| 1. |
- Johansson, Barbro, 1957-
(författare)
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Tonårsflickor berättar om att vara eller inte vara i behov av särskilt stöd : En longitudinell fallstudie
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis was to describe teenage girls’ experiences and perceptions of participation and influence during learning processes. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the view that children are social actors with their own agency were central to the study. The girls, who were 13 years old when the study began, and 16 when it ended, were interviewed once per semester for three years. Classroom observations formed the basis of the interviews, which provided insight into the learning environment and its working methods. These, in turn, were discussed during the interviews. Nine girls were selected through the IEPs that the school had established for them. They attended regular classes for most of the school day, but received at least one session of special education in smaller groups each week. Their special needs were due to reading and writing difficulties. All of them received special support in English, while seven of the girls also received special support in mathematics. The girls described current events in their life, regarding both school and their spare time, as well as their thoughts about the future, and how efforts to accommodate their special educational needs have affected their schooling. In addition to the girls’ narratives, the IEPs and grades provided the school’s narrative about the girls. The theoretical basis of the thesis comprises cultural-historical ideas of teaching and learning, and the importance of relationships to group-based learning. Descriptive qualitative analyses were based on the teenage girls’ narratives and resulted in five themes; a sixth theme discussed the school’s assessment of the girls through the IEPs and their grades from lower secondary school. Feeling included or not in the group was the overarching theme of all the stories, which involved the girls’ perceptions of how they were treated by the people around them. The results indicate that the girls needed to have instructions repeated to them. There was also a need for continuous encouragement and affirmation in order for them to dare to take on assignments. When it came to collaborative learning together with classmates, the girls preferred to hide their perceived weaknesses, which only made them more dependent on the teacher’s aid. In addition, the girls felt that the teachers were unhappy with the way they handled their school work, and felt overlooked rather than “seen”. In both the stories and the IEPs, concentration difficulties were highlighted as a consistent problem. The analyses show that it is not possible to speak of concentration difficulties without further specification. Since the girls also explained that they were able to maintain concentration, it is necessary to identify which conditions allow pupils to maintain their skills, and when these skills are lost. One finding was that experiences of playing sports created unexpected development opportunities for performing under pressure, even in test situations. According to the girls, visual strengths could compensate for difficulties remembering comprehensive information. The teaching provided opportunities to demonstrate an understanding of facts through visual expression, but creative elements were not included in graded assessments. The study shows that the girls’ leisure-time experiences created opportunities for generalisation regarding learning strategies in school situations.
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| 2. |
- Lundqvist, Johanna, 1975-
(författare)
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Educational pathways and transitions in the early school years : Special educational needs, support provisions and inclusive education
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this research is to describe and analyse the educational pathways from preschool to school of a group of children with and without special educational needs. The aim is also to describe and analyse children’s views and experiences of early years education, and how these can be obtained.The research comprises six studies that are presented in four articles and two conference papers. Longitudinal and multiple-case study designs, and mixed method approaches are adopted in the empirical studies, and the data is collected via observations, a questionnaire, documents, conversations and interviews with staff, children’s drawings and interviews with children.The results from the empirical studies show a variation of pathways to compulsory education; changes in activities and relationships in the transitions; a variation in preschool quality; a broad conceptualising of special educational needs; an application of comprehensive or specialised typologies in the educational settings; an undecided and cautious attitude toward inclusive education; an allocation of generous resources to specialised and segregated programmes; and a diversity of support provisions. The children report more positive than negative experiences of their early school years and pinpoint the importance of having a sense of belonging among peers; opportunities for creative play and thinking; experiences of speed, excitement and physical challenges; elements of cosiness, withdrawals and comfort for recreation; experiences of growth in knowledge and understanding of the world; feeling safe; feeling free and autonomous; and preventing homesickness in order to thrive.The results of the literature review are that the researchers may obtain data from children with and without special educational needs by means of traditional and innovative data collection methods. For broadening participation and sharing of views, the researchers may offer relational and material support.The thesis has relevance for researchers in the field of special education, inclusive education and early childhood education and care. It has also relevance for teacher training, policy makers and stakeholders, school heads, teachers and families.
