The concept of democracy is a central component in education policy at all levels, yet its meaning can be interpreted in a number of ways. This paper examines how democracy is conceptualised and utilised as a legitimising force driving education policy reform. More specifically, attention is given to the use of democracy in the process of promoting programming’s inclusion in the Swedish compulsory curriculum. A number of mass-media articles published in Swedish are analysed using the concept of floating signifiers. The context of Sweden is of particular interest, since the notion of democracy has been a driving force in Swedish society for the legitimisation of education policy changes. In this paper, we chose to approach the link between democracy and education from a critical perspective and ask how the concept of democracy is being utilized as a part of political struggles to hegemonize and legitimize educational changes. It is argued that democracy, as a floating signifier, was central to the discursive production of the educational agenda of programming and its legitimisation. This article aims to function as a critique of the promotion of programming in education as a means to democracy.

中文翻译：

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民主作为浮动的能指：瑞典学校编程合法化的斗争

民主概念是各级教育政策的核心组成部分，但其含义可以通过多种方式解释。本文探讨了民主如何被概念化并被用作推动教育政策改革的合法化力量。更具体地说，在促进编程纳入瑞典必修课程的过程中，我们关注民主的运用。许多用瑞典语发表的大众媒体文章都使用浮动能指的概念进行了分析。瑞典的背景特别令人感兴趣，因为民主概念一直是瑞典社会教育政策变革合法化的驱动力。在本文中，我们选择从批判的角度来探讨民主与教育之间的联系，并询问民主概念如何被用作政治斗争的一部分，以实现教育变革的霸权化和合法化。有人认为，民主作为一种浮动的能指，对于编程教育议程的话语生产及其合法化至关重要。本文旨在对促进教育规划作为民主手段的批评。