Folkmusikundervisningen på fiol och gitarr och dess historiska rötter

How folk musicians of today learn to play their instruments is an over-all question in this article. One violin lesson and one guitar lesson have been observed at Framnäs folk high school. Three research questions were formulated. What do the two lessons have in common? What are the differences? How could the folk music education of today be related to the Swedish fiddler movement in the 1920s and other folk music traditions? Theoretically, the interpretation of the results was based on the mimesis theory of Ricoeur. Two teachers and three students participated in the study. The results showed that the lessons were structured in a similar way and dominated by master apprenticeship teaching. The violin teacher showed a more respectful attitude towards the tradition compared to the guitar teacher. Great parts of the manifest ideology of the fiddler movement seems to have become concealed into a latent or frozen ideology in the formal folk music education of today. There seems to be no big differences between learning the music by way of visiting an older fiddler hundred years ago compared to the study of music today at a formal institution.

Undersökande arbetssätt i NO-undervisningen i grundskolans tidigare årskurser

This thesis deals with the use of inquiry-based approaches in primary school science. The aim is to investigate the goals and purposes that are constituted by the curriculum and by the teachers in interviews and through their teaching in the classroom. The results are used to develop conceptual tools that can be used by teachers’ in their work to support students’ learning of science when using an inquiry-based approach. The thesis is comprised of four papers. In paper one a comparative analysis is made of five Swedish national curricula for compulsory school regarding what students should learn about scientific inquiry. In paper two 20 teachers were interviewed about their own teaching using inquiry. Classroom interactions were filmed and analyzed in papers three and four, which examine how primary teachers use the various activities and purposes of the inquiry classroom to support learning progressions in science. The results of paper one show how the emphasis within and between the two goals of learning to carry out investigations and learning about the nature of science shifted and changed over time in the different curricula. Paper two describes the selective traditions and qualities that were emphasized in the teachers’ accounts of their own teaching. The results of papers three and four show how students need to be involved in the proximate and ultimate purposes of the teaching activities for progression to happen. The ultimate purposes are the scientific purposes for the lesson (as given by the teacher or by the curriculum), whereas the proximate purposes are the more student-centered purposes that through different activities should allow the students to relate their own experiences and language to the ultimate purpose. The results show the importance of proximate purposes working as ends-in-viewin the sense of John Dewey, meaning that the students see the goal of the activity and that they are able to relate to their experiences and familiar language.

Vad ska elever lära sig angående naturvetenskaplig verksamhet? : En analys av svenska läroplaner för grundskolan under 50 år

The purpose of this study is to contribute to an understanding of which changes related to scientific inquiry have been made historically in curriculum documents. A comparative analysis is made of five Swedish national curricula– Lgr 62, Lgr 69, Lgr 80, Lpo 94 and Lgr 11 – during the last 50 years regarding what compulsory school students (school years 1–9) should learn about scientific inquiry. It focuses 1) what students should learn about carrying out scientific inquiries, and 2) what students should learn about the nature of science. All of the curricula examined have aims concerning scientific inquiry. The results show that during the period there have been many shifts in emphasis and changes of aims, for example from learning an inductive method to a more deductive one, and from an emphasis on carrying out investigations to an emphasis on more conceptual understanding of scientific investigations. Because teaching traditions tend to conserve aspects of earlier curricula, it is discussed how the results can help teachers, teacher students and curriculum developers to better see the consequences of the changes for teaching and learning.

Selektiva traditioner i grundskolans tidigare år : Lärares olika betoningar av kvalitéer i NO-undervisningen

The aim of this study was to elucidate the selective traditions of Swedish primary school teachers in using inquiry-based learning.  Material from thirteen interviews where teachers described their own inquiry practice was used to study the selective traditions along with the qualities these traditions emphasized. Four different selective traditions were identified: the fact oriented, the activity oriented, the collaboration oriented and the community oriented traditions. Different qualities were emphasized in the different traditions, for instance regarding whether teaching and inquiry should be difficult, correct, free or fun.

