Research project Becoming a Student : A Genealogy of the Normalizing Conditions at School Entry
Starting school is a major change where the child becomes a student and part of school life. This brings not only a new daily reality but also new expectations about how the student is and should be. This dissertation examines how Swedish compulsory school shapes ideas about the student and how this affects the individual’s opportunities.
Using theories from the French philosopher Michel Foucault, the development of what is considered normal and deviant in relation to the student is analyzed. The findings reveal how notions of normality interact with the school's categorizations and, as a result, processes of exclusion. Through a historical review of school start practices between 1940 and 2025, the thesis highlights discursive negotiations that have shaped and reshaped the student as both an object and a subject.
The study examines, among other things, material used for testing, documents with information provided to guardians, and depictions of school entry in children’s literature. By investigating the establishment and transformation of norms regarding how students are expected to be, behave, and adapt, the results illuminate the processes that regulate children's subjectivity – and thereby also condition future life paths. The thesis futhermore problematize the school’s exclusionary practices and call for a more nuanced understanding of how children who become students are placed within specific (but not necessary or natural) frameworks for who they can be, how they can be understood, and how they can understand themselves.
Dissertation
Anna Ahlgren defended her doctoral thesis May 28, 2025, at the Department of Education.
Becoming a Student : A Genealogy of the Normalizing Conditions at School Entry
Project members
Project managers
Anna Ahlgren
Universitetslektor
Members
Johanna Ringarp, Main supervisor
Associate professor
