Author: Elisabeth Wahlberg   Title: “…I’ll just get mum to help me” About Young Adults’ Strategies for Coping with Reading and Writing Difficulties in Daily Life     This study investigated how seven young adults, who during senior high school underwent a syllable based intervention due to reading and writing difficulties, developed their literacy skills, and what strategies they used to try to overcome reading and writing problems, whether at work, during studies or in their leisure time. The period from when the participants had left school ranged between three and eight years. Qualitative as well as quantitative data was compiled for the study. Qualitative data consisted of  semistructured interviews and quantitative data of tests performed before the intervention and on two occasions after, in order to compare results over time. The study was a longitudinal case study with a phenomenological lifeworld approach and looked to increase awareness of the realities of living with reading and writing difficulties. It analysed how the participants dealt with their problems and what strategies they employed, in order to overcome them. Study results showed that even as participants improved their literacy skills compared to pre-intervention, reading and writing remained an issue. All participants were forced to adjust to the fact that they were affected in their daily lives, whether in choice of career or further education, or more everyday tasks involving reading and writing and also the inclination to read for pleasure. They avoided to expose their shortcomings if at all possible. Still, the participants all strived to tackle their reading and writing problems by applying elements from the syllable based intervention in conjunction with inventing individual strategies.

In this essay, I have examined what has been studied and presented in the theory of ICT in schools. I have based my theory on Arne Trageton’s book Att skriva sig till läsning – IKT i förskoleklass och skola (2005) and theories on children’s reading and writing development. The purpose of this study is to determine how teachers and children experience teaching with Trageton’s ICT-based model Att skriva sig till läsning and whether the model is beneficial for children's first reading and writing. Through qualitative interviews with two pedagogues from the same school and some children from first grade, I have received answers to my two questions: How do pedagogues and children experience ICT-based teaching in the context of children's first reading and writing? How do pedagogues experience the reading and writing development in first- and second-language students when using ICT-based teaching? The results showed that both pedagogues and children were positive about the model in which the computer was used as a writing tool in learning to read and write. The teachers felt that the model was suitable for all children according to their conditions. The children saw the writing as very enjoyable. For the ICT-based teaching to work properly, the technology has great significance. The usage of computers is not a problem for neither the pedagogues nor the children. Access to computers is perceived as the reason why there are only two scheduled ICT-based lessons a week

För att skapa möjligheter för elever att utveckla sitt språk samt sin läs- och skrivförmåga behöver de goda förebilder. Genom vår utbildning har vi tagit del av hur högläsning möjliggör för läraren att vara en läsande förebild och hur man genom att prata om ord, meningsbyggnad och det skrivna språket kan främja elevers språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling. I vår studie har vi undersökt högläsning som verksamhet i skolans första år genom att identifiera samband mellan vad, när och varför lärare läser högt.   Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ studie där vi genom intervjuer av lärare erhållit den data som ligger till grund för vårt resultat. Av resultatet framkom tre samband mellan vad, när och varför lärare använder högläsning i verksamheten. De rådande sambanden har att göra med de olikheter som visar sig utifrån om högläsning används som integrerad del av undervisningen eller inte. Det är något anmärkningsvärt att lärarna visar en slående medvetenhet om högläsningens inverkan på elevernas språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling, men att den inte alltid framkommer i deras egna utsagor av arbetet med högläsning.   Högläsning kan ske med syfte att ha en mysig stund, utveckla elevernas språkliga förmåga generellt samt främja deras läs- och skrivutveckling. Då högläsning bedrivs vid olika tillfällen under dagen innebär det en variation i de texter läraren läser ur och möjligheterna till fortsatt arbete är beroende på syftet med högläsningen. / To create opportunities for students to develop their language as well as reading and writing abilities they need good role models. Through our education we have acknowledged how reading aloud makes it possible for the teacher to be a role model when it comes to reading, and how you can promote students development concerning language, reading and writing by talking about words, sentence construction and the written language. In our study we have examined reading aloud as an activity in the first years of schooling by identifying connections between what, when and why teachers read aloud.     We have conducted a qualitative study in which we by interviewing teachers have accumulated the data on which we are basing our results. The result gives us three correlations between what, when and why teachers use reading aloud as an activity. The correlations has to do with the differences that are visible if a teacher uses reading aloud as an integrated part of the education or not. It is somewhat extraordinary that the teachers are showing a striking awareness of the effect that reading aloud has on the students language as well as reading and writing capabilities, but that this awareness is not always shown in their own statements of their work with reading aloud.     Reading aloud can have the purpose of being a cosy moment, to develop the students language abilities in general as well as being beneficial for their development in reading and writing. There is a variation in the texts the teacher is reading from since reading aloud is conducted at different times of the day, and the opportunities for further work is dependent on the purpose with reading aloud.

