The curriculum as a controversial issue : Negotiations about the position of the Norwegian Romani in school and society

National curriculum and teaching materials play a significant role in how students discuss and learn to understand issues which are controversial in society. However, the ways curriculum content aims to answer to rapidly changing political landscapes also influence the phenomena that the curriculum aims to unpack. In this article, we analyse one such phenomenon. Our aim is to investigate how the curriculum content about the Romani people in Norway has been used in the ongoing negotiation of the group’s position in Norwegian education and society. In the Green Paper NOU 2015: 7 Assimi­lation and Resistance – Norwegian policies towards Tater/Romani people from 1850 to the present, it is suggested that the curriculum should include more knowledge about Romani. In this article, we analyse the consultation process that was initiated after the publication of the Green Paper. We focus on how the submissions by individuals and institutions are discussing the curriculum content concerning the Romani. Our analysis illuminates how a specific curriculum content can have effects and play a part in on­going issues outside of the school context. We have focused on reading the positions on the curriculum in light of the contexts of historical justice for the Romani, and of multi­culturalism in education. The analysis illustrates that, how controversial societal issues are handled in the curriculum, can impact societal processes outside of the classroom.Peer reviewe