Historical role models: a study on which historical figures Swedish students choose as democratic ideals

This study investigates which historical figures Swedish students identify as democratic role models and the criteria they use in their reasoning. The empirical material consists of 431 responses from a national history test administered to Grade 9 students in 2017, in which students were asked to select and justify a historical democratic role model. Using Dahl’s theory of polyarchic democracy, with its emphasis on inclusion and contestation, as an analytical framework, the responses were coded and analysed. Findings reveal a strong concentration of a small set of globally recognized historical figures, primarily Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. followed by Mahatma Gandhi and Rosa Parks. Students’ arguments overwhelmingly mobilize inclusion-related ideals, particularly equality and anti-racism, while contestation-oriented arguments, such as voting rights and the rule of law, are comparatively rare. The analysis suggests that students approach history genealogically, using it to affirm contemporary democratic ideals rather than to reconstruct the past on its own terms. Responses often exhibit teleological narratives and, in some cases, biographical inaccuracies, yet choices aligned with culturally canonized democratic icons tend to receive higher grades. This pattern raises questions about the implicit curriculum in history education and its capacity to foster a critical democratic understanding.