Att skola entreprenörer : Ung Företagsamhet och den svenska skolans omvandling 1980–2011
(2025) In Studia Historica Lundensia 37.- Abstract
- In 2011, entrepreneurship was added to the curricula of Swedish schools at all levels. In the 1980s, however, the educational organization Junior Achievement (JA), that focuses on entrepreneurship education for young people, was considered ideologically controversial. Over the course of 30 years, the view of entrepreneurship and the status of JA has changed fundamentally. This thesis investigates how and why entrepreneurship became a knowledge area in Swedish schools. The study focuses on JA from its foundation in 1980 to the inclusion of entrepreneurship as a central goal in Swedish curricula in 2011. Using perspectives from the history of knowledge, the history of education and childhood studies, I analyze the development and reception... (More)
- In 2011, entrepreneurship was added to the curricula of Swedish schools at all levels. In the 1980s, however, the educational organization Junior Achievement (JA), that focuses on entrepreneurship education for young people, was considered ideologically controversial. Over the course of 30 years, the view of entrepreneurship and the status of JA has changed fundamentally. This thesis investigates how and why entrepreneurship became a knowledge area in Swedish schools. The study focuses on JA from its foundation in 1980 to the inclusion of entrepreneurship as a central goal in Swedish curricula in 2011. Using perspectives from the history of knowledge, the history of education and childhood studies, I analyze the development and reception of JA in relation to the broader changes in society and those in the school system as well as in what is considered important knowledge for future citizens. In so doing, the thesis sheds light on the conditions for an external educational actor to become established in the school system and shows how a change in school activities can take place. The study thus contributes a new perspective on the social transformation of the “knowledge society” and operationalizes part of the conceptual apparatus of the history of knowledge in relation to factors that condition the establishment of new knowledge content in a particular knowledge arena.
The analysis adds a new perspective on the transformation of the Swedish welfare state and school system. Entrepreneurial knowledge came to be viewed as a solution to challenges that arose in connection with societal changes at that time. This study also highlights the change in the perception of children and young people in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship as well as the establishment of the view of entrepreneurship as a skill that can be trained through education. This change cannot be explained merely by policy development. It needed to be established with the help of proactive actors. The educationalization that turned societal challenges into a need for entrepreneurial education took place in practice before the change happened at the policy level. The analysis thus indicates that we also need to consider the work of educational organizations to fully understand how school change happens.
This study underscores the significance of the knowledge form. The ideological coding of the knowledge content contributed to the criticism of JA in the 1980s, while the knowledge form was seen as successful by most observers. The difference between knowledge content and knowledge form also provides insight into why JA failed in its first attempt to establish an educational concept for compulsory schools. The content was in line with current trends in the social debate and within pedagogy, but the form was poorly adapted to the target group – subject teachers – as well as to the lower secondary school context. In relation to schools, the grammar of schooling and the needs and wishes of teachers were shown to be of particular importance for the establishment of new educational concepts.
