This study delves into the integration of children’s literature in English language learning classrooms, aiming to clarify teachers’ motivations, challenges, and methods. Through semi- structured interviews with educators from the United States and Sweden, diverse perspectives and experiences are captured, enriching the understanding of this educational practice. The research identifies key factors influencing the selection process of children’s literature, including relevance, student interest, and language proficiency levels, while exploring various integration methods such as read-aloud sessions, comprehension activities, and writing extensions. Despite facing challenges such as limited access to appropriate children’s literature and district policies, teachers demonstrate a commitment to enhancing language skills, promoting global awareness, and fostering critical thinking among students. By exploring different types of children’s literature, including picture books, chapter books, and culturally diverse texts, educators create immersive learning experiences that engage students in meaningful interactions with children’s literature, ultimately cultivating a deeper appreciation for reading and its broader impact on learning and development. The results show the necessity of providing thorough training and support for teachers to address challenges effectively and fully leverage the advantages of incorporating children's literature into language instruction. The findings illuminate the diverse and significant roles of children’s literature in education, mirroring societal views on raising children and meeting the needs and comprehension levels of readers. Through a qualitative approach that empowers participants to contribute their perspectives, the study offers in-depth insights into the diverse instructional strategies for utilizing children’s literature in English language education. Overall, the results enhance our understanding of the educational benefits of children’s literature in enriching classroom instruction and facilitating language learning, highlighting the necessity of nurturing supportive learning environments conducive to the effective integration of children’s literature into educational practices.

This study explores how English-speaking migrant parents in Sweden value transnational and linguistic cultural capital, and how they draw upon their own cultural resources in order to help their children acquire these forms of capital and inculcate a habitus. Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, social capital and habitus are used in a qualitative study in order to investigate how parents cultural capital was valued in the new cultural context, how they acquired new, more relevant capital for themselves, and how this shaped the aims, expectations and strategies they had to help their children acquire valued forms of capital.  Despite possessing a valuable form of linguistic capital, parents sometimes felt themselves to be limited within the Swedish setting, however this was justified due to the opportunities seen to be available for their children. Parents expressed they wished their children to develop a global perspective and develop skills and knowledge that would allow them to operate in transnational settings. In a rapidly changing world, it was difficult to know which skills would be required, but due to their knowledge of multiple national contexts, they felt that they were in a good position to help their children acquire the forms of capital that had been useful for them in their own experiences of migration. The parents negotiated these multiple national settings, taking what they saw as valuable from each, thereby helping their children’s acquisition of both linguistic and transnational capital.

Submitted by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2018-03-29T13:31:51Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_Clarissa_de_Souza_Cardoso.pdf: 2026483 bytes, checksum: 03d592783490c3ef8db48829bcdd1387 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-03T18:38:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao_Clarissa_de_Souza_Cardoso.pdf: 2026483 bytes, checksum: 03d592783490c3ef8db48829bcdd1387 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-01-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / A presente dissertação visa aprofundar o conhecimento das trajetórias terapêuticas e das redes sociais e afetivas de crianças que frequentam um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial Infantojuvenil (CAPSi). As trajetórias terapêuticas se constituem a partir de uma organização de convivência estabelecidas por meio de relações articuladas pelas pessoas que compõem a rede. Com esta pesquisa qualitativa, objetivou-se analisar as trajetórias terapêuticas das crianças que frequentam o Centro de Atenção Psicossocial Infantojuvenil (CAPSi). O estudo desenvolveu-se em um serviço de atenção psicossocial no município de São Lourenço do Sul, que é referência para cinco municípios no atendimento em saúde mental para crianças. Foram participantes desta pesquisa cinco crianças e seus familiares; utilizou-se para coleta de dados a análise dos prontuários, as informações anotadas em diário de campo, entrevistas narrativas, e o mapa dos cinco campos como estratégia metodológica para a entrevista narrativa com as crianças. O parecer de aprovação deste estudo possui nº 1.485.272 pelo Comitê de Ética da Faculdade de Enfermagem. Na análise foram apresentadas as trajetórias terapêuticas, as histórias de vida, e as redes sociais e afetivas de cada criança. A (re)construção das trajetórias terapêuticas e o conhecimento das redes sociais e afetivas das crianças que frequentam um serviço de atenção à saúde mental é fundamental para orientar as práticas de cuidado, fundamentado nas necessidades e demandas existentes por meio da narrativa deste público. As fragilidades encontradas nas trajetórias terapêuticas e nas redes sociais e afetivas relacionam-se com o encaminhamento precoce via escola, a longa permanência no serviço, a patologização-medicalização, e a ausência da figura paterna. Como potencialidades, foram encontrados os vínculos construídos ao longo das trajetórias terapêuticas demonstrados nos mapas e a família como principal fonte de apoio. Conclui-se que a participação efetiva das crianças na construção de um cuidado que atenda às suas singularidades, necessariamente, precisa ser articulada pela rede social e afetiva que as mesmas apresentam, constituindo-se como desafio para os diferentes atores e cenários da vida. / The following dissertation aims to profound the knowledge on therapeutic pathways and social and affective networks of children that attend to the Center for Psychosocial Child and Adolescent Care (CAPSi). The therapeutic pathways constitute from a living organization, established through relationships articulated by people that compose the network. With this qualitative research, the main goal was to analyze the therapeutic pathways of children that attend to the Center for Psychosocial Child and Adolescent Care. The study developed at a service for psychosocial care in the city of São Lourenço do Sul, which is reference to five cities in the mental care assistance to children. Five children and their families participated in this research. For data collection, chart analysis, recorded information in the field diary, narrative interviews, and the five-field map were used as methodological strategy to interviewing the children. The Ethics Committee from the Nursing School approved the study under the number 1.485.272. In the analysis, the therapeutic pathways, life history, and social and affective networks from each child were presented. The (re)building of therapeutic pathways and the knowledge on social and affective networks of the children that attend to a mental health care service is fundamental to guide the practices of care, fundament the necessities and existent demands through their own narrative. As fragilities in the therapeutic pathways, and in the social and affective networks, the early referral from the school, the extended permanence in the service, the pathologization -medicalization, and father’s absence were found. As potentialities, the bonding built during the therapeutic pathways demonstrated in the maps and the family as main source of support were highlighted. It is possible to conclude that the effective participation of children in the construction of a care that attend to their singularities, necessarily, needs to be articulated to the social and affective networks of them, which constitute as a challenge to the different actors and life scenarios.