”Varför tar man för givet att feminismen måste vara sekulär?” : En studie om muslimska feminister i svensk kontext

The purpose of this study is to examine how two Muslim feminists perceive themselves to betreated by the Swedish majority society and within the secular feminist movement. Thesurvey was conducted using qualitative method with a total of two interviews. For the study'stheoretical perspectives, I have used postcolonialism and postcolonial feminism. The result ofthe survey and the analysis show that the informants say that they face an image of Muslimwomen as considered being under oppression. The informants believe that this stereotypicalimage has its origin from the colonial period. The question that is most important for themwithin feminism is to be treated as a feminist and as a Muslim without being questioned. Theyfeel like it's hard to identify with the Swedish secular feminism, but they also feel that thegroup of Swedish secular feminists have a difficulty identifying themselves with Muslimwomen too. Consider this, one of the informants does not feel welcome among Swedishsecular feminism while the other one never had an interest in becoming a member of itbecause she did not consider them to strive for the same goal as herself. The informantsclaims that there are opportunities for them to speak in the public debate, but as Muslimfeminists they are facing a bigger struggle.

Skicklig läs- och skrivundervisning i åk 1-3 : Om lärares möjligheter och hinder

This study focuses on teachers’ opportunities and obstacles to perform skillful reading and writing instruction. It’s about the ability to accurately identify where students are in their reading and writing process and to help them develop good reading skills. It is also about the ability to recognize signs of difficulties that students may have in their written language development and to know what efforts are needed to help them advance their reading and writing skills. The research is based on teachers’ own statements and survey responses on the external conditions for teaching and on their approach, attitudes and knowledge in reading and writing. The empirical material consists of interviews, surveys and test data. The interview study was conducted with eight teachers. The questionnaire was answered by 249 teachers, while the knowledge test was conducted of 269 teachers and 31 special education teachers. Many of the teachers in this study have lack knowledge in the structure of language and common Swedish spelling rules. Furthermore, it appears that a large part of them are unaccustomed to explaining, in detail, students’ reading development and find it difficult to systematically describe the aspects of daily literacy instruction. The overall picture is that many teachers teach without having tools to reflect on how their education really affects students’ reading and writing. These shortcomings make it difficult to conduct effective literacy instruction. Once students have learned to decode or if they have reading difficulties, many teachers seem to one-sidedly focus on getting students to read more. The consequence could be that those who would need to practice more on the technical basic of reading or comprehension strategies are left without support. Lack of variety and individuality in fluency and comprehension training can challenge the students’ reading and writing development. The teachers in the study, who have the old junior school teacher and elementary teacher education, have the highest amount of knowledge of reading and writing (the test). Good education can provide student teachers with professional skills that they may develop further in their careers. Knowledge of the meaning of phonological and phonemic awareness as well as knowledge of how to count phonemes seem to be important for knowledge of reading and writing (the test). Knowledge of basic reading processes can be obtained by systematic and structured work with students’ linguistic development, and through continuous dialogues with experienced colleagues on how and why questions. This is one important way to work also in teacher training. When essential professional skills are established in the teacher education, in practice students will obtain the school’s learning goals.

1 Étude comparative de prépositions suédoises et françaises dans Pippi Långstrump et sa traduction en français

Le but général de ce mémoire est d’étudier les prépositions en suédois et en français. A partir de certaines catégories de prépositions nous allons faire une analyse de la traduction des prépositions suédoises en français et des difficultés qui peuvent surgir pendant la traduction. Pour voir cela nous allons faire une étude comparative à base des livres de Pippi Långstrump d’Astrid Lindgren et leur traduction en français, Fifi Brindacier.

Upper secondary school students' gendered conceptions about mathematics

This study explores Swedish Natural Science students' conceptions about gender and mathematics. I conducted and compared the results from two questionnaires. The first questionnaire revealed a view of rather traditional feminities and masulinities, a result that did not repeat itself in the second questionnaire. There was a discrepancy between the traits the students ascribed as gender different and the traits they ascribed to themselves.

