This paper has a biographical perspective and analyses the learning trajectories of child minders participating in a teacher education to become qualified pre-school teachers. These child minders have worked full-time and are working part-time in pre-schools during the teacher education. The focus of the paper is on the scientific profile in their teacher education, and how their prior experiences and prior learning from working in pre-school and from everyday life are related to and acknowledged in this profile.

Lager-Nyqvist (2003) has studied student teachers’ experience of science education during their teacher training. The findings are that early school experiences and own opinions on science education in school affect the teacher’s role. In a previous study of child minders participating in a teacher education (Andersson & Hellberg, 2009) it was found that the child minders are initially peripheral participants, and change from within might require a more central position in the community of practice. The results show how these students become less peripheral fairly quickly. Their prior experiences and prior learning help them in their trajectory into university studies and in the shift of identity. Not least their participation in the practice of work, where part of the education program is situated, could to a large extent be seen as full.

The data in the present study are collected through narrative interviews with seven teacher students with a background as child minders. The interviews are conducted in a way outlined by Horsdal (2002). The interview starts with a more or less extensive narrative of the interviewee’s life with focus on aspects relevant (from the interviewee’s perspective) in relation to the choice to become a pre-school teacher. This narrative is followed by a number of follow-up questions focusing on the scientific profile in relation to prior and present experiences particularly from the pre-school practice. In the analysis of interviews, a central guiding concept is trajectory, and particularly learning trajectory. Other concepts that guide our analysis in this approach are critical incidents, critical persons, turning points, and identity, which help us identify the structures of and central themes in the narratives. This theoretical perspective is based on the idea of situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991).

The preliminary results presented here indicate how and in what ways these teacher students learn scientific knowledge, and how this learning is related to the practice of the pre-school, and the students’ prior experiences and prior learning within this community of practice. The analysis provides implications for how learning in scientific subjects could be understood, and particularly how learning among students with prior experiences from the community of practice for which they are trained could be understood.

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.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka lärares uppfattning om hur undervisningen anpassas efter klassernas gymnasieprogram. Studien har med ett didaktiskt perspektiv fokuserats på om lärarna uppfattar uppdraget att anpassa undervisningen efter klassens gymnasieprogram i Naturkunskap A, om lärarna uppfattar behovet av anpassning av undervisningen efter klassens gymnasieprogram i Naturkunskap A samt hur lärarna beskriver sitt arbete med anpassning av undervisningen efter klassens gymnasieprogram i Naturkunskap A. Med en tolkande ansats som utgångspunkt har fyra lärare intervjuats i en kvalitativ intervjustudie.

Lärarna är medvetna om uppdraget att anpassa efter gymnasieprogrammets inriktning och upplever att det finns behov av anpassning efter gymnasieprogrammets inriktning. Men de uttrycker att det finns också behov att göra andra anpassningar så som individanpassning. Lärarna beskriver sitt arbete med anpassningar och det viktigaste att anpassa tycker de är att prata så alla förstår samt att det är en tryggmiljö i klassrummet. Det stämmer överrens med att det krävs en trygg klassrumsmiljö för att ur ett sociokulturellt perspektiv kunna utforma kunskap.

Som en intressant biprodukt, med stöd av intervjuerna, har det i studien utvecklats en modell som beskriver lärarnas arbete med anpassning. Modellen beskriver hur lärarna först möter en grupp och sedan när de lärt känna varandra kan gå från grupp till individnivå. Vilket program eleverna går på och vilken årskurs de kommer ifrån påverkar också hur gruppen ser ut tillsammans med vilka individer som gruppen består av. Modellen säger att lärare hämtar information ifrån individerna, årskursen och programmet för att kunna göra olika anpassningar. Jag har kunnat identifiera två olika typer av lärare som har olika lång arbetsstäcka för att komma till individnivå beroende på att de befinner sig i olika kontexter.

Olika utredningar har pekat på brister i mål- och uppföljningssystemet för grundskolan. En rad förändringar av skolans styrsystem är därför aviserade eller redan beslutade av statsmakterna. En av dessa är införandet av nationella mål och prov för årskurs 3.

Skolverket fick i november 2006 i uppdrag att föreslå mål och nationella prov i matematik och svenska för årskurs 3. I december 2007 överlämnade Skolverkets sitt slutliga förslag till regeringen. I föreliggande rapport analyseras Skolverkets förslag till mål att uppnå i matematik för årskurs 3. Analysen görs utifrån det empiriska forskningsmaterialet som tagits fram inom ramen för Medelsta-projektet.

Vid en jämförelse med vad elever i årskurs 3 faktiskt presterar kan slutsatsen dras att Skolverkets förslag saknar realism. Endast eleverna över medianen kan förutses klara alla mål i Skolverkets förslag. Orsaken kan sökas i förslagets bristande förankring i empirisk forskning. Rapporten understryker vikten av att politiska beslut baseras på ett faktaunderlag. Den utbildningsvetenskapliga forskningen kan här ge ett viktigt bidrag. Inom en årskurs är spridningen stor mellan de lägst och de högst presterande eleverna. Redan i årskurs 3 är skillnaden flera årskurser. Denna stora variation bör formuleras som ett grundläggande pedagogiskt dilemma, något som inte kan lösas, men som likväl måste hanteras.

This study focuses on the way in which the self-assessed reading, writing and oral abilities of pupils – both boys and girls – predict grades in different subjects at compulsory school. The supporting material for this study is a survey, conducted to 6,788 pupils in school year 9 (aged 15-16) of Swedish compulsory school in 2003. The results show that the three literacy skills – reading, writing and oral ability – do predict the grades but that the weighting is slightly different in the various subjects. In Swedish it is the self-assessed ability to write that primarily predicts the grade, while, in the other theoretical subjects, it is the pupil’s self-assessed reading ability that is predominant. There is a significant difference between how boys and girls assess their reading, writing and oral abilities. Girls demonstrate greater confidence in their ability to read and write. Boys, who feel that they have good oral ability, are at a disadvantage both in English and mathematics.

