Litteraturens roll i engelska läroböcker för svensk grundskolation

This study, which contributes to research on literature in language education, maps the position of literature in six concurrently available textbook series produced for, or adapted to, English language teaching (ELT) in Swedish upper primary schools. It offers a systematic overview of the number, length and forms of literary texts included in the 33 textbook items studied and investigates how those texts are embedded in them. This comparative textbook study combines a quantitative examination of literature’s presence with a qualitative content analysis that unpacks the meanings attached to that literature. The findings reveal a strong tendency to marginalise literature. Despite robust arguments and empirical support for the value of requiring pupils to read literature in ELT, most of the sampled textbooks provide few literary texts. The common positioning of literature in the textbooks, with one exception, shows a propensity to disregard literature’s contribution to pupils’ education beyond furthering their English language and literacy skills. The main contribution of this study is the provision of detailed insights into the role given to literature in primary ELT textbooks, an educational setting in which textbook use dominates. By considering both the conceptual and practical functions of textbooks, it illuminates the value of literature communicated in ELT textbooks and the support these provide teachers to incorporate literary texts in their everyday teaching.