This study is written in the light of the ongoing debate in Sweden about the school's purpose, and the political will to enhance the schools focus on factual and subject knowledge. This study aims to explain how this purpose can be read in today's syllabus for the civics subject for school years 4-6. It also intends to explain how this purpose has developed since 1980. This is done by using an ideal type analysis together with professor Gert Biestas theoretical framework, where he distinguishes three functions of education; qualification, socialisation, and subjectification. Qualification refers to the educational purpose to mediate knowledge in preparation for a future working life, socialisation to integrate the pupils into existing cultural-, social- or political orders and subjectification about promoting the pupils autonomy.

The results show that today's syllabus for the civics subject is primarily focussed on the qualification function, while the socialisation- and subjectification functions are less apparent. Further, it shows that the syllabuses for the civics subject have developed since 1980. From a syllabus mediating qualification and socialisation equally, to today's focus on qualification. The analysis also shows that in some cases there are conflicts between the functions. These conflicts have however decreased in the syllabuses since 1980.