I kursplanerna för gymnasieskolans omvårdnadsprogram förekommer begreppet ”erfarenhet” på ett flertal ställe. Detta begrepp är inte definierat i styrdokumenten av skolverket vilket gjorde det intressant att studera närmare. Syftet med denna studie är därför  att beskriva yrkeslärares uppfattningar av kursplanernas begrepp ”erfarenhet” som ingår i gymnasieskolans omvårdnadsprogram.

Omvårdnadsprogrammet förändrades under 1990-talet och praktiken ersattes av APU = Arbetsplatsförlagd utbildning. Den

praktiska undervisningen som tidigare skett till stor del i skolan och under praktiken med en kliniklärares undervisning flyttades nu till APU-platsen med en handledare från APU-platsen som undervisare. Begreppet ”erfarenhet” lämnades till skolorna att själva tolka och planera sin undervisning därefter.

Erfarenhet kan beskrivas som upplevelser. Det kan också vara kunskaper, kunnighet som bygger på upplevelser och iakttagelse.

För att eleven ska nå erfarenhet ska skolan basera sin undervisning på de olika kunskapsformerna fakta, förståelse, färdighet och förtrogenhet som beskrivs i Lpf 94.

Denna studie är kvalitativ med en fenomenografisk ansats. Det är uppfattningar om begreppet ”erfarenhet” som studerats och

fjorton yrkeslärare inom omvårdnadsprogrammet på sex olika vårdgymnasium har intervjuats. Dessa intervjuer utgick från en intervjuguide med några semistrukturerade frågor för att sedan fortsätta med följdfrågor utifrån informantens svar.

Informanternas uppfattningar var att ”erfarenhet” fick eleverna genom både den teoretiska och den praktiska undervisningen

men att den största delen var den praktiska undervisningen och att den framför allt skulle ske på APU genom fakta-, förståelse-  och färdighetskunskap. ”Erfarenhet” kan delas in i ytligare och djupare ”erfarenhet”. För att eleverna skulle nå ”erfarenhet”

genom undervisningen var det viktigt att undervisningen bedrevs enligt elevens lärstil. Informanternas uppfattningar visar att faktakunskaper ger en ytligare erfarenhet och färdighetskunskaper och förståelsekunskaper ger en djupare erfarenhet.

The purpose of this presentation is to address predicaments, which come into existence in the meeting between group work and assessment.

In compulsory education there seems to be a dilemma between the request for individual assessment of student’s knowledge and abilities in addition to the demand of teaching collaboration abilities through group work. Knowledge and difficulties relating to assessment of group work are relevant factors when organising it. Accordingly, teachers often ask for more knowledge concerning methods for assessment in group work. What, when and how assessment ought to be done and on which level (individual and/or group) are questions often brought up by teachers. A review of previous research confirms that this is a neglected research area. Therefore, a need for more attention is justified.

In the empirical study we have applied a grounded theory methodology and data have been assembled by means of group interviews. The informants were teachers, from forms 5-9 inthe nine-year compulsory school, from three schools inSweden.

The results elucidate some of the teachers’ problems concerning assessment in group work as well as some pedagogical implications based on empirical findings. In other words, this presentation summarises the current state of our knowledge in this area and elucidates an urgent and basic question in the pedagogical practice that may generate knowledge of importance for teachers professional practising and further development.

The overarching interest in this project is to gain knowledge about what happens in the meeting between group work and assessment in pedagogical practice. Grounded theory methodology, was used as methodology and data have been gathered by focus group interviews with 11 teachers teaching students aged 11 to 16 years. The results show that teachers primarily used informal approaches, a general language and the descriptions about what they assessed and how assessment was carried out. This article elucidates some of the teachers’ problems concerning assessment in group work and some pedagogical implications based on empirical findings.

Background: The overarching interest in this project is to gain knowledge about what happens in the meeting between group work and assessment in pedagogical practice. There seems to be a tension between the demand for individual assessment of students’ knowledge and abilities and the demand to teach students collaboration abilities through group work. A previous study concerning teachers’ management of group work as a classroom activity (Hammar Chiriac & Forslund Frykedal, 2011) reveals that assessment is a highly relevant factor. In addition, teachers seem to experience difficulties and acknowledge some challenges and problems as regards assessing students working in a group.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to obtain not only increased knowledge of how teachers assess individual learning occurring in group work, but also explore how teachers manage the emerging challenges. An additional purpose was, with support from previous research within the area, to provide a means of handling these challenges.

Sample: Data were gathered by means of three focus group interviews. The informants were 11 teachers. They taught students aged 11 to 16 years in compulsory education in Sweden during the spring of 2009.

Design and method:  Grounded theory methodology, together with the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism, was used to increase comprehension of the teachers’ problems when assessing learning outcome in group work. The transcribed discussions in the focus groups were analysed by means of theoretical sampling, and a number of categories emerged.

Results: The results show that teachers primarily used informal approaches when they assessed students’ knowledge and abilities in group work situations. The teachers used a general level when talking about assessment and the descriptions about what they assess were vague. In the teachers’ accounts of what is assessed it is possible to distinguish both the product and the process carried out at an individual as well as at a group level. Furthermore, the results reveal two different assessment strategies, that is how the assessment was carried out; by teachers (from outside the group) or by students (from inside the group). Additionally, the results disclosed that the teachers have difficulties in concretising and verbalising what and how they assess. The teachers also experienced uncertainty and contradictory demands concerning assessment of students in group work. They were concerned about this difficulty.

