| 11. |
- Fischbein, Siv, 1940-
(author)
-
Valfrihet och psykisk hälsa i skolan
- 2011
-
In: Psykisk hälsa. - Stockholm : Svenska föreningen för psykisk hälsovård. - 0033-3212. ; :4, s. 6-15
-
Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Jämförelser över tid både inom Sverige och med andra länder visar på ökad ojämlikhet och sjunkande prestationer i den svenska skolan. En avgörande faktor verkar vara den valfrihet som uppträder på olika nivåer i systemet. Valfriheten ökar risken för utslagning och ohälsa bland grupper av elever som befinner sig i riskzonen och inte kan utnyttja systemets fördelar.
|
|
| 12. |
- Helldin, Rolf, et al.
(author)
-
Opportunities for a democratic pedagogy : a comparative study of South African and Swedish teachers' attitudes to inclusive education
- 2011
-
In: Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs. - : Blackwell. - 1471-3802. ; 11:2, s. 107-119
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper is based upon the collaboration between two research groups from Stockholm University and the University of South Africa. The main objective is to compare attitudes between South African (SA) and Swedish teachers regarding inclusive education (IE). IE in this paper is examined as a distinct part of the Swedish welfare system. The method used can be characterised as a combined, quantitative and qualitative research design with a purposive sampling. A similar adapted questionnaire was distributed in the two countries. The Swedish teachers in our data are more pro‐inclusion and more hesitating to accommodate learners with barriers in special schools. However, both the Swedish and the SA teachers in the study are hesitating towards the feasibility to implement IE practically. A team approach is concluded to be an adequate pedagogy for supporting IE both in South Africa and Sweden.
|
|
| 13. |
- Herkner, Birgitta, 1951-
(author)
-
Läsutveckling i årskurs 2–6 belyst genom standardiserade test och nationella provet i svenska i årskurs 3
- 2011
-
Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The overall aim of this study is to analyse and describe reading ability from the second to sixth year of schooling in Sweden (ages 8–13). An introductory study presents the pupils’ reading profiles and also the extent to which teaching in reading comprehension is given at their schools. In a second study, the results and effects of the national test in Swedish in grade three (age 9) are studied and compared with other recognised test data on the development of children’s reading. A total of 428 pupils at four schools participated in the study. Each child was tested once a year during two consecutive school years. In addition to collecting results on the national test for all the pupils in their third year, standardised tests of word decoding ability and reading comprehension were administered to all students in the study. A questionnaire dealing with teaching reading and skills development was answered by 23 teachers. The study reveals that there are stronger links between phonological tasks and reading comprehension for pupils in their first three years than for those in years 4–6. The study also shows that the national test identifies some pupils with reading difficulties but not all of them. A number of pupils who have problems with word decoding nevertheless attain the national test threshold for reading comprehension tasks in the third year. There are also pupils who cannot manage the age-adapted reading comprehension tasks but who still pass the national test in their third year. The findings reveal that teachers work with reading comprehension exercises to only a small extent in both the first three years and second three years of schooling. The study indicates the importance of using a diagnostic approach, so that early and effective measures can be adopted to prevent the emergence of reading comprehension problems.
|
|
| 14. |
- Krantz, Helena, 1946-
(author)
-
Barns tidiga läsutveckling : En studie av tidiga språkliga och kognitiva förmågor och senare läsutveckling
- 2011
-
Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The overall aim of this study is to analyze and describe the reading of a group of pupils in a preschool class and grade 1 and to search for links between preschool language and cognitive skills and early literacy development. A total of 49 pupils participated in the study and their literacy development was analyzed over two consecutive years in preschool class and grade 1, partly by teacher evaluations and partly by reading tests. In the autumn term of the preschool class the pupils’ phonological awareness, letter knowledge, impressive and expressive vocabulary, short-term memory and syntactic skills were tested. The main aim was to examine how these skills predicted reading in preschool class and grade 1. Single correlation analyses revealed that phonological awareness, letter knowledge, short-term memory and syntactic skills were significantly related to literacy development, whereas these patterns of prediction were not found regarding verbal skills. When analyzing the unique contribution of every single predictor to explain variations in reading ability, phonological awareness gives a specific additional contribution to reading ability in preschool class, whereas letter knowledge gives an additional contribution both in preschool class and grade 1. These patterns of prediction were not found regarding more general verbal skills or memory. When prior reading ability is also taken into consideration, the prediction of the analyzed preschool skills declines and it is mainly the prior reading ability that is significantly related to literacy development. This study indicates the importance of success in early literacy development. To make this possible for all students the teachers must be able to identify the developmental stage to build upon. An important conclusion is that reading education must rely on a solid theoretical basis and the use of a diagnostic approach.
|
|
| 15. |
- Luttropp, Agneta, 1945-
(author)
-
Närhet : Samspel och delaktighet i förskolan för barn med utvecklingsstörning
- 2011
-
Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The main purpose was to study if children with intellectual disability interact or participate differently with preschool staff and peers compared to their non-disabled peers and how preschool teachers experience interaction and participation for children with intellectual disability and children with typical development. The results from study I show that there are more similarities than differences between the groups. There are no differences between the groups neither in engagement nor in what kind of material the children use or in what setting they play. The results indicated that children with intellectual disability interacted in the same contexts as their peers. Significant differences were found, indicating that the children with intellectual disabilities communicate less and especially less with peers. Children with intellectual disability are more often close to a teacher than children with typical development. Teacher’s communication indicates that teachers communicate and initiate more often to children with intellectual disabilities. Results from study II showed that the main difference between the target child and the control child expressed from the teachers was in the area communication. Participation differed in structured and unstructured situations even if it is not significant. The child with intellectual disability was less involved in his/her live situation in unstructured situations. The results from Individual Plans showed that goals and methods about communication were more common as a goal than interaction even if the teachers expressed that interaction is the child’s main problem.
|
|
| 16. |
- Nel, Norma, et al.
