| 1. |
- Lindström-Sandahl, Hanna, 1979-
(författare)
-
Early Elementary School Interventions in Reading and Mathematics
- 2024
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Supplemental special education support in reading and mathematics is essential for some children who struggle to learn basic reading or mathematics skills in their first years of schooling. Previous research shows that supplemental phonics and early numeracy and arithmetic instruction help students at risk for reading or mathematics difficulties. Few intervention studies have been conducted in the Swedish elementary school context evaluating the effectiveness of early reading and mathematics instruction, limiting evidence-based practices guiding special education in Sweden. This thesis aimed to develop and test the impact of two intensive instructional programs on word reading and reading comprehension skills and number knowledge, arithmetic and problem solving. Transfer-effects of training across the reading and mathematics domains and the long-term impact of the programs were also investigated. The study enrolled 753 first grade students who were screened for low performance (≤25th percentile) in decoding, spelling, number knowledge and arithmetic. To evaluate how the impact of the interventions differ from regular school instruction, students were randomized to intervention and control groups and pre-tested with extended assessment of reading and mathematics skills (n=32 vs. 30 in mathematics, n=34 vs. 34 in reading). Both interventions were implemented at the start of second grade. The intervention programs spanned 36 lessons of supplemental explicit, one-to-one instruction with a special education teacher. Control group students received support planned by their schools. The results were evaluated at post-test and followed-up after 1 year. Both programs indicated significant intervention effects at post-test compared with controls with the reading intervention showing medium impact on decoding and reading comprehension and a strong effect on word recognition. The mathematics intervention program displayed significant moderate impact on number knowledge, arithmetic and basic problem solving. For both interventions, these effects declined at follow-up one year later. In addition, no transfer across reading and mathematics interventions were found. A main conclusion drawn from these randomized controlled studies is that students’ performance in basic reading and mathematics can be substantially accelerated by a time-limited and intense effort, adding to the evidence-base of explicit phonics and early numeracy and arithmetic intervention as recommended practices also in a Swedish school context. As many previous studies have shown, intervention gains tend to fade over time. The longevity of intensive intervention impacts should be considered in post-intervention efforts to support learning. Alignment between supplemental programs and general classroom instruction is suggested.
|
|
| 2. |
- Danielsson, Henrik, Professor, 1974-
(författare)
-
Randomiserade kontrollerade studier av interventionsprogram för elever med tidiga läs- och matematiksvårigheter
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Resultatdialog 2023. - : Vetenskapsrådet. - 9789189845107 ; , s. 15-18
-
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Forskningens syfte var att utveckla och utvärdera två interventioner för elever med tidiga lässvårigheter eller tidiga mattesvårigheter. Resultaten visade att bägge interventionerna hade en medelstor till stor effekt på förbättring för interventionsgrupperna direkt efter interventionerna. Ett år efter interventionerna hade de flesta av de positiva effekterna minskat till ungefär hälften.
|
|
| 3. |
- Lindström-Sandahl, Hanna, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
-
A randomized controlled study of a second grade numeracy intervention with Swedish students at‐risk of mathematics difficulties
- 2024
-
Ingår i: British Journal of Educational Psychology. - : Wiley. - 0007-0998 .- 2044-8279.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Early numeracy interventions including basicarithmetic are crucial for young students at risk for earlymathematics difficulties (MDs), yet few studies have evalu-ated numeracy interventions in second grade with a rand-omized controlled design.Aim: This pre- and post-test randomized controlled studyevaluated the effects of an intensive 9-week numeracy andarithmetic programme for second-grade students at risk forearly MDs. The focus of the programme was students’ foun-dational understanding of numbers and mathematical con-cepts and procedural fluency with arithmetic tasks.Sample: A total of 753 first-grade students from 21 schoolsin Sweden were screened for low achievement in numberknowledge and arithmetic.Methods: Students considered at risk for MDs (≤25 per-centile on two consecutive first-grade mathematics screen-ings) were individually randomized to an intervention group(n = 32) or control group (n = 30) at the beginning of secondgrade (7–8 years old). Trained teachers administered theone-to-one, explicit programme to intervention group stu-dents in elementary school settings. The intervention groupreceived numeracy instruction emphasizing foundationalmathematics concepts and procedures. Controls receivedteaching as usual with potential special education supportprovided by their schools.Results: The intervention group demonstrated significantlygreater improvements in conceptual knowledge, arithmeticcalculations and problem-solving compared to the controlgroup, with medium size effects observed.