Conclusion: The teachers were of the opinion that group work is used foremost to develop group work abilities and not as a means of acquiring academic knowledge. This influenced the teachers’ mode of using assessment, that is, they focussed on assessing the collaborative abilities. This article elucidates some of the teachers’ problems concerning assessment in group work and some pedagogical implications based on empirical findings. Research-based theories and models within these areas could increase teachers’ confidence, which, in turn, could increase good practice, their ability to use group work as a mode and also their competence in assessment.

An encompassing knowledge interest in this project is to study what happens in the meetingbetween group work and assessment in the pedagogical practice. There seems to be adilemma between the demand for individual assessment of student’s knowledge and abilitiesand the demand of teaching collaboration abilities through group work. A previous studyconcerning teachers’ management of group work as classroom activity (Hammar Chiriac &Forslund Frykedal, 2010) reveals that assessment is a highly relevant factor when organisinggroup work in a school setting. In addition, teachers seem to experience difficulties andacknowledge some challenges and problems about assessing students working in a group. Toour knowledge this is a rather neglected research area and very little attention has been paid toresearch on assessment of students’ performance in collaborative situations.The main purpose in this study is to explore and comprehend teachers’ conceptions ofdifficulties and worries in connection with assessing students in collaborative situations.Furthermore, we intend to scrutinize what knowledge previous research may provide as acontribution to proficiency about assessment of group work.In the empirical study we have applied a grounded theory methodology and data havebeen assembled by means of group interviews. The informants were teachers, from forms 5-9in the nine-year compulsory school in Sweden.Previous research provides little theoretical knowledge or useful tools aiding the teachersin their task but comprises more of self- and peer assessment and how group members couldcontribute to the assessment.The result shows that teachers rather use informal than formal assessment. The informalassessment is mostly done by circulating in the classroom and observing the groups.Additionally, the result discloses that the teachers have difficulties to concretize and putwords on what and how they assess. In the discussion we present some pedagogicalimplications, which may be useful in the pedagogical practice. The pedagogical implicationsare based on empirical results and previous research.

Context  Problem-based learning (PBL) is widely used in higher education. There is evidence available that students and faculty are highly satisfied with PBL. Nevertheless, in educational practice problems are often encountered, such as tutors who are too directive, problems that are too well-structured, and dysfunctional tutorial groups.

Purpose  The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that PBL has the potential to prepare students more effectively for future learning because it is based on four modern insights into learning: constructive, self-directed, collaborative and contextual. These four learning principles are described and it is explained how they apply to PBL. In addition, available research is reviewed and the current debate in research on PBL is described.

Discussion  It is argued that problems encountered in educational practice usually stem from poor implementation of PBL. In many cases the way in which PBL is implemented is not consistent with the current insights on learning. Furthermore, it is argued that research on PBL should contribute towards a better understanding of why and how the concepts of constructive, self-directed, collaborative and contextual learning work or do not work and under what circumstances. Examples of studies are given to illustrate this issue.

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

The world is full of environmental injustices and inequalities, yet few European historians have tackled these subjects head on; nor have they explored their relationships with social inequalities. In this innovative collection of historical essays the contributors consider a range of past environmental injustices, spanning seven northern and western European countries and with several chapters adding a North American perspective. In addition to an introductory chapter that surveys approaches to this area of environmental history, individual chapters address inequalities in the city as regards water supply, air pollution, waste disposal, factory conditions, industrial effluents, fuel poverty and the administrative and legal arrangements that discriminated against segments of society.

The history of technology can play an important role in illuminating the fundamentals of technological change, but it is important that technology teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers and researchers can be provided with good analytical tools for this purpose. In this article, we propose a model of techno-historical interplay, as a help in deciding what historical artefacts and systems should be included in technology curricula and teaching as well as in analyzing and conveying to students the fundamental issues of technological change. We want to emphasize particularly three points of importance in employing the model as a tool of analysis. First of all, it is crucial to decide what one wants the technologically literate student to know about technology and technological change. This should include an awareness of the historical and geographical contingency of any technology. Second, on the basis of this decision one should adapt the model as a tool for selecting relevant technologies. Third, the model should be applied as an instrument of analysis of the history of the selected technological artefacts or systems as well as theories of technological development.

Students appreciate group work as a means of learning and several studies also suggest that students who work togetherin groups have better learning outcomes. Nevertheless, teachers still seem reluctant to use group work as a pedagogicaltool in the classroom.The main focus of this qualitative study is to address group work as a classroom activity from the teachers’ perspectives,and more specifically to ascertain why teachers are reluctant to use group work as a mode of working in education.Data were collected by means of focus group interviews with teachers from three different schools, and the analysis wascarried out using grounded theory.The uniqueness of this study is that the results show that teachers’ presumptions, together with their mode of procedureand their negligible reflections regarding subject knowledge as a learning outcome when using group work, have adecisive influence on their willingness to use group work.

Students appreciate group work as a means of learning and several studies also suggest that students who work together in groups have better learning outcomes. Nevertheless, teachers still seem reluctant to use group work as a pedagogical tool in the classroom.

The main focus of this qualitative study is to address group work as a classroom activity from the teachers’ perspectives, and more specifically to ascertain why teachers are reluctant to use group work as a mode of working in education.

Data were collected by means of focus group interviews with teachers from three different schools, and the analysis was carried out using grounded theory.

