K-ULF, ”Kompensatorisk undervisning för lärande och forskning”, är KTHs del i den nationella försöksverksamheten ULF, eller ULF-avtal (”Utbildning, Lärande, Forskning”), som en del av Uppsala-noden. K-ULF-projektet startade våren 2020. Projektets organisation bygger på mötesplatser för lärare, lärarstudenter, lärarutbildare och forskare, där de tillsammans kan arbeta på lika villkor. Mötesplatserna som finns inom K-ULF är: Vetenskapens Hus (VH), en strategisk styrgrupp och en didaktisk arbetsgrupp. Dessa mötesplatser utgör grunden för ett systematiskt utvecklingsarbete för lärarprofessionen (Olsson & Brunner Cederlund, 2021). I linje med det nationella målet med ULF är K-ULFs syfte att ”utveckla och pröva hållbara samverkansmodeller mellan akademi och skola vad gäller forskning, skolverksamhet och lärarutbildning ge-nom att tydligare forskningsintegrera utbildningen och verksamhetsförlagd utbildning, och att studenters examensarbete (självständiga arbete) kan länkas till praktiknära forskning och skolutveckling utifrån veten-skaplig grund” (Institutionen för lärande, KTH, 2022). Benämningen ”Kompensatorisk undervisning för lärande och forskning” antyder också att man tar sig an skolans s.k. kompensatoriska uppdrag, nämligen att skapa förutsättningar för att alla elever ges goda förutsättningar att nå de nationella kunskapskraven. K-ULFs verksamhet har sedan 2020 växt och drivs nu av KTH i samarbete med Vetenskapens Hus och fem kommuner (huvudmän): Stockholms stad, Haninge kommun, Lidingö stad, Nynäshamns kommun och Värmdö kommun.

Denna rapport är en utvärdering av K-ULF projektets första fas (juni 2020–2022). Utvärderingen fokuserar K-ULF-projektets samverkans-modell utifrån deltagarnas perspektiv: huvudmän, rektorer, lärare, lärarstudenter, universitetslärare och forskare. Syftet med utvärderingen är att undersöka hur K-ULF har bidragit till att uppnå målen för ULFs försöksverksamhet, från deltagarnas perspektiv. I rapporten fokuseras:

• hur K-ULF bidrar till att uppnå målen för ULFs försöksverk-samhet – den hållbara samverkansmodellen – från deltagarnas perspektiv,
• den praktiknära forskningen inom K-ULF,
• K-ULFs uppskattade impact på lärare och elever på deltagande skolor,
• rekommendationer om prioriteringar i nästa fas.

För att få reda på deltagarnas perspektiv ombads samtliga deltagare i projektet att besvara en kvalitativ enkät. Enkäten var uppdelad i tre om-råden som rör K-ULF-projektet: syfte, organisation och innehåll. Totalt 25 deltagare besvarade enkäten och svar erhölls från samtliga grupper eller roller inom projektet, med en jämn fördelning mellan dem.

Resultatet visar att K-ULF-projektets organisation upplevs som mycket positiv av deltagarna och här nämns ord som funktionell och genomtänkt och att organisationen ger stora möjligheter till kunskapsutbyte. De re-gelbundna mötena i den didaktiska arbetsgruppen och i den strategiska styrgruppen utgör viktiga delar i organisationen. Dessa regelbundna mö-ten ger projektet kontinuitet i form av samarbete vilket utgör en god för-utsättning för att hålla fokus och styrfart i projektet. Idén om att skapa mötesplatser verkar således fylla sin funktion. Samarbetet upplevs väl-fungerande med ett stort engagemang och kontakten mellan organisationens olika delar fungerar mycket bra. Kommunikationen mellan deltagarna upplevs som positiv och man upplever att man får stöd, hjälp och feedback från olika arbetsgrupper. Kollegialt stöd lyfts fram som särskilt värdefullt och då framför allt om man är kollegor och har samma roll i projektet. Vidare känns innehållet intressant och innehållet sprids även vidare till andra lärare och huvudmän som inte deltar i projektet. Ibland kan det som kommuniceras upplevas som svårt att förstå och det nämns i detta sammanhang som ett ”forskarspråk”. Samtidigt uttrycks att ”forskarspråket” utgör en viktig del i kunskapsutvecklingen.

En svårighet i organisationen är en brist på engagemang från skolledningen som det upplevs av en del deltagare. Här nämns två förklaringar: 1) rektorer som slutar och 2) att K-ULF behöver få en tydligare plats i huvudmännens organisation, vilket verkar vara lättare hos mindre huvudmän och en större utmaning hos större huvudmän. Ytterligare en aspekt som lyfts bland deltagarna handlar om att det förefaller finnas otydligheter avseende uppdrag, roll och arbetsfördelning; här önskas en diskussion om forskares roll i projekten och vad man förväntas bidra med.

När det gäller den praktiknära forskningen så upplever deltagarna att K-ULF har utgått från lärarnas frågeställningar men att betydelsen av forskningen ofta är mer personlig. Flera av skollärarna vittnar om kon-kreta men fortfarande ganska personliga implikationer som att komma ”ur gamla hjulspår” och få ”nya idéer”. Å andra sidan finns också ett par kritiska synpunkter som just berörde att inte allas röster blev hörda. Här ifrågasätts huruvida enskilda lärares önskemål verkligen kan sägas spegla större frågeställningar som berör fler. I detta sammanhang ifrågasätts också om examensarbeten kan sägas vara forskning. Även om examensarbeten kanske inte formellt kan anses vara ”akademisk” forskning, så har i alla fall många av de lärare som deltagit i studien uttryckt att examensarbetena har bidragit med att:

• kunna förstå och se undervisningen i nytt ljus,
• få tankar om hur de kan utveckla undervisningen,
• kunna eller i alla fall velat diskutera dessa tankar vidare (McIntyre, 2005).

