| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Sundberg, Daniel, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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The Recontextualisation of Curriculum Reform : Local Curriculum Innovation Under the Accountability Regime of the New Swedish Curriculum, Lgr11
- 2013
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Ingår i: ECER 2013, Creativity and Innovation in Educational Research.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- During the last two decades, transnational organizations and agreements are increasingly important as actors, networks and shaping forces in curriculum-making, and this also applies to the formation of the Swedish curriculum. The international education policy movement towards standards-based curriculum has been characterized by top-down accountability and linear dissemination (Andersson-Levitt 2008, Sivesind & Karseth 2011). However, several research studies reveal how the translation to national cultural education traditions also implies tensions and contradictions. Differences between different levels of curriculum has been theorized in for example distinctions between intended, implemented and enacted curricula (Conelly 2008). A major issue facing externally mandated reform is the ‘implementation gap’. In this paper we will address factors in how curriculum is contextualised and reconceptualised (Bernstein 2000, Wahlström & Sundberg 2012) as it translated from transnational curriculum scripts to national and local school curriculum development and innovation. The paper draws on a “classical” theoretical framework of curriculum theory (i.e. the frame-factor theory), with its different levels of analysis – the societal/ideological level, the curriculum level; and the teaching and classroom level (cf. Lundgren 1989). With reference to Bernstein (2000), the three different discursive levels can be related to each other, by the concept of recontextualisation. The concept of recontextualisation – how meanings travel between contexts - addresses crucial assumptions of curriculum reform. First, it challenges an assumption of curriculum as a means for direct policy control and secondly, it challenges the assumption that larger global macro-social contexts have unmediated impact on the local context. From Michael Fullan’s seminal study on educational change follows that to implement educational changes, the educational process must be studied and analyzed in relation to both its external and its internal conditions (Fullan 2001). Recent debate in the field of curriculum studies suggests that centrally initiated curriculum change is unlikely to be successful unless it actively engages the practitioners who are the local change agents. In mediating curriculum reform, the intrinsic logic of the curriculum policy is significantly modified to match the institutional logics of the setting where it is enacted (Meyer 2006). This paper draws upon empirical data to explore school-based curriculum development in response to the new curriculum policy, Lgr 11, in Sweden (the National Agency for Education 2011, Government Bill 2007:28). The purpose is to explore how the curriculum reform, Lgr 11, is reconceptualised, understood and related to school development by the local authority, school management and teachers in some selected municipalities. By questionnaires and interviews with local curriculum actors, the contextual adaptations in order to manage and organise new curriculum policies are analysed. The following research questions are addressed in the paper: 1. What are stakeholders’ understandings of the room for manoeuvre in curriculum innovation in implementing the new curriculum policy, Lgr 11? 2. How, and with what arguments is the selection of content areas for curriculum development made in implementing the new curriculum Lgr 11? 3. What change and improvement strategies have been used to meet the demands of the new curriculum policy, Lgr 11? Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used In order to explore and analyse how the curriculum Lgr 11 specifications are translated by the local authorities/schools into a school curriculum, local documents analysis, surveys and interviews with curriculum developers, school leaders and teachers have been conducted. The mixed-method approach followed a three-step procedure. In the first step, nine local educational authorities were selected representing a broad variety of municipalities in terms of population sizes, socio-economic conditions and educational achievement levels. Empirical data were collected by in a semi-structured questionnaire to key curriculum actors. In this, qualitative and explorative survey, key issues in implementing and adapting to the curriculum policy was identified. Based on these answers four cases for further investigation were selected. In the second step, follow-up, in-depth interviews with four informants (local authority development officers) from different local education authorities were conducted. In the semi-structured interviews the strategies for curriculum innovation and change was further elaborated and conceptualised. In the third step a teacher survey was constructed and conducted in one of the selected municipalities (n= 277). In this online questionnaire teacher’s perception of the intended curriculum, the implementation process of the new curriculum and; the relation between curriculum implementation and local development work was investigated. