Elitfostran i det kalla krigets skugga

Vetenskapliga skoltävlingar i Sverige, 1960–1980

Abstract

Fostering Elites in the Shadow of the Cold War: Scientific School Competitions in Sweden, 1960–1980. This article aims to investigate the multiple reasons for the launching and development of two forms of scientific competition for high school students in Sweden. It also seeks to analyse if and how these events could be understood as social practices for the fostering of scientific elites during the period 1960–1980. The two competition formats were imported simultaneously from the Soviet Union (so-called “Olympiads”) and the United States (so called “Science Fairs”) respectively in a time dominated by the Cold War. The article deploys three analytical levels: Firstly, it discusses the motives and reasons for the events being launched in this specific period. Secondly, it investigates whether the competitions can be understood as social practices where the most successful participants were able to accumulate different forms of advantages in science compared to their peers. A third analytical level examines the position of the competitions in relation to the Swedish secondary school system during the period and its role in the tension between meritocratic and democratic goals of education.