The teaching of Swedish in Finnish-speaking schools is an ongoing public debate. Professor Hanna Lehti-Eklund has been interested in what the students and teachers think about the learning and teaching of Swedish, as well as which factors in the education community support teaching. In the Svenska i toppen (‘Swedish on top’) project (2008–2011), she approached the topic from an ecological point of view and studied what was important for students and teachers to participate in classroom interactions.

Lehti-Eklund visited primary and secondary schools around Finland with her colleagues and students. The reports Svenska i finska grundskolor (‘Swedish in Finnish primary schools’) and Svenska i finska gymnasier (‘Swedish in Finnish upper secondary schools’) describe what is typical of a good Swedish education programme and what factors should be developed in education.

The research showed that students are interested in everyday Swedish and Swedish culture in Sweden and Finland. Most of the students must either like Swedish or at least be neutral towards it. The teacher’s input is essential to learning Swedish, especially sincethe motivation for language learning is created in the local environment: the classroom and school. In the public debate, the importance of the historical, political or global context of Swedish teaching is raised more. A similar debate is happening in Norway about the teaching of modern Norwegian and the written language.