Resultaten pekar alltså på att examensarbetena kan vara ett fruktbart sätt att utföra praktiknära forskning i lärares vardagliga miljö, förutsatt att de får inflytande över arbetenas problemställningar. Problemet ver-kar snarare ha varit att inte alla delar av skolorganisationen (ännu) tagit del av möjligheten att inom K-ULF delta i praktiknära forskning. 

När det gäller impact och rekommendationer baseras de på resultat från vår enkätundersökning samt den ganska omfattande dokumentation som finns om K-ULF genom tidigare ULF-utvärderingar, forskningsrap-porter och konferenspaper. I korthet visar resultatet att deltagarna som besvarat enkäten önskar behålla strukturen och en långsiktig satsning med stabil finansiering och ett långsiktigt förhållningssätt även för den forskning som är knuten till projektet. K-ULFs impact har varit stark inom KTH och på huvudmannanivå i kommunerna och projektet har integrerats väl i KTHs lärarutbildning och ämnesdidaktiska forskning. Ge-nom styrgruppen och arbetsgruppen har också huvudmännens utbildningschefer och lärare involverats på ett tydligt sätt. 

Det finns också utvecklingsmöjligheter, och denna sammanfattning fokuserar på två sådana. Den första handlar om att skapa förutsättningar för ett större engagemang och en bättre förankring hos huvudmän och rektorer. I detta sammanhang nämns även att det behövs någon form av strategi för att informera och involvera deltagare som kommer in i en senare fas i projektet för att på så vis förankra och skapa goda förutsättningar. Den andra utvecklingsmöjligheten handlar om examensarbetenas utformning där det finns önskemål om mer delaktighet när det gäller hur skolornas ledning kan involveras i att identifiera kunskapsbehov som är relaterade till skolornas systematiska kvalitets- och utvecklings-arbete. Här lyfts en utmaning i att föra samman forskningsfokus som överensstämmer med skolornas kvalitets- och utvecklingsarbete med lärarnas behov och forskarnas intressen. Vidare behöver förutsättningarna för att locka studenter att skriva examensarbeten inom teknikämnet och naturvetenskapliga ämnen ses över då det fram till idag endast skrivits inom ämnesområdet matematik. 

Det finns flera delar i organisationen som fungerar mycket väl och som deltagarna önskar ha kvar i nästa fas. Deltagarna önskar behålla: 

• strukturen och en långsiktig satsning på samverkansmodellen med stabil finansiering,
• det verksamhetsnära perspektivet med det praktiknära samarbetet,
• de regelbundna mötena och att dessa även fortsättningsvis ska präglas av jämbördigt deltagande,
• ett fortsatt samarbete med lärarutbildning där K-ULF fortsätter utgöra en del av VFU-kurserna och examensarbeten,
• att skolorna även fortsättningsvis ges möjlighet till ett fortsatt samarbete och att den täta kontakten mellan KTH och VFU-skolor behålls.

Sammanfattningsvis är de flesta deltagare väldigt positiva till K-ULF som helhet. Deltagarnas inställning är i stort att K-ULF-projektet har ut-gått från skollärarnas dagliga behov i sina klassrum, och att de ingående projekt som initierats är grundade i verkliga behov och därför är praktiknära.

The overall aim of the school subject technology is to develop pupils’ understanding of technological solutions in everyday life. A starting point for this study is that it is important for teachers in technology to have knowledge of pupils’ prior conceptions of the subject content since these can both support and hinder their learning. In a previous study we found that when pupils (age 7) talk about digital technology and programming, they often refer to out-of-school experiences such as films, television programmes and books. Typically, their descriptions include robots with some form of intelligence. Hence, it seems like children’s culture may have an impact on the conceptions they bring to the technology classroom. In light of this, it is vital that technology teachers have knowledge about how robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are portrayed in children’s culture, and how pupils perceive these portrayals. However, knowledge about these aspects of technology in children’s culture is limited.The purpose of this study is to investigate how artifacts with artificial intelligence are portrayed in television programmes and literature aimed at children. This study is the first step in a larger study aiming to examine younger pupils’ conceptions and ideas about artificial intelligence. A novice conception of artificial intelligence can be described as an understanding of what a programmed device may, or may not, “understand” in relation to a human, which includes discerning th edifferences between the artificial and the human mind. Consequently, as a theoretical framework for investigating how artificial intelligence is portrayed in children’s culture, the concepts of Theoryof Mind (ToM) and Theory of Artificial Mind (ToAM), are used. The empirical material presented in this paper, i.e. four children’s books and a popular children’s television programme, was analysed using a qualitative thematic analysis. The results show that the portrayal of AI is ambiguous. The structure and function of the robot has elements of both human and machine, and the view of the human fictional characters of the robot is sometimes that of a machine, sometimes of a human. In addition, the whole empirical material includes portrayals of AI as a threat as well as a saviour. As regards implications, there is a risk that without real-life experiences of robots, the representations children’s books and other media convey can lead to ambivalent feelings towards real robots.

Literature as a pedagogical tool has been used by educators for a long time and the importance of using childrenʼs books in elementary classrooms has been a topic of discussion in Sweden since the early 20th century. This study presupposes that childrenʼs fiction in school libraries have played and still play a role in mediating technological knowledge and attitudes towards technology to school children. At the turn of the century 1900 school teaching, including its literature, accounted for the main mediation of views of technology to schoolchildren. An investigation of educational childrenʼs literature can therefore be seen as an important approach to the responses of our culture in general and the school in particular to technology and technical knowledge. The aim of the study is consequently to analyse changes of technological content – that is, knowledge in and about technology as well as attitudes towards technology – in childrenʼs literature in Swedish elementary school libraries and relate this content to changes in society. This study is part of a larger research project with the same research aim and questions, but for this paper we have limited the analysis of empirical material to just the one childrenʼs book, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, by Selma Lagerlöf.

