This qualitative study focused on retired school principals’ involvement in special education. More specifically, it explored various ways former principals conceived of their leadership identity and accounted for their level of involvement in special education and with students identified or identifying as disabled. The following research question guided this study: How do former principals account for their involvement with special education and/or disability? The study’s subquestions were: What are principals’ accounts of being, becoming, and remaining involved with special education and/or with disability?; In what ways do principals attend to special education and/or disability?; and How do principals conceive of their leadership identity given their accounts of involvement with special education and/or disability? Narratives shared by former principals regarding what it means to be involved with special education and/or disability and relationships between conceptions of involvement and identities served as the primary source of data. These conceptions included, but were not limited to, perceived ways principals’ viewed their attentiveness and commitment to special education. In this study leadership identity was understood as a professional identity in relationship to one’s identities and in response to others’ identities. Employing a phenomenographic approach, findings were grouped into pools of meanings, labeled as categories of description, and presented in an outcome space—a visual representation of results illustrating how participants experienced and attributed variation in meaning to the research phenomenon. Findings revealed former principals accounted for their involvement with special education and/or disability through professional responses, risk-taking, and working toward the social transformation of their schools. Participants experienced involvement as active presence, critical reflection, advocacy, and resistance. Findings suggested principal involvement in special education is influenced by their experiences with disability and relationships with individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, participants experienced identity through compassion, learning, spirituality, and dis/abled-ness. This study also revealed a nexus between participants’ confidence and involvement, suggesting the greater participants’ confidence to lead in special education, the more directly involved they were with and among students with disabilities; the less confident, the more they assumed a “supportive” role leading in this area. Personal experiences with disability—that was, participants having a child with a disability and/or having a disability themselves—facilitated increased leadership involvement. Participants who conceived leadership identity through a sense of spirituality and dis/abled-ness were more inclined to take risks and work toward socially transforming their schools. Discussion of how leadership preparation programs can recruit and prepare school leaders by focusing conversations around role expectations associated with leadership in special education is provided. Future research should consider how a leader’s identity affects leadership of students with disabilities and address the unique positionality of principals who are also parents of children with disabilities.

This study explored the discursive subject positions that 18 parents, teachers and administrators involved with children identified as experiencing learning difficulties in a Queensland regional primary school between September 2003 and August 2004 drew upon to explain the causes of those children’s learning difficulties. The study used a post-structuralist adaptation of positioning theory and social constructionism and a discourse analytic method to analyse relevant policy documents and participants’ semi-structured interview transcripts to interrogate what models were being used to explain a student's inability to access the curriculum. Despite the existence of alternative explanatory frameworks that functioned as relatively undeveloped resistant counternarratives, the study demonstrated the medical model’s overwhelming dominance in both Education Queensland policy statements and the participants’ subject positions. This dominance shapes and informs the adult stakeholders’ subjectivities and renders the child docile and potentially irrational.

<p>Happiness research is advancing as an academic discipline as well as on the political agenda. An aspect, largely ignored in the field, is what impact an individual’s construction of the good life has on his or her subjective well-being. The purpose of this paper was to investigate how people in different situations in life and with different backgrounds construct the idea of a good life and the importance these constructions may have in explaining subjective well-being. Despite the differences between themselves, the respondents’ constructions of the good life were shown to have a lot in common. Some factors in the good life were shared by the respondents, such as relations to other people, access to food, water and housing, whereas in other aspects, such as money and time, the constructions of the good life differed quite a lot from one another. When evaluating their own lives the respondents used quite different criteria mostly corresponding to their idea of the good life. If this is a general pattern, possible to replicate in other studies, one may in the future be able to draw the conclusion that the construction of the good life has an effect on our subjective well-being.</p>