(author)
-
A comparative perspective on teacher attitude constructs that impact on Inclusive Education in South Africa and Sweden
- 2011
-
In: South African Journal of Education. - : Education Association of South Africa. - 0256-0100 .- 2076-3433. ; 31:1, s. 74-90
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article is based on joint research, between academics from South Africa and Sweden, comparing the influence of South African and Swedish teachers’ attitudes towards the practical application of inclusive education (IE) in the classroom. The aim of the study was to identify and investigate problem areas pertaining to teachers’ attitudes to IE. Attitudes often relate to interaction with others. This study departs from Festiger’s theory of cognitive dissonance, which deals with the influence of people’s attitudes and attitude change. In this research teachers from South Africa and Sweden completed the same questionnaire on perceptions pertaining to IE in their school system. A number of attitude-constructs were derivedfrom the data via exploratory factor analysis methodology. Attitude-constructs included policy issues and specialised support; practical implementation of IE; teacher support structures; teachers’ receptiveness of IE implementation; feasibility of proposed IE practices; and role of special schools in an IE environment. Negative responses to some of the attitude constructs identified problem areas in Swedish and South African inclusive systems. The comparative nature of the work enabled the researchers to suggest remedial action within each country’s socio-economic setting, and in this way affect change in teacher attitudes.
|
|
| 17. |
- Olofsson, Helén, 1965-
(author)
-
Skriftbruk i fordonsverkstaden : En studie av läs- och skrivstrategier i mötet med arbetslivets texter
- 2011
-
Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of the study was to describe the reading and writing activities that takes place in vehicle repair workshops and to elucidate how people experiencing low reading-and-writing ability describe their encounters with text in working life. Reading and writing are considered in the study from an educational-philosophical and special educational perspective. This study of literacy was inspired by ethnographic methods. The empirical material consists of field notes from ten participatory observations in vehicle repair workshops, photographs from the workshops and three interviews. To see patterns in how literacy was used, literacy events were taken as the unit of analysis. The literacy environment, community of practice, reading path and technical surroundings are analytical concepts in the thematic presentation of results. Central literacy practices were characterized primarily by reading, often via computer, for information needed for solving problems. The type of reading was often non-linear, given the multimodal texts and choices in computer environments. In addition, semiotic systems and several languages were interpreted. It is important to understand how information is organised and how to handle the technology. Technology provides support structures e.g. pictorial support and translation programmes. Writing out words, button-pushing and keyboard entry to register and search for information through the use of measurement instruments and in computer-generated text environments, were central. Literacy events were embedded in the work tasks and in ongoing learning, and many literacy practices included items of both reading and writing. Social skills, plus recognizing one’s problems and asking for help, were useful strategies for handling the demands of reading and writing in working life, as were allowing time and creating concentration for the task. Interpreting pictorial matter, using technology, copying text and noting down things to remember were further strategies. Implications of the study are that effective strategies for managing the demands of reading and writing that are required in the working place should begin in school. Significant is the teachers’ approach to handling the students’ frustration when studies are not working out as expected. Caring teachers, positive energy and not giving up make a difference. General education teachers need special educational resources in the upper-secondary school in order to counteract school failure and to enhance students’ learning.
|
|
| 18. |
- Westling Allodi, Mara, 1959-
(author)
-
Schooling and student well being : a review of qualitative studies
- 2011
-
In: EARLI 2011 Education for a global networked society. ; , s. 290-291
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- A systematic literature review of qualitative studies on the experiences and perceptions of school of Swedish children and adolescents was performed after literature searches in international and national databases. A narrative synthesis of 38 studies is presented focusing on the relationship between schooling and students' well being and mental health. Four themes were identified: general experiences (emotions, self-concept, choices); protective experiences (activities, participation, supportive relationships), risk experiences ( tests, stress, school failure, negative evaluations, learning difficulties, lack of interest, negative relationships with teachers and peers); specific individual risks (disability, stigma, family problems, abuse, addiction, body image). The results are discussed in relation to developmental theories, special educational practices and current evaluation practices. The methodology of systematic review of qualitative studies applied in the field of educational research is discussed.
|
|
| 19. |
- Ljusberg, Anna-Lena, 1957-
(author)
-
Children’s views on attending a remedial class – because of concentration difficulties
- 2011
-
In: Child Care Health and Development. - : Wiley. - 0305-1862 .- 1365-2214. ; 37:3, s. 440-445
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background An increasing number of segregating solutions (e.g. remedial classes) can be seen in Swedish schools. The aim of this article is to stress how children describe why they attend a remedial class and what it means to be a pupil in that setting. Methods The data collection consists of semi-structured interviews with 10 pupils between 10 and 12 years old attending 10 different remedial classes because they had been attributed with having concentration difficulties or diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The content of the interviews was described and analysed in relation to the classroom context. The socio-cultural perspective is used as a screen to describe and understand the children’s comments about attending remedial class. Results and conclusions All interviews with the children indicate that they are carriers of their schools’ compensatory perspective. This means that they are fully aware of the fact that they are regarded as difficult, with annoying and problematic behaviour, deviating from pupils’ in general. The remedial class creates social difficulties for the children; they see themselves as deviant, they lose old friends and there are limited possibilities of establishing new friendship in remedial classes.
|
|