Research on the historical background to technology as a knowledge domain and practice in the school is still in its infancy. Historical research could be one possible way of strengthening the identity of technology education and its position in the school curriculum as well as of finding ways of relating the knowledge base of technology education to changes in society. The introduction in Sweden of the 1980 Compulsory School Curriculum (Lgr 80) mandated the teaching of technology in compulsory schooling. However, technical education appeared in Swedish elementary education much earlier through other subjects. The early 20th century was in many ways formative in the sense that there was an increased spread and use of technology in society as Sweden was industrialised, which also affected what was taught in the school (Hallström, 2009; 2010).

Childrenʼs literature has been used by educators for a long time and the importance of using childrenʼs books in elementary classrooms has been a topic of discussion in Sweden since the early 20th century. This study presupposes that childrenʼs fiction in school libraries have played and still play a role in mediating technological knowledge and attitudes towards technology to school children. At the turn of the century 1900 school teaching, including its literature, accounted for the main mediation of views of technology to schoolchildren. An investigation of educational childrenʼs literature can therefore be seen as an important approach to the responses of our culture in general and the school in particular to technology and technical knowledge. The aim of the study is consequently to analyse changes of technological content – that is, knowledge in and about technology as well as attitudes towards technology – in childrenʼs literature in Swedish elementary schoo  libraries and relate this content to changes in society:

What technological content can be found in childrenʼs fiction in elementary school libraries during the period ca. 1900-1920, and how does it relate to societal changes?

This study is part of a larger research project with the same research aim and questions, but for this paper we have limited the analysis of empirical material to just the one childrenʼs book, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, by Selma Lagerlöf (Lagerlöf, 1906-07/2004, English edition Project Gutenberg). The reason for selecting this book is the fact that it was selected to be part of a body of literature for the Swedish elementary school in the early 1900s. Furthermore, it still is the most widely read of all Swedish educational childrenʼs books. It is also translated into English and several other languages, which makes it eligible to an international audience.

Children's fiction in school libraries have played and still play a role in mediating representations of technology and attitudes towards technology to schoolchildren. In early 20th century Sweden, elementary education, including textbooks and literature that were used in teaching, accounted for the main mediation of technological knowledge to schoolchildren. An investigation of children's literature for schools is therefore important in order to understand what was considered worth knowing about technology at the time. The aim of this article is therefore to analyse the representations of technology and attitudes towards technology that were mediated through two children's fiction books in Swedish elementary school libraries in the 1910s. We have limited the analysis of empirical material to the books Technical Stories for Young and Old (Tekniska sagor for stora och smAyen, 1914) and Technical Stories of the War for Young and Old (Krigets tekniska sagor for stora och smAyen, 1915) by the Swedish inventor, author and technology educator Otto Witt. Gauging Witt's influence on the schoolchildren and educators of his time is very difficult, but in this first English-language article on his "technical stories" one can conclude that he was in many ways unique and probably fairly well-read in the schools of early 20th century Sweden and onward. He was also a particularly perceptive forerunner of today's technology and science educators in his use of anthropomorphism as an educational tool.

In the early 1900s Sweden saw an unprecedented societal transformation through ongoing industrialisation, urbanisation, democratisation and new technologies. In 1906-1907 the celebrated Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf published a book subsequently read by thousands of elementary school children, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. Although Lagerlöf’s book was mainly seen as a novel, she was commissioned to write it as a textbook in geography for the Swedish elementary school. One of the aims on the part of the commissioner – the Swedish Association of Elementary School Teachers – was for the book to induce Swedish nationalist sentiment and boost the feeling of a national identity in schoolchildren. The aim of this study is to describe and analyse how various representations of technology were utilised to create the sense of a Swedish national identity in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. A hermeneutic method is employed to analyse the book in relation to the historical context of early 20th century Sweden. It is concluded that technology and human settlements are natural elements of the various landscapes of Sweden, thereby making them as much a part of building a national identity around the physical environment as woods, plains, lakes, animals and plants. The message of the book seems to be that technology is interwoven with society and nature in the formation of modern Sweden. It is impossible to describe the nation and impart nationalism in children without also incorporating technology; it is a human creation and as much a force in shaping the nation as other human endeavours and nature.

The aim of this article is to investigate images of technology and how technology is linked to sustainable development in Swedish children’s literature. Our perspective is that such images represent values that are conveyed to the young generation. We have chosen to study books by four Swedish authors, Elsa Beskow, Inger Sandberg, Jan Lööf and Sven Nordqvist, all of them still read by many children, parents and teachers, both in and out of school. In the examined books, technology is portrayed in several modes: as a servant to man, as a deterministic force, as a loyal and equal companion to man, and as a natural phenomenon in a nostalgic world. Technologies that have a leading role in the stories examined are placed in different kind of contexts, more or less social, more or less utopian or idyllic. In all four authors’ writings there is an optimistic faith in children’s ability.

In the United Nations report Our common future sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Technology is seen as a kind of enabling force in that endeavour; new technologies are to be the solution to conflicts between growing economic activities and reductions in the use of natural resources. Sustainable development can, however, also be expressed as a set of traditional values that, in a country like Sweden, have been a part of everyday life for many generations. Education for sustainable development has been a goal in the Swedish national curriculum since 1994, not the least in the subject Technology. The teaching can evidently be inspired by both the international discussion on the future world and by the long tradition of how to live locally.