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| 3. |
- Matson, Inga-Lill, 1951-
(författare)
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Grus i maskineriet? : Några kommunala tjänstemäns, politikers, föräldrars och lärares syn på en skola för alla
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate experiences, perceptions and experiences of "a school for all" in one municipality by means of a case study. The municipality is medium-sized and, for many years, has had a clearly expressed intention of providing "a school for all". This means that all pupils are included in regular comprehensive school classes, where no separate schools or groups are available for pupils with intellectual disabilities.The empirical material consists of three studies. The pilot study is a licentiate thesis published in 2007, with a societal bias and is based on web-based documentation and interviews with politicians and civil servants (n=5). This study describes regional administrators’ initiatives to promote the implementation of ”a school for all” within the entire municipality. A major finding was the importance of committed and engaged leadership. Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) model for ecological systems constitutes the theoretical starting point. The respondents in sub-studies I and II, which are the focus in this section of the thesis, are parents (n=14) and teachers (n=8). The common denominator is children/pupils who have an intellectual disability, and study according to the curriculum for special schooling but are taught in regular comprehensive school classes. Previous research into inclusion and national policy documents are of central concern to this thesis. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis is employed as an interpretative tool for the interviews.Parents discuss the benefits of "a school for all"; good role models, social relationships and opportunities for the child to develop both socially and intellectually. They also describe how they must always be prepared to fight for their child, "keeping a watchful eye" on the school, and they imply that it is never possible to "become complacent". Teachers' attitudes and knowledge are described as crucial. A few parents wanted to have the opportunity to choose a special school for children with intellectual disabilities (ID). Their arguments are presented. In the teacher interviews, a conviction emerges about the importance of "a school for all" for the pupils' self-image, social and academic development. Organizational support, in-service training and skills’ development are seen as the prerequisites for successful inclusion, as well as educational strategies such as family groups and model learning. Respondents indicate that inclusion works most satisfactorily between years 1 and 6 in the comprehensive school and is viewed more detrimentally between years 7 and 9, in order to be better viewed again in the upper secondary school (senior high school) and the reasons for this are discussed. The case study contributes to a broader understanding of the processes of implementation and change regarding inclusion of pupils with special school status and the importance of understanding the connections and relationships between the levels within Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory which directly or indirectly affect the child’s/pupil’s development and well-being.
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| 4. |
- Olsson, Maria, 1961-
(författare)
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Lärares ledarskap som möjliggörande och begränsande i mötet med ’alla’ barn : En deltagarorienterad studie
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to, based on teachers’ experiences, describe and analyse meanings of teachers’ leadership in general, and in relation to children in need of special support in particular. The study was carried out within the tradition of participatory-oriented research, a research circle. The dialogues in the circle were based on the participants’ questions, experiences, interests, and knowledge. The circle included a researcher and nine teachers from the following types of schools: preschool, preschool class, compulsory school, and compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities.The study is based on an understanding of leadership as a relational practice. Leadership is practised in the interaction between teacher and child. Both parties exert influence over the practice of leadership. A central assumption in the study is that knowledge can develop through and in interactions between people, that knowledge and power are connected, and that knowledge and actions are intertwined. Another central assumption is that learning is a complex phenomenon.In the analysis of the research circle’s dialogues, the following meanings of teachers’ leadership emerge: to facilitate learning and discipline, and to promote different interests. The practice of leadership involves teachers handling complex situations in their interactions with ‘all’ children, i.e. children in need of special support and children without such needs. Leadership is practised between teachers and children, and the teachers have to consider the group of children as a collective in relation to the individual children. At the same time, the teachers have to consider their intentions versus what happens during the interactions. In addition, the teachers have to pay heed to the fact that their own actions and the children’s actions influence one another. Finally, the teachers have to consider the individual child’s ‘best interest’ in relation to the requirements of the policy documents. Furthermore, the results indicate that the practice of leadership is perceived as both unpredictable and, to some extent, predictable at the same time, which adds to the complexity of leadership. The teachers cannot know for sure what the children understand or if the children’s actions facilitate learning. However, the teachers can make certain assumptions about how to practice leadership in order to facilitate learning and discipline in children with different needs. The meanings of leadership were expressed in different ways in the circle’s dialogues; both as enabling and limiting in interactions with children in need of special support. One of the study’s conclusions is that leadership seems to be particularly complex in interactions with children in need of special support.The research circle’s dialogues served to promote a democratic knowledge process. The dialogues were characterised by respect for the participants’ different opinions; however, this does not mean that they were free from power structures.