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The results of the empirical analysis (question 1 and 2) will be presented in terms of patterns of arguments among key curriculum actors. The case studies show how different key players in local curriculum implementation raise arguments and prioritize areas for curriculum innovation variously due to local needs, national ambitions as well as international trends and future social and cultural scenarios. The results of the case studies also highlight central features of how central curriculum actors navigate in local change processes under the enactment of the curriculum Lg11 (question 2). The case studies indicate a wide variety of strategies used in trying to adapt and merge the local development work with external pressures on accountability. The results points to some central dilemmas in steering, organizing and drive local curriculum innovation. In addition, the investigation of curriculum recontextualisation also highlights mismatches between the intrinsic logics of the curriculum policy and the institutional logics when it comes to describing, valuing and judging the outcomes of curriculum innovation (question 3). There are, the results indicate, tensions between external expectations on short-term results on the improvement of pupils’ achievements and long-term improvement outcomes acknowledging the complex relations between institutional mechanisms and emerging practices. References Andersson-Levitt, Kathryn M. (2008). Globalization and curriculum. In: Michael F. Connelly, ed.: The Sage Handbook of Curriculum and Instruction. London: Sage Publications. Bernstein, Basil (2000). Pedagogy, Symbolic Control and Identity. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. Connelly, Michael F. ed. (2008): The Sage Handbook of Curriculum and Instruction. London: Sage Publications. Curriculum for the Compulsory School, Preschool Class and the Leisure-time Centre (2011). Stockholm: National Agency for Education. Fullan, Michael (2001): The New Meaning of Educational Change (3rd ed.). London: Routledge Falmer Press. Government Bill 2007:28. Tydliga mål och kunskapskrav i grundskolan. Förslag till nytt mål- och uppföljningssystem [Clear Goals and Knowledge Requirements in Compulsory School Education. Proposal for a New System of Goals and Monitoring]. Stockholm: Swedish Government Official Reports. Lundgren, Ulf P. (1989) Att organisera omvärlden [Organising the World Around Us]. Stockholm: Utbildningsförlaget. Meyer, John W. (2006). World models, National Curricula, and the Centrality of the Individual. In: Benevot, Aaron & Braslavsky, Cecilia: School Knowledge in Comparative and Historical Perspective. Hong Kong: CERC Studies in Comparative Education 18. Sivesind, Kirsten & Karseth, Berit (2010): Conceptualising curriculum knowledge within and beyond the national context. European Journal of Education( 45)1 Sundberg, Daniel & Wahlström, Ninni (2012). Standards-based curricula in a denationalised conception of education – the case of Sweden. European Journal of Education Research, Volume 11, Number 3, 2012.
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| 3. |
- Wikgren, Mikael, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Short Telomeres in Depression and the General Population Are Associated with a Hypocortisolemic State
- 2012
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Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - New York : Elsevier. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 71:4, s. 294-300
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a central role in stress regulation, and leukocyte telomere length (TL) has been suggested to represent a cumulative measure of stress. Depression is intimately related with stress and frequently exhibits a dysregulated HPA axis. We aimed to study the relationships between TL and biological and psychological facets of stress in recurrent major depressive disorder and controls. Methods Leukocyte TL was measured in 91 subjects with recurrent major depressive disorder and 451 control subjects. Stress was assessed from both a biological perspective, by assessing HPA axis function with a weight-adjusted very-low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (DST), and a psychological perspective, with self-report questionnaires. Results TL was shorter among patients compared with control subjects (277 base pairs, p = .001). Overall, short TL was associated with a hypocortisolemic state (low post-DST cortisol and high percentage of cortisol reduction after the DST) among both patients and control subjects but more pronounced among patients. This state, which was overrepresented among patients, was characterized by high familial loading of affective disorders among patients (p = .001) and high C-reactive protein levels among control subjects (p = .040). TL was also inversely associated with stress measured with the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (rs = −.258, p = .003). Conclusions Short TL is associated with depression and hypocortisolism. Because hypocortisolism has been shown to develop from chronic stress exposure, our findings corroborate the concept of TL as a cumulative measure of stress and provide novel insights into the detrimental role of stress in depressive illness and the general population.