The aim of this paper is to investigate images of technology and how technology is linked to sustainable development in children’s literature. Our perspective is that such images represent values that are conveyed to the young generation. We have chosen to study books by four Swedish authors, Elsa Beskow, Inger Sandberg, Jan Lööf and Sven Nordqvist, all of them still read by many children, parents and teachers alike, both in and out of school. Technology is in the examined books portrayed in several modes: as a servant to man, as a deterministic force, as a loyal and “equal” companion to man and as a natural phenomenon in a nostalgic world. Technologies that have a leading role in the examined stories are placed in different kind of contexts, more or less social, more or less utopian or idyllic. In all four author’s writings there is an optimistic faith in children’s ability to choose the right path. Children are the ones who must take responsibility for the future and overcome the problems the current adult generation have created. From a gender perspective, the message in the majority of the stories is clear: men are the source of technological development.

Reflections on Technology for Educational Practitioners analyzes the use of philosophy of technology in technology education and unpacks the concept of ‘reflective practitioners’ (Donald Schön) in the field. Philosophy of technology develops ideas and concepts that are valuable for technology education because they show the basic characteristics of technology that are important if technology education is to present a fair image of what technology is. Each chapter focuses on the oeuvre of one particular philosopher of which a description is given and then insights are offered about technology as developed by that philosopher and how it has been fruitful for technology education in all its aspects: motives for having it in the curriculum, goals for technology education, content of the curriculum, teaching strategies, knowledge types taught, ways of assessing, resources, educational research for technology education, amongst others.

Nya kunskaper om odlingssystemens historia och om uthålligt jordbruk, presenteras i denna antologi. Kan det ha varit förändrade matvanor för 400 år sedan som drastiskt kom att förändra odlingssystemen? Hur skapades ett jordbruk som kunde vara hållbart under den stora befolkningstillväxten på 1800-talet? Hur har landskapet förändrats? Hur kan jordbrukets framtidsscenario se ut?Bokens författare kommer från olika forskningsfält - de är naturvetare, samhällsvetare såväl som humanister. Även deras bidrag spänner över stora områden, allt från konkreta förändringar i landskapet till teorier om jordbrukets utveckling. Antologins huvudområden är: odlingssystemens historia, de idéhistoriska perspektiven, naturens kretslopp, energi- och näringsflöden samt landskapsförändringar och hållbart nyttjande. Denna spännvidd gör att boken vänder sig till många kategorier - planerare, kulturgeografer, miljöforskare, kommunekologer, historiker, museimän, agrara praktiker och övriga intresserade av jordbruket och dess historia. Alla läsare får möjlighet att göra sig en egen syntes av förlopppen.

Societies have always been occupied with securing food supply and ensure environmental and human health. Scientific knowledge and technical level have, together with habitat and management patterns, shaped sanitation arrangements and recycling of resources. Because it is the same urban problems that are addressed by societies in different historical contexts, a longitudinal study may allow for novel ways to conjure food security and sanitation management issues in the present century.

We trace the historical transition over two centuries away from a circular economy to a more linear one in two Swedish cities, the capital Stockholm and the industrial city Norrköping, and show that big but rather slow changes occurred more or less constantly in these two urban settings. The driving forces have changed from only improving local conditions of sanitation and food production over to global and regional driving forces in this century affecting what local communities can or could do. The ongoing globalization positions the subjects of environmental and human health, recycling and food security in a new global perspective, where climate change and global resource boundaries will play a central role. We cannot continue to rely on trade that causes rainforest destruction elsewhere or harmful chemical consumer products that lead to loss of biodiversity and human health risks.

We need to put urban sanitation and food issues into this wider perspective with available remedial measures such as dietary changes, food waste reduction, soil less food production and building of new circular infrastructure. All urban areas in the world, including Stockholm and Norrköping in Sweden, need to adopt new strategies that again engage residents as well as public sectors and industry, including agriculture.

In recent years technology has become increasingly emphasized as educational content in the Swedish preschool, not the least with the introduction of the latest curriculum in 2010. Since preschool teachers have not had any formal technology education until just recently, it is of importance to investigate how they handle technology in the daily activities of the preschool. The purpose of this study is therefore to describe and analyze Swedish preschool teachers’ views and experiences of working with technology in the preschool, focusing on what opportunities and obstacles that they see. The data consists of transcripts from focus group interviews with sixteen teachers in two Swedish preschools, and the data was analyzed with open coding in a Grounded Theory tradition. The results show that when it comes to opportunities, the teachers consider technology to permeate all preschool activities, and the challenge here is rather to make technology visible. In terms of obstacles, the teachers are uncertain about what technology is and want to have more knowledge of technology themselves, for example, relevant concepts for various technologies or activities. They also need to know more about technology education in order to be able to educationally convey knowledge of technology to the children and to make the children conscious of the technology that surrounds them.

The preschool is the first institutional context that Swedish children meet in their lives, and it therefore plays a very important role in the Swedish welfare state. As of 1998, preschools were part of the public school system and the first curriculum was then adopted. In the new curriculum for the preschool (2010) technology is emphasized as one of the most significant pedagogical areas to work with. In many countries the preschool age is seen as an important time for laying the foundations for interest in and knowledge about technology, since it is believed that the children’s curiosity comes naturally. It is thus seen as a crucial age to get both boys and girls interested in technology. Although research on technology education in the preschool is lacking to a great extent, existing research largely confirms these views. The aim of this paper is to investigate how girls and boys explore and learn technology in free play in two Swedish preschools. The empirical study is inspired by an ethnographic approach and is based on qualitative data collected through observations and informal talk with children and teachers. Two preschools with children one to five years old were chosen for the study.

