Lärares ledarskap som möjliggörande och begränsande i mötet med ’alla’ barn : En deltagarorienterad studie

The aim of this thesis is to, based on teachers’ experiences, describe and analyse meanings of teachers’ leadership in general, and in relation to children in need of special support in particular. The study was carried out within the tradition of participatory-oriented research, a research circle. The dialogues in the circle were based on the participants’ questions, experiences, interests, and knowledge. The circle included a researcher and nine teachers from the following types of schools: preschool, preschool class, compulsory school, and compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities. The study is based on an understanding of leadership as a relational practice. Leadership is practised in the interaction between teacher and child. Both parties exert influence over the practice of leadership. A central assumption in the study is that knowledge can develop through and in interactions between people, that knowledge and power are connected, and that knowledge and actions are intertwined. Another central assumption is that learning is a complex phenomenon. In the analysis of the research circle’s dialogues, the following meanings of teachers’ leadership emerge: to facilitate learning and discipline, and to promote different interests. The practice of leadership involves teachers handling complex situations in their interactions with ‘all’ children, i.e. children in need of special support and children without such needs. Leadership is practised between teachers and children, and the teachers have to consider the group of children as a collective in relation to the individual children. At the same time, the teachers have to consider their intentions versus what happens during the interactions. In addition, the teachers have to pay heed to the fact that their own actions and the children’s actions influence one another. Finally, the teachers have to consider the individual child’s ‘best interest’ in relation to the requirements of the policy documents. Furthermore, the results indicate that the practice of leadership is perceived as both unpredictable and, to some extent, predictable at the same time, which adds to the complexity of leadership. The teachers cannot know for sure what the children understand or if the children’s actions facilitate learning. However, the teachers can make certain assumptions about how to practice leadership in order to facilitate learning and discipline in children with different needs. The meanings of leadership were expressed in different ways in the circle’s dialogues; both as enabling and limiting in interactions with children in need of special support. One of the study’s conclusions is that leadership seems to be particularly complex in interactions with children in need of special support. The research circle’s dialogues served to promote a democratic knowledge process. The dialogues were characterised by respect for the participants’ different opinions; however, this does not mean that they were free from power structures.

Lärares ledarskap som möjliggörande och begränsande i mötet med ’alla’ barn : En deltagarorienterad studie

The aim of this thesis is to, based on teachers’ experiences, describe and analyse meanings of teachers’ leadership in general, and in relation to children in need of special support in particular. The study was carried out within the tradition of participatory-oriented research, a research circle. The dialogues in the circle were based on the participants’ questions, experiences, interests, and knowledge. The circle included a researcher and nine teachers from the following types of schools: preschool, preschool class, compulsory school, and compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities. The study is based on an understanding of leadership as a relational practice. Leadership is practised in the interaction between teacher and child. Both parties exert influence over the practice of leadership. A central assumption in the study is that knowledge can develop through and in interactions between people, that knowledge and power are connected, and that knowledge and actions are intertwined. Another central assumption is that learning is a complex phenomenon. In the analysis of the research circle’s dialogues, the following meanings of teachers’ leadership emerge: to facilitate learning and discipline, and to promote different interests. The practice of leadership involves teachers handling complex situations in their interactions with ‘all’ children, i.e. children in need of special support and children without such needs. Leadership is practised between teachers and children, and the teachers have to consider the group of children as a collective in relation to the individual children. At the same time, the teachers have to consider their intentions versus what happens during the interactions. In addition, the teachers have to pay heed to the fact that their own actions and the children’s actions influence one another. Finally, the teachers have to consider the individual child’s ‘best interest’ in relation to the requirements of the policy documents. Furthermore, the results indicate that the practice of leadership is perceived as both unpredictable and, to some extent, predictable at the same time, which adds to the complexity of leadership. The teachers cannot know for sure what the children understand or if the children’s actions facilitate learning. However, the teachers can make certain assumptions about how to practice leadership in order to facilitate learning and discipline in children with different needs. The meanings of leadership were expressed in different ways in the circle’s dialogues; both as enabling and limiting in interactions with children in need of special support. One of the study’s conclusions is that leadership seems to be particularly complex in interactions with children in need of special support. The research circle’s dialogues served to promote a democratic knowledge process. The dialogues were characterised by respect for the participants’ different opinions; however, this does not mean that they were free from power structures.