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| 4. |
- Carlsson, Sigrid, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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Risk of suicide in men with low-risk prostate cancer
- 2013
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Ingår i: European Journal of Cancer. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 49:7, s. 1588-1599
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose:Risk of suicide is increased among men with prostate cancer. We investigated this association among men with low-risk cancer, usually detected by prostate specific antigen (PSA)-testing.Patients and Methods:Relative risk (RR) of suicide was calculated by use of Poisson regression analysis within the Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden (PCBaSe) 2.0, a nation-wide, population-based database, comparing 105,736 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1997-2009 to 528,658 matched prostate cancer-free men.Results:During the first 6 months after diagnosis, there were 38 suicides among men with prostate cancer; incidence rate 0.73 per 1000 person-years (PY) and 30 suicides in the comparison cohort; 0.11 per 1000 PY, corresponding to a RR of suicide of 6.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.0-10). Risk was highest among men with distant metastases, incidence rate 1.25 per 1000 PY, RR 10 (95% CI 5.1-21) but risk was also increased for men with low-risk tumours, incidence rate difference 0.45 per 1000 PY and RR 5.2 (95% CI 2.3-12) and across categories of socioeconomic status and comorbidity. Eighteen months after diagnosis, risk of suicide had decreased to 0.27 per 1000 PY, RR 1.0 (95% CI 0.68-1.5) for low-risk prostate cancer but remained increased among men with metastases, 0.57 per 1000 PY, RR 1.8 (95% CI 1.1-2.9).Conclusion:Although the increase in absolute risk of suicide was modest, our findings reflect the severe psychological stress that prostate cancer patients may experience after diagnosis. The increased risk of suicide observed in men with prostate cancer, including low-risk, calls for increased awareness.
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| 5. |
- Håkansson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Learning schools in Sweden – principals understanding of on-going school improvement in an era of accountability
- 2014
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Ingår i: Teachers Matter - But how?.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Learning schools in Sweden – principals understanding of on-going school improvement in an era of accountabilityOver the last two decades there has been a general transnational policy trend towards major emphasis on learning outcomes. In Sweden – like in many other countries – there is an on-going discussion about pupils’ academic achievement, not to mention due to Swedish pupils’ low results in different international knowledge comparisons (cf. Ball et al., 2012; Grek, 2009). The Education Act of 2010 is part of a top-to-bottom curriculum reform in Sweden, which has put further pressure on municipalities and schools to implement new syllabuses, clearer goals and knowledge demands and a new grading system. At the same time there are still high expectations and demands on performance improvements and school-based development work. So what does it mean working with local school-development under such an external pressure?The starting point for this paper is an on-going three-year research project in six Swedish compulsory schools with the general purpose of exploring and developing theoretical, methodological and practical knowledge for school improvement. The purpose is to explore how local school actors (principals in this case) understand and handle the parallel process of, on the one hand, external pressure to improve students achievement and, on the other hand, the local school-based curriculum development. In the light of such a tension, what are the principals understanding of: - The selection of content areas for curriculum development? - Principals own leadership and learning? - The schools’ capital building, for school improvement?The first theoretical starting point in this paper is a “classical” framework of curriculum theory (i.e. the frame-factor theory with its different levels of analysis – the societal/ideological level, the curriculum level and the teaching and classroom level, cf. Lundgren 1989). A second theoretical starting point used in this paper is theories about school actors’ and organizations’ learning (Schulman & Schulman, 2004; Resnick, 2010). The concept capital refers to individuals and organizations resources, in terms of skills and abilities, which can be used to act and make desirable changes. Schulman & Schulman (2004) distinguish between four different aspects of the capital concept: Moral, Curricula, Venture and Technical capital. These distinctions make it possible, in the analysis process, to