Punctuated Equilibrium—Digital Technology in Schools’ Teaching of the Mother Tongue (Swedish)

ABSTRACT

This article deals with how teachers and pupils in seventh to ninth grade in Sweden look upon and relate to the incorporation of new digital technology in mother tongue education (Swedish). The result shows that both the classification and framing of the subject is being challenged by new technology, but that the awareness of the impact seems to be limited. It is suggested that the development might now be approaching a stage where the gradual change, “evolution”, that has taken place through all the invasive “forms of media” that have been added to the teaching environment, will now contribute to a punctuated equilibrium, which will hopefully lead to a new inner stability or homeostasis, in other words a paradigm shift. This, however, requires teachers to appropriate new technology as well as an awareness of its influence on the pedagogical discourse.

KEYWORDS:

• mother tongue education
• digital media
• attitudes
• paradigm shift

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.