The uniqueness of this study is that the results show that teachers’ presumptions, together with their mode of procedure and their negligible reflections regarding subject knowledge as a learning outcome when using group work, have a decisive influence on their willingness to use group work.

Group work is used as a means of learning at all levels of most educational systems.  However, teachers often use group work without considering its “pros and cons.” Such a mode of non-reflected application may sometimes end up in positive experiences and learning, but the likelihood is that the outcome will be the opposite.

The aim of this qualitative study is to address students’ experiences of collaborative group work, that is, when working as a group. What features do students emphasise in their experiences and descriptions of constructive and destructive group work? A prime aim is to give the students a voice in the matter. Data was collected by means of six focus groups with students aged 13-16, and a qualitative content analysis was performed.

The originality of this research is three-folded. First, it discloses what students consider as important requisites for a successful group work. Their inside knowledge about classroom activities end up in a list (a taxonomy) of crucial conditions for high-quality group work. Second, the conditions mentioned by the students have all been confirmed by recent scientific research. Thus, thirdly, the present study may provide teachers with evidence-based knowledge about successful group work.

This article discusses the status of the concept of hegemonic masculinity in research on men and boys in Sweden, and how it has been used and developed. Sweden has a relatively long history of public debate, research, and policy intervention in gender issues and gender equality. This has meant, in sheer quantitative terms, a relatively sizeable corpus of work on men, masculinities, and gender relations. There is also a rather wide diversity of approaches, theoretically and empirically, to the analysis of men and masculinities. The Swedish national context and gender equality project is outlined. This is followed by discussion of three broad phases in studies on men and masculinities in Sweden: the 1960s and 1970s before the formulation of the concept of hegemonic masculinity; the 1980s and 1990s when the concept was important for a generation of researchers developing studies in more depth; and the 2000s with a younger generation committed to a variety of feminist and gender critiques other than those associated with hegemonic masculinity. The following sections focus specifically on how the concept of hegemonic masculinity has been used, adapted, and indeed not used, in particular areas of study: boys and young men in family and education; violence; and health. The article concludes with review of how hegemonic masculinity has been used in Swedish contexts, as: gender stereotype, often out of the context of legitimation of patriarchal relations; "Other" than dominant, white middle-class "Swedish," equated with outmoded, nonmodern, working-class, failing boy, or minority ethnic masculinities; a new masculinity concept and practice, incorporating some degree of gender equality; and reconceptualized and problematized as a modern, heteronormative, and subject-centered concept.

Definitioner av didaktik (och ämnesdidaktik) görs ibland utifrån referenser utanför och ovanför klassrummets omedelbara skeende. De didaktiska frågorna formuleras i termer av Vad, Hur och Varför (Arfwedson, 1987; Selander, 2010: 202). Man utgår från läroplaner, politik och de olika ämnena när dessa frågor bevaras och problematiseras. Samtidigt finns skolans verklighet i klassrummen, men mera som mottagare av denna problematisering. Denna verklighet kan utgöra utgångspunkten för en inifrån kommande reflektion som utgår från lärare och elever och deras faktiska situation. Detta närmar sig det som Arfwedson (1987) benämner ”genomförandefältet” där jag vill fortsätta diskussionen. Hur får vi ett annat perspektiv på Vad, Hur och Varför som bygger på t ex lärarnas praktik? Är dessa frågor överhuvudtaget realistiska att ställa (i praktiken) och vilka svar kan man förvänta sig? Vad har en undervisning i t ex naturvetenskap för innehåll ur en elevs perspektiv? Och hur ter sig frågan ur lärarens perspektiv i det praktiska skeendet?

När vi tar del av den tidiga tyska diskussionen om didaktik (Blankertz, 1987) ser jag att mitt intresse liknar det perspektiv som kallas den inlärningsteoretiska (undervisningsteoretiska) modellen (och i viss mån den kulturvetenskapliga) där man menar att man bör ta hänsyn till många faktorer som påverkar undervisningsprocessen. Resonemangen är influerade av ett inlärningspsykologiskt perspektiv, kontrollstrukturer och präglad av tidsandan. I den diskussion som förs i denna text är jag mer begränsad till de inre faktorerna inom genomförandefältet och Blankertz (1987: 35) påpekande att didaktiska problem är komplexa. Här blir begreppet ”didaktisk intuition” centralt (Kroksmark, 1997) i tänkandet kring lärares arbete och det jag själv uppfattat som intelligenta improvisationer (Hultman, 2001).

Hultman, Glenn, Jan Schoultz & Karin Stolpe: Student teachers and mentors: The practical part of teacher education. Pedagogisk Forskning i Sverige, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 120–139. Stockholm: ISSN 1401-6788

This study illuminates the interaction and linkage between the theoretical part of teacher education and the practical part, with a focus on what happens during the latter and how the student teacher makes meaning out of the process. We have looked at research reviews that focus on the Swedish and Scandinavian fields. Our particular interest involves the linkage (organizational linkages) between the university (the student) and the practical field (the school) and the research that says that newcomers are confronted with a new situation, which can lead to an element of surprise, which in turn leads to attempts to fit this into a meaningful whole (i.e. sense making). We use data from experienced teachers’ reflections on their own teacher education and the experience of their own practicum periods, as well as the impressions and reflections of student teachers as expressed in interviews and logged in their journals from their practicum periods. The results show that not only does an adaptation occur, but that there can also be innovative elements in the meaning- making process, in part through the ambitions a student teacher harbours from the theoretical part of the education, and in part through the divergence between one’s own experiences, those of the mentor, and examples of other teachers. The135 G. HULTMAN, J. SCHOULTZ OCH K. STOLPE

socialization that occurs can be described as a ‘situational apprenticeship’, which means that student teachers interact with the context and the pupils. This is what moulds them, becomes their ‘master’, resulting in a form of apprenticeship. Part of our conclusion is that we find the interaction between the student teacher and his/her mentor to be learning that contains elements of corrections and alternative interpretations.

