This study examines how pupils in two first year science classes in the upper secondary school use the concept "society" in a home examination. The aim of the study is to contribute to the ongoing research debate on central concepts and the perceived lack of them within the social science didactics. To reach this aim a teaching theme in sociology was planned and executed, which resulted in a home examination where the pupils´ use of the "society" concept was examined through a qualitative method. The analysis is based on how pupils through basic and advanced terms use the "society" concept to analyze the content of the examination. The results show that pupils have used the "society" concept in six different ways - norms as an affecting force, changing norms with new technology possibilities, the individual´s opportunities to act against the norms of the society, borderline between the inappropriate and illegal, values as a reason for conflict and values as a condition for a functioning existence in society. The pupils’ usage of the "society" concept can relate to the nature of the concept, by lifting both actor- and structure driven explanations in their analyzes and by reasoning around the relational factor between the formal and the informal society. In summary, the results give support for the suggestion that the "society" concept can work as a dynamic and cohesive didactic tool for the social science subject, when it is placed as the subject’s central concept.

Genom iakttagelser under den verksamhetsförlagda delen av min yrkeslärarutbildning har jag gjort iakttagelser som ligger till grund för den här studien. Läsförståelse är avgörande för att kunna tillgodogöra sig sina studier på bästa sätt det finns det forskningen om, men hur ser forskningen ut när det handlar om läsförståelse inom vuxenutbildning? Jag har i den här studien valt att fokusera på de elever som har svenska som modersmål då det inte tenderar vara ett prioriterat område inom forskning om läsförståelse. Genom fenomenografi som metod har jag undersökt hur elever med svenska som modersmål tolkar några av de centrala begrepp som används inom vård- och omsorgs utbildning. Tillsammans med studiens etnografiska ansats har jag kunnat observera och analysera vad som påverkar läsförståelsen hos elever i vuxenutbildning men också kunna sätta in läsförståelsen i en större och vidare kontext genom den skoldidaktiska teorin som ligger till grund för diskussionen. Resultatet visar på att det finns anledning att se över hur man arbetar med läsförståelse även inom vuxenutbildningen för att ge alla elever bästa möjliga förutsättningar till progression i sin utbildning. / Through observations during the activity-related part of my vocational education program, I have made observations that underlie this study. Reading comprehension is crucial in order to be able to study their studies in the best possible way. There is research, but what does the research look like when it comes to reading comprehension in adult education? In this study, I have chosen to focus on those students who have Swedish as a mother tongue as it does not tend to be a priority area in research on reading comprehension. By means of phenomenology as a method, I have investigated how students with Swedish as a mother tongue interpret some of the key concepts used in healthcare and education. Together with the ethnographic approach of the study, I have been able to observe and analyze what influences reading comprehension in adult education students but also to put the reading comprehension into a broader and further context through the school-didactic theory underlying the discussion. The result shows that there is a need to review how to work with reading comprehension, even in adult education, to give all students the best possible conditions for progression in their education.