study and better understand what forms of capital building emerge in schools and which capital building that seems to be the most important, and why? MethodIn order to explore and analyse the on-going school improvement process and changes after one year through principals’ understanding, different qualitative methods have been used. The most important sources are the qualitative group interviews with principals (n=13) at the end of the first year, but also sound recordings and field notes from eight planning meetings with the principals during the first year (from January to December 2013). Furthermore we have also analyzed planning documents from the schools showing local goals, school-based activities and evaluation plans.Expected Outcomes The following aspects of the result will be discussed:- Principals’ autonomy in relation to the local authority: a paradox?- Principals’ learning – an unexpected result from the local school improvement work.- The schools’ strategies focused, in the first hand, on the curriculum and technical capital building. How can this be understood in the light of an increased trend of accountability?- Schools’ selection of content – accountability dependent but also challenged by local curriculum development.(some important) ReferencesBall, Stephen, Maguire, Meg & Braun Annette (2012). How Schools du Policy. Policy enactments in secondary schools. London and New York: Routledge.Fullan, Michael (2001). The new meaning of educational change. 3. ed. New York: Teachers College Press.Grek, Sotiria (2009). Governings by numbers: the PISA effect in Europe. Journal of education policy, 24(1), pp. 23-37.Hargreaves, Andy & Fullan, Michael (2012). Professional capital: transforming teaching in every school. New York: Routledge.Lundgren, Ulf P. (1989). Att organisera omvärlden: en introduktion till läroplansteori. 2. [dvs 4.] uppl. [Organizing the Surrounding World: Introduction to Curriculum Theory; in Swedish] Stockholm: Utbildningsförl.Resnick, Lauren (2010). Nested Learning for the Thinking Curriculum. Educational Researcher. Vol 39 no. 3, pp. 183- 197. Schulman, Lee S & Schulman Judith (2004). How and what teachers lean: a shiftning perspective. Journal of curriculum studies, vol 36, no 2, 257-271.Stoll, Louise (2009). Capacity building for school improvement or creating capacity for learning? A changing landscape. Journal of Educational Change. 10:115–127.
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| 6. |
- Håkansson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Learning schools in Sweden – principals understanding of on-going school improvement in an era of accountability
- 2014
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Ingår i: ECER 2014, The Past, the Present and the Future of Educational Research.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over the last two decades there has been a general transnational policy trend towards major emphasis on learning outcomes. In Sweden – like in many other countries – there is an on-going discussion about pupils’ academic achievement, not to mention due to Swedish pupils’ low results in different international knowledge comparisons (cf. Ball et al., 2012; Grek, 2009).During the last years there has also been an extensive discussion on how research can help developing schools in terms of professional development for teachers and principals but also raising students’ achievement. School improvement combining scientific evidence and the proven experience is attracting a wide interest, especially in the international research. There are several attempts from different perspectives addressing questions related to professional learning and development for teachers and principals, school and teacher effectiveness, school improvement, curriculum innovation et cetera (cf. Day et al., 2012).In Sweden the situation is more modest according to research efforts in the school development field, although there are important and interesting results from collaborations between school researchers and school improvement efforts (cf. Håkansson & Sundberg, 2012; Blossing, 2008). The Education Act of 2010 is part of a top-to-bottom curriculum reform in Sweden, which has put further pressure on municipalities and schools to implement new syllabuses, clearer goals and knowledge demands and a new grading system (cf. Utbildningsdepartementet (The Ministry of Education), 2008; 2011). At the same time there is still high expectations and demands on performance improvements and school-based development work. So what does it mean working with school-development under the external pressure? Our previous research shows that there is a differentiated picture appearing when it comes to local actors’ arguments of content areas of curriculum development. Howsoever the strongest arguments were the result and the inspection argument, there are also other motives for choosing specific curriculum areas as a starting point for school-improvement, for example