| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Betancourt, Lazaro Hiram, et al.
(författare)
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The human melanoma proteome atlas-Defining the molecular pathology
- 2021
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Ingår i: Clinical and Translational Medicine. - : Wiley. - 2001-1326. ; 11:7, s. 1-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The MM500 study is an initiative to map the protein levels in malignant melanoma tumor samples, focused on in-depth histopathology coupled to proteome characterization. The protein levels and localization were determined for a broad spectrum of diverse, surgically isolated melanoma tumors originating from multiple body locations. More than 15,500 proteoforms were identified by mass spectrometry, from which chromosomal and subcellular localization was annotated within both primary and metastatic melanoma. The data generated by global proteomic experiments covered 72% of the proteins identified in the recently reported high stringency blueprint of the human proteome. This study contributes to the NIH Cancer Moonshot initiative combining detailed histopathological presentation with the molecular characterization for 505 melanoma tumor samples, localized in 26 organs from 232 patients.
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| 3. |
- Brandsma, Corry Anke, et al.
(författare)
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Integrated proteogenomic approach identifying a protein signature of COPD and a new splice variant of SORBS1
- 2020
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Ingår i: Thorax. - : BMJ. - 0040-6376 .- 1468-3296. ; 75:2, s. 180-183
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Translation of genomic alterations to protein changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is largely unexplored. Using integrated proteomic and RNA sequencing analysis of COPD and control lung tissues, we identified a protein signature in COPD characterised by extracellular matrix changes and a potential regulatory role for SUMO2. Furthermore, we identified 61 differentially expressed novel, non-reference, peptides in COPD compared with control lungs. This included two peptides encoding for a new splice variant of SORBS1, of which the transcript usage was higher in COPD compared with control lungs. These explorative findings and integrative proteogenomic approach open new avenues to further unravel the pathology of COPD.
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| 4. |
- Fernández-Fernández, P., et al.
(författare)
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Different effects of warming treatments in forests versus hedgerows on the understorey plant Geum urbanum
- 2022
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Ingår i: Plant Biology. - : Wiley. - 1435-8603 .- 1438-8677. ; 24:5, s. 734-744
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effectiveness of hedgerows as functional corridors in the face of climate warming has been little researched. Here we investigated the effects of warming temperatures on plant performance and population growth of Geum urbanum in forests versus hedgerows in two European temperate regions.Adult individuals were transplanted in three forest–hedgerow pairs in each of two different latitudes, and an experimental warming treatment using open-top chambers was used in a full factorial design. Plant performance was analysed using mixed models and population performance was analysed using Integral Projection Models and elasticity analyses.Temperature increases due to open-top chamber installation were higher in forests than in hedgerows. In forests, the warming treatment had a significant negative effect on the population growth rate of G. urbanum. In contrast, no significant effect of the warming treatment on population dynamics was detected in hedgerows. Overall, the highest population growth rates were found in the forest control sites, which was driven by a higher fecundity rather than a higher survival probability.Effects of warming treatments on G. urbanum population growth rates differed between forests and hedgerows. In forests, warming treatments negatively affected population growth, but not in hedgerows. This could be a consequence of the overall lower warming achieved in hedgerows. We conclude that maintenance of cooler forest microclimates coul, at least temporarily, moderate the species response to climate warming.
