Recognising, Naming, and Resisting Racialisation and Ethnicisation in Swedish Compulsory Schools

Swedish schools and teachers are responsible for implementing policies that promote social justice. Based on qualitative data from observations, interviews and students' reflections and perspectives on intersectionality, the study critically analyses how students and school staff participate in the ethnicised and racialised oppression of Swedish compulsory school students. The interplay between different bodies in the school context and children's capacity to resist oppression is of particular interest. The findings suggest that oppression and control of body space based on ethnicity and race are often intertwined with different power structures, such as social and economic background, age, religion and masculinity. In addition, the silence of the majority plays a crucial role in perpetuating oppression. However, students who experience oppression have the capacity to resist the coercive power of their peers and adults. The article suggests that students and school staff should increase their capacity to recognise and identify oppressive power dynamics in their local contexts. By developing these skills, individuals can reflect on their role in perpetuating oppression, performatively open up new possibilities, and learn how to take transformative action and promote social justice.