From political science we have learnt the dynamics of ‘essentially contested concepts’ such as democracy, freedom and equality. Within the politics of education, too, we see a similar use of concepts with positive meanings, but given different interpretations by different social forces seeking to achieve distinct policies. In Sweden, the concept of likvärdighet – which literally can be understood as meaning ‘equal worth’, with reference to any phenomena, and which can be translated as both equivalence and equity – has played this specific dynamic role in educational politics during the last 20 years. The results of a three-year research project presented here deal with the performative use of this specific concept.[1] Why this study of the concept of equivalence? We want to show how a concept with positive characteristics – nobody wants to be against equivalence – has come to be used in an educational policy conflict and has been given different interpretations by different social forces, interpretations which have been seen as expressions of the ‘right’ educational policy. By focusing on one specific concept, that of equivalence, we want to show how language, the expression of words and concepts such as equivalence, is communicated and used as a weapon in educational policy. [1] The project has been financed by the committe for educational sciences within the Swedish research council. The final report from the project is planned to be produced in 2007 and will be published in Swedish. The final report will be edited by Tomas Englund and Ann Quennerstedt. Other contributors in this final report are, the co-workers of the project Guadalupe Francia, Lazaro Moreno Herrera, Maria Olsson and Ninni Wahlström. A list of all publications from the project are to be found on the homepage for Tomas Englund, Örebro university.
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