Today’s society places high demands on the individual in terms of ability to acquire understanding of and knowledge about technology. One of the visions of the 2010 Governmental committee Teknikdelegationen was a Swedish society that provides all its citizens with the competence needed to understand, profit by and influence the development of an increasingly complex and technologically advanced society. Hence the committee emphasized that knowledge about technology must be disseminated early on, already in the preschool, and technology should be an important feature throughout the education system (Teknikdelegationen, 2010, p. 26-27). A clear majority of Swedish children now attend the preschool, although it is not mandatory. The preschool is consequently the first institutional context that Swedish children meet in their lives, and it therefore plays a very important role in the Swedish welfare state. As of 1998, preschools were part of the public school system and the first curriculum was then adopted. In the new curriculum for the preschool (2010) technology is emphasized as one of the most significant pedagogical areas to work with. In many countries the preschool age is seen as an important time for laying the foundations for knowledge about and interest in technology, since it is believed that the children’s curiosity comes naturally (Axell, 2012). It is thus seen as a crucial age to get both boys and girls interested in technology. Although research on technology education in the preschool is lacking to a great extent, existing research largely confirms these views (see, for example, Parker-Rees, 1997).

The aim of this paper is to investigate how girls and boys explore and learn technology in free play in two Swedish preschools. The empirical study is inspired by an ethnographic approach and is based on qualitative data collected through observations and informal talk with children and teachers. Two preschools with children one to five years old were chosen for the study.

Lärarutbildningar har ett dubbelt uppdrag. Dels ska studenterna få kunskaper i att undervisa ett specifikt ämnesinnehåll, dels ska studenterna få exempel på hur ämnesinnehållet kan undervisas om i skolan. Detta uppdrag är särskilt viktigt och på samma gång problematiskt i teknik och naturvetenskapliga ämnen, där praktiska konstruktionsövningar, laborationer och exkursioner ingår som centrala kunskapspraktiker. Då covid-19 slog till tvingades svenska lärosäten att på kort tid ställa om från campusbaserad undervisning till distansundervisning, s.k. emergency remote teaching (ERT). I den här studien undersöks hur tre universitetslärare upplever att praktiska moment som laborationer, exkursioner och konstruktionsövningar inom naturvetenskaps- och teknikundervisning på grundlärarutbildningen fungerat som ERT. Av analysen framgår att både undervisningens form och ämnesinnehåll påverkades. Studenternas möjlighet att själva tillämpa praktiska naturvetenskapliga och tekniska arbetssätt minskade. Vidare minskade lärarnas möjlighet att veta om studenterna förstått undervisningen, vilket genererade nya sätt att kommunicera och stötta studenternas lärande.

PATT 26 will be held at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, the beautiful capital of Sweden. The PATT 26 conference is part of a two-conference arrangement organized by the Royal Institute of Technology and the Centre for School Technology Education, CETIS, Linköping University, under the common heading Technology Education in the 21st Century. We hereby welcome international colleagues to this golden opportunity to share and learn more about the latest on-going and completed research in the field of technology education research, spanning from early years through to upper secondary education and teacher education.

The overarching theme for PATT 26 is Technology Education in the 21st Century. The papers in this peer-reviewed conference book all reflect this broad theme, but they also relate to a variety of key areas in school technology education. Research topics include, for example, aspects of learning, teaching, and assessing; pupils’ attitudes; global issues such as sustainability, ethics, values and culture; interdisciplinarity; Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM); links with creative and performing arts; links with arts and social sciences; links with languages; the impact of technological developments on learning, teaching and assessing in technology education; the potential of a design approach; technological artefacts and systems; food technology; historical, sociological and philosophical perspectives on technology education. Together all these areas form a wide spectrum of research of relevance for technology education in the 21st century.

Thomas Ginner, Jonas Hallström & Magnus Hultén,

editors and organisers

June 2012

The aim of this article is to investigate how Swedish teachers manage the uncertainty and complexity associated with sustainable development (SD) as a field of knowledge, in relation to the requirements in the school curriculum. Underlying the whole concept of sustainable development is the vision that there is a possible solution to the ecological, economic and social problems created by humans. However, it is not so clear what this solution actually means in practice. The article builds on an analysis of transcribed individual and group interviews with 40 teachers at Swedish lower and upper secondary schools, related to the topic of sustainable development as a field of knowledge. A thematic analysis was carried out by identifying four broad themes, including dominating discourses. The results indicate that there is a lack of vision among the teachers for a future sustainable society, while at the same time, it seems to be taboo to talk about what an unsustainable society might mean in the long run. Presentations of the problems and knowledge of what causes them must always be combined with instructions on how problems can be solved and how pupils can influence their own future and help create sustainable development. The starting point for such a solution-oriented approach to SD is based on an assumption that individual behaviour is essential to achieving sustainable development and thus that individual responsibility is crucial. This focus leads to individual consumer choices, behaviours and lifestyles at the heart of teaching, while progressive, alternative visions and critical perspectives are downplayed.

Teknik är ett angeläget ämne. Om det än handlar om energi, globala klimatförändringar, välfärd eller mer vardagliga göromål spelar tekniken en avgörande roll. Att förstå samspelet mellan teknik, människa och samhälle är därför viktigt, både för oss som enskilda individer, medborgare och för samhället i stort. Världens gång - teknikens utveckling är uppbyggd kring ett antal centrala teman som exemplifieras genom olika författares kapitel. Bidragen ger exempel på viktig teknik i människans historia och är tänkta som inspiration för att kunna problematisera modern teknik. Vi får möta gammal teknik när den var ny, teknik under förändring, teknik i skolan och hos arkitekten, teknik som identitetsskapare, teknik som såväl redskap som komplexa system, teknik när den inte fungerar och när den får svårbegripliga och ibland förhatliga konsekvenser. Det handlar om teknikens roll i världens gång! Boken vänder sig till blivande och verksamma lärare, ingenjörer och tekniker samt till forskarstuderande inom olika ämnesområden. Den kan också läsas med stor behållning av personer med ett brett allmänt intresse för teknik

