a considerable amount of immigrants. There are no conflicts between Swedes and Finns. Most Swedes - and Finns, too - are hardworking, honest and easy to communicate with. The textbooks are in harmony with the contents of Swedish self-images, and present models of peaceful communication and co-existence.