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| 5. |
- Lönngren, Johanna, Docent, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Learning for an unknown future : emotional positioning in and for expansive learning
- 2023
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- STUDY OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE: We live in troubled times. Faced with increasingly serious and urgent, wicked sustainability challenges (Lönngren & van Poeck, 2021; United Nations, 2015), such as climate change, pandemics, and violent conflict , more and more people experience anxiety, hopelessness, and worries about the future (Barrineau et al., 2022; Ojala et al., 2021; Pihkala, 2020). The United Nations’ Agenda 2030 with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; United Nations, 2015) may offer a comforting illusion of a yellow brick road to a known and livable future. Yet, complex systems studies have shown that the future is not only unknown but ultimately unknowable (Dewulf & Biesbroek, 2018; Funtowicz & Ravetz, 1993). In light of such radical uncertainty, Barrineau et al. (2022) argued that environmental and sustainability education (ESE) is not only about “promoting [pre-defined] skills and competencies in sustainability education with which to equip students to tackle sustainability challenges” (p.3) since we do not know yet what competencies they will need. The only thing we know for certain is that future generations will need to develop knowledge, skills, and practices that are different from those we know today, that is, those that have given rise to our current predicaments. In other words, students need to “learn something that is not yet there” (Engeström & Sannino, 2010, p. 2).In recent years, a range of educational theories and concepts that touch upon this type of learning have increased in popularity. For example, Engeström et al. (Engeström et al., 2022; Engeström & Sannino, 2010) have drawn on cultural historical activity theory to examine expansive learningprocesses that allow learners to develop “expanded pattern[s] of activity, corresponding theoretical concept[s], and new types of agency” (Engeström & Sannino, 2010, p. 7). Similarly, Barrineau et al. (2022) have described emergentist education as a form of teaching and learning that engages with “the possibilities of the not-yet-imagined” (p.2). Others have described related theories, such as transformative and transgressive social learning as crucially important in ESE (Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2015).These and other traditions of transformative and expansive learning theories have in common that they attend to the role of social interaction for learning, stressing that learning always takes place in social contexts (Lenglet, 2022; Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2015; Van Poeck et al., 2020). Another common thread through many approaches is an attention to spirituality, affect, and/or emotions (Hoggan, 2016; Lenglet, 2022; Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2015). For example, Hoggan (2016) argued that learners must be “emotionally capable of change” (p. 61), pay attention to emotional experiences, and learn to utilize emotional ways of knowing. Similarly, Östman et al. (2019) have used pragmatist theories to argue that strong embodied experiences can trigger transformative learning. This intersection between expansive learning, social interaction, and emotions is the focus of our contribution.The aim of our study is to explore how expansive learning can manifest in and through emotional interaction when student groups engage with wicked sustainability challenges. To do so, we draw on positioning theory as a theoretical tool that allows us to study emotions as a form of social interaction (Harré & van Langenhove, 1999) rather than something individuals have and experience. More specifically, we explore processes of emotional positioning (Lönngren et al., 2021; Lönngren & Berge, forthcoming), analyzing how students use emotions discursively to position themselves – and each other – in relation to their (expansive) learning and (future) agency to work for sustainable and desired futures.METHODS: Emotions can be expressed through a wide range of modalities (e.g., speech, gestures, facial expressions, intonation, bodily positions). Therefore, multimodal approaches are particularly suitable for studying how emotions are expressed and used in social interaction (Goodwin et al., 2012; Hufnagel & Kelly, 2018; Lönngren & Berge, forthcoming). For this study, we video-recorded group work conducted by four groups of engineering students. The group work sessions took place during two sustainability courses for engineering students at two Swedish universities and they were part of the students’ regular course work. No researchers were present during the sessions, but teachers entered each room occasionally to check on the groups’ progress. In total, we recorded approximately 70 hours of video data. To analyze the data, we first watched all recordings (~70h) to familiarize ourselves with the data. Thereafter, we formulated sensitizing concepts (consensus/dissensus, convergence/divergence, comfort/vulnerability, intensity, and social positions) to narrow our focus on situations in which we could study emotional positioning and/or expansive learning processes. The sensitizing concepts allowed us to select a smaller number of excerpts for in-depth analysis. For each excerpt, we then developed narrative descriptions of any processes of expansivity