<p>In November 2006 and July 2007, changes were made to the Social Services Law and the Criminal Injuries Law, defining children who have witnessed domestic violence as crime victims. The objective of our study is to examine if these changes have affected how social workers responsible for child protection inquiries interact with children who have witnessed domestic violence, and to what extent these children’s need of support are taken into account. Qualitative interviews have been carried out with five social workers, with the aim to evaluate how they meet and become aware of these children. Our problem-formulation is based upon the question how social services implement the recent changes to the law. The framework for analysis combines a social constructionist approach with a critical perspective. The study identifies shortcomings when it comes to the ways in which these children are encountered and the extent to which they are allowed to participate in the investigation process. The social workers interviewed have little knowledge about how children are affected by domestic violence, and also about these children’s need of help and support. The study further shows that children are not perceived as actors that have a right to participation and to be involved in the process. However, even if parents tend to be the focal point of child protection inquiries, there are also social workers who try to bring children’s rights to the fore and find ways to support these. The study thus supports the notion that it is important to see children as actors and individuals in their respective situation rather than as passive victims whose needs are overshadowed by those of the adults.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p> </p><p>This licentiate’s dissertation is about how school staff talk about pupils having difficulties in relating to teachers and other pupils. It’s specific focus is on pupils which are described as “disturbing”, “troublesome”,”unruly”, “unconcentrated” or characterised by similar concepts. The main aim is to elucidate and discuss how school staff explain pupils’ difficulties, what measures they state that they undertake and what measures they consider necessary.</p><p>The study is based on a social constructive approach. This means that the way we understand the world we live in is seen as shaped by social and cultural processes mediated through language. A consequence of this is that the way the staff talk about pupils in difficulties will influence how they relate to those children and how they work at solving the problems.</p><p>The empirical material consists of interviews with six principals, six Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators and six class teachers from six different schools. 15 of the people interviewed work with 11–13 year olds and three of them with 7–9 year olds. The material from the interviews is categorised into themes and further analysed in order to present a systematic overview of the ways in which the staff talk about children in difficulties.</p><p>The result shows that the problems are understood as complex and full of nuances. Explanations of the problems from medical/psychological perspectives have no distinguished status. It is more common that the problems are related to social conditions, family situation and school environment.</p><p>The study also shows that different professional groups usually place the responsibility for solving the problems with other professional groups. The way the concerned principal looks upon the problem seems be important for the way the problem is dealt with.</p><p>The way the staff studied talk about the school activities indicates that schools differ concerning issues like organisation, the role of the Special Needs Co-ordinator, co-operation between different professional groups etc. As a consequence pupils having difficulties in relating to other people will be subjected to different conditions depending on what school they attend. The school as an arena of identity creation and citizenship education will offer hence different opportunities to different children in difficulties.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em>Keywords:</em><strong> </strong>special educational needs, social constructionism, children in need of support,</p><p>problem behavior in schools</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p>Hans Larsson, Department of Education,</p><p>Örebro University, SE-701 82 Örebro, Sweden, hans.larsson@oru.se</p>

<p>Our aim with this study is to investigate whether or not Utbildningsradions - which is a public broadcasting agency - educational programmes reproduce the existing gender patterns of the female and male genders. We have chosen to analyse two educational programmes, Home Farm Twins and Rena rama forntiden.</p><p>We use a social constructionist theory regarding the construction and reproduction of gender and the method we have chosen to use is a qualitative content analysis to study the educational programmes.</p><p>Our conclusion is that in the case of Home Farm Twins, it reproduces the current stereotypes that exist in society. Rena rama forntiden on the other hand does not, the program has got a clear gender perspective in regards to its content. Though it can be said that in some ways it does not reflect upon the gender patterns that exist in society today, to a satisfactionary extent.</p><p>Utbildningsradion does not achieve its policy concerning Home Farm Twins, but on the other hand it shows that in the case of Rena rama forntiden they do own up to the standards regarding cultural diversity and creative aim.</p>

<p>The aim of this essay was to deepen the knowledge of how child-protection-work is illustrated by massmedia. The essay takes it stand in discourse analysis to explain what image is displayed of social work concerning child-protection that is published in news media during 2007 in one of Sweden’s most read evening-papers. The result of the study is that social workers involved in child-protection-work often are categorized as either too zealous or too uncommitted, in the media. The result reflected the current discourse concerning how social workers do their duties in the modern society.</p>