Sammanfattning För att dagens elever ska kunna möta de krav som samhället ställer på läskunnighet behöver de kunna ta till sig innehållet i det de läser med god läshastighet och förståelse och de behöver kunna reflektera kring det lästa. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att ta reda på hur ett antal elever upplever hur deras reflektionsförmåga och läsförståelse påverkas av att arbeta med skönlitterära texter och textsamtal utifrån en metod som kan kallas reflekterande läsning och skrivning. Anledningen till detta är att jag vill ta reda på om arbetssättet passar att implementera över lag i den skola jag arbetar för närvarande.                       Genom en litteraturgenomgång av språkets betydelse för människans utveckling, läs- och skrivutveckling, några olika didaktiska metoder och kvalitativa intervjuer med sex elever i år 9 redogör jag i detta examensarbete för hur man didaktiskt kan arbeta för att utveckla elevernas reflektionsförmåga och läsförståelse. Jag tar också upp svårigheter och kritik som framförts om den didaktiska metoden. Resultatet visar att fem av de sex eleverna upplever att de blivit bättre på att reflektera kring skönlitterära texter och att dessa reflektioner kan leda till en bättre förståelse för det lästa. Utifrån det resultat jag fått fram och den litteratur jag läst, anser jag att metoden, med några små justeringar, går att implementera från förskoleklass och uppåt.   Nyckelord: reflekterande läsning och skrivning, läsförståelse, reflektionsförmåga / Abstract In order to meet the requirements on reading acquisition of today’s society, students must know how to understand what they read and keep up their reading speed. They also need to know how to reflect upon what they are reading. The purpose with this examination is to find out how a number of students experience their ability to reflect upon fiction and how their reading comprehension is being improved by reading fiction and working with book talks through a didactic method called reflective reading and writing. The reason for doing this is that I would like to find out whether this method is suitable to implement at the school where I am working at the present.                       By studying literature about the importance of language to man’s development, reading and writing acquisition, some different didactic methods and interviewing six students in year 9, I report in this examination on how you can work didactically to develop the students’ ability to reflect and their reading comprehension. I also report on difficulties with and critique on the method. The result shows that five of the six students experience a better ability to reflect upon fiction and that these reflections can lead to a better reading comprehension of the texts they have read. From the gained result and the literature I have studied, I am of the opinion that this method, with some adjustments, can be implemented as early as from pre-school class.   Keywords: reflective reading and writing, reading comprehension, ability to reflect

This report describes a comparative study about reading- and writing development in “A-towns school” in The Gambia and in “Villaskolan” in Sweden. The purpose of this study is to compare two teachers in Sweden with two teachers and two volunteers from the school in Gambia, with focus on their thoughts and methods on teaching reading and writing at each school and in their social context. The aim is also to observe and describe how classroom environment at both schools can encourage students to read and write. The theoretical base of this study is rooted in a sociocultural perspective but I have also chosen to illuminate behaviorism and cognitivism. The study is qualitative and the main research methods are interviews and observations of the classrooms. My conclusions are, even though considerable differences in approach and conditions, teachers in both schools work hard and show dedication towards their students. Another finding is that teachers use different techniques and working methods to achieve the same goal -to teach their students to read and write based on what is required of them in their cultural and social context. The different ways of teaching have been caused by the existence of different perceived needs based on culture and tradition. One conclusion is also that read and write requirements for students in the Gambia and Sweden are different from each other. In Sweden there is clearly a higher demand for more advanced reading - and writing skills while one person in the Gambia is perceived to be able to read and write if he/she can handle basic administrative tasks.