The Matthew effect is often used as a metaphor to describe a widening gap between good

and poor readers over time. In this study we examined the development of individual

differences in reading and cognitive functioning in children with reading difficulties and

normal readers from Grades 1 to 3. Matthew effects were observed for individual

differences in reading comprehension and vocabulary, but not on tests measuring word

decoding, word recognition, or spelling, nor on non-verbal ability. However, these

Matthew effects disappeared when controlling for home literacy activities and parent

reading behavior, indicating that print exposure is one environmental condition involved

in mediating Matthew effects. These findings are in line with the idea of the Matthew

effect by Stanovich and the core assumption that reading comprehension is involved in

a reciprocal relationship with vocabulary knowledge.

“A policy of inclusion is generally understood around the world as part of a human rights agenda that demands access to, and equity in education” (Florian, 2008, p. 202). An understanding of discourses concerning inclusion in education contributes valuable information in the context of human rights and especially children’s rights in the welfare state. This paper is my contribution to discussions in circle 1 of the Nordic Summer University on “Human rights in the Nordic welfare states”. It shall also be developed into a theoretical background for my study on multi-professional cooperation in schools and the discussion of results from this study, which builds on focus groups interviews with teachers in Sweden, Germany and Japan, on which I reported early in this circle (Kreitz-Sandberg, 2010). Today’s presentation ignores both methodological questions of the empirical study, considerations on international comparisons and results from my focus group interviews. However, it takes a more extended view on possible theoretical frameworks for the study. We might consider if and in which form such a theoretical description could be part of the online anthology planned by circle 1.

The aim of the study is to compare working conditions of teachers in Sweden, Japan and Germany.

1. What kind of support do schools offer to teachers who have pupils with special needs?

2. If there is special-needs resource personal, what kind of support do teachers get from these persons?

The research is divided into two phases. In the first phase information and data on organisation, resources and practices regarding pupils' welfare in municipal compulsory schools in Sweden, Japan and Germany will be collected. If necessary, the review of literature and statistics will be combined with additional data from telephone interviews or questionnaires involving a certain number of prinipals or other persons responsible for school organisation. General national characteristics will be described, even if a certain diversity of practices can be expected for each of the three countries. This knowledge about structures and processes of school welfare forms the ground for the second phase aiming at an analysis of professional cooperation within school. From a teachers’ perspective the above mentioned research questions will be discussed based on focus group interviews in the second phase of the study. The interest to study interprofessional cooperation is rooted in the Swedish experience, where different professions participate in working with pupils' welfare at school. Colaboration between teachers, schoolnurses, social workers, psychologists and others have become a selfevident condition of school welfare. At the NAJS conference the focus of discussion will naturally be on the Japanese part of the study.

This study investigates how stakeholders in teacher education reflect on gender equity in teacher education. The aim is to describe a variation of perspectives on needs and possible limits of gender integration in higher education. A gender diversity approach is applied with inspiration from feminist poststructural thought. The background of the study is the ongoing reconstruction of teacher education in Sweden, which embodies a variety of contradictions and dilemmas according to gender. In order to catch the spirit of the time the author conducted qualitative interviews with representatives of various subjects, thematic skill bases and areasof competence. How do stakeholders in teacher education reflect on practical approaches according to gender integration and diversity strategies? One of the expected results is that the positions of representatives for different subjects vary in relation to “gender as form” and “gender as a content” of instruction. By presenting at the NERA- conference I would like to discuss the results of my study and their relevance at an early stage with other actors in teacher education. Understanding actors’ perspectives is a necessity in order to develop adequate strategies for gender diversity and equity in teacher education.

This paper contributes to our knowledge of teacher educators' strategies for, and dilemmas with, working with gender inclusion in teachers' education. It illustrates how gender is constructed and reconstructed in teachers' education. The study revealed that teachers' education is not only – as earlier described – a highly feminised field, it is also a discipline that is permeated by horizontal and vertical segregation typical of higher education. The study analyses how university teacher educators experience and handle consequences of this horizontal segregation, building on interviews with subject representatives at a Swedish university. The results exemplify how university teachers reflect on gender policies and their own roles when working with teacher students. Heteronormative patterns also become visible in strategies meant to facilitate gender equality and desegregation. The author argues for the need to include university teachers' perspectives in future strategies for developing gender inclusion in university education.

Schweden gilt gemeinsam mit anderen nordischen Nationen als ein Land, in dem die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter weit vorangeschritten ist. Nach Angaben der Vereinten Nationen belegte Schweden 2005 den vierten Platz hinsichtlich der erfolgreichen Umsetzung von Gender Mainstreaming. Schweden wird in Deutschland sowohl in Hinblick auf Gleichstellung als auch auf Bildungsideale gerne als positives Exempel präsentiert.Gleichstellung und gleiche Möglichkeiten für Mädchen und Jungen im Bildungsbereicht wurden bereits in den 60er Jahren auch in den Lehrplänen verankert. Der Lehrplan für den vorschulischen Bereich (Lpfö 98) hebt hervor, dass die Kinder ein Verständnis für Egalität aller Menschen unabhängig von sozialer Herkunft, Geschlecht, ethnischer Zugehörigkeit, Religion oder Glaubensgemeinschaft, sexueller Orientierung oder Behinderung entwickeln sollen.

