Undervisning i naturkunskap, demokratiuppdraget och interkulturell pedagogik : Kan en interkulturell pedagogik öka intresset och motivationen för ämnet naturkunskap bland elever på samhällsprogrammet?

Since studies points out declining interest in science among students in Swedish schools, I have in this paper chosen to examine how some students at the Social Science Programme are experiencing the lessons in Natural Science and how to make lessons more interesting according to these students. The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of how teachers would develop new perspectives and tools to make lessons in Natural Science more interesting. I also wanted to investigate whether an intercultural perspective could be a possible tool to increase students’ interest and motivation. As a theoretical framework, I have assumed Vygotskij's sociocultural perspective, Habermas's theory of deliberative conversations and an intercultural perspective. Through a qualitative approach, I conducted interviews with students and teachers. The main results showed that students felt that natural Science lessons were too theoretical and undemocratic and that they wanted to have more student interactions, such as discussions and group works. One problem highlighted was the fear of saying the incorrect thing or for the teacher to reveal incompetence. The conclusion is that the students wanted to have more practical aspects of teaching, which can be relatively simple and that an intercultural education would benefit the school's democratic mandate, encourage more students' preferences of learning strategies and enable more students through more secure environment where everyone feels included