Teknik är ett angeläget ämne. Om det än handlar om energi, globala klimatförändringar, välfärd eller mer vardagliga göromål spelar tekniken en avgörande roll. Att förstå samspelet mellan teknik, människa och samhälle är därför viktigt, både för oss som enskilda individer, medborgare och för samhället i stort. Världens gång - teknikens utveckling är uppbyggd kring ett antal centrala teman som exemplifieras genom olika författares kapitel. Bidragen ger exempel på viktig teknik i människans historia och är tänkta som inspiration för att kunna problematisera modern teknik. Vi får möta gammal teknik när den var ny, teknik under förändring, teknik i skolan och hos arkitekten, teknik som identitetsskapare, teknik som såväl redskap som komplexa system, teknik när den inte fungerar och när den får svårbegripliga och ibland förhatliga konsekvenser. Det handlar om teknikens roll i världens gång! Boken vänder sig till blivande och verksamma lärare, ingenjörer och tekniker samt till forskarstuderande inom olika ämnesområden. Den kan också läsas med stor behållning av personer med ett brett allmänt intresse för teknik.

Teknik är ett angeläget ämne. Om det än handlar om energi, globala klimatförändringar, välfärd eller mer vardagliga spörsmål spelar tekniken en avgörande roll. Att förstå samspelet mellan teknik, människa och samhälle är därför viktigt, både för oss som enskilda individer, medborgare och för samhället i stort. Världens gång - teknikens utveckling är uppbyggd kring ett antal centrala teman som exemplifieras genom olika förfat-tares kapitel. Bidragen ger exempel på viktig teknik i människans historia och är tänkta som inspiration för att kunna problematisera modern teknik. Vi får möta gammal teknik när den var ny, teknik under förändring, teknik i skolan och hos arkitekten, teknik som identitetsskapare, teknik som såväl redskap som komplexa system, teknik när den inte fungerar och när den får svårbegripliga och ibland förhatliga konsekvenser. Det handlar om teknikens roll i världens gång! Boken vänder sig till blivande och verksamma lärare, ingenjörer och tekniker samt till forskarstuderande inom olika ämnesområden. Den kan också läsas med stor behållning av personer med ett brett allmänt intresse för teknik. 

In the mid- to late 19th century, modern pipe-bound water and sewer systems proliferated in European cities, a development that has sometimes been regarded as a necessary result of a sanitary awakening and the progress of science and technology. By analyzing the introduction and subsequent expansion of water, sewerage, and excreta collection on the local level, in the Swedish cities Norrköping and Linköping, this oversimplified picture is questioned. The main problematique of this dissertation is why piped water supply and sewerage were introduced in these two Swedish cities at this particular time in history, and why the systems were subsequently extended. The actor-network theory (ANT) is used as an analytical tool. In the local context issues of governance, economy, technology, public health, and environment were brought to a head, and, if anything stands out, it is the complexity of introducing new technology.

Despite the differences between Norrköping and Linköping in terms of topography and social and economic structures, the evolution of water supply and sewerage was on the whole similar. The existence of uniform scientific, technological, ideological, and cultural influences and of legislation at the national level, coupled with suburban growth, contributed to this development. There was more variation in excreta collection, because of the differences between the cities. Poor sanitary conditions, a river sensitive to pollution, and a strong public health network caused Linköping to introduce sanitary regulations much earlier than Norrköping and in Linköping WC’s were not as common.

I Naturens nytta diskuterar och analyserar framstående historiker, ekonomhistoriker och humanekologer naturens nytta och kunskapens villkor från Linnés dagar fram till idag. I engagerande artiklar behandlas bland annat jordbrukets utveckling, synen på jordbrukslandskapet, förutsättningarna för skogsbruk och timmerflottning samt spridning och kontroll av föroreningar i historisk tid och nutid. Bidragen speglar den bredd som finns i dagens mycket angelägna miljöhistoriska forskning. Medverkande skribenter är bland andra:- Jonas Hallström, doktorand vid Tema Vatten i Natur och Samhälle, Linköping.- Astrid Kander, doktorand i ekonomisk historia, Lund.- Martin Johansson, doktorand i historia, Göteborg.- Erland Mårald, fil. dr i idéhistoria, Umeå.- Katarina Salzman, doktorand i etnologi, Lund.Naturens nytta ingår i Lagerbringbiblioteket, en bokserie för ny historisk forskning och historievetenskaplig diskussion. Den utges av Historiska institutionen vid Lunds universitet i samarbete med Historiska Media.

The aim of this chapter is to discuss how a unified theory of technology could be forged philosophically, and suggest some implications for technology education. A post-phenomenological model of human-technology relations was employed as an analytical tool. It is concluded that both digital and analog technologies could be seen as technical artefacts with a dual nature and technologies of representation. The dual nature of technical artefacts, that is, the functional/intentional and physical dimensions of artefacts and systems, is reflected e.g. in the abstract programming language in conjunction with a specification, which relates to a physical configuration. Representational technologies could include everything from simple control systems to computers to AI systems, and it would be possible to conceive of the concrete and abstract parts of these technologies as different components of their representational capacity; a component could either be seen as representing (concrete) or represented (abstract), but part of the same representational system that makes up the technology. In both these “dual” perspectives on technology, artefacts and systems could be viewed from a common point of view and may consist of both digital, analog, concrete, and abstract components that together make up the technology. One important implication for technology education is that teaching needs to involve both abstract and concrete technological components. When programming, for instance, students need to learn not only about the code or software in itself, but also about what digital technology does in terms of solving real-world problems and achieving technical purposes.

Purpose

The aim of this article is to describe and analyse how the Swedish Association of Biology Teachers (ABT) and some other subject associations helped form pre-service biology teacher education in two major Swedish reforms from ca. 1960 to 1990.

