The Absent Curriculum in Finnish History Textbooks: The Case of Colonialism.

This article examines the gaps in relation to the Sámi people and the colonization of Sápmi (Sámi homeland) in Finnish history textbooks. In the Finnish school system, there is very little knowledge about the Sámi and the colonization of Sápmi. The article uses the concept of the absent curriculum in order to highlight the gaps in history textbooks. The absent curriculum refers to topics and themes that could have, but have not, been included in the curriculum. Using discourse analysis, the article analyzes two different time periods described in textbooks: The 19th and 20th centuries, as well as “prehistory.” The results show that colonialist interventions in Sápmi are not conceptually tied to colonialism in textbooks, even though some textbooks include descriptions of Finnish assimilation acts in Sápmi. With regard to “prehistory,” the textbooks vary in their descriptions of the Sámi: Some textbooks clearly define them as a distinct Indigenous people, whereas others do not mention them at all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]