Canon VS No Canon - Which English Literature is Used in Swedish Upper Secondary Schools?

Throughout our teacher education, we have seen and felt the need for suitable literature in the English courses for upper secondary education in Sweden. Our purpose was to investigate which literature teachers in the field are using in their different courses, and with that constitute a list that can be used by teachers. Furthermore, we also investigated, among other things, which qualities the teachers are looking for when choosing suitable literature for their students and courses. Previous research has shown the significance of using literature for language and cultural development, and therefore a list as ours can contribute to aiding upper secondary teachers. To execute this research, we have chosen to use both a qualitative and quantitative method, in the form of a survey and interviews. Our results showed that all teachers are using some sort of literature for language development, and the vast majority are having difficulties finding suitable literature for their students. Moreover, the vast majority of our interviewees took a negative stand towards having an official canon, however they were open for using an unofficial canon as inspiration