Ricoeur och narrativen ur ett utbildningsvetenskapligt perspektiv

Inom ramen för denna text frågar jag mig hur Ricoeurs sätt att se på narrativen (livsberättelsen) kan användas i ett projekt om pedagogiskt ledarskap där livsberättelsen är central. Projektet, som delas med tre kollegor inom forskningsprofilen Utbildning och lärande vid Högskolan Dalarna, ifråga är ett empiriskt skolforskningsprojekt där ledmotiven pedagogiskt ledarskap och meningsfullt mångfaldsfrämjande är centrala och vars syfte är att belysa på vilka sätt lärares ledarskap kan leda till meningsfullt mångfaldsfrämjande av klassrummets mångfald. Metodologiskt tar denna ansats sin utgångspunkt i den forskningskontext som projektet skriver fram som ”ett normkritiskt förhållningssätt” och ”ifrågasättande av förgivettagna föreställningar”. Datainsamlingen baseras förutom observationer på livsberättelser från lärare i en vardagsnära skolkontext.

Du kan om du vill : lärares tankar om fostran till företagsamhet

The overall purpose of this dissertation is to better knowledge and understanding of enterprise education and investigate how such can be expressed in a school environment. The study’s research objective focuses on what teachers think and value about enterprise education and how they feel they are able to support students in their development towards an enterprising initiative. In the study’s theoretical background description, enterprise education, which was introduced into the Finnish national curriculum in 1994, is investigated outgoing from six so-named paths: linguistic, economic, educational-political, cultural, psychological, and the pedagogical, which is the main focus of the study. In the theoretical background, different characteristics have been identified; these are functional, social, and individual enterprise. The study’s empirical foundation consists of interviews with thirty teachers working at comprehensive and upper secondary schools. Two research efforts are combined: a phenomenographic and a phenomenological. In both efforts, a hermeneutic analysis takes place. Five principles that facilitate interpretation are presented and used: the indispensability of pre-understanding, the indispensability of the dimension of time, the indispensability of totality, the indispensability of negativism, and the indispensability of rationality. One study result is that teachers understand enterprise education as immanent, technical, and/or cooperative activity. The majority of teachers choose to emphasize that the purpose of activity is comprised of individual and social activity that is directed towards personal development, in contrast to functional enterprise, which is directed towards a technical form of activity and business-related, entrepreneurial knowledge. The question of how teachers understand the phenomenon is of significance for how they value it. The results also show that teachers’ abilities to reassess and change their manner are influenced by their knowledge/skills and awareness that they have of the interpretive possibilities that enterprise education manifests. In order to stimulate students to enterprising initiatives, teachers stress activity-promoting methods, authenticity, and an auspicious atmosphere in educational activities.

Perspektivmöten i skola och handledning : lärares tankar om specialpedagogisk handledning

