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- Tjernberg, Catharina, 1953-
(författare)
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Specialpedagogik i skolvardagen : En studie med fokus på framgångsfaktorer i läs- och skrivlärande
- 2011
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This is a praxis-oriented case study of written language activities in Forms 1–5 in the nine-year Swedish compulsory school. The emphasis is on pupils at risk of developing reading and writing disabilities. The aim of this study is to analyse the factors underlying successful reading and writing education and the pedagogical conditions promoting reflective didactic skills, focusing on the students’ development of reading and writing abilities. The praxis-oriented approach is expressed by means of working with classroom observations and reflective communication with the teachers. Four classes at the junior and intermediate levels of the nine-year compulsory Swedish school have been studied for two years. Both the schools and the teachers have been chosen strategically. Quantitative and qualitative data indicate that the selected schools have special qualifications. The teachers were chosen because they have proved particularly successful in developing reading and writing abilities of their pupils, including those with documented reading and writing disabilities. Reports from the National Swedish Agency for Education, as well as large international surveys, indicate that the consensus concerning reading and writing education achieved by science during the past decade has had very little impact on everyday classroom activities. One of the underlying questions is how research results are successfully implemented in everyday school work. The results show that the teachers use a wide variety of methods in response to the wide variety of students´ requirements. The lessons are characterized by intense activity on the part of both teacher and pupils, and of a high level of interactivity in communication, reading, writing and counting. A surprising pattern is that the teachers very consciously work with oral presentation in various topics and genres. This gives students with reading and writing difficulties an opportunity to succeed. The instruction is notable for being well-structured, with a balance between form and function, a high level of challenging tasks and visibilization of individual progress. The special needs education aspect of the instruction appears in the teachers’ abilities to arrange pedagogical situations in which a wide variety of abilities can be expressed and developed. The teachers show a positive belief in their students and strive to make them successful in a social context. This study indicates the importance of a solid theoretical background, enabling the teacher to identify the developmental stage the student is at and to adapt the instruction accordingly. Another important factor is the ability of the teacher to instantly see and grasp pedagogical opportunities and to interpret and utilize the diagnostic signals in the classroom. One important conclusion is that reading and writing education, in order to be successful, must be viewed in a context of language development as a whole, involving both its oral and its written aspects. This study also demonstrates that research results are perceived as more accessible and relevant by the teachers when the researchers’ focus is on applied pedagogics, allowing theory and practical applications to interact. This opens up the possibility of establishing and incorporating scientific theories on learning in everyday, practical school work.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Elisabeth C, 1951-
(författare)
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En utbildning i processledarskap avseende mångfald : utvärdering och aktionsforskning
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- With assistance from the European Social Fund, Mälardalen University started the JämBredd project to offer an education in equality and diversity issues. Part of this project has been education in Process Leadership. The aim was to design a skills enhancement Leadership course for creating processes of change in a multicultural working life. Schools, district courts, various municipal health care institutions, housing associations and universities have all requested knowledge about equality and diversity issues, in order to be able to create a better exchange of ideas both internally within organizations and externally in customer contacts. All participants have some form of leadership in their various activities. The professional roles of the 33 participants at the start of the education course were headmasters to preschool or school managers in various municipal administrations, personnel officers, gender instructors, lecturers, counselors, and administrators in various municipalities, counties and District Court. Process Leadership education was offered in nine so-called education modules over one year. The teaching methods varied with different approaches to in equality and diversity issues by researchers. Education modules were organized as full-day educational activities and located outside the university.The overall aim of the study is to identify learning and change processes related to equality and diversity issues among participants in the Process Leadership Education. Another aim is to develop an education model which can be used for skills enhancement in the areas of equality and diversity for different occupations? The questions are: How has participation in the education led to increased knowledge of equality and diversity issues? How has the education given participants increased knowledge that has contributed to a process of change regarding equality and diversity issues? What factors can be seen as important in the change process regarding equality and diversity issues? What conclusions can be drawn from the evaluation to contribute to the future development of process management training?The research strategy of this study has been Action research. The Action researcher has followed the learning process throughout a year and evaluated the program through observations, visual method, interviews and questionnaires. The results showed an understanding among the participants that they had attained increased knowledge about diversity that was mainly due to two factors: One reason was that the lecturers were knowledgeable researchers in various diversity issues and shared their own knowledge with the participants. The second reason was that there was plenty of time for reflection, reference reading and networking since the educational program spanned the entire year. The final result also indicated a training model that might be used to create a better understanding of diversity issues within various occupations. The result show consistent responses from the participants of the education, as described above, and can thus be said to be relevant to further education in equality and diversity issues. Through this education in process management, participants’ attained increased knowledge on the one hand and also on the other hand tools to drive processes that in turn can lead to employees with increasing knowledge about diversity issues.Keywords: process
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