Who Should do What to Whom? : Occupational Groups´Views on Special Needs

The overall aim of this thesis is to increase our knowledge of different occupational groups´ views on work with children in need of special support. This is explored in four separate studies. The first study investigates the views of occupational groups in preschools and schools in one municipality. A questionnaire was handed out to all personnel (N=1297) in the municipality in 2008 (72.5 % response rate). The second study explores the views of educational leaders (N=45) in the same municipality. Questionnaire # 2 was distributed in 2009. All the educational leaders responded to the questionnaire. The third study describes the views of different occupational groups concerning special educational needs coordinators´ (SENCOs) role and work. This was highlighted by comparing responses from questionnaire #1 and # 2. Responses concerning SENCOs´ work were also added using a third questionnaire. This questionnaire was handed out in 2006 to chief education officers (N=290) in all municipalities in Sweden. The response rate was 90.3%. Finally, the fourth study presents five head teachers´ descriptions of their work with special needs issues. Study four was a follow-up study of questionnaire # 2. These head teachers were selected because of their inclusive values and because they seemed to be effective according to certain criteria. They were interviewed in January 2012. The results reveal a number of interesting findings. For example, there are both similar and different views among the occupational groups concerning work with children in need of special support. A majority of the respondents in all groups state that children´s individual deficiencies is one common reason why children need special support in preschools/schools. Differences between the occupational groups become especially visible regarding their views of SENCOs‟ work. Critical pragmatism (Cherryholmes, 1988) is applied as a theoretical point of departure. Skrtic´s (1991) critical reading and analysis of special education relative to general education is specifically used to interpret and discuss the outcome of the studies. Additionally, Abbott´s (1988) reasoning concerning the “division of expert labor” is used to discuss the occupational groups´ replies concerning “who should do what to whom”. The findings in the studies are contextualized and theoretically interpreted in the separate articles. However in the first part of this thesis (in Swedish: Kappa), the theoretical interpretations of the empirical outcome are discussed in more detail and the results are further contextualized and synthesised. Inclusion and premises for inclusive education are also discussed in more depth in the first part of the present thesis.

Om trångboddhet : Hur storleken på våra bostäder blev ett välfärdsproblem

About crowding – How the size of our dwellings became a welfare problem Housing policy documents have traditionally been studied by political scientists, resulting in a lack of interest in the private aspects of housing policy. Hence, this paper uses the example of crowding standards to examine how a previously private matter, the size of our dwelling, became a concern of the state. Official governmental documents are analyzed with the help of discourse theory, working on the supposition that the need of the population and the framing of a problem changes over time. The first official standard of crowding, formulated in 1946 argue for larger dwelling size in order to increase the size and quality of the Swedish population. The second standard, formulated in 1965, is based on the assumption that the population, defined as consumers, demands larger sized homes. The final standard, formulated in 1975, claims that larger sized homes is a social right.

Bortom skolframgång : En analys av PISA 2006 ur ett intersektionellt perspektiv

Beyond school performance An analysis of PISA 2006 from an intersectional perspective One of the central questions in recent discussions about Swedish schools is which factors that influence school performance. Socio-economic background, gender, ethnicity, country of birth are some aspects that are mentioned in many international and national studies. Sweden is one of the participants in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the results of PISA since 2000 show deteriorated results for Sweden in reading performance, mathematics and science among 15-year-old students. In order to set school performance in a broader context we analyzed data for the Swedish part of PISA 2006, in which 57 countries participated (of which 30 OECD-countries), with multivariate methods from an intersectional perspective. Our analysis of PISA 2006 shows a complexity of different social, economic and cultural factors behind students’ school performance. This intersectional result is also strengthened by the results from PISA 2009, not analysed here. Further, our results show that students’ school performance vary with immigration status but that this variation increases by the factor of social inequality in the Swedish society.

