Genus och nation i statsvetenskap – Studenters tolkningar av två värdeladdade begrepp

Abstract

Gender and nation in political science. Students’ interpretations of two contested concepts This paper is based on the results of a larger research project that investigates the role of values in relation to learning. Data were collected among 14 students taking a political science course confronting them with tasks designed to challenge them to adopt a critical and structural perspective on the concepts of nation and gen- der. The results of this study show that values are involved in the students’ learning processes in several ways. From a conceptual change perspective it is interesting to highlight at least two aspects in which values seem to be of vital importance for the students’ interpretations of the tasks, namely values about identity with regard to the concept of nation and values about power with regard to the concept of gender. Finally, the paper addresses some implications for teaching that could be drawn from the study.