A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Uppbrott, avbrott, omstart: En etnografisk studie av disruptivitet i en svensk grundskola

  2025. Isabella Strömberg.

  Thesis (Doc)

  This dissertation explores the concept of disruptivity (disruptivitet) in the Swedish public education system, centering on Nya Tallskolan – a secondary school situated in a suburban area I call Tallskog. Historically shaped by territorial stigma and socio-economic marginalization, Tallskog has been the focus of various government interventions aimed at improving both living conditions and the neighborhood’s reputation. As part of a large municipal initiative to "lift" Tallskog, Nya Tallskolan was built with the goal of fostering positive change in both the school and the surrounding community.

  Drawing on two years of ethnographic fieldwork, this study examines how disruptions —arising from national and local educational reforms, high staff turnover, and modifications to the school's physical environment — shape everyday practices within the school. The fieldwork includes participant observation and interviews with ninth-grade students, teachers, school leaders, youth workers, and community members, as well as active involvement in students' after-school activities, including local youth center initiatives and summer job programs for Tallskog’s youth.

  Disruptivity, as explored in this dissertation, refers to a dynamic and ongoing process in which continuous cycles of change prevent long-term consolidation and perpetuate uncertainty. These disruptions are not isolated events but structural features of the school that interact and overlap with each other, while reinforcing existing inequalities. This study highlights how these recurring cycles influence both pedagogical relationships and the overall educational environment, illustrating the paradoxical effects of reforms that, while intended to improve the system, often exacerbate the challenges they aim to address. Situated within the broader context of the Swedish education system, the dissertation explores how market-driven policies and territorial stigmatization contribute to the persistent instability of Nya Tallskolan. Efforts to create a transparent and collaborative learning environment often resulted in further sources of disruption, as architectural and organizational changes undermined teaching practices and social relationships.

  This dissertation contributes to a deeper understanding of how local and structural factors interact in shaping the educational landscape, particularly in marginalized urban areas. It underscores that disruptivity is not merely an obstacle to stability, but a critical lens through which to understand the complexities of institutional change, social inequality, and educational reform in contemporary Sweden.

   

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• Descendant of Migrants in Swedish Segregated Schools

  2024. Alireza Behtoui, Isabella Strömberg. Promoting Inclusive Systems for Migrants in Education, 87-103

  Chapter

  Given the increased segregation of students (based on their class and migration backgrounds) in the Swedish educational system during recent decades, this chapter tells two different school stories. More than 98% of pupils in both schools are descendants of lower-class immigrant families. The first school (South school) is among those Swedish schools identified as ‘failing’, a typical school in a socioeconomically marginalised and segregated immigrant neighborhood with poor educational results. The second school (East school) is also located in a high-poverty district with the same school composition, which has succeeded in improving pupils’ educational achievements. It has been done through the ‘empowerment’ of pupils – that is creating an inclusive and supportive pedagogical school environment for students with working-class and immigrant backgrounds.

  This chapter aims to explore how different types of ‘school culture’ may affect initial inequalities, academic achievement and well-being of students with migrant background in marginalized communities. The case of East school indicates that even schools in such areas are able to equalise educational opportunities through building an alliance between students, parents and community activists on the one hand and bi-class and bi-cultural brokers like teachers and social workers on the other.

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• Compensatory school effects and social capital

  2020. Alireza Behtoui, Isabella Strömberg. Social Sciences 9 (11)

  Article

  The aim of this study is to explore whether and how school-based social capital (SSC) may increase or reduce inequalities in the academic achievement and well-being of students from different backgrounds (class, gender, and ethnicity). SSC here refers to those qualities of social relationships and the degree of interconnectedness between students, teachers, and parents that can support the educational attainment and social adjustment of young people. As the results of our ethnographic studies indicate, there is a significant association between SSC and school composition—i.e., the class and ethnic background of students in a school. The association indicates the stratification effect of social capital in schools as a predominant pattern. In a school with students from higher socio-economic backgrounds, we observed more qualified and motivated teachers, an intensive parental involvement, and, consequently, more constructive and friendly relationships among students. In contrast, in a school located in a disadvantaged area, the social relations were quite the reverse. We then found a third category. In a school with children from lower social class backgrounds placed in an immigrant-dense area, highly committed school staff were able to create an emotional closeness and trust between them, the pupils, and their parents. School-based social capital in this context introduced a sense of solidarity and created a pro-educational climate.

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• Vem deltar på fritidsgården? Om ungas deltagande, delaktighet och engagemang i den öppna fritidsverksamheten

  2020. Isabella Strömberg. Ungdomars fritidsaktiviteter, 59-94

  Chapter

  Inom både fritidsforskningen och i den mediala debatten förknippas ofta de svenska fritidsgårdarna med social utsatthet och riskbeteenden hos unga. Men vad innebär det egentligen att delta på fritidsgården? Detta kapitel är baserat på en djupgående etnografisk studie i bostadsområdet Björnbacken där fritidsgården Väven har en central roll i det sociala sammanhanget. Genom att följa elever i årskurs 9 både under och efter skoltid syftar studien till att undersöka inte bara ungdomarnas fritidsaktiviteter utan också deras relationer till skola och utbildning. Vilka är ungdomarna som går till Väven och varför är de där? Med hjälp av begreppen deltagande, delaktighet och engagemang visar studien på hur Vävens besökare är en heterogen grupp med varierande relationer till fritidsgården som plats, institution och fritidsverksamhet.

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• School-based Prevention and Intervention Measures and Alternative Learning Approaches to Reduce Early School Leaving

  2016. Ward Nouwen (et al.).

  Report

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Show all publications by Isabella Strömberg at Stockholm University