|
|
| 4. |
- Elofsson, Jessica
(författare)
-
Children’s early mathematics learning and development : Number game interventions and number line estimations
- 2017
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Children’s early mathematics learning and development have become a topic of increasing interest over the past decade since early mathematical knowledge and skills have been shown to be a strong predictor of later mathematics performance. Understanding how children develop mathematical knowledge and skills and how they can be supported in their early learning could thus prove to be a vital component in promoting learning of more formal mathematics.In light of the above, with this thesis I sought to contribute to an increased understanding of children’s early mathematics learning and development by examining effects of playing different number games on children’s number knowledge and skills, and by investigating children’s representations of numbers on number line tasks.Two number game intervention studies were performed, and effects of three different number game conditions (linear number, circular number and nonlinear number) were investigated by examining 5- and 6-year-old children’s pre- and posttest performance on different numerical tasks. The findings indicate that playing number games in general support children’s development of number knowledge and skills, where the specific learning outcomes are affected differently depending on the type of number game utilized.To elucidate children’s representations of numbers, their performance on two different umber line tasks have been analyzed using a latent class modeling approach. The results reveal that there is a heterogeneity in 5- and 6-year-old children’s number line estimations and subgroups of children showing different estimation patterns were distinguished. In addition, it is shown that children’s number line estimations can be associated to their number knowledge as well as to task specific aspects.The findings presented in this thesis contribute to the discussion of the value of selecting game activities in a conscious way to support children’s early mathematics learning and development. They also add to the discussion regarding the number line task and how children’s number line estimations can be analyzed and interpreted.
|
|
| 5. |
- Elwér, Åsa
(författare)
-
Early Predictors of Reading Comprehension Difficulties
- 2014
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of the present thesis was to examine the cognitive and language profile in children with poor reading comprehension using a longitudinal perspective. Even though comprehension skills are closely connected to educational success, comprehension deficits in children have been neglected in reading research. Understanding factors underlying reading is important as it improves possibilities of early identification of children at risk of developing reading problems. In addition, targeted interventions may prevent or reduce future problems. Descriptions of the cognitive and language profile in children with different types of reading problems from an early age and over time is an important first step.The three studies included in this thesis have been conducted using data from the International Longitudinal Twin Study (ILTS). In the ILTS, parallel data have been collected in the US, Australia, Sweden and Norway. Altogether, more than 1000 twin pairs have been examined between the ages 5 and 15 years using well known predictors of reading, along with decoding, spelling, reading comprehension and oral language measures.In the three studies, the Simple View of Reading has been used as a theoretical framework and children who exhibited different kinds of comprehension related difficulties have been identified at different ages. The studies include both retrospective and prospective analyses. The results across studies indicated a robust oral language deficit in all subtypes displaying comprehension problems. The oral language deficit was widespread and included vocabulary, grammar and verbal memory. In addition, the oral language deficit was manifested as compromised phonological awareness and print knowledge prior to reading instruction. Reading comprehension deficits were late emerging across studies in children with comprehension difficulties.