This study was designed to answer the question: What are the similarities and differences between the portrayal of Mexican American females in realistic picture books published between 1998 and 2004 and such books published between 1990 and 1997? A content analysis was performed on 48 picture books published between 1998 and 2004 that feature Mexican American female characters, and the results were compared to a study of similar books published between 1990 and 1997. The study found that the portrayal of Mexican American females in the more recent time period is more authentic and less stereotypical than their portrayal in the earlier time period and that fewer Mexican American females are now depicted as submitting to gender subordination. However, the results show that the portrayal of Mexican American females in picture books does not yet fully reflect the nontraditional gender roles that these females often take on in contemporary society.

Avhandlingens övergripande syfte var att fördjupa kunskapen om hur socialtjänsten synliggör barns fysiska och psykiska hälsa samt barns egna upplevelser i barnavårdsutredningar. Resultaten diskuteras utifrån rättsliga förutsättningar samt teorier om barn som subjekt och sociala aktörer. De fyra delstudierna visar att det finns begränsningar i hur hälsan samt barns upplevelser beskrivs om man vill förstå deras behov av stöd. En anledning till detta kan vara att den rättsliga regleringen inte per automatik ger barn status som subjekt och aktörer. Resultaten tyder på att barnperspektivet i både den rättsliga regleringen och genomförandet av barnavårdsutredningar har stärkts jämfört med vad som visats i tidigare forskning men det behövs en utvecklad analys och argumentation kring barns upplevelser och barns hälsa. En sådan förståelse ger förutsättningar för att barn blir synliggjorda utifrån sina unika förutsättningar vilket säkerställer att socialtjänsten tar hänsyn till deras unika behov. / The overall aim of this thesis is to explore how the physical- and psychological health of children – as well as children’s own experiences – are represented in child welfare investigations. The results are discussed with reference to both legal regulations and theories, which identify children as subjects and social actors in their own right. The four studies show that there are limitations in how children’s health generally, along with their experiences more specifically, are described. The consequence is a diminishing of the chances to understand the child’s need for support. One reason for this might be that legal regulations for social welfare investigations do not automatically ascribe to children the status of subjects and social actors. Compared with previous research, results gathered in this thesis indicate that the child’s perspective has been strengthened in both law and in social welfare investigations. All the same, there is still a need for more developed analyses of children’s health as well as children’s experiences. Such an understanding requires that children be seen from their unique positions, ensuring moreover that social services take into account the specific needs of individual children.