To create a more inclusive school, an increase in multidisciplinary cooperation is needed. One possible form of collaboration could encompass the special education teacher taking on the role of a consultant for other teachers in need of support in working with heterogeneous groups of pupils. Previous research shows that special education teachers see the role as consultant as diffuse and complex. The overarching aim of the present study involves deepening the knowledge on how consultation in a special educational context can be understood and developed based on teachers’ descriptions on this particular form of activity interpreted against various perspectives on consultation. The study is qualitative in nature and rests on a hermeneutic interpretive research tradition in combination with an abductive approach. The theoretical framework consists of two different approaches to consultation: the directive and the non-directive approach. The approaches differ regarding particular emphasis on advice and reflection during the consultation and with respect to who or what should be the focus of the consultation. The two approaches are here studied through various theories such as social learning theory, Bruner's theory of scaffolding, Roger’s humanist psychology, and constructivism. Semi-structured interviews were held with eighteen special education teachers (n=9) and class teachers (n=9) working in the compulsory school. The overall interpretation of the results shows that special education consultation can be understood as three different types of consultation. Consultation as counseling which harmonizes with the directive perspective on consultation is the most prominent type. In the consultation as counseling conversation, the special educational knowledge transfer is central and the focus is placed on the pupil. Although special education knowledge transfer emerges as a unique aspect of special education consultation, there are several inherent challenges in this type of consultation that can be addressed in that teachers also describe two other types of consultation. In the reflective consultation, there is a move away from the pupil focus and toward a focus on the class teacher and the use of reflection. The reflective consultation harmonizes with the non-directive approach to consultation. This type of consultation does not as of yet have a prominent place in the Finland-Swedish school context and at this stage it is not seen as a legitimate type of consultation according to the teachers’ descriptions. Despite this, certain aspects of the reflective conversation could be given more space in the development of consultation within special educational contexts. The co-operative consultation is characterized by the teachers acting as teammates and using professional exchange as a strategy for consultation. Both teachers' knowledge is seen as central, and rather than the special education teacher acting as the expert and moderator, the teachers control the consultation together and jointly move the work along. The co-operative consultation enables the focus to move from the pupil toward the context, which can lead to the development of inclusive practices. The results indicate that this type of consultation holds potential in the development of special educational consultation that takes place between equal colleagues. The co-operative consultation opens up for a third collaborative approach to consultation, where aspects of the directive and non-directive perspective can merge and develop. The thesis concludes with the proposal that special pedagogical consultation can be understood from an integrated perspective. The characteristics of the consultation can vary depending on the type of problem or situation, while co-operative consultation can be seen as the ideal as equal colleagues meet in consultation conversations. In order to develop the co-operative consultation, both teachers are required to have knowledge of consultation as a practice, to be part of a collaborative school climate, and that teachers are provided with enough time to take part in consultations.

Stadgar för Finlands Lärares Fredsförbund

12 x 18 cm

Uttalande av Finlands Lärares Fredsförbund

10 x 33 cm

Extremfall, stjärnelever och verktygsskramlare : en diskursanalytisk studie av lärares tal om studerande som behöver särskilt stöd

The groups within Finnish vocational upper secondary education and training (VET) are often heterogeneous with respect to the student's need for support in their studies. According to the national core curricula, Special Education Needs (SEN) students should in the first place, get their education in the same group as everyone else. This dissertation aims to clarify and create an understanding about how the ideals and intention of equality in education is constructed in communication among teachers in VET in the Swedish-speaking parts of Finland. Through this understanding it should be possible to highlight a potential which could ultimately contribute to a positive development of a more inclusive education within VET. The epistemological platform of the study is to be found within the post structuralist philosophy of language that is considered as subsumed in a social constructionist thinking. The data has been collected through focus group discussions in groups of 3–6 participants (teachers) in seven schools in Finnish-Swedish VET. The analyses are based on a discursive psychological analysis combined with an analysis based on Michel Foucault's concepts with an emphasis on the subject, government and power. Four discourser where identified in the analysis of teachers' constructions of the educational assignment in relation to SEN students. The most dominant was discussing the educational assignment as a pragmatic project i.e. as a matter of transmission of knowledge. The discourse included both interpretative repertoires where the heterogeneous group was constructed as self-evident and possible to manage as well as a constructed as an impossible project. The educational assignment was also constructed as a holistic project, as part of a democratic project, and as a labor market project. Each discourse contains both including as well as excluding features in relation to SEN students. The development of an inclusive practice can and should therefore include elements from all of them. Three discourses were identified in the analysis concerning teachers' versions of SEN students: students with difficulties and problems; students who do not use or do not have ability and students who are irresponsible and lack the will to study. Within the various discourses and interpretative repertoires were both constructs when teachers described a concern and kindness in relation to the individual SEN student and constructions where teachers mainly expressed fears that other students in the group would be negatively affected by students in need of special support. Results from the third research question conclude the results from the two others, the analysis is done out of a government perspective. In the material use of different government techniques are identified: disciplinary power through direct reprimands; pastoral power by a desire of insight in order to promote the opportunities for consultation and the use of bio-power that primarily focuses on what is best for the population and whose tool racism results in a legitimation of the exclusion of SEN students. The conclusion is that teachers in VET need to pay attention to inclusive and exclusive elements identified in various discourses.

