A TESOL Practicum in Sweden

Abstract

In the purportedly egalitarian society of Sweden, with a self-proclaimed feminist government stressing that any inequalities should be minimized, and democratic values taught, one of the roles of pre-service teachers is to teach the values of Swedish society entextualized in the national curriculum. This implies teaching democracy and equal/human rights – in theory as well as in practice. With Foucault’s work on power as well as Deleuze’s and Guattari’s notions of smooth and striated space as backdrops, this chapter discusses how pre-service teachers can discover patterns of power and subversion and learn how to manage their own power in a balanced manner. An increased awareness of the mechanisms of power, and respect for everyone else’s equal rights as well as one’s own, should also have the goal and possibility of creating a sustainable classroom environment. With Swedish policy as a foundation, and knowledge of cultural differences and power structures, pre-service teachers can become teachers who convey information, read and affect the power strategies in their environment in a balanced manner, while working for democracy and equal rights more easily and successfully.