Om lärarskapets moraliska dimension : ett perspektiv och en studie av lärarstuderandes nätbaserade seminariesamtal

In this dissertation, an educational perspective called the moral dimension of teaching is developed. The work includes a theoretically informed discussion from a pragmatist point of view in which the concept of pedagogical rhythm is introduced. The concept captures the need for teachers to regularly shift their intentions and occasionally act in contradictory ways as a consequence of the moral which emerges from interaction in pedagogical situations. Using this perspective, criteria are developed for the characteristics of discussions of the work of teachers, which are desirable in order for students in pre-service teacher education to have opportunities to develop their teachership. Secondly, the educational perspective as it is conceptualised serves as a theoretical framework for a study of discussions taking place in net-based seminars among students in teacher education. The study consists of 14 recorded seminars in which discussions of the work of teachers are analysed in terms of content and direction for reflection. The result of the analysis is a construction of four different focal points for processes of making judgements: existential, performative, critical and professional. Mainly the performative, and to some extent the critical, focal points appear to be supported by the net-based environment, although potential for the professional focal point is found when available tools in net-based settings are used in deliberate ways. Finally, based on these four focal points, possible future predispositions among student teachers are deliberated. Student teachers’ future opportunities to develop a moral and epistemological authority are discussed, as well as teachers’ general opportunities to exercise professional responsibility. The conclusion emphasises that a perspective such as the one developed in the dissertation is important, as it creates an understanding for the need to educate student teachers to exercise a form of responsibility that goes beyond being accountable to society.

Political participation as public pedagogy : The Educational Situation in Young People´s Political Conversations in Social Media

In this article we argue that young people’s political participation in the social media can be considered ‘public pedagogy’. The argument builds on a previous empirical analysis of a Swedish net community called Black Heart. Theoretically, the article is based on a particular notion of public pedagogy, education and Hannah Arendt’s expressive agonism. The political participation that takes place in the net community builds up an educational situation that involves central characteristics: communication, community building, a strong content focus and content production, argumentation and rule following. These characteristics pave the way for young people’s public voicing, experiencing, preferences and political interests that guide their everyday political life and learning – a phenomenon that we understand as a form of public pedagogy. 

"Vi kan skriva förargument och sedan motargument" ­­ : Om deliberativa samtal i undervisning i svenska som andraspråk på högskolenivå

In the light of the twofold mission of Swedish schools, that is to say enabling pupils to develop both subject knowledge and a democratic attitude, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate to what extent adult higher education students from different language and social backgrounds, studying Swedish as a second language, are able to carry out joint writing assignments with the aid of deliberative discourse, and to what extent they thereby also develop a deliberative attitude. The twofold mission of education applies to them too. While there already exists a certain amount of research into deliberative discourse relating to education in schools, the perspective of higher education didactics in this research is still lacking. The present study is to be viewed as a first contribution to this research. The theoretical starting point of this study includes previous research into deliberative discourse by further developing an existing model regarding criteria for deliberative discourse, for example that there is a striving towards agreement, although the consensus may be temporary, that diverging opinions can be set against each other, that tolerance and respect for views other than one’s own are shown, and that traditional outlooks can be questioned. This model is supplemented by designations for a number of disruptive behaviours, such as ridiculing, ignoring, interrupting people and engaging in private conversations. The thus further developed model will thereafter act as a lens in the analysis of students’ discussions when writing joint texts. Another theoretical starting point is the view of education as communication, and of the possibility of communication creating a third place, thereby developing democracy in the here and now-situation. For this study, comprising 18 hours of observation of nine students, that is to say the discussions of three groups in connection with writing texts on different occasions, various ethnographic data collection methods have been employed, for example video recordings, participant observations, field notes and interviews in conjunction with the discussions. The analysis clarifies that the three groups developed their deliberation as the discussions about the joint assignment proceeded, and that most of the nine students furthermore expressed at least an openness towards a deliberative attitude for further discussions in the future. The disruptive behaviours mentioned in connection with the analytical model that could be identified in the discussions, for example interruptions and private conversations, proved not to constitute real disturbances; on the contrary they actually contributed towards the discussions developing, enabling them to continue. On the other hand, other and not previously identified disturbances occurred, for example a focus on grades, the lack of time and lacking language ability, which all in different ways affected the students’ attitudes towards their work. For any future didactical work on deliberative discourse in Swedish as a second language within higher education, these disturbances would need to be highlighted and made aware of for both teachers and students. Keywords: higher education didactics, communication, deliberative discourse, deliberative attitude, John Dewey, Tomas Englund, heterogeneity, ethnographic data collection methods.