and expansive learning we could observe. Finally, we applied the analytic tools of positioning theory to make sense of the ways in which students used emotions discursively while engaging (or not) in expansive learning.PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary findings point to multiple ways in which emotional positioning could facilitate expansive learning during group engagement with wicked challenges. For example, when students suggested norm-breaking methods or solution approaches, other students could validate those ideas by listening attentively and expressing excitement. By validating unconventional ideas, the students also positioned themselves and each other as expansive learners with rights and duties to reach beyond known approaches and solutions. In other excerpts, we observed high levels of emotional congruence between the group members. When one student laughed, others would often join in. In other instances, students would fall silent simultaneously, much like a general pause in an orchestra concert. By enacting these and other forms of emotional congruence, the students could co-construct their group as a team – working together, building on each other’s ideas, and taking collective responsibility for any outcomes they produced. Thus, they also constructed a shared safety-net, reducing perceived risks associated with expansive learning: If the outcomes of their work had turned out to be flawed or ridiculed by others, they could have shared the burden of the perceived (!) failure and helped each other focus on the exceptional learning they had achieved. These findings demonstrate how students could use emotions discursively to position themselves and each other as (a) students who can and should engage in expansive learning, and (b) sustainability agents who can and should contribute to developing innovative solutions to wicked issues. The findings also show how emotions expressed in interaction can have profound impacts on learning, which further stresses the importance of more ESE research on emotions in and as social interaction. A better understanding of emotional interaction in ESE would also support educators in developing teaching and learning environments conducive to expansive learning.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Lönngren, Johanna, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Taking emotions seriously in sustainability education : A theoretical exploration of “emotional scaffolding” and how it can be used in research and practice
- 2021
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Research has shown that emotions profoundly affect teaching and learning in all disciplines and at all levels of education. Emotions may be particularly important in environmental and sustainability education (ESE) due the seriousness and complexity of sustainability concerns and the presence of conflicting norms and values (Lönngren, Adawi, & Svanström, 2019; Ojala, 2015). For example, emotions may motivate students and teachers to engage in discussions about controversial topics (such as climate change) and guide judgment and decision-making in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity. However, they may also lead to denial of uncomfortable knowledge (Bossér & Lindahl, 2019; Ojala, 2013). Despite the importance of emotions in ESE, research on this topic is only emerging at this point. In addition, most of the existing research focuses on emotions as individual and private phenomena (Zembylas, 2007), such as hope or individual emotional regulation. However, research also suggests that expressing emotions in social contexts may play an important role in ESE. Emotions are closely related to personal values and explicating personal values is important in ESE (Ojala, 2013). An interesting theoretical concept for exploring emotions in ESE as social and relational phenomena is “emotional scaffolding” (also called affective scaffolding), which refers to pedagogical support teachers provide to influence students’ emotions in order to improve learning (Rosiek, 2003). While emotional scaffolding has been used previously (Park, 2016; van de Pol, Volman, & Beishuizen, 2010), we argue that it is conceptualized in a narrow way and remains under-theorized. Specifically, the current definition of emotional scaffolding seems to be based on a narrow empirical context or a narrow set of identified discursive practices, and it ignores recent theory and research on emotions in education. In this theoretical contribution, we draw on a nascent body of research on emotional scaffolding across various disciplines as well as a typology of academic emotions to (1) develop a broader and more theoretically informed definition of emotional scaffolding, (2) explore ways of researching emotional scaffolding, and (3) suggest ways of drawing out educational implications from research on emotional scaffolding. Method: To this end, we start from Rosiek’s widely cited definition of emotional scaffolding as “teachers’ pedagogical use of analogies, metaphors, and narratives to influence students’ emotional response to specific aspects of the subject matter in a way that promotes student learning” (Rosiek, 2003, p. 402). We broaden and unpack this definition in four important ways. First, to broaden it beyond the “use of analogies, metaphors, and narratives”, we identify additional tools and strategies teachers can use, such as acknowledging and validating expression of emotions (Ojala, 2013; Park, 2016), providing encouragement and reassurance (Lönngren et al., 