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| 5. |
- Ramberg, Joacim, 1977-
(författare)
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Special Education in Swedish Upper Secondary Schools : Resources, Ability Grouping and Organisation
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation aims to examine some aspects of special education in Swedish upper secondary schools. The availability of special education resources, the occurrence of ability grouping and the organisational modalities of special education support are investigated. The further aim of the thesis is to discuss how these phenomena can be understood on the basis of democratic educational theories and theories of social educational justice.The study describes how special education support was organised in 764 upper secondary schools in Sweden in the academic school year 2010/2011, with a response rate of 80.4% (n=764). The design of the study is a cross-sectional total population survey, where data have been collected by way of questionnaires and supplemented with public statistics.The results of the study show that about 37.5% of upper secondary schools lack special education resources in terms of special educators or special education teachers. Special education support is not provided in 68% of the independent schools compared with 10% of the public schools. This uneven balance between public and independent schools can be interpreted to be a threat to an equivalent and democratic school, since students in need of special support do not have the same opportunities to receive such support in all schools. Furthermore, schools with a higher average parental educational background have shown higher availability of special education resources. It seems that students with parents who have higher educational backgrounds have to a greater extent access to special education resources.Ability grouping is used in about 43% of the schools. It is most commonly used within foundation subjects, particularly in Mathematics. The schools that use ability grouping to a very large extent have lower and more varied merit rating values and greater availability of special education resources.Special education support is primarily provided outside the students’ regular teaching groups. This is also the case with support provided by other school staff: indeed, 87% of the schools report that the majority of special education support is provided outside the students’ regular teaching groups. This can be understood as a way to organise special support in which heterogeneity and pluralism are not considered important. Based on democratic theories, the support provided outside the regular teaching group might be a risk to the creation of a democratic school where all students are given opportunities to meet and interact. Overall, the results from this thesis show that special education resources are unevenly distributed among independent and public schools; that 43% of the schools use ability grouping; and that special support is primarily provided outside the students’ regular teaching groups.
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| 6. |
- Stenlund, Karin, 1950-
(författare)
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Läsutveckling under mellan- och högstadiet : En longitudinell studie av läsfärdigheter hos elever med och utan lässvårigheter
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation consists of two studies, a middle school study and a follow-up study. In the middle school study, the reading ability of a group of middle school students, of which some have reading difficulties, is described and analyzed along with the classroom conditions the students are given for the development of their reading abilities. The overall aim of the follow-up study is to describe and analyze the reading ability development in the same group of students from the beginning of middle school to the end of lower secondary school, as well as examine the students’ use of strategies in grade 9.In lower secondary school decoding, vocabulary and reading comprehension were tested like in middle school. Students’ reading comprehension was tested on both stages based on a reading comprehension test and a national test. Since the use of strategies seems to be important for students’ reading comprehension, even the use of learning strategies were examined by including a question from the PISA (2009) student questionnaire. Furthermore, six students who in the beginning of middle school had shown poor results in one or more of the reading aspects were, referred to as the small sample group and, were interviewed in grade 9 regarding their use of comprehension strategies when reading an age-appropriate historical factual text in a textbook.Analyses show that there is a small development in reading comprehension from the beginning of middle school to the end of lower secondary school. Even the development of correct reading and vocabulary is relatively small. The largest development is shown for the reading rate, but analyses show that the reason for that is not merely a more automated process of decoding. A comparison between the results in the reading comprehension tests and the national tests at both stages show higher results for the national tests, which can depend on the different aims of the two tests. Regarding learning strategies, the entire study group stated in the questionnaire that they mostly use the deeper monitoring strategies, while the students in the small sample group reported that they tended to use the more superficial memory strategies. The results of the interviews show that the small sample group as a group found it more convenient to use comprehension strategies for superficial rather than for deeper comprehension.
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