The contribution aims to discuss intertextuality as theoretical and methodological strategy in the analysis of equity in educational policies. Starting from the idea of equity as a multifaceted phenomenon this contribution analyses the various meanings of this concept from the systematic study of the interactions between texts created in different political areas.

Intertextuality as theoretical and methodological starting point claims to read each text in a dialogical relation to other texts, so called intertexts (Kristeva 1969, 1970). Even if the concept of intertextuality has its origins in fields other than education (cf. Kristeva 1969, 1970, Fairclough 1992, Riffaterre 1999), the utility of intertextuality in the analysis of complex and multifaceted educational phenomena has also been highlighted by earlier educational research (Lemke 1992, Francia 1999, 2008; Maguire M. Ball S. And Braun A. 2011) Riffaterre (1990) notion of limited intertextuality is used in this contribution as theoretical and methodological strategy for the analysis. The use of limited intertextuality includes only those intertexts related to each other by a logical or pragmatic relationship in the intertextual dialogue.

Starting from this limited intertextuality perspective (Riffaterre 1990), this contribution proposes therefore the analysis of different political documents that regulated central political areas for the implementation of the goal of equity in education for all children in Sweden. With this purpose, this contribution discusses examples of the intertextual dialogical reading of following national and international policy documents concerning children’s right to equitable education: The Swedish School Act, National curricula, National budget proposals and European and international agreements concerning the rights of refugee children in Sweden.

This intertextual analysis provides a complex dimension to the study of equity because highlights limitations and contradictions of policies for equity implemented in Sweden during the last ten years. This contribution shows how intertextuality as a conceptual and methodological tool allows us to understand the contradictory nature of the educational policies that seldom are homogeneous package of measures for or against equity.

References

Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Francia, G. (1999). Policy som text och som praktik. En analys av likvärdighetsbegreppet i 1990taletsutbildningsreform för det obligatoriska skolväsendet. Doctoral Thesis. Stockholm: Pedagogiska institutionen. Stockholms universitet.

Francia, Guadalupe (2008) La Intertextualidad en las reformas educativas: reflexiones sobre la equidad en la reforma escolar sueca. Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas, 16 (7). Retrieved from: https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/32 [20171221]

Kristeva, J. (1969). Semeiotike: Recherches pour une sémanalyse (extraits). Paris: Seuil.

Kristeva, J. (1970). Le texte du Roman. Paris: The Hague.

Lemke, J. L. (1992). Intertextuality and Educational Research. Linguistics and Education, 4, pp. 257-267.

Maguire M. Ball S. And Braun A. (2011) How School Do Policy. Policy Enactments in Secondary Schools London: Routledge

Riffaterre, M. (1990). Compulsory reader response: the intertextual drive. En M. Worton & J. Still, Intertextuality Theories and Practices. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

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