International Journal of Education & the Arts

Citation: Ekman, C., Almqvist, C. F., & Hållander, M. (2025). Threads of discourse: Exploring pedagogical ideas in unraveling aesthetic and cultural expressions in sloyd. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 26(3). http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea26n3

Over the past decade, Swedish sloyd educators have grappled with the challenge of integrating "aesthetic and cultural expressions" into their teaching practice. As part of a larger research endeavor focusing on discourses surrounding sloyd pedagogy, this article examines the evolution of the concept aesthetical and cultural expressions in educational guidelines. The study's aim is to show how ideas regarding teaching and learning in and about aesthetic and cultural expressions in sloyd emerge in steering documents from 1994 to 2022. Using a social constructionist approach, the material in focus for the investigation are syllabi, commentary materials, and support documents, which are analyzed through Iterative Curriculum Discourse Analysis. The results reveal that various interpretations coexist within and between the chosen policy documents. These differing views may impact opportunities for expressive acts in sloyd creation.