2019; Meyer & Turner, 2007), adjusting subject content to students’ needs (Lönngren, 2017; McCaughtry, 2004), and building positive relationships in the classroom (Ojala, 2013; Park, 2016). Second, to unpack the definition of “emotional response”, we draw on research describing different types of emotional responses, such as emotional experiences (e.g. confidence rather than anxiety) or expressions (e.g. expressing trust or engagement) (Meyer & Turner, 2007; van de Pol et al., 2010). Third, to broaden the definition beyond students’ emotional response to “subject matter”, we use Pekrun and Linnenbrink-Garcia’s (2012) typology of academic emotions, according to which emotional responses to subject matter can be described as topic emotions. The typology contains three additional types of academic emotions that are relevant for emotional scaffolding: achievement emotions (i.e. emotions related to students’ perception of their academic performance, such as worry about not being able to provide a perfect solution to a sustainability problem), epistemic emotions (i.e. emotions related to the process of learning, such as grappling with uncertainty and ambiguity), and social emotions (i.e. emotions related to classroom interaction and social relationships). Finally, we adopt a critical lens to unpack the overall aim of emotional scaffolding — what it could mean that emotional scaffolding in ESE “promotes student learning”. Here, we ask questions such as “What types of learning?” and “Learning for whom?”. Based on our broadened definition of emotional scaffolding, we then explore ways of researching emotional scaffolding in terms of possible types of research questions, empirical contexts, and methods for data collection and analysis. This includes how we are planning to use positioning theory (Harré & van Langenhove, 1999) to explore emotional scaffolding in ESE in the context of engineering education. We also explore what types of results could be obtained and how those results could be made useful in and for ESE practice. Expected outcomes: In conclusion, this theoretical contribution seeks to take stock of the current understanding of emotional scaffolding, develop a broader and more theoretically informed definition of emotional scaffolding, and draw out implications for educational research and practice. We argue that emotional scaffolding is conceptualized in a narrow way and remains under-theorized: It fails to recognize the wide range of pedagogical tools and strategies teachers can use to influence a variety of types of students’ emotional responses. Most notably, emotional responses should be broadened to include all four types of academic emotions: topic emotions, achievement emotions, epistemic emotions, and social emotions. Our broadened definition of emotional scaffolding opens up a large array of research questions that should be highly relevant not only for ESE but also for educational research more broadly. References Bossér, U., & Lindahl, M. (2019). Students’ Positioning in the Classroom: a Study of Teacher-Student Interactions in a Socioscientific Issue Context. Research in Science Education, 49, 371-390. Harré, R., & van Langenhove, L. (1999). Positioning Theory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell. Lönngren, J. (2017). Wicked Problems in Engineering Education: Preparing Future Engineers to Work for Sustainability. Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg. Lönngren, J., Adawi, T., & Svanström, M. (2019). Scaffolding strategies in a rubric-based intervention to promote engineering students’ ability to address wicked problems. European Journal of Engineering Education, 44(1-2), 196-221. McCaughtry, N. (2004). The Emotional Dimensions of a Teacher’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Influences on Content, Curriculum, and Pedagogy. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 23, 30-47. Meyer, D. K., & Turner, J. C. (2007). Scaffolding Emotions in Classrooms. In P. A. Schutz & R. Pekrun (Eds.), Emotion in Education (pp. 243-258). Cambridge: Academic Press. Ojala, M. (2013). Emotional Awareness: On the Importance of Including Emotional Aspects in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 7(2), 167-182. Ojala, M. (2015). Hope in the Face of Climate Change: Associations With Environmental Engagement and Student Perceptions of Teachers’ Emotion Communication Style and Future Orientation. The Journal of Environmental Education, 46(3), 133-148. Park, M.-H. (2016). Emotional Scaffolding as a Strategy to Support Children's Engagement in Instruction. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(10), 2353-2358. Abstract till European Conference of Education Research (ECER) 2021 Pekrun, R., & Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. (2012). Academic Emotions and Student Engagement. In S. Christenson, A. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Student Engagement. Boston: Springer. Rosiek, J. (2003). Emotional Scaffolding: An Exploration of The Teacher Knowledge at the Intersection of Student Emotion and the Subject Matter. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(5), 399-412. van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in Teacher-Student Interaction: A Decade of Research. Educational Psychology Review, 22, 271-296. Zembylas, M. (2007). The Power and Politics of Emotions in Teaching. In P. A. Schutz & R. Pekrun (Eds.), Emotion in Education (pp. 293-309). Cambridge: Academic Press.
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| 8. |
- Pinho-Gomes, Ana-Catarina, et al.