JA and entrepreneurship in schools were part of an international trend. However, the Nordic countries stand out, where the organization has become particularly influential and well-integrated into the school system. Nevertheless, JA in Sweden is exceptional. Part of the explanation for JA’s strong position and speedy early establishment in Sweden should be found in the strong and rapid market turn, as well as in the ongoing ideological conflict and debate about wage earner funds, in which JA became involved. Paradoxically, the special position of JA in Sweden can be partly explained by the fact that the program was
controversial in the 1980s. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- År 2011 infördes entreprenörskap i den svenska skolans läroplaner. På 1980-talet ansågs dock utbildningsorganisationen Ung Företagsamhet (UF), som fokuserar på entreprenörskapsutbildning för ungdomar, vara ideologiskt kontroversiell. Under loppet av 30 år har synen på entreprenörskap och UF:s status förändrats i grunden. Denna avhandling undersöker hur och varför entreprenörskap blev ett kunskapsområde i svenska skolor. Studien fokuserar på UF från organisationens grundande 1980 till införandet av entreprenörskap som ett centralt mål i de svenska läroplanerna 2011. Med hjälp av perspektiv från kunskapshistoria, utbildningshistoria och barndomsstudier analyseras utvecklingen och mottagandet av UF i relation till förändringar i samhället och... (More)
- År 2011 infördes entreprenörskap i den svenska skolans läroplaner. På 1980-talet ansågs dock utbildningsorganisationen Ung Företagsamhet (UF), som fokuserar på entreprenörskapsutbildning för ungdomar, vara ideologiskt kontroversiell. Under loppet av 30 år har synen på entreprenörskap och UF:s status förändrats i grunden. Denna avhandling undersöker hur och varför entreprenörskap blev ett kunskapsområde i svenska skolor. Studien fokuserar på UF från organisationens grundande 1980 till införandet av entreprenörskap som ett centralt mål i de svenska läroplanerna 2011. Med hjälp av perspektiv från kunskapshistoria, utbildningshistoria och barndomsstudier analyseras utvecklingen och mottagandet av UF i relation till förändringar i samhället och skolsystemet samt vad som anses vara viktig kunskap för framtida medborgare. Avhandlingen belyser villkoren för att en extern utbildningsaktör ska kunna etablera sig i skolsystemet och visar hur en förändring av skolans verksamhet kan ske. Studien bidrar med ett nytt perspektiv på samhällsomvandlingen av ”kunskapssamhället” och operationaliserar en del av den kunskapshistoriska begreppsapparaten i relation till faktorer som påverkar etableringen av nytt kunskapsinnehåll på en viss kunskapsarena.
Analysen tillför ett nytt perspektiv på omvandlingen av den svenska välfärdsstaten och skolsystemet. Entreprenöriell kunskap kom att ses som en lösning på de utmaningar som uppstod i samband med rådande samhällsförändringar. Studien belyser även förändringen i synen på barn och ungdomar i relation till företagsamhet och entreprenörskap, samt utvecklingen av synen på entreprenörskap som en färdighet som kan tränas genom utbildning. Denna förändring kan inte förklaras enbart av utveckling i policy och politiska debatter. Den behövde etableras med hjälp av proaktiva aktörer. Den utbildningisering som förvandlade samhällsutmaningar till ett behov av entreprenörskapsutbildning ägde rum i praktiken innan förändringen skedde på policynivå. Analysen visar således att vi också måste beakta externa utbildningsorganisationers arbete för att fullt ut förstå hur skolförändring sker.
Studien understryker betydelsen av kunskapsformen. Den ideologiska kodningen av kunskapsinnehållet bidrog till kritiken mot UF på 1980-talet, medan kunskapsformen ansågs framgångsrik av de flesta observatörer. Skillnaden mellan kunskapsinnehåll och kunskapsform ger även en inblick i varför UF misslyckades i sitt första försök att etablera ett utbildningskoncept för grundskolan. Innehållet var i linje med aktuella trender i samhällsdebatten och inom pedagogiken, men formen var dåligt anpassad till målgruppen – ämneslärare – och till högstadieskolans kontext. I relation till skolorna visade sig skolans grammatik och lärarnas behov och önskemål vara av särskild betydelse för etableringen av nya utbildningskoncept.
