Discourses on the Discontinuation of Swedish as a Second Language

The aim of this study is to investigate the discursive practices that shape decisions to exit students from Swedish as a Second Language (SVA) in grades 7–9 in the Swedish school context. More specifically, the study examines how students’ needs and the conditions for exiting SVA are positioned in teachers’ talk, in a local protocol, and in texts from the public debate, as well as how teachers describe and legitimize professional responsibility in these decisions. The theoretical framework is Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) applied through a micro-meso-macro model. The data consists of semi-structured interviews with three SVA teachers, a local protocol, and texts from the national debate between 2022 and 2025. The results show a lack of unified professional discourse regarding the exit process. Instead, teachers navigate between competing discourses: a measurability discourse, a care discourse, and a stigmatization discourse where the subject's low status influences the decision. Furthermore, the study identifies three subject positions regarding professional responsibility: the autonomous expert, the collegial activist, and the passive observer. The analysis also demonstrates an interdiscursive link between national policy and classroom practice, where a political shift towards stronger demands and efficiency legitimizes a culture of measurability. The study concludes that the decision to exit SVA risks becoming arbitrary and dependent on individual teacher positioning, posing a challenge to educational equity.