Företagsamhet i skola och utbildning : lärares tankar om förutsättningarna att nå målen i temaområdet Deltagande, demokrati och entreprenörskap

Developing students’ enterprise and proactive approaches to life have been goals of Finnish public education since its introduction. Still, education in Finland today is criticized for not reaching these goals and for overlooking the development of students’ enterprise. The role of enterprise education is ambivalent. On the one hand, enterprise education is advocated as the solution to many of the alleged problems in public education; on the other hand, the pedagogical ideas that enterprise education builds on appear to coincide with the contemporary understanding of “good education.” The thesis discusses what sets enterprise education apart from other types of education and teaching. Notably, the pedagogical foundations for enterprise education are not necessarily solid or sufficiently explored. Thus, the overall aim of the thesis is to explore the conditions for developing enterprise in education. Sloyd, as a school subject that promotes handicraft-based education, has long been attributed as having the potential to develop students’ character and person; similarly, it is also identified as being well suited for developing student enterprise. Enterprise education is not specific to sloyd, however. In fact, developing enterprise is a cross-curricular goal for basic education. In a subject-focused educational structure and culture, the development of an enterprising mindset in students is a common concern for all teachers. Thus, an understanding of the conditions for enterprise education must not be limited to one school subject; rather, the nature of the phenomenon requires a cross-curricular approach. Altogether, the conditions for enterprise education appear to be in need of further research. In addition to a subject-focused structure, other influencing factors that are mentioned in discussions on enterprise education include the need for a more enterprising working culture in school. Importantly, another key factor is the individual teacher’s pedagogical philosophy, which constitutes the frame of reference that informs how he or she understands and interprets his or her profession. Notably, the conditions for enterprise education are poor unless a teacher’s pedagogical philosophy emphasizes a focus on enterprise. The empirical research uses a hermeneutical approach and focuses on exploring teachers’ views on the conditions for reaching the national goals related to students’ enterprise. The interview study was conducted among class and subject teachers around Swedish-speaking Finland. The study shows that teachers view themselves as the most important factor for a focus on enterprise. Teachers have also identified a vast number of contextual factors that influence, support, or counteract a focus on enterprise. Structure, culture, resources, and curriculum, as well as numerous societal factors, all interact to affect the conditions for enterprise education. The prevailing culture of subject focus poses a challenge to enterprise education. At the same time, however, a focus on enterprise can be seen as a natural tendency in grades one to six. Indeed, teachers of all grade levels interpret the development of a proactive approach to life as one of education’s core values. Altogether, the thesis offers a deepened and nuanced understanding of the conditions for enterprise education. While the public education system in Finland seems to have some favourable basic conditions for enterprise education, multifaceted challenges must be faced if the national goals related to enterprise are to be reached.

Utmanande och givande. Lärares tankar om arbete i ett mångkulturellt klassrum

Artikel

Var går gränsen? : vårdnadshavares uppfattning om lärares ansvarsområden.

Syftet med denna avhandling är att undersöka vårdnadshavares uppfattning om lärares ansvarsområden utöver undervisning. Ansvarsområdena som undersökts har namngetts tillgänglighet, fostran och lärares externa uppgifter. Med tillgänglighet avses kontakten mellan hem och skola, med fostran avses hemmets respektive skolans ansvar för fostran och med lärares externa uppgifter avses uppgifter som lärare har trots att uppgifterna enligt lag inte är en del av läraruppdraget. Skillnader i vårdnadshavares uppfattning har analyserats utgående från vårdnadshavares utbildningsgrad och familjesituation. Utgående från avhandlingens syfte har följande forskningsfrågor utformats: 1. Vad är vårdnadshavares uppfattning om ansvarområdena tillgänglighet, fostran och lärares externa uppgifter? 2. Hurdana skillnader finns det i vårdnadshavares uppfattning om lärares ansvarsområden utgående från vårdnadshavares utbildningsgrad? 3. Hurdana skillnader finns det i vårdnadshavares uppfattning om lärares ansvarsområden utgående från vårdnadshavares familjesituation? För att besvara ovanstående forskningsfrågor användes webbenkät som datainsamlingsmetod, vilket innebär att undersökningen är kvantitativ. Undersökningen har även kvalitativa inslag på grund av ett fåtal öppna frågor i webbenkäten. Forskningsansatsen är positivistisk. För att analysera materialet gjordes envägs variansanalys (one-way ANOVA) och engrupps t-test i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Respondenterna för undersökningen är vårdnadshavare till elever i årskurs tre och fyra i svenskspråkiga skolor från tre städer i Svenskfinland. Det totala antalet respondenter i undersökningen är 79. Resultatet visar att vårdnadshavarna uppfattar ansvarsområdet tillgänglighet vara mindre viktigt än det neutrala mittenvärdet samt att ansvaret för fostran och externa uppgifter inte enbart är lärarens. Vid analys av ansvarsområdena utgående från utbildningsgrad visar endast resultatet för analysen av ansvarsområdet tillgänglighet på signifikanta skillnader. Skillnaden kan ses mellan vårdnadshavarna med examen på andra stadiet respektive universitetsexamen. Resultatet visar dock att vårdnadshavarna med examen på andra stadiet anser att lärare har större ansvar för både fostran och externa uppgifter jämfört med vad vårdnadshavarna med yrkeshögskoleexamen respektive universitetsexamen gjorde. Vid analys av ansvarsområdena utgående från familjesituation visar resultatet inga signifikanta skillnader. Resultaten visar dock att vårdnadshavarna med äldre barn som går eller har gått i grundskolan anser att lärare har större ansvar för fostran jämfört med vad vårdnadshavarna vars barn är det första i grundskolan anser. Vid motsvarande analys av externa uppgifter anser vårdnadshavarna vars barn är det första i grundskolan att lärare har större ansvar.