|
|
| 6. |
- Nilsson, Karin, 1987-
(författare)
-
Words Don’t Come Easy : Decoding and Reading Comprehension Difficulties in Adolescents with Intellectual Disability
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have difficulties with decoding and reading comprehension. However, studies focussing on why these difficulties occur are very sparse, and the existing literature has found conflicting results. This thesis investigated the development of reading abilities and the concurrent cognitive, linguistic, and environmental predictors of decoding and reading comprehension in Swedish adolescents with ID of unknown aetiology. In addition, this thesis evaluated the applicability of one of the most commonly used theoretical frameworks of reading comprehension: the Simple View of Reading (SVR). The results showed that the development of reading abilities in adolescents with ID is in line with the model of developmental delay. This means that the development of reading abilities is not qualitatively different from typical reading development, but the rate is slower. Further, it means that the pattern of concurrent predictors is similar to the pattern found in a younger typically developing population. In Swedish adolescents with ID decoding is predicted by phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming (RAN), and reading comprehension is predicted by decoding, vocabulary, and phonological executive-loaded working memory (ELWM). This thesis also found that the developmental trajectory of decoding plateaus at a mental age of 8:9 years, while it is expected in typically developing children that decoding ability continues to increase until early adolescence. The explanation for this early plateau could be either cognitive or educational, but most likely a combination of both. Lastly, the results from this thesis also suggest that the SVR is not sufficient for explaining reading comprehension in adolescents with ID. Instead, a combination of the SVR and the Lexical Quality Hypothesis (LQH) is suggested as a successful way of explaining the variance in reading comprehension. Taken together, the results from this thesis implies that reading instruction and interventions originally developed for typically developing children is likely to be effective for individuals with ID.
|
|
| 7. |
- Damber, Ulla
(författare)
-
Reading for Life : Three Studies of Swedish Students’ Literacy Development
- 2010
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to explore school classes with a higher level of achievement in reading than could be expected, with regard to socio-economic background factors and language background. What do those classes practice? Which attitudes towards reading and schooling do those children and their teachers display? The teacher and the classroom environment are in particular focus. The thesis is based on three studies. Firstly, over-achieving and underachieving grade three-classes in reading are compared in a large-scale statistical study. Reading tests, student questionnaires and teacher questionnaires provided data. The results indicate that a positive classroom climate, frequent voluntary reading, the use of authentic literature and many years of teaching experience characterise the over-achieving classes. In a second study eight over-achieving classes, in the same data material were in focus. The schools were located in a low-income, low-education multicultural suburban area. In-depth interviews were performed with adults active in those classes at the time of the data collection. The joint analyses of quantitative and qualitative data indicate that teachers’ ways of relating to their students is important as the Deficit Discourse is replaced by future oriented pedagogy with features such as aesthetic activities, dynamic assessment, strong raming, abundant reading of fiction and a lot of writing. In a third smaller, qualitative study five young university students, former students in one of the targeted classes in the second study, were interviewed in-depth about their school experiences and their Future Time Perspective. The informants emphasize the importance of being acknowledged in school, reading competency and knowledge of oral and written Swedish as factors for success.
|
|
| 8. |
- Gustafson, Stefan, 1968-
(författare)
-
Varieties of reading disability : Phonological and orthographic word decoding deficits and implications for interventions
- 2000
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The general aim of this thesis was to examine variations in the word decoding skills of reading disabled children. These variations were related to possible cognitive, developmental, and environmental causes of reading disability. Possible implications for educational interventions were also analysed. The thesis critically examines the inclusion of the concept of intelligence in the definition of developmental dyslexia. It is suggested that variations in word decoding skills should offer a more solid basis for a study of varieties of reading disability. The empirical studies showed that a) in young children there was a shift from phonological to orthographic word decoding; b) phonological type children (weak in phonological decoding) were characterised by specific phonological deficits; c) surface type children (weak in orthographic decoding) showed more global cognitive deficits suggesting a general developmental delay; d) surface type children showed impaired visual implicit memory for words, which might be associated with limited print exposure; e) an improvement in phonological awareness only transferred to an improved text reading ability for some reading disabled children; f) children who did not benefit from a phonological intervention seemed to rely on orthographic word decoding in text reading. Thus, the thesis suggests that variations in phonological and orthographic word decoding skills offer a useful basis for the study of varieties of reading disability and that educational interventions should pay regard to what the child is already attempting to do when reading.
