The aim of this study is to explore the makeup of teacher education programs for the language and literature school subjects Swedish (SWE) and Swedish as a Second Language (SSL) in upper secondary teacher education. We accomplish this through content analysis of syllabi from five universities. The results show a reduced amount of literary content and limited aims for the reading of fiction in SSL as compared to SWE. Other differences are that SSL has a stronger focus on Content and Language Integrated Teaching, migration, language ideology, attitudes and circumstances related to the pupil. Further, in SWE there is an almost complete lack of content relating to multilingualism. We discuss whether the SSL teacher education programs create different conceptions of SSL than the SSL courses prevalent in upper secondary school, at the expense of a subject oriented towards literature, and to what extent SSL is constructed as a subject primarily supporting other school subjects. In relation to Gess-Newsome’s (2015) model on teachers’ knowledge base, we also discuss to what extent the teacher education programs prepare for teaching in upper secondary school: for SWE in relation to the pupils students will meet, and for SSL in relation to the content and organization of the upper secondary school subject.

Informed by the conceptual-analytical framework of LPP and bilingual education policy, this study addresses a unique and under-researched case of heritage language education policy for complementary Polish State Schools abroad. These are a Polish governmental educational offering aimed at Polish migrants and their descendants. Data consist of two policy documents issued by Polish parliamentary and governmental authorities and are analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The specific research question is: What ideological and implementational spaces can be identified in the policy documents regarding the following six areas: academic goal; language ideology; linguistic goal; language orientation; bilingualism orientation; cultural orientation? The findings show that the policy opens up implementational and ideological spaces not only for language maintenance but also for various epistemic goals and literacy forms that create opportunities for a multifaceted personal and societal development of the students. Polish language and culture are positioned both as right and as resource, and spaces for cultural pluralism and plurilingualism emerge. Even if bilingualism and biliteracy are not explicitly expressed as goals, the policy recognizes the multiple linguistic realities of the students by assuming bilingualism, the orientation that is here called bilingualism as default. Future research directions are suggested in the conclusion. 

The current Polish population in Sweden came into being after World War II, and is the fourth largest migrant group in Sweden, and the largest Polish concentration in the Nordic countries; since the enlargement of the European Union in 2004, it has experienced significant growth. It contains not only ethnic Poles, but also Polish Jews, and is multi-generational, relatively wealthy, and engaged in Swedish public life. The group’s vitality is characterised by diverse activity forms, mainly – but not solely – aimed at the maintenance and cultivation of Polish culture and traditions, e.g. different associations, their own website, and involvement in the Catholic Church in Sweden. Linguistic research on Polish as a migrant and heritage language in Sweden has largely focused on child language acquisition, adult first language attrition, and some aspects of language choice, use, and maintenance at the family level. Thanks to Sweden’s educational policy, Polish is offered as an elective subject in the Swedish school system. It is also taught as foreign language at university level. More linguistic and educational linguistic research is needed. 

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