Bilder av svensk skola i SVT — En kritisk analys baserad på tv-serierna Vem mördade skolan? och Det svenska skolexperimentet

Mass media is a powerful social institution that establishes dominant discourses about social practices. This study is a multimodal critical discourse analysis of two TV series depicting the Swedish school system, broadcast by the Swedish public service broadcasting company (SVT) before the 2022 election. The study aims to critically examine the discursive construction of the Swedish school as it evolves in public service. It explores how these dominant discourses influence school practices and the broader societal debate on education. The study also addresses the media’s challenge of being easily accessible while conveying complex phenomena. The results show that the TV series construct and reinforce a dominant discourse of a school crisis. From a power perspective, the TV series construct a dichotomy between power as the ability to act within school versus power as knowledge about school. The school’s implementation arena is presented as a consequence of its formulation arena. The conclusion discusses the need for awareness of the media’s influence on perceptions of Swedish schools, the importance of engaging with possible alternative discourses, and the necessity of strengthening operational perspectives in the school debate.