UF och entreprenörskap i skolan var en del av en internationell trend. De nordiska länderna sticker dock ut, där organisationen har blivit särskilt inflytelserik och väl integrerad i skolsystemet. UF i Sverige är dock även i ett nordiskt sammanhang exceptionell. En del av förklaringen till UF:s starka ställning och snabba etablering i Sverige står att finna i den starka och snabba marknadsvändningen, samt den pågående ideologiska konflikten och debatten om löntagarfonder, där UF blev involverad. Paradoxalt nog kan UF:s särskilda ställning i Sverige delvis förklaras av att programmet var kontroversiellt på 1980-talet. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/d54d24ae-2263-418e-a894-65bb1c01fa5e
- author
- Kallträsk, Evelina LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- docent Johanna Ringarp, Stockholms universitet
- organization
- alternative title
- Educating entrepreneurs : Junior Achievement and the transformation of Swedish schools 1980–2011
- publishing date
- 2025-08-29
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Ung Företagsamhet, entreprenörskap, kunskapshistoria, utbildning, utbildningisering, skolförändring, barn- och ungdomshistoria, Junior Achievement, entrepreneurship, history of knowledge, education, educationalization, school change, history of childhood and youth
- in
- Studia Historica Lundensia
- volume
- 37
- pages
- 282 pages
- publisher
- Lunds universitet
- defense location
- LUX C121
- defense date
- 2025-09-26 13:15:00
- ISSN
- 1650-755X
- 1650-755X
- ISBN
- 978-91-90055-13-7
- 978-91-90055-12-0
- project
- Entrepreneurial knowledge – Ung Företagsamhet and the development of views of children, youth and entrepreneurship in Sweden 1980–2020
- Lund Centre for the History of Knowledge
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- d54d24ae-2263-418e-a894-65bb1c01fa5e
- date added to LUP
- 2025-08-28 10:56:05
- date last changed
- 2025-08-29 10:36:54
@phdthesis{d54d24ae-2263-418e-a894-65bb1c01fa5e,
abstract = {{In 2011, entrepreneurship was added to the curricula of Swedish schools at all levels. In the 1980s, however, the educational organization Junior Achievement (JA), that focuses on entrepreneurship education for young people, was considered ideologically controversial. Over the course of 30 years, the view of entrepreneurship and the status of JA has changed fundamentally. This thesis investigates how and why entrepreneurship became a knowledge area in Swedish schools. The study focuses on JA from its foundation in 1980 to the inclusion of entrepreneurship as a central goal in Swedish curricula in 2011. Using perspectives from the history of knowledge, the history of education and childhood studies, I analyze the development and reception of JA in relation to the broader changes in society and those in the school system as well as in what is considered important knowledge for future citizens. In so doing, the thesis sheds light on the conditions for an external educational actor to become established in the school system and shows how a change in school activities can take place. The study thus contributes a new perspective on the social transformation of the “knowledge society” and operationalizes part of the conceptual apparatus of the history of knowledge in relation to factors that condition the establishment of new knowledge content in a particular knowledge arena.<br/><br/>The analysis adds a new perspective on the transformation of the Swedish welfare state and school system. Entrepreneurial knowledge came to be viewed as a solution to challenges that arose in connection with societal changes at that time. This study also highlights the change in the perception of children and young people in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship as well as the establishment of the view of entrepreneurship as a skill that can be trained through education. This change cannot be explained merely by policy development. It needed to be established with the help of proactive actors. The educationalization that turned societal challenges into a need for entrepreneurial education took place in practice before the change happened at the policy level. The analysis thus indicates that we also need to consider the work of educational organizations to fully understand how school change happens.<br/><br/>This study underscores the significance of the knowledge form. The ideological coding of the knowledge content contributed to the criticism of JA in the 1980s, while the knowledge form was seen as successful by most observers. The difference between knowledge content and knowledge form also provides insight into why JA failed in its first attempt to establish an educational concept for compulsory schools. The content was in line with current trends in the social debate and within pedagogy, but the form was poorly adapted to the target group – subject teachers – as well as to the lower secondary school context. In relation to schools, the grammar of schooling and the needs and wishes of teachers were shown to be of particular importance for the establishment of new educational concepts.<br/><br/>JA and entrepreneurship in schools were part of an international trend. However, the Nordic countries stand out, where the organization has become particularly influential and well-integrated into the school system. Nevertheless, JA in Sweden is exceptional. Part of the explanation for JA’s strong position and speedy early establishment in Sweden should be found in the strong and rapid market turn, as well as in the ongoing ideological conflict and debate about wage earner funds, in which JA became involved. Paradoxically, the special position of JA in Sweden can be partly explained by the fact that the program was<br/>controversial in the 1980s.}},
author = {{Kallträsk, Evelina}},
isbn = {{978-91-90055-13-7}},
issn = {{1650-755X}},
keywords = {{Ung Företagsamhet; entreprenörskap; kunskapshistoria; utbildning; utbildningisering; skolförändring; barn- och ungdomshistoria; Junior Achievement; entrepreneurship; history of knowledge; education; educationalization; school change; history of childhood and youth}},
language = {{swe}},
month = {{08}},
publisher = {{Lunds universitet}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Studia Historica Lundensia}},
title = {{Att skola entreprenörer : Ung Företagsamhet och den svenska skolans omvandling 1980–2011}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/226430769/Avhandling_Evelina_K.pdf}},
volume = {{37}},
year = {{2025}},
}