| 1. |
- Ryve, Andreas, 1973-
(author)
-
Approaching Mathematical Discourse : Two analytical frameworks and their relation to problem solving interactions
- 2006
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The driving force of conducting the two studies presented in this thesis is to examine ways that conceptual understanding and problem solving could be part of mathematics teaching, and through that, part of students' mathematical knowledge. The specific aims of the thesis are: 1) to characterize the classroom discourse of two, apparently similar, problem solving courses in teacher education and 2) to discuss the possibilities of developing two analytical approaches - the communicational approach to cognition and the dialogical approach - used for studying mathematical discourse. The two aims are elaborated on by means of data collected through audiotaped recordings and field notes from observations of problem-solving activities in engineering and teacher education. In relation to the first aim, the analysis of the classroom discourse within the two courses makes it clear that both courses displayed different kinds of discourse that could be broadly categorized in terms of: subject-oriented, didactically oriented, and problem solving oriented discourses. However, the comparisons between the two courses reveal a marked difference in the distribution of these categories of discourse. It is suggested that the introduction of explicit conceptual frameworks in teaching is of crucial importance for the topical focus of the classroom discourse, and for prospective teachers' opportunity to engage in mathematical productive discourse. The analyses of the two approaches for studying mathematical discourse reveal that the two frameworks can be further developed and the study also indicates ways in which such development can be achieved using a theory of contextualization and theories of mathematical learning. Finally, the thesis discusses theoretical and practical implications of the results, foregrounding issues of importance for the research on mathematical discourse, and for teachers and teacher educators involved in designing instructions for mathematical problem solving.
|
|
| 2. |
- Berglund, Ingrid, 1954-
(author)
-
Byggarbetsplatsen som skola - eller skolan som byggarbetsplats? : En studie av byggnadsarbetares yrkesutbildning
- 2009
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The issue of this dissertation is the relationship between Vocational Education and Training (VET) in general and VET for building and construction in particular, as well as implications of the fact that Swedish VET is carried out both in school and in working life. Vocational construction education includes a three year Construction Programme at upper secondary school followed by two to three years of on-the-job training in the construction industry. In this case study of an upper secondary Construction Programme, the school based daily instruction as well as work based training, is explored and documented. These constitute a base for descriptions and analysis of education as a whole from the perspective of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). The aim of the analysis is to identify the main motives for vocational construction education. The case study results are further based on descriptions and CHAT-analyses of the historical development of construction work as well as of Swedish VET in general and of vocational construction area in particular. The case study illustrates that two activities form vocational construction education; the dominating activity being construction production, and school-activity. The terms of construction industry seem to greatly determine the realisation of the school based construction production activity. E.g. teamwork is emphasised in both activities. The school activity is marked by the implementation of infusion of core subjects by vocational subjects, aimed at preparing the students for continued professional development in the trade. The conclusion drawn here is that the new Swedish apprenticeship seems to contribute to a narrow professional knowledge base, whereas the use of infused core subjects seems to contribute to a broader professional knowledge base.
|
|
| 3. |
- Keisu, Britt-Inger, 1968-
(author)
-
Att peka med hela handen : Om arbetsvillkor och kön bland första linjens chefer
- 2009
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Historically, leadership research has focused on managers’ characteristics and behavior, their leadership style and its implications for a business’s success. In contrast, this dissertation examines how working conditions in the workplace affect first-level managers’ everyday work, their possibilities to practice leadership, and consequently their leadership style. The theoretical framework guiding the dissertation is a gender analysis with a doing gender perspective and the methodology is a case study. Two workplace organizations in a Swedish municipality are studied: a male-dominated manufacturing industry and a female-dominated elderly care service. The empirical materials consist of twenty-six semi-structured interviews, primarily with male and female first-level managers, but also with their immediate supervisors. In addition, the materials include a questionnaire and organizational documents. The results show that organizational structure and culture have implications for managers’ working conditions and consequently the leadership style they are willing and able to implement. The sex ratio among employees did not have any implications for which type of leadership informants described in their everyday practices. The ideal leadership and the everyday leadership practices portrayed by informants entail being explicit, controlling and rational managers who are able to make decisions and carry forth extensive structural changes. Their narratives reveal an authoritarian and task-oriented leadership style that has its roots in early industrialism. Leadership is strongly marked by masculinity, and even though women and men describe practicing the same type of leadership in their everyday work, their ideas about gender depict two complete opposites in which women and femininity is subordinated to men and masculinity. This indicates a divergence between the gender we think and the gender we do. Nonetheless, sex ratio among employees has implications for the level of sexism. While informants in both workplace organizations described gender discrimination, only those in the manufacturing industry described experiencing sexual harassment.
|
|