Intercultural communication competence is gaining increasing impor- tance in the context of globalization. For example, politics and economics rely on social and cultural exchanges between countries and within societies, where differ- ent groups and persons with diverse social backgrounds need to cooperate and act on a daily basis. Although the term „intercultural competence“ is frequently used, it is not always evident which concepts are associated with the expression. „Inter- cultural communication,“ „intercultural education,“ „intercultural exchange“ and „intercultural training“ have developed into extended fields of research in disci- plines like linguistics, foreign language teaching, educational science, psychology, international economics. In this article the author starts with a short review of per- spectives on intercultural competence in various disciplines, and discusses their implications for the field of Japanese studies, where „intercultural competence,“ it has been claimed, should also form part of the curriculum. In order to evaluate the possibilities of such concepts in the context of teaching and research in Japanese studies, empirical research on the topic was carried out by the author. Interviews have been conducted with Japanese, German, American and Swedish experts from universities, and educational and research institutions that are connected to fields of international and intercultural exchange, and with German students who had completed a study program in Japan. Their views are integrated into a discussion of students‘ international experiences, the role of misunderstandings in communi- cation, the importance of reflecting on the concepts of culture and the possibilities of developing „intercultural competence“ in the context of Japanese studies. The author suggests important factors for the development of the field of Japanese studies as an outstanding area to develop and experience „intercultural compe- tence,“ a subject that offers many interdisciplinary research possibilities. The con- clusion reveals the possibility of integrating more didactic elements into university education in order to gain capacities to transform misunderstandings through self- reflection into a field where students learn to identify different cultural perspec- tives. Students need to learn at a well-informed level, with a methodological intro- duction of theory, to reach a complex ability in (inter)cultural understanding.

In diesem Beitrag möchte ich Ergebnisse der ersten Phase eines international vergleichenden Forschungsprojektes vorstellen. Dabei stehen inklusive Ansätze pädagogischer Organisation im Vordergrund. Welche Unterstützung in Form von Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Professionsgruppen können Schulen ihren Lehrkräften anbieten, wenn sie Schüler mit Lernschwierigkeiten oder Verhaltensauffälligkeiten unterrichten? Charakteristika der Organisation im schwedischen, japanischen und deutschen Schulsystem werden mit Hinblick auf Teilnahme, Voraussetzungen und Beitrag verschiedener Berufsgruppen im Kontext multiprofessioneller Zusammenarbeit in der Schule beschrieben. Die Diskussion soll Möglichkeiten und Grenzen dieser Form der Unterstützung für Lehrer aufgreifen.

Der Themenkomplex Integration und Inklusion bewegt die wissenschaftliche Heil- und Sonderpädagogik seit vielen Jahren, mit der Umsetzung inklusiver Ideen und Praktiken verbinden sich gleichwohl noch immer erhebliche Herausforderungen für die sonderpädagogische Disziplin und Profession. In der Folge der UN-Charta über die Rechte von Menschen mit Behinderungen hat die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Inklusionsanspruch eine neue Aktualität im Fachdiskurs gewonnen, die sich in den Beiträgen dieses Tagungsbandes widerspiegelt. Die Texte bieten einen Einblick in aktuelle Theoriediskurse und Forschungsergebnisse zur Inklusion in Bildungsinstitutionen. Eine theoretische und philosophische Auseinandersetzung mit dem Inklusionsbegriff und seinen Implikationen wird unter anderem aus gerechtigkeitstheoretischer und systemtheoretischer Perspektive geführt. Das Professionsverständnis von Heil- und SonderpädagogInnen im Kontext von Inklusion wird im Zusammenhang mit Fragen der Lehreraus- und -weiterbildung sowie mit der Schul- und Unterrichtsentwicklung erörtert. Aktuelle empirische Studien aus den Feldern der frühkindlichen Bildung und Schule sowie des Übergangs in die berufliche Bildung werden präsentiert.

”Genusfrågan ska komma in som en självklar del av verksamhets- och kursplanering” (Dnr LiU-2008-04713) och genuslektorns uppdrag är att verka för detta inom Linköping universitet (LiU). En intervjustudie kring universitetslärarnas perspektiv på genusintegrering i lärarprogrammets inriktningar visar att lärarnas medvetenhet om betydelsen av och möjligheterna kring att integrera genus som innehåll och form i undervisning är stor. LiU ska vara en plats där studenterna kan hämta ett genusmedvetet förhållningssätt i undervisningspraktiken, detta beskriver universitetslärare som ett viktigt mål att uppnå för lärarprogrammet och utbildningen av framtidens lärare. Samtidigt finns en stor spridning i hur lärarna beskriver sin undervisningspraktik, där någon jobbar konsekvent med genus-, mångfalds- eller maktperspektiv medan andra visar upp mer genusblinda förhållningssätt. Undersökningen visar också att lärarna är mycket upptagna med att balansera en ojämn könsfördelning inom lärarprogrammet som helhet och sina olika inriktningar i synnerlighet. Resultat från intervjusamtal visar på fortsatt diskussionsbehov eftersom ”två dikotoma könskategorier alltid redan förutsätts och att risken därför är överhängande att uppdelningen återskapar de problem som jämställdhetsarbete syftar till att lösa” (Bondestam, 2010). Undersökningen ska bidra som underlag för att utveckla genuslektorns arbete mot inriktningarna inom utbildningsvetenskap.

Background

Gender and education is a global topic and questions about equality in school are vital in school systems all over the world. The study on gender and especially gender sensitive education in other countries can contribute to an informed understanding about specifics, similarities and common claims. Expectedly different cultural contexts can contribute an excellent research ground for the study of patterns, mechanism and norms according to gender in education.

Aim of the study and research questions

The aim of this presentation is to discuss how international studies on gender in education can contribute to Nordic discourses on gender and education and the development of studies on equality in education. For this I shall introduce a study on school projects in Japan and the Philippines and discuss the following questions.

