This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the motivations that key policy documents have put forward as justifications for mother-tongue instruction in Sweden as a multicultural policy that has endured for nearly half a century. The diachronic development of these motivations is analysed in four periods and interpreted with the help of theoretical concepts from political science. Mainly, institutionalist approaches are applied to policy continuity from the macro to the micro level. The material consists of 26 key policy documents making up the coordinative discourse among policy actors. Based on an innovative mix of qualitative and quantitative analyses, the motivations are presented in a taxonomy consisting of motivational units and themes.

The results point to both continuity and change in how mother-tongue instruction has been justified over time. The continuity is reflected in the diachronic persistence of the motivations’ thematic diversity. It is argued that Swedish academia have made an important contribution to this continuity by safeguarding several motivational themes in the face of ideological shifts. The main changes can be summarised as a shift from viewing mother-tongue instruction primarily as a facilitator of equality and a prerequisite for normal development in minority children to focusing on its utility for the whole society and on its value for Sweden’s cultural heritage with regards to national minority languages. It is argued that the adaptability of the justifications to ideological shifts has contributed to the endurance of mother-tongue instruction but has also enabled policymakers to dodge their responsibility for improving its quality.

Memet Aktürk Drake

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