(författare)
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Blood pressure-lowering treatment for the prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with atrial fibrillation : An individual participant data meta-analysis
- 2021
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Ingår i: PLoS Medicine. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1277 .- 1549-1676. ; 18:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Randomised evidence on the efficacy of blood pressure (BP)-lowering treatment to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effects of BP-lowering drugs in patients with and without AF at baseline. Methods and findings The study was based on the resource provided by the Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Trialists' Collaboration (BPLTTC), in which individual participant data (IPD) were extracted from trials with over 1,000 patient-years of follow-up in each arm, and that had randomly assigned patients to different classes of BP-lowering drugs, BP-lowering drugs versus placebo, or more versus less intensive BP-lowering regimens. For this study, only trials that had collected information on AF status at baseline were included. The effects of BP-lowering treatment on a composite endpoint of major cardiovascular events (stroke, ischaemic heart disease or heart failure) according to AF status at baseline were estimated using fixed-effect one-stage IPD meta-analyses based on Cox proportional hazards models stratified by trial. Furthermore, to assess whether the associations between the intensity of BP reduction and cardiovascular outcomes are similar in those with and without AF at baseline, we used a meta-regression. From the full BPLTTC database, 28 trials (145,653 participants) were excluded because AF status at baseline was uncertain or unavailable. A total of 22 trials were included with 188,570 patients, of whom 13,266 (7%) had AF at baseline. Risk of bias assessment showed that 20 trials were at low risk of bias and 2 trials at moderate risk. Meta-regression showed that relative risk reductions were proportional to trial-level intensity of BP lowering in patients with and without AF at baseline. Over 4.5 years of median follow-up, a 5-mm Hg systolic BP (SBP) reduction lowered the risk of major cardiovascular events both in patients with AF (hazard ratio [HR] 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83 to 1.00) and in patients without AF at baseline (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.93), with no difference between subgroups. There was no evidence for heterogeneity of treatment effects by baseline SBP or drug class in patients with AF at baseline. The findings of this study need to be interpreted in light of its potential limitations, such as the limited number of trials, limitation in ascertaining AF cases due to the nature of the arrhythmia and measuring BP in patients with AF. Conclusions In this meta-analysis, we found that BP-lowering treatment reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events similarly in individuals with and without AF. Pharmacological BP lowering for prevention of cardiovascular events should be recommended in patients with AF. Author summary Why was this study done? Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia across the world and is strongly associated with future vascular disease, particularly stroke. Blood pressure (BP) lowering is an established strategy for prevention of vascular disease, but whether patients with AF benefit similarly from pharmacological BP reduction is not well understood. What did the researchers do and find? We compared the preventive effect of BP-lowering treatment on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with and without AF at baseline. We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis using published and unpublished data from large randomised clinical trials (22 trials involving 188,570 patients). We showed that BP-lowering treatment reduced the risk of a major cardiovascular events with no evidence that effects differed according to the presence or absence of AF at baseline. The relative risk reductions were proportional to the intensity of BP reduction in individuals with and without AF. In individuals with AF, the relative risk reduction was comparable irrespective of whether baseline systolic BP was under or over the conventional treatment threshold of 140 mm Hg. What do these findings mean? BP-lowering treatment reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events in patients with AF to a similar extent to that of patients without AF. Pharmacological BP-lowering treatment for prevention of cardiovascular events should be recommended as part of care for patients with AF.
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| 9. |
- Rivard, Léna, et al.
(författare)
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Atrial Fibrillation and Dementia : A Report From the AF-SCREEN International Collaboration
- 2022
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Ingår i: Circulation. - 1524-4539. ; 145:5, s. 392-409
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Growing evidence suggests a consistent association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and cognitive impairment and dementia that is independent of clinical stroke. This report from the AF-SCREEN International Collaboration summarizes the evidence linking AF to cognitive impairment and dementia. It provides guidance on the investigation and management of dementia in patients with AF on the basis of best available evidence. The document also addresses suspected pathophysiologic mechanisms and identifies knowledge gaps for future research. Whereas AF and dementia share numerous risk factors, the association appears to be independent of these variables. Nevertheless, the evidence remains inconclusive regarding a direct causal effect. Several pathophysiologic mechanisms have been proposed, some of which are potentially amenable to early intervention, including cerebral microinfarction, AF-related cerebral hypoperfusion, inflammation, microhemorrhage, brain atrophy, and systemic atherosclerotic vascular disease. The mitigating role of oral anticoagulation in specific subgroups (eg, low stroke risk, short duration or silent AF, after successful AF ablation, or atrial cardiopathy) and the effect of rhythm versus rate control strategies remain unknown. Likewise, screening for AF (in cognitively normal or cognitively impaired patients) and screening for cognitive impairment in patients with AF are debated. The pathophysiology of dementia and therapeutic strategies to reduce cognitive impairment warrant further investigation in individuals with AF. Cognition should be evaluated in future AF studies and integrated with patient-specific outcome priorities and patient preferences. Further large-scale prospective studies and randomized trials are needed to establish whether AF is a risk factor for cognitive impairment, to investigate strategies to prevent dementia, and to determine whether screening for unknown AF followed by targeted therapy might prevent or reduce cognitive impairment and dementia.