<p>För att skapa möjligheter för elever att utveckla sitt språk samt sin läs- och skrivförmåga behöver de goda förebilder. Genom vår utbildning har vi tagit del av hur högläsning möjliggör för läraren att vara en läsande förebild och hur man genom att prata om ord, meningsbyggnad och det skrivna språket kan främja elevers språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling. I vår studie har vi undersökt högläsning som verksamhet i skolans första år genom att identifiera samband mellan vad, när och varför lärare läser högt.</p><p> </p><p>Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ studie där vi genom intervjuer av lärare erhållit den data som ligger till grund för vårt resultat. Av resultatet framkom tre samband mellan vad, när och varför lärare använder högläsning i verksamheten. De rådande sambanden har att göra med de olikheter som visar sig utifrån om högläsning används som integrerad del av undervisningen eller inte. Det är något anmärkningsvärt att lärarna visar en slående medvetenhet om högläsningens inverkan på elevernas språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling, men att den inte alltid framkommer i deras egna utsagor av arbetet med högläsning.</p><p> </p><p>Högläsning kan ske med syfte att ha en mysig stund, utveckla elevernas språkliga förmåga generellt samt främja deras läs- och skrivutveckling. Då högläsning bedrivs vid olika tillfällen under dagen innebär det en variation i de texter läraren läser ur och möjligheterna till fortsatt arbete är beroende på syftet med högläsningen.</p><p> </p> / <p>To create opportunities for students to develop their language as well as reading and writing abilities they need good role models. Through our education we have acknowledged how reading aloud makes it possible for the teacher to be a role model when it comes to reading, and how you can promote students development concerning language, reading and writing by talking about words, sentence construction and the written language. In our study we have examined reading aloud as an activity in the first years of schooling by identifying connections between what, when and why teachers read aloud.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have conducted a qualitative study in which we by interviewing teachers have accumulated the data on which we are basing our results. The result gives us three correlations between what, when and why teachers use reading aloud as an activity. The correlations has to do with the differences that are visible if a teacher uses reading aloud as an integrated part of the education or not. It is somewhat extraordinary that the teachers are showing a striking awareness of the effect that reading aloud has on the students language as well as reading and writing capabilities, but that this awareness is not always shown in their own statements of their work with reading aloud.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Reading aloud can have the purpose of being a cosy moment, to develop the students language abilities in general as well as being beneficial for their development in reading and writing. There is a variation in the texts the teacher is reading from since reading aloud is conducted at different times of the day, and the opportunities for further work is dependent on the purpose with reading aloud.</p><p> </p>

The purpose of my study is to investigate teacher’s perceptions of their mission in the preschool class, and how they work to promote children’s written language development. What methods and working methods they use to awaken curiosity and motivate children to read and write. I am using the qualitative research method to get answers to my questions. I have made four qualitative interviews with four teachers in preschool classes from different schools. My questions are: What conceptions does teachers have about their mission in a preschool class? What different methods and approaches does teachers use to stimulate and wake children’s curiosity for reading and writing development? The theoretical basis for my study is the socio-cultural perspective, where learning occurs in interaction. Reading and writing arises from a social-cultural perspective in which social relationships with adults and other children affect the children’s reading and writing. The results of the interviews showed that teachers use different methods to promote children’s literacy development. Teachers whom I have interviewed agree that the social interaction, play and reading aloud are important elements in children's learning and development. Teachers’ perceptions were different on how much to work with development. The reason may be is that the preschool did not have clear objectives for the teachers to work after.

In this study I have compared two different development methods of reading and writing. I have done this by interviewing five first grade teachers in elementary schools and it is based on qualitative research interviews. The aim of the study was to immerse myself in which methods these five teachers describe that they have used. They got to describe how they work and how they have tought the students to read and write.  I have investigated if the teachers think that the computer is a good tool. The investigation also shows if the teachers believe that the students´ writing skills deteriorate if they can use the keyboard instead.  I came to the conclusion that four of the teachers used Arne Trageton´s method (2005) which means that the students learn how to write by using to computer. One of the teachers mostly used Ingvar Lundberg´s method (2010) in the student´s development of reading and writing, which means that the students learn how to write. All five teachers think that there is no perfect method (instead of development methods of reading and writing). Everyone of them believes that it is up to the teacher to choose the method that every single student will learn best by. When it comes to using the computer they all agree on that the computer is a good complement to teaching. All five teachers don´t think that the students will lose their writing skills by working with the keyboard. They mean that the students still use the pencil often enough in their school work.