Design/methodology/approach

The activities of subject associations can be understood as boundary-work since they defend their subject boundaries in terms of content, space in the timetable, and legitimacy. A hermeneutic method of text interpretation is employed in analysing historical archival and parliamentary material.

Findings

The work of the ABT to demarcate their subject in the 1968 and 1988 Teacher Education Reforms may seem like merely defending certain biological items instead of others, in the name of science. However, it was also a professional struggle to assert the importance of the teachers, their jobs, education, knowledge of biology subject matter, and thereby their professional authority and autonomy. The ABT were also caught in a political struggle for their subject throughout the period of investigation. Depending on the political winds of the time they therefore had to ally themselves with or distance themselves from various actors.

Originality/value

In comparison with the few other studies of subject associations, this article is unique in outlining how the ABT acted in relation to teacher education. However, the ways of doing boundary-work were still very similar to those used by subject associations in schools in other countries, especially in acting for increased study time in their respective science subjects as well as their resistance to subject integration. An obvious conclusion regarding teacher education is that subject associations such as the ABT did not contribute to bridging the gap between subject matter and pedagogy but rather the opposite. Biology teacher education was seen as an academic pursuit carried out at universities rather than at the practically oriented teacher training colleges.

From a philosophical viewpoint, technological design is about connecting what is desirable with what is technically possible. Technology itself plays a major role in design processes, not only because technology development is what designing is all about, but also since the existing technology at any given point in time frames what is possible to achieve in terms of new outcomes. A limiting role of technology in design, education and other societal activities goes under the concept of technological determinism and has arguably been one of the most significant points of debate in the social sciences in the last decades. The aim of this article is to investigate how philosophical, sociological and historical research, as well as design and innovation research about technological determinism, could be fruitfully reconsidered in technology education. The analysis yielded three novel findings about the nature of technological determinism. First of all, technological determinism can take the form of an idea, theory or a way of explaining technology development in history or the present, but it can also take the form of actual material structures that—implicitly or explicitly—permeate and influence society, or, at least, this is what some researchers claim. Secondly, technological determinism is not just something that is the result of a bird’s eye view of technology and society or when we study technology as part of the macro level of society. Determinism can appear on all levels, even the micro level. Thirdly, like its counterpart social/societal determinism, technological determinism is not necessarily a “bad”thing, but a natural result of design being a balance between what is societally desirable and technically possible. The most critical issue from the point of view of technological literacy is to promote the idea that it is humans that design and retain control over technology.

Forskningsfältet teknikens didaktik är ungt i Sverige, men även internationellt går det bara tillbaka några årtionden. Syftet med detta kapitel är att beskriva de teman som finns i den svenska teknikdidaktiska forskningen. En tematisk analys användes för att beskriva hela den svenska forskningen – 93 studier publicerade från 1984 till juni 2017 – utifrån Hagbergs och Hulténs (2005) version av de didaktiska frågorna vad, hur och varför. Den svenska forskningen domineras av vad- och varför-frågorna, alltså innehållsliga och kontextuella aspekter av teknikundervisning, exempelvis om tekniska system, yrkesutbildning, bedömning men också attityder och genus. Forskning kring hur-frågan, alltså konkret undervisning och lärande, är i jämförelse betydligt mindre omfattande men med en viss ökning på senare år, vilket därmed liknar trenden i den internationella forskningen. Forskning kring undervisning och lärande i teknik behöver öka i omfattning för att forskningen ska kunna säga något om ämnets utövande i praktiken och därmed fortsätta vara relevant i framtiden.

Feedback mechanisms make control of systems automatic and are thus inherent features of many technologies that surround us in our daily lives. Feedback is thus considered important to learn in technology education, although it is regarded as difficult and often not introduced to students until upper secondary level. Given the central role of feedback in technology and engineering it is surprising that there is virtually no research on how students of any age conceive of and/or learn about feedback in the technology and engineering education literature. The aim of this paper is to report on and evaluate an intervention to improve Swedish secondary pre-service technology student teachers’ conceptions of feedback in technological systems. Five student teachers took part in the intervention, taking a pre-test prior to, and a post-test after, this intervention. Although this is a small sample, the findings indicate that the student group as a whole performed better in the post-test than in the pre-test. The findings also suggest that some teachers understood the systemic, macro aspects of feedback mechanisms better after the intervention. On the other hand, no student reached an expanded understanding, and most conceptions were rather vague. Furthermore, there was a general lack of atomistic conceptions, relating to a micro understanding, for example, sensors and how they work in a control system. This study thus confirms previous research about the lack of essential device knowledge among student teachers. Some implications for the continuation of the study are suggested based on these findings.

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the relationship between technology education and educational sloyd (slöjd) in Sweden from the early 1960s until today. It is concluded that the technology subject domain during this period has modernized and become broader and broader, including a systems component. Educational sloyd, on the other hand, partly contains modern, technology-related components but also partly remains a subject emphasizing knowledge and skills rooted in a rural society including elements such as manual handicraft, tool management, aesthetic skills, as well as personal development. The most notable difference between the two subjects lies in their philosophical foundations. Technology education is about various aspects of the human-made world. Its main interest is technology itself; what it is, how it evolves, and how we as humans conceive, design, use, and manage technology. Educational sloyd, on the other hand, is mainly about human development, human capabilities of creating, crafting, working, and developing. However, the curriculum overlap between the two subjects is strikingly similar, and a major part of sloyd can therefore also be seen as a part of the field of technology education today.