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| 10. |
- Vergouwen, Daphne P. C., et al.
(författare)
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The enigma of sclera-specific autoimmunity in scleritis
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Autoimmunity. - : Elsevier. - 0896-8411 .- 1095-9157. ; 144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scleritis is a severe and painful ophthalmic disorder, in which a pathogenic role for collagen-directed autoimmunity was repeatedly suggested. We evaluated the presence of sclera-specific antibodies in a large cohort of patients with non-infectious scleritis. Therefore, we prospectively collected serum samples from 121 patients with non-infectious scleritis in a multicenter cohort study in the Netherlands. In addition, healthy (n = 39) and uveitis controls (n = 48) were included. Serum samples were tested for anti-native human type II collagen antibodies using a validated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Further, sclera-specific antibodies were determined using indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on primate retinal/scleral cryosections. Lastly, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing was performed in 111 patients with scleritis. Anti-type II collagen antibodies were found in 13% of scleritis patients, in 10% of healthy controls and in 11% of uveitis controls (p = 0.91). A specific reaction to scleral nerve tissue on IIF was observed in 33% of patients with scleritis, which was higher than in healthy controls (11%; p = 0.01), but similar to uveitis controls (25%; p = 0.36). Reactivity to the scleral nerve tissue was significantly associated with earlier onset of scleritis (48 versus 56 years; p < 0.001), bilateral involvement (65% versus 42%; p = 0.01), and less frequent development of scleral necrosis (5% versus 22%; p = 0.02). HLA-B27 was found to be twice as prevalent in patients with scleritis (15.3%) compared to a healthy population (7.2%). In conclusion, scleral nerve autoantibody reactivity was more common in scleritis and uveitis patients in contrast to healthy controls. Further research is needed to characterize these scleral-nerve directed antibodies and assess their clinical value.
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| 11. |
- Vinnervik, Peter, 1971-
(författare)
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När lärare formar ett nytt ämnesinnehåll : intentioner, förutsättningar och utmaningar med att införa programmering i skolan
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In March 2017, programming was introduced in the Swedish school curriculum. The reform was formally enacted in July 2018. Research shows that teachers enacting curriculum reform practices encounter various challenges. For this particular reform, few teachers had prior experience of programming, and research further suggests that programming is difficult to teach and learn. It is therefore important to study teachers’ perceptions and experiences of what they should teach, why, and how, as this can provide valuable insight into how new policies influence teachers’ work, and how new policies are implemented.This thesis explores circumstances that may influence teachers’ integration of programming in school mathematics and technology education and consists of three studies. Study 1 and 3 draw on teachers’ perceptions and experiences collected before and after formal enactment of the reform. Study 2 draws on textual data from formal curriculum documents. The studies address three questions: (1) What challenges do teachers perceive prior to the introduction of programming? (2) What message about programming is communicated in the intended curriculum? (3) How do teachers transform programming into teaching content in technology education and what challenges do they face?The results show that teachers face several intrinsic and extrinsic challenges during the process of integrating programming in their teaching. A perceived lack of professional knowledge and understanding of programming among the teachers emerged as a prominent challenge both prior to and more than two years into the reform. Additional challenges are related to teaching materials, time for preparation and professional development. In technology education, teachers mainly see programming as a medium to explore and understand technological systems and construction work. They are uncertain of what programming means in terms of practices and concepts, and about learning progression and assessment. The results further reveal that the curriculum texts are sparse on details about what programming knowledge entails. Important strategic decisions are left entirely to the teachers without any clear guidance. In addition, the results indicate that many technology teachers work in isolation and that interdisciplinary work around programming, as intended in the curriculum, is generally lacking. It is concluded that there is a risk of inequality among schools and that the children’s experience of programming becomes fragmented, despite good intentions. The current implementation model needs to be improved, and this thesis presents two possible actions.
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