- How do gender studies in different Asian nations introduce possibilities and hindrances of gender sensitive education at school?

- How do teachers address gender matters at school according to these sources?

- In which way are schools being described as gendered institutions?

Theoretical perspective and conceptual framework

The study on Gender in the two Asia countries was rooted within social science Japanese studies, the area in which I did my research for about a decade. The theoretical background were studies on gender within Japanese sociology of education. By including findings on the Philippines I aimed at opening the perspective on Japan by contributing information on another Asian reality.

Method

The study builds on a secondary analysis of field and evaluation studies on gender sensitive school projects. Interest in other parts of the world does not necessarily mean that we have to conduct own field studies in foreign countries. Much information is available if we have access to local studies.

Findings

The results show that gender is a relevant issue of study in Japanese and Philippinian primary education. The projects are concerned about gender consciousness of teachers and students. Gender stereotypes for example in study materials are analysed. Possibilities of crossing gender roles are to some extent encouraged. Teachers discuss even their responsibility in relation to the students’ family context. In Japan standardisation of gender roles is one of the problems being tackled. The results from the Philippines show that more attention must be paid to the intersection of gender and class.

Relevance for Nordic Educational research

The discussion I want to initiate is if and in which way international studies on gender and education can stimulate discussions on a gender perspective and equality in education in Nordic countries.

The aim of the study is to compare working conditions of teachers in Sweden, Japan and Germany. The research is divided into two phases. In the first phase information and data on organisation, resources and practices of pupils’ welfare in municipal compulsory schools in Sweden, Japan and Germany will be collected. Special focus is placed on interprofessional cooperation as regards pupils’ welfare at school. Collaboration between teachers, schoolnurses, social workers, psychologists and others has become a selfevident condition of school welfare in Sweden and many studies have been conducted to investigate the work of pupil welfare teams. However, a teacher’s perspective is often neglected. What kind of support do schools offer to teachers who have pupils with special needs? If necessary, the review of literature and statistics will be combined with additional data from telephone interviews or quesionnaires involving a certain number of prinipals or other persons responsible for school organisation. The knowledge about structures and processes of school welfare forms the ground for the second phase aiming at an analysis of interprofessional cooperation within school. If there is special-needs resource personnel, what kind of support do teachers get from these persons? This question will be elaborated on the basis of focus group interviews in the second phase of the study.

The study is designed as an international comparison. In phase 1 general national characteristics will be described, even if a certain diversity of practices can be expected for each of the three countries. Phase 2 has a more analytical comparative focus, where effects of interprofessional cooperation will be scrutinized from a teacher’s perspective.

As I am in the beginning of this research I want to discuss the research design and possibilities of applying a comparative perspective in this study on school welfare and interprofessional cooperation. For the meeting in Copenhagen I will describe the reality in Swedish schools and their so-called ”elevvård”. This can be a starting point for the discussion of the two-phased research design.

Suicide among Japanese adolescents is a popular topic in the media. However, a comparison of data and research from both countries, tracking the changes from the 1950s to the 1990s, shows that Japan's present per capita rate of juvenile suicide is lower than that of Germany. Therefore, it seems that cultural interpretations of suicide are responsible for the impression of high suicide rates among Japanese adolescents. This article reviews several recurring arguments about the context of juvenile suicide; for example, suicide as a reaction to a rigid social system or to pressure in the schools. The recently discussed connection between suicide and bullying (ijime) will be given special attention. Different types of media, such as newspapers, popular publications, and scientific reports, address suicide in specific ways. There is a conformity among the international perspectives which is clarified by a review of the research papers. Such a review also elucidates the irrelevance of national stereotypes.

This paper contributes to our knowledge of teacher educators’ strategies for, anddilemmas with, working with gender inclusion in teachers’ education. It illustrateshow gender is constructed and reconstructed in teachers’ education. The studyrevealed that teachers’ education is not only – as earlier described – a highlyfeminised field, it is also a discipline that is permeated by horizontal and verticalsegregation typical of higher education. The study analyses how university teachereducators experience and handle consequences of this horizontal segregation,building on interviews with subject representatives at a Swedish university. Theresults exemplify how university teachers reflect on gender policies and their ownroles when working with teacher students. Heteronormative patterns also becomevisible in strategies meant to facilitate gender equality and desegregation. Theauthor argues for the need to include university teachers’ perspectives in futurestrategies for developing gender inclusion in university education.

This article provides an analysis of phenomena of youth in Japan by means of a literature review. A rich literature on Japanese youth has been published during the last decade, which provides us with information on a variety of topics. By focussing on sources published in Western languages a selection is drawn to research presented as relevant to Western readers. Japan is known as a highly dynamic society. How do children and youth adjust to the ever-changing social and cultural environment? And how can we identify and analyse the most relevant sociocultural and environmental factors and their relationships to each other, which obviously have a strong influence on the adolescents' life and development? These questions can guide us when structuring the available information according to Bronfenbrenner's ecological perspective of human development. I will illustrate findings from recent journal articles on central topics like the school to work transition, recent educational reforms and youth culture and discuss these on the background of context knowledge on Japanese youth from former theoretical and empirical studies. © Springer-Verlag 2007.

This volume applies a gender-sensitive perspective on Japan, discussing issues such as national identity, the changing appeal of role models, legacies of a misogynous past, gendered education policies, female imaging in the media, or working women’s networks. The transnational dimension of this perspective is highlighted by comparisons drawn between Japan and other countries of the region such as Philippines and South Korea. Authors attend to concepts of gender and gendered identities as well as to actors within gendered spaces of society.

