Simply as a bridge connecting different cultures : Teachers attitudes regarding non western literature in Swedish education in upper seconday school.

The aim of this study is to examine how four different upper secondary school teachers of Swedish relate to the global perspective and today’s multiculturalism when they do their teaching, and to examine how teachers reason and reflect concerning the use in Swedish teaching of literature written from a non-western perspective. To achieve the aim I have used a qualitative method, interviewing four Swedish teachers from two upper secondary schools. The study shows that the teachers have different attitudes to the global perspective and different perceptions of the use of non-western literature in school. They can see the value of including non-western literature in their teaching, but they rarely do so, due to factors such as lack of time, lack of knowledge, the design of the textbooks, or the use of a school canon.