previous development work adjusted to the new curriculum, lack of competencies, signals from the staff et cetera (cf. Sundberg, Håkansson, Adolfsson, 2013) The starting point for this paper is an on-going three-year research project in six Swedish compulsory schools with the general purpose of exploring and developing theoretical, methodological and practical knowledge for school improvement. A vital question is how local actors (i.e. principals in this case) comprehend the parallel process of local improvement work and external pressure in terms of accountability and performance improvement. As part of this broader aim the purpose of the research presented in this paper is to elucidate principals’ understanding of the school improvement work after one year, in regard to estimated changes/results, chosen strategies and local conditions. The following research questions are addressed in the paper: In what way do principal understand school changes related to local conditions and strategies in terms of: a) content areas covered on teacher level?b) their own leadership and learning?c) capacity-building for school development? The first theoretical starting point in this paper is a “classical” framework of curriculum theory (i.e. the frame-factor theory with its different levels of analysis – the societal/ideological level, the curriculum level and the teaching and classroom level, cf. Lundgren 1989). In this context we above all use elaborations of the frame-factor theory describing pedagogical processes in terms of frames/conditions – processes – results (c.f. Lindensjö & Lundgren, 2000). A second theoretical starting point used in this research is aggregated knowledge from the field of school effectiveness and improvement. During the last decades important empirical findings has emerged as well as theoretical models explaining and supporting successful school development and school leadership (cf Fullan, 2001; Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012; Hallinger, 2011).MethodIn connection to the mentioned elaboration of the frame-factor theory, Fullan (2001) means that educational processes must be studied and analysed in relation to its external and its internal conditions. Stoll (2009) emphasizes the importance of internal and external actors supporting and creating the necessary conditions, culture and structures. The concept “capacity-building” is used trying to take into consideration the “multifaceted” characteristics of school development and also show that school improvement essentially deals with creating capacity for learning (c.f. Stoll 2009; see also Fullan, 2006). Our analytical framework and the tools for analysing data, take into consideration the mentioned starting points searching for evidence related to changes in the schools linked to capacities in terms of research-based strategies but also principals insights in i) curriculum content areas, ii) teaching and student learning, iii) the school’s potential for educational change, iv) morals and values in their leadership (cf. Stoll, 2013). In order to explore and analyse the on-going school improvement process and changes after one year through principals’ understanding, different qualitative methods have been used. The most important sources are the qualitative group interviews with principals (n=13) at the end of the first year, but also sound recordings and field notes from eight planning meetings with the principals during the first year (from January to December 2013). Furthermore we have also analysed planning documents from the schools showing local goals, school-based activities and evaluation plans. The group interviews were carried out in two groups in December 2013 following a semi-structured interview-guide. Each group consisted of six or seven principals and the interviewer was a research assistant who had not met the group before. The questions were structured according to the above-mentioned structure for pedagogical processes: frames/conditions – processes – results, but organized in the other way (i.e. observed changes/results were discussed first). Each interview were taped and lasted for approximately one and a half hour. All sound recordings, field notes and other documents (approximately 50-70 pages of text) have constituted the foundation for the analysis in several steps.Expected OutcomesThe results of the empirical analysis will be presented in terms of qualitative differences in principals descriptions of changes in teacher consciousness related to for example curriculum areas like classroom management, or support to pupils’ development of language. These qualitative differences can also be about – in a general sense – teachers’ consciousness of curriculum reform, content areas or school improvement (question a). Secondly the results will show patterns of principals learning related to leadership in school development, ability of analysis and time perspective in school improvement (question b). Finally the result and discussion will pay attention to capacity-building in schools related to Swedish curriculum reform (Lgr 11), different forms of external support from the research group and teaching improvement (question c).ReferencesBall, Stephen, Maguire, Meg & Braun Annette (2012). How Schools du Policy. Policy enactments in secondary schools. London and New York: Routledge. Blossing, Ulf (2008). Kompetens för samspelande skolor: om skolorganisationer och skolförbättring. 