Countries all over the world have signed the Salamanca declaration (Unesco 1994) and inclusion has become a key phrase in relation to schooling. However, the organisation of school-based health care and multi professional cooperation varies widely according to structures of the national and regional school systems. It is expected that the overall welfare regimes (Esping-Andersen, 1990) influence the organisation of multi professional cooperation at school.

In this paper we will present some results from our international comparative study on multi professional cooperation in a teachers’ perspective. We have gathered materials and carried out focus interviews in Sweden, Germany and Japan. On the basis of these data we will discuss strategies and obstacles for inclusion. The analysis combines knowledge about structures and processes of multi professional cooperation. It builds on reviews of literature and statistics, which is guided by expert talks with researchers, principals and other persons responsible for school organisation. Teachers’ voices from the respective countries highlight what kind of support they receive if they have students with special needs.

By introducing observations from non-Nordic countries we hope to contribute some original topics to the discussion on inclusion, its obstacles and hopefully also some inspiring strategies. Although organisations differ substantially teachers seem to have also some common claims and see similar problems in the process of working with other professional groups in school.

Ofta hörs påståenden som ”vi behandlar alla lika” eller ”jag vill bara ta hänsyn till individens behov”. Samtidigt visar ett stort antal studier att pojkar och flickor trots sådana ambitioner behandlas olika. De beter sig också olika och i skolan presterar de olika. Spridningen pojkar respektive flickor sinsemellan är samtidigt mycket stor och en förenklande kategorisering gör mera skada än nytta, när det gäller att skapa jämställda förutsättningar i utbildningen. Även rekryteringen till olika delar av utbildningsväsendet är ojämn mellan kvinnor och män och i den internationella forskningen talas ofta om en feminisering av förskollärar- och läraryrket (Murray och Maguire 2007). Artikeln handlar om hur vi gemensamt kan möta de utmaningar som vi ställs inför, i arbetet med att skapa skolor och lärarutbildningar där alla elever, studerande och lärare får jämlika förutsättningar för sin utveckling.

Traditionally the nation of individualization is being used to signify a pedagogical method, where teachers differentiate tasks and work load among students, based on their interests and abilities. Such conceptions, turning individualization into a matter of instruction adapted to individual students, however, provide a very narrow and restricting perspective. In this thesis I therefore approach the issue of individualization from quite a different angle. In my view, arriving at a more basic conception of individualization implies that you have to pose the general questions of what is an individual and what kind of change processes increased individualization would refer to. At the background of this ambition, the thesis contains two sections taking on the charader of conceptual investigation, and one section where the results of the theoretical work is confronted with empirical material based on classroom observations.

In the first section I take a point of departure in the works of Norbert Elias and Lorentz Lyttkens, providing an extensive historical account of how people, from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Society, have become increasingly individualized in various respects. I conclude my analysis in this section by proposing a definition of what is an individualized person, pointing at the capacity of individuals to conceive of themselves as autonomous subjects with the ability to consciously reflect on their interaction with their environment. Individualization in such a context refers to people transcending their immediate circumstances, extending their horizon of understanding and action repertoire, etc. In a sense they thus both step out of and remain in their community. In the second section I return to the school context by connecting the above conclusions to the itleas of John Dewey and Lev Vygotskij. As a result a model recognising differendeacher-student relations that might contribute to individualization, is suggested. Finally this model is applied to four case studies of classroom practices. As it appears, the conceptual framework developed is helpful in identifying different kinds of structures and processes that further the students experiences of themselves as individualized persons.

Kapitlet handlar det om kommunikation och interaktion mellan lärare och elever.Löfgren m.fl. prövar ett analysverktyg för att studera dialog- eller interaktionstyperi klassrummet. Har samtalet om ämnet någon betydelse ochvilka olika typer av elev- lärar-interaktion kan finnas? Samtalet är enligtförfattarna kontextbundet till respektive ämnes diskurs. Inom naturvetenskaputgörs diskursen främst av beskrivningar, generaliseringar och förklaringar,med andra ord hur läraren får eleverna att tillägna sig och användanaturvetenskapliga begrepp. De visar på mönster i interaktionenmellan lärare och elev och genom framför allt sociokulturella teorier omlärande analyserar de vilken typ av interaktion som bäst främjar begreppsutveckling.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur elever berättar om läsning och   läsundervisning samt hur de berättar om sin delaktighet i arbetet med sin   läsning. Studien utgår från elevens perspektiv och från ett   specialpedagogiskt perspektiv.

Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och utgår från den sociokulturella   synen på kunskap, att vi lär i gemensamma verksamheter genom att kommunicera   med andra. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Sammanlagt   åtta elever i år 2 till och med år 5 intervjuades.

Resultaten visar på ansvarsfulla elever som berättar om nödvändigheten   i att kunna läsa och insikt om att läsförmåga och att leva i vårt samhälle   har ett samband. De är i det stora hela positiva till läsning och berättar om   flera positiva upplevelser som de får genom sin läsning men läsvanor och   elevernas erfarenhet av undervisning skiljer sig åt. Deras berättelser tyder   på att de inte har vana att öva delaktighet och efterfrågar den då heller   inte. De har tankar om läsning och läsundervisning men delger dem oftast   inte. Om elever får vana att vara mer delaktiga i arbetet kan deras tankar och   upplevelser som de berättar om utifrån sitt perspektiv användas för att   bemöta variationen bland eleverna. Deras uppfattningar kan vara en del av   utgångspunkten för ett mer vidgat specialpedagogiskt perspektiv och bidra   till större flexibilitet vad det gäller de pedagogiska arbetsformerna inom   klassrummets ram.