The divided Swedish subject – a comparison of the curriculums in Swedish and Swedish as a second language The aim of this essay is to examine and appose the curriculums of the school subjects Swedish and Swedish as a second language in upper secondary school in relation to prevalent second language development research and didactics. My theoretical framework consists of discourse theory and the socio-cultural perspective on teaching and learning. The overall purpose of this essay is biramous and the study aims towards answering the following questions: 1. What didactic considerations are made in the two curriculums? And 2. In what ways is the curriculum in Swedish as a second language based on prevalent second language development research, and in what ways is it not? To answer these questions I have chosen discursive analysis as my main method to examine and compare the curriculums in order to delineate what implications its language use and goal formulations has for the perception of both student groups and in turn the possible quality of their language education. Through my analysis I have found that the curriculum for Swedish as a second language have some bearing in second language research, but that the differences between the two subjects’ curriculums as a whole lack feasible reasoning. The differences in language use and goal formulations between the two curriculums comes across as a result of both fleeting reasoning as well as fleeting judgement in relation to didactics and second language education. My proposition is to have a united Swedish subject for the currently existing student groups with the possibility of a new version of Swedish as a second language intended solely as a temporary educational form for newly immigrated students to assist their early Swedish acquisition.