1. uppl. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Fullan, Michael (2001). The new meaning of educational change. 3. ed. New York: Teachers College Press Fullan, M. (2006). Turnaround leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Grek, Sotiria (2009). Governings by numbers: the PISA effect in Europe. Journal of education policy, 24(1), p. 23-37. Hallinger, Philip (2011). Leadership for Learning: Lessons from 40 Years of Empirical Research. Journal of Educational Administration, v. 49 n. 2 p. 125-142 2011. 18 pp Hargreaves, Andy & Fullan, Michael (2012). Professional capital: transforming teaching in every school. New York: Routledge Håkansson, Jan & Sundberg, Daniel (2012b). Utmärkt undervisning. Framgångsfaktorer I svensk och internationell belysning. [Excellent teaching. Success factors in the light of Swedish and international research; in Swedish]. Stockholm: Natur & Kultur. Lindensjö, Bo & Lundgren, Ulf P. (2000). Utbildningsreformer och politisk styrning. [Curriculum Reforms and Policy; in Swedish]. Stockholm: HLS förl Lundgren, Ulf P. (1989). Att organisera omvärlden: en introduktion till läroplansteori. 2. [dvs 4.] uppl. [Organizing the Surrounding World: Introduction to Curriculum Theory; in Swedish] Stockholm: Utbildningsförl. på uppdrag av Gymnasieutredningen. Stoll, Louise (2009). Capacity building for school improvement or creating capacity for learning? A changing landscape. Journal of Educational Change. 10:115–127. Stoll, Louise (2013). Leading Professional Learning Communities. In Wise, Christine, Bradshaw, Pete & Cartwright, Marion (ed). Leading Professional Pracitce in Education. London: SAGE. Sundberg, D., Håkansson, J. & Adolfsson, C. (2013). The Recontextualisation of curriculum reform: Local curriculum innovation under the accountability regime of the New Swedish Curriculum, Lgr11. Paper presented at the ECER 2013, Creativity and Innovation in Educational Research. Utbildningsdepartementet (The Ministry of Education) (2008). Regeringens proposition 2008/09:87. Tydligare mål och kunskapskrav – nya läroplaner för skolan [Government Bill 2009/09:87. Clearer Goals and Knowledge Demands – new curriculums for the school: in Swedish]. Utbildningsdepartementet (The Ministry of Education) (2011). Läroplan för grundskolan, förskoleklassen och fritidshem
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| 7. |
- Johansson, Marianne, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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Gender perspective on quality of life, comparisons between groups 4-5.5 years after unsuccessful or successful IVF treatment.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley. - 1600-0412 .- 0001-6349. ; 89:5, s. 683-91
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare quality of life in men and women who had in vitro fertilization (IVF) within the Swedish public health system 4-5.5 years previously, either unsuccessfully and were subsequently living without children, or successfully, having children aged 4-5.5 years. These groups were compared to a control group of men and women with children born at the same time as in the successful group. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Reproductive Unit, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. SAMPLE: Twenty-six men and 37 women in the unsuccessful group, 135 men and 154 women in the successful group and 93 men and 118 women in the control group. METHODS: Questionnaire study. The respective gender differences were studied in the control and study groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological general well-being (PGWB), sense of coherence (SOC), experience of infertility, demographic-socio-economic, and health characteristics. RESULTS: Men in the unsuccessful IVF group scored lower in total PGWB and SOC indices than the successful group men. They reported more depression, lower PGWB and lower SOC than the control group men. Women in the unsuccessful IVF group reported more anxiety, depression, and lower SOC than the successful group women and more depression and lower SOC indices than control group women. Men and women in the unsuccessful IVF group did not differ in any of the parameters. Men in the successful IVF group had higher PGWB, less signs of depression and more self-confidence than women in that group. CONCLUSION: Quality of life in men seems more negatively affected by involuntary infertility than reported in earlier studies.
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