Feedback mechanisms make control of systems automatic and are thus inherent features of many technologies that surround us in our daily lives. Feedback is thus considered important to understand in technology education, although it isregarded as difficult and often not introduced to students until upper secondary level. Given the central role of feedback in technology and engineering, it is surprising that there is virtually no research on how students of any age conceive of and/or learnabout feedback in the technology and engineering education literature. The aim of this chapter is to report a two-cycle intervention to improve Swedish secondary pre-service technology student teachers’ conceptions of feedback in technological systems and to generalize some possible suggestions based on this study. Eleven student teachers altogether took part in the two cycles of the intervention, taking a pre-test prior to it and a post-test afterwards. Although this is a small sample, overall the findings indicate that the student group as a whole performed slightly better in the post-test than in the pre-test, which was particularly obvious in cycle 1. Incycle 2, the students did not perform quite as well in the post-test as in the pre-test, despite an improved intervention based on the findings in cycle 1. The findings also suggest that some teachers understood the systemic aspects of feedback mechanisms better after the intervention. On the other hand, no student reached an expanded understanding, and most conceptions were rather vague. Furthermore, there was a general lack of atomistic conceptions, for example, sensors and how they work in a control system. This study thus confirms previous research about the lack of essential device knowledge among student teachers.

Teknik är ett angeläget ämne. Om det än handlar om energi, globala klimatförändringar, välfärd eller mer vardagliga göromål spelar tekniken en avgörande roll. Att förstå samspelet mellan teknik, människa och samhälle är därför viktigt, både för oss som enskilda individer, medborgare och för samhället i stort. Världens gång - teknikens utveckling är uppbyggd kring ett antal centrala teman som exemplifieras genom olika författares kapitel. Bidragen ger exempel på viktig teknik i människans historia och är tänkta som inspiration för att kunna problematisera modern teknik. Vi får möta gammal teknik när den var ny, teknik under förändring, teknik i skolan och hos arkitekten, teknik som identitetsskapare, teknik som såväl redskap som komplexa system, teknik när den inte fungerar och när den får svårbegripliga och ibland förhatliga konsekvenser. Det handlar om teknikens roll i världens gång! Boken vänder sig till blivande och verksamma lärare, ingenjörer och tekniker samt till forskarstuderande inom olika ämnesområden. Den kan också läsas med stor behållning av personer med ett brett allmänt intresse för teknik.

In recent years, digital technology, programming, and computational thinking have been incorporated on a larger scale as curriculum components in technology education in many countries across the globe. Technology education research about programming and computational thinking is needed, and this edited book, Programming and Computational Thinking in Technology Education: Swedish and International Perspectives, contributes with new research that has many international applications and grounds for comparison, both in schools and in the research community. This introduction not only serves as a background for the reader as s/he delves into the various chapters of the book, but also introduces some pertinent and sometimes longstanding issues in technology education and its relation to computers and computing. These issues are: 1. Programming and computational thinking in school curricula: the early 21st century wave; 2. Computational thinking and literacy; 3. Teacher competence in programming; and 4. Computational thinking, programming, and learning in technology education.

The position of technology education in the school curriculum is a topic of continuous discussions. This book offers a number of research-based contributions to that discussion. A number of aspects have been identified that are related to the way technology education can be embedded in the curriculum: The historical development of the subject, its disciplinary character, its relation to other parts of the curriculum, and in particular with science and language education, the relation between the formal school curriculum and informal learning, forms of progression over the grades, and its contribution to citizenship, forms of literacy and ethics. The final chapter deals with specific issues for developing countries. The book can support decision making on the curriculum and the development of technology education as a part of that by providing theoretical and empirical insights on this topic.Show more Show less

Sju forskare vid Linköpings universitet ventilerar olika sidor av samhällsundervisningens problematik och möjligheter, såsom hur samhällsundervisningens villkor ständigt förändras och konsekvenserna av detta, vilken roll teknikhistoria bör ha i grundskolan, hur gymnasieskolans nya kursplan i historia har påverkat läromedlen, innehållet i sponsrade läromedel, betydelsen av religionsundervisning i särskolan, hur staten främjar utbildning i samband med ett jubileum samt vikten av internationellt utbyte. 

"In the last decade, programming and computational thinking (CT) have been introduced on a large scale in school curricula and standards all over the world. In countries such as the UK, a new school subject-computing-was created, whereas in countries such as Sweden, programming was included in existing subjects, notably mathematics and technology education. The introduction of programming and CT in technology education implies a particular relationship between programming and technology. Programming is usually performed with technological artefacts-various types of computers-and it can also be seen as a specific branch of engineering. This book analyses the background to and current implementation of programming and computational thinking in a Swedish school technology context, in relation to international developments. The various chapters deal with pertinent issues in technology education and its relation to computers and computing, for example, computational thinking and literacy, teachers' programming competence, and computational thinking, programming, and learning in technology education. The book includes examples from educational research that could also be used as inspiration for school teaching, teacher education and curriculum development"--

Teknikens kunskapshistoria är för många en historia om svenska uppfinnare, tillämpad naturvetenskap och ingenjörsutbildning. I den här antologin riktas istället blicken mot de bredare lagren av samhället, mot folkskola, grundskola och yrkesskolor och det tekniska kunskapsinnehåll som behandlats där. Hur har man sett på den tekniska kunskapens roll i dessa utbildningsformer och hur har den förändrats?

I boken presenteras forskning om det tekniska kunskapsinnehållet i svensk skola mellan 1842 och 2010  både i form av spridda inslag av teknikinnehåll och som ett ämne med namnet Teknik. Några återkommande mönster i denna utveckling identifieras, vilka alla på ett eller annat sätt kan sägas ha varit styrande för hur aktörer har besvarat grundläggande frågor om teknikinnehållet i skolan under undersökningsperioden. Frågorna har rört motiven för teknisk kunskap och vilken typ av teknik som är viktigast, men också dess gränser, utseende och upptagningsområde.