Religion i medier og populærkultur i læremidlene– En kvalitativ innholdsanalyse av nye læremidler i Religion og etikk vg3

Abstract

During the last decades research on religion in media and popular culture has grown into a large research field. This is now also reflected in the curricula. In 2020 Norwegian schools included a learning objective; in the new LK20 saying that students should learn to analyze and explore religion in media and popular culture. Therefore the schools also needed new curricula. Two new books got published, and one digital one, all of which now included the new learning objective. This master thesis provides a qualitative content analysis of chapters about religion in media and popular culture, in the new textbooks in Religion og Etikk vg3.

This master thesis aims to analyse how the three textbooks present religion in media and popular culture, and what consequences or opportunities these presentations open for in the classroom. The project also includes reflections on how the teaching resources answer to the new learning objective and what a perfect textbook would include. To write a textbook is a difficult task, as Andreassen and Lewis, and many before them, have pointed out. However, textbooks have proven to be one of the most important resources in the classroom, even with the internet. Therefore it is important to research these kinds of texts, as they are shaping the minds of the future. The thesis considers theoretical perspectives on mediation, textbook analysis, and popular culture.

The finds reveal that the three textbooks present religion in media and popular culture in totally different ways, which shows the different views the authors may have on the subject. The three textbooks provide, in their own specific way, the key knowledge that students in Norwegian high schools need in order to achieve the teaching goal set by Kunnskapsdepartementet.