Sammanfattning   Det är inte bara elever med dyslexi som har läs- och skrivsvårigheter, utan problemet har ökat överallt i vårt moderna samhälle. Kraven på att läsa och ha god läsförståelse ökar i takt med att allt mer information skickas till oss via media, internet och post. Detta problem medförde att vi på den skola jag arbetar startade ett läsprojekt för att öka elevernas läsförståelse och därmed också deras resultat i skolan. Syftet med mitt arbete är att ta reda på vilka svårigheter och orsaker det finns för elever som har läs- och skrivsvårigheter, samt hur man ökar deras läsförståelseförmåga. Kan elever bara genom att läsa mera, kunna förbättra sina prestationer i läsförståelse. För att få ett svar på detta har jag undersökt elevers resultat av läsförståelsediagnoser. Resultaten presenteras utifrån en stanineskala som är en standardskala där elevernas poäng överförs till en niogradig skala. Ett staninevärde på fem motsvarar medelvärde. Sammanlagt nittiosju elever i samma ålder har kartlagts under högstadietiden. Resultatet vid undersökningen blev att läsförståelsen förbättrades för de svaga läsarna. Det visade sig också att de som var bra i sin läsförståelse i årskurs sju, sänkte sina resultat och närmade sig medelstanine fem. Ökad lästid i skolan har gjort att eleverna ökat sin läsförståelse. Däremot krävs det en utveckling av projektet, där samtalet kring det man läser sätts i fokus. Samtal ökar elevers förståelse och reflekterande. / Abstract The problem with dyslexia has increased everywhere in our modern society. Requirements of proficiency in reading and comprehension skills, increases at a similar speed to that which information is disseminated. This problem led to a reading project in the school where I work. The aim was to increase pupils reading, comprehension and also their overall performance. Is it a possibility that by just reading more in school, pupils can improve their performance? To find and answer I have researched the pupils results from a reading comprehension diagnosis. The results are presented from a stanine scale, a standard scale where pupils points transfers to a nine degree scale. A stanine value of five is equal to mean and the lowest values are one and two. The reading diagnosis was undertaken by 97 pupils in the same age. The fist was carried out in autumn term of year seven and then every autumn up to year nine. The results show that reading comprehension improved for weaker readers from level one and two in year seven, to level three and four in year nine. The results also showed that pupils with good abilities in year seven lowered their results to middle stanine five in year nine. More time for reading in school shows that pupils increase their reading comprehension. However, the project needs to develop further, with focus on discussions following the reading of a text.

Švietimo sistemų palyginimas bei analizė pasaulinio švietimo kontekste labai aktualūs ir galėtų būti ypač naudingi reformuojant švietimo sistemą, siekiant bendrų tikslų visuose Europos Sąjungos šalyse. Įrodymais pagrįstą politiką ir praktiką – tyrimų ir vertinimų būdu gautų žinių paveiktą švietimo politiką – remia ir Europos Sąjunga, ir Ekonominio bendradarbiavimo ir plėtros organizacijos. Pirma magistrinio darbo dalis skirta teoriniam darbo pagrindimui. Magistrinio darbo tikslas - atlikti Lietuvos mokinių tarptautinio ir nacionalinio skaitymo gebėjimų tyrimų empirinių duomenų analizę. Magistrinio darbo uždaviniai: 1. Atlikti Lietuvos ir pasirinktų šalių švietimo sistemų siekiamo lygmens analizę skaitymo raštingumo srityje. 2. Atlikti Lietuvos ir pasirinktų šalių švietimo sistemų pasiektojo lygmens analizę skaitymo raštingumo srityje: 2.1. Atlikti tarptautinio skaitymo gebėjimų tyrimo PIRLS duomenų analizę. 2.2. Atlikti nacionalinio skaitymo gebėjimų pasiekimo tyrimo duomenų analizę. 2.3. Nustatyti pagrindinius veiksnius (realizuojamajame ir pasiekimų lygmenyse), lemiančius Lietuvos mokinių pasiekimus. Magistro darbe naudojami tyrimo metodai: • Mokslinės literatūros analizė, leidusi susipažinti su pasirinktų šalių švietimo sistemą charakterizuojančiais dokumentais, įvairiomis ugdymo filosofijomis, nagrinėjamų ugdymo teorijų raida ir funkcionavimu, skirtingomis konceptualiomis nuostatomis švietimo sistemos ir atskirų jos komponenčių atžvilgiu, nacionaliniais moksleivių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This master work presents the results of the research of the education systems of Lithuania, the Russian Federation, Norway, Sweden and Latvia (on reading literary and information by describing them, giving reading curricula (planning and realizing levels). The criteria established for comparison and evaluation of the education systems with regard to reading and writing in native language allow to analyse, compare and evaluate the education systems of reading and writing in native language at the planned achievement level and are easy to apply for other studies. Following the analysis of goals and objectives in teaching reading and writing in native language in primary schools of Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Latvia and the Russian Federation at the aspects of the school system aimed at formation of reading and writing context, knowledge and skills, general reading and writing abilities as well as attitudes and values, we can see that the major attention to teaching reading and writing is given by the Russian Federation (it devotes about 50 % of time to teaching language in the first form, 42 % of time in the second, third and fourth forms is devoted to the language and 30 % to reading). Given 19 lessons per week, it makes up about 9.5 lessons per week in the first form and about 7.98 lessons per week in the second-fourth forms, while in Lithuania and Norway this number accounts for 5. 95 and 5.94, respectively.