<p>När specialpedagogen använder handledning som verktyg söker hon åstadkomma förändring genom att ge pedagogerna råd. Fokus i samtalet riktas framförallt på barnet och på pedagogens arbete. Specialpedagogen kan ses som en slags expert på området barn i svårigheter och den pedagogiska praktiken. När specialpedagogen använder handledning som rum för reflektion söker hon åstadkomma förändring genom att ställa frågor för att stimulera pedagogens tänkande och stödja hennes utforskande av hur problemet kan förstås. Specialpedagogen kan då ses som en slags expert på att föra reflekterande samtal och samtalets fokus riktas huvudsakligen mot pedagogen. Specialpedagogernas repertoar innehåller därmed såväl förmåga att handleda genom att ge pedagogerna råd med utgångspunkt i det enskilda barnet som att stimulera pedagogernas reflekterande över aspekter av sitt arbete.</p><p>Avhandlings syfte är att undersöka hur elva specialpedagoger beskriver och genomför handledning med pedagoger i förskola och grundskola. Intresset riktas mot samtalens innehåll och mot de påverkansprocesser som äger rum i samtalet. Handledningssamtalen studeras ur specialpedagogens perspektiv.</p><p>Specialpedagogers handledningssamtal kan bidra till att vidga synen på objektet för den specialpedagogiska verksamheten såväl som befästa ett individperspektiv på området. I denna studie dominerar användningen av handledning som verktyg. Utmaningen förefaller ligga i att söka skapa villkor som även gynnar användningen av handledning som rum för reflektion.</p>

<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Essay in political science, C-level by Chris Baldebo spring semester 2010. Tutor: Arne Larsson. “Women’s conditions in municipal politics in the municipality of Karlstad - Six politicians tell”. </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The purpose of this paper is to explore women’s conditions in the municipal political work in the municipality of Karlstad. Based on the objective, one research question is formulated: How is women’s political acting space limited on the basis of gender power relations in local politics in the municipality of Karlstad? To be able to say something about the women’s conditions my approach has been to interview six active local politicians to collect empirical data to analyze from Maria Höjer Wendts & Cecilia Åses theorizing about women and politics, and Yvonne Hirdmans theory of a gender system.</p><p>My conclusions are that women’s political room for maneuver is limited in several ways in municipal politics in Karlstad. Foremost it is a restriction by various prevailing beliefs about the characteristics men and women are supposed to have and should have, and which behaviors that are legitimate in the local political process. These become the norm for their genders and contribute to various social practices are created and maintained. There is also a clear male dominance in terms of speaking in various political forums, where men to a higher extent compared with women are talking. Therefore women do not have the same opportunity to exercise half the real power when they are subjected to oppressive treatment, while local politicians are characterized by the male norm from which women are not valued as highly. The municipal politicians in the municipality of Karlstad (at various levels) is thus far from equal, although the lack of gender varies in different degrees depending on the forum politicians find themselves in.</p>

<p>Even though the goals of Swedish disability-politics are equality, full participation and autonomy, people with disabilities almost every day encounter discrimination and oppression. This thesis deals with the question of the public service-medias role in this discrepancy between political rhetoric and practices. The study of mass media’s role is interesting considering its cultural impact and the importance of cultural values in all kinds of communication situations. The focus of the study is on Swedish public service-television and the aim is to investigate the role of SVT in the implementation of the political goals of disability-politics. To what extent do SVT promote these goals and to what extent do they counteract them? The study’s ambition is both descriptive and analytical. Theoretically the study takes as its point of departure a social constructionist perspective. The only reality we thus can get in contact with is one that, via our language, has passed through our former knowledge and experiences. Language is therefore the main object of study. Another theoretical point of departure is a normative view on the role of mass media in society. This approach is characterized by the assumption that mass media has a certain usefulness for society as a whole, which in itself is a central purpose for public service-media.</p><p>The study is based on data consisting of programme descriptions and video copies of programmes from the start of SVT in 1956 until 2 000. Altogether it represents more than </p><p>2 000 TV-programmes and over 40 000 broadcasting hours. Furthermore, the data consist of official political documents regarding media and disability matters. The data are approached from a discourse-analytical perspective and investigated in three studies. One of the data clusters was used to carry out a quantitative outline of SVT’s representations of disability. Another was used in an analysis of the socio-historical context and its changes over time and yet another was an analysis of the contents and narratives of the programmes.</p><p>The main conclusions are that disabled persons and programmes that deals with disability issues are, and has been, rare in SVT, not more than 1-2 hours per 1 000 broadcast hours. The amount is the same today as it was in 1956. Another conclusion is that even though it seems like SVT is trying to promote the goals of disability-politics the consequences appears to be that SVT instead counteract them. One reason might be that the dominating representation in SVT has been of disability and disabled persons as normal. But because of journalistic practices, the outcome becomes portrays of deviance and The Other. This solution, however, is too simplistic. There is also a problem with the political rhetoric. As long as political goals, formulated in terms of ideals, which by definition are impossible to achieve, there will always be a discrepancy between political rhetoric and practices. The final conclusion therefore, is that reflections need to be done and consciousness needs to be raised in order to discover the discrepancy and from that point, try to create a change. </p>