|
|
| 9. |
- Adestam, Johan, 1982-
(författare)
-
Den dokumentvillkorade garantin
- 2014
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Den dokumentvillkorade garantin, som i praktiken vanligen betecknas som självständig, känneteck-nas av att villkoren i utfästelsen väsentligen endast innefattar villkor som refererar till att vissa angivna dokument presenteras för garanten. Dokumentvillkorade garantier förekommer vanligtvis i avtalsstrukturer som involverar ett flertal olika avtal och parter. De typer av avtal som omfattas av sådana avtalsstrukturer ger upphov till speciella rättsliga frågor. Avhandlingen belyser ett antal sådana frågor ur ett svenskt perspektiv, genom att beskriva rättsnormers utformning och tillämpning på olika typer av fall. Särskild vikt läggs vid att upprätthålla ett språkbruk som möjliggör att detta sker på ett motsägelsefritt och rättvisande sätt.En fråga av grundläggande betydelse är hur garantier kan klassificeras på ett sätt som bidrar till att besvara nyss nämnda typ av frågor. En sådan klassifikation, baserad på garantiers innehåll, klargör vad som skiljer den dokumentvillkorade garantin från andra typer av garantier. När det gäller den rättsliga relationen mellan parterna till ett avtal i vilket det föreskrivs att den ena parten, gäldenären, ska låta ombesörja att det ställs ut en garanti till motparten, berörs i synnerhet frågan under vilka omständigheter motparten är fri att begära fullgörelse av garantin och frågan under vilka omständigheter det uppkommer en återkravsrätt för gäldenären gentemot motparten (beneficienten). I fråga om den rättsliga relationen mellan garanten och beneficienten behandlas särskilt frågorna hur man genom tolkning avgör om en garanti är dokumentvillkorad eller inte, hur dokumentvillkoren i en dokumentvillkorad garanti ska tolkas och i vilken mån det finns speciella rättsnormer tillämpliga på dokumentvillkorade garantier. Ytterligare en fråga rör tillämpningen av den tvingande regeln om rättsmissbruk, enligt vilken beneficienten saknar rätt till fullgörelse av garanten om det föreligger rättsmissbruk. Såvitt avser den rättsliga relationen mellan uppdragsgivare och uppdragstagare i uppdrag som relaterar till utfärdandet av en dokumentvillkorad garanti berörs i synnerhet frågan under vilka omständigheter en uppdragstagare har regressrätt gentemot sin uppdragsgivare. En fråga av allmän betydelse är vad som i olika avseenden krävs för att intresset av att uppdragstagare till sådana uppdrag inte ska ha incitament att undersöka svårbedömda omständigheter ska tillgodoses.
|
|
| 10. |
- Burén, Stefan, 1979-
(författare)
-
Targeting and function of CAH1 : Characterization of a novel protein pathway to the plant cell chloroplast
- 2010
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The chloroplast is the organelle within a plant cell where photosynthesis takes place. This organelle originates from a cyanobacterium that was engulfed by a eukaryotic cell. During the transition from endosymbiont to organelle most of the cyanobacterial genes were transferred to the nuclear genome of the host cell, resulting in a chloroplast with a much reduced genome that requires massive import of gene products (proteins) back to the organelle. The majority of these proteins are translated in the cytosol as pre-proteins containing targeting information that directs them to a translocon complex in the chloroplast envelope, the Toc-Tic system, through which these proteins are transported. We have identified a protein in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, CAH1, that is trafficked via the endomembrane system (ER/Golgi apparatus) to the chloroplast instead of using the Toc-Tic machinery. This transport is partly mediated by canonical vesicle trafficking elements involved in ER to Golgi transport, such as Sar1 and RabD GTPases. Analysis of point mutated variants of CAH1 showed that both N-linked glycans and an intra-molecular disulphide bridge are required for correct folding, trafficking and function of the protein. Since chloroplasts lack N-glycosylation machinery, we propose that a route for chloroplast proteins that require endomembrane-specific post-translational modifications for their functionality exists as a complement to the Toc-Tic system. We also show that mutant plants with disrupted CAH1 gene expression have reduced rates of CO2 uptake and accumulate lower amounts of starch compared to wild-type plants, indicating an important function of the CAH1 protein for the photosynthetic capacity of Arabidopsis. Further study of CAH1 will not only be important to reveal its role in photosynthesis, but characterization of this novel protein pathway to the chloroplast can also shed light on how the plant cell evolved and clarify the purpose of keeping several chloroplast import pathways working in parallel. In addition, knowledge about this pathway could increase the opportunities for using plants as bio-factories for production of recombinant glycoproteins, which make up the vast majority of the bio-pharmaceutical molecules.
|
|