Styrdokumenten och lärares planering

Vi har, genom en kvalitativ intervjustudie, undersökt vad det är som styr när lärare planerar sin verksamhet i skolan. Vilket/vilka av styrdokumenten är viktigast för tolv lärare vid undervisningsplanering, läroplanen eller kursplanen och dess mål? Två högstadieskolor i två kommuner har undersökta. Som bakgrund ges en historisk inblick i tidigare system.Resultatet visar vissa olikheter mellan skolorna när det gäller gemensamma tolkningar av kursplanerna, men likheter i ämnesplaneringen. Vi har dragit slutsatsen att varje skola bör ha "sin egen" tolkning av styrdokumentens mål för att säkerställa undervisningens kvalitet.

Stå stilla, gå bakåt eller framåt : En analys av lärares utvecklingsdiskurs hos elever

Syftet med vårt examensarbete är att undersöka den rådande diskursen om elevers utveckling hos ett antal lärare på en skola samt undersöka i vilka sammanhang begreppet används. Tillika ville vi ta reda på vilka grunder elevers utveckling mäts och bedöms. Den forskningsmetod vi har använt oss av är kvalitativ intervju. Det vi fann var en diskurs där begreppet används ”automatiskt” och i förlängningen med positiva förtecken. Å andra sidan uttryckte lärarna att utveckling hos elever på kort sikt kan gå bakåt. Utvecklingssamtalet beskrivs som ett forum där föräldrar och elever delges information om elevens utveckling via ett dataprogram. Inför samtalet görs en bedömning och värdering av elevens utveckling i ett jämförandeperspektiv. I undersökningen framkommer att lärarna betonar den sociala utvecklingen framför den kunskapsmässiga.

Livskunskap som ämne i skolan : En jämförelse mellan elevers och lärares syn på viktiga livskunskapsfrågor

Livskunskap som ämne kan vara en mötesplats där tid för diskussion och reflektion över viktiga livsfrågor finns. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka vilka centrala livsfrågor som kan ligga till grund för samtal och reflektion i skolan inom ämnet Livskunskap. Genom enkäter undersökte vi vilka livsfrågor som är viktiga för elever och genom intervjuer vilka livsfrågor som skolpersonal anser/tror vara viktiga för elever. Resultatet av intervjuerna visade att skolpersonal anser att relationer, sex och samlevnad och elevernas personliga framtid är av störst intresse för dem. Enkäterna visade att följande teman rangordnades högst av flest elever: världens framtid, krig, trygghet, ensamhet/övergivenhet, sex och samlevnad, framtid, liv/död, miljö/natur, mänskliga rättigheter samt alla likas värde. Undersökningen visar att det finns intressanta likheter och skillnader i elevers syn på viktiga livsfrågor kontra skolpersonals syn på vad som är viktigt för elever.