Förändrade intimitetsformer bland äldre i det senmoderna samhället

Changing forms of intimacy among older people in late modern society The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to a neglected reality in Swedish social research: New romantic relationships in later life. Our theoretical points of departure are the transformation of intimacy and the transition from a culture of marriage to a culture of divorce. We ask if the transformation of intimacy has reached later life and investigate late life divorce, attitudes to and choice of union form in late life heterosexual relationships, relationship history and the importance of a relationship for life satisfaction. The results, which are based both on demographic data and a survey to 60–90 year old Swedes (n=1225), show that changing relationship patterns in late modern Sweden have reached older people. In romantic relationships initiated in later life LAT is the preferred union form, followed by cohabitation, while marriage is a rare choice. In some respects this makes older people an avant-garde in the investigation of alternative union forms. The results also show the importance of romantic relationships for life satisfaction in later life – independent of union form. Finally we criticize Swedish census data, which is based on civil status, for giving a somewhat distorted image of older people’s family and romantic lives.    

Genrestratifiering och massmedias neutralisering av kritiken mot ADHD : Ett kunskapssociologiskt perspektiv

Genre stratification and the mass media’s neutralization of the critique of ADHD: A sociology of knowledge perspective This study examines how the Swedish mass media has dealt with the opposition against the neuropsychiatric diagnosis ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Drawing on empirical data from eight of the largest newspapers in Sweden (n=778 articles) the study focuses on the scientific controversy of DAMP, 2000–2006. DAMP (Dysfunction in Attention, Motor Control and Perception) is a diagnostic term denoting difficulties similar to ADHD, and which was used in Sweden at the time of the controversy. The study uncovers the ideological role played by the mass media during the DAMP-controversy, and demonstrates the significance of genre. While the spokespersons for DAMP/ADHD were given exclusive and systematic access to the news genre, the forum of fact-production in the mass media, the critics of DAMP/ADHD were confined to arguing and expressing their opinions in the debate genre. Based on the various effects of genre differences a comprehensive analytical tool for the sociology of knowledge, called genre stratification, is developed in the study 

Medierepresentationer av etnicitetsochmigrationsrelaterade frågor inomäldreomsorgen i Sverige och Finland

Media representations of ethnicity- and migration-related issues within the elderly care in Sweden and Finland Research on welfare regimes and migration regimes has shown that Sweden and Finland have similar elderly care regimes but different migration regimes. It is against this backdrop that we set out to study what Swedish and Finnish daily press focusing on elderly care has written about ethnic minorities, migrants and migration. The study uses quantitative content analysis to analyze 241 daily newspaper articles published between 1995 and 2008. This article presents the themes that have been discussed, the elderly care actors that have been in focus (i.e. whether the focus has been on elderly care recipients, elderly care providers or informal caregivers), the ethnic backgrounds that these actors have had (i.e. whether the focus has been on the ethnic majority or on ethnic minorities) and the type of explanatory frameworks that the newspaper articles in focus have used. On the basis of this, we problematize the representations of ethnic minorities, migrants and migration that the newspaper articles in question put forth and the fact that the Swedish and Finnish daily press treats the issues at hand as if migration is mostly an issue that can be relegated to the periphery of the elderly care sectors’ agenda. 

Styrning och ideologiska dilemman i Skolverkets skolutveckling : exemplet ANDT-undervisning

Governing and ideological dilemmas in drug education Drug education (ANT) in Swedish schools has a history over decades. Here, the pedagogical approaches fluctuated between transfer of solid knowledge from the teacher to the pupil, and working with values and have a more pupil-driven teaching – a classic dichotomy. Rhetoric about the school’s way of teaching has thus always been ambivalent and subject to reexamination. The study analyses various textual material on ANT education. As a methodological tool Billigs concept Ideological dilemmas is used, which is a fruitful way to identify the rhetorical building blocks of (school) politics, but also to analyse political talk in more detail. The article analyses the ideological dilemmas under three dichotomies: Knowledge vs. values, teacher control vs. learner control, and prevention vs. promotion. Throughout we can see this question of how teaching could be successful, given the tension between authority and democracy. The article concludes by relating this basic ideological dilemma in a wider discursive context of governance in our time.