Sibling caretaking, although common across time and cultures, has not been well researched from the carer’s point of view. In Nicaragua, ranked as one of the poorest countries in the Americas, sibling caretaking is common. The country’s historical background and its state of chronic poverty, widespread unemployment, loose family structures, and migration and mobility makes of the old practise of shared management child care a necessity. Households headed by sing¬le mothers constitute a particular Nica¬raguan charact¬eristic. Many children are expected to help in their own families and care for their siblings and other children living in their households. In its broadest sense sibling caretaking is a public health concern, and we conducted this study to widen the understanding of the phenomenon as it is represented in a setting undergoing a rapid social transition. The main objectives were to identify, describe and analyse the life situation of sibling caretakers in poor areas in León, Nicaragua, with focus on how they perceived it themselves. A combined qualitative and quantitative methodological design was used, mainly applying an ethnographic approach. A further ambition was to explore involvement of children in a participatory research process in accordance with the ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’. The overall emotion expressed among the caretakers was pride, even if their situation often was characterized by stress and coping problems. They perceived their work as important for their families and they appreciated to fend for their siblings. Household work and nurturing of siblings were shaping the future lives of the caretakers and constituted part of their socialization. Even if many of these children achieve essential life skills as caretakers, they are at risk of falling behind as they grow older. Their long-term personal development is likely to be hampered by the obligations they have as caretakers. The carers' awareness of missing out on education was the most problematic issue for them. From a societal point of view, caretaking has negative consequences. The individual child is marginalised with limited access to basic education, contributing to overall low educational levels in Nicaragua. While the structuring conditions leading to sibling caretaking may be difficult to change, awareness of how these can affect children might make way for improvements in terms of access to school education and support from the society. The knowledge gained from this study should be further utilised to plan for interventions that take children’s perspectives into consideration.

This two years master’s thesis is a review and exploration of the Swedish debate concerning children’s literature from the 19th century to the present, as well as the evaluation and analysis of four adaptations of the tale Red Riding Hood. The aims are to identify how ideas and values regarding the role of children’s literature in society have developed over time and to contribute with a knowledge base for continued reflection and discussion on the subject of children’s reading and mediation of children’s literature in public libraries. The theory and method used in the thesis, is primarily based on the discourse analysis of Michel Foucault. I have identified four main discourses: the educational discourse, the liberation discourse, the politicized dis- course and the popular discourse. To explore the tension between contingency and permanence within the dis- cursive field I have revolved the analysis around key concepts such as ”pedagogy”, ”children” and ”childhood”. The four different adaptations of Red Riding Hood illustrate how beliefs about children and children’s reading have been revised over time. The study shows that the debate and the literature have evolved from a didactic and instrumental point of view to a more liberating and aesthetic approach. But the movement is not linear and uni- vocal. The current debates and the range of children’s literature today exhibit tendencies both of protective mo- rality, expressive and imaginative aesthetics and political awareness. The predominant view of children is still as human “becoming’s” rather than “beings”, and the value of reading literature is thus regarded as extrinsic and as a tool for language development. This continuous and ongoing educational discourse takes little interest in the children’s own ideas and opinions about books and reading. It is my conclusion that children’s libraries, as me- diators of children’s literature, have an enhanced role to play in today’s technologically based society; providing and encouraging book discussions and other literary activities where not only the literature is in focus, but the children’s own reading experiences as well.

Research on the portrayal of child characters with dyslexia in picture books is limited, therefore in this thesis, I analyzed six children’s picture books published in English speaking countries including the United States, Canada, and Australia for their portrayal of dyslexia, the plot, the characterization of the child, and the child’s relationship with others. I read through the books multiple times and conducted a content analysis to identify patterns in the portrayal of images of dyslexia and the child characters over the period of 1995-2018. Through the analysis of images of dyslexia, it became apparent that dyslexia had a major impact on the story of the six books and was often described as a challenge. Furthermore, the character’s teachers were often the first to recognize the symptoms of dyslexia,and the characters commonly received treatment through their schools. When analyzing the plot, the themes of acceptance and pretending as well as the shift from happy endings to realistic endings became apparent. When the portrayal of the child characters were analyzed, their strengths were in areas outside of reading and writing, and their weaknesses were due to dyslexia. In addition, the characters’ negative self-concept and their lack of ethnic diversity became evident. Lastly, the analysis of the character’s relationships with others showed the supportive role of their parents and teachers, along with the shifting portrayal of bullying classmates to supportive friends. The analysis of this thesis revealed similar findings to previous research conducted on children’s books portraying children with dyslexia,as well as comparable findings to the research on the real experiences of children who have dyslexia.

This thesis discusses how children's perspectives are implemented in the municipality's physical planning in Sweden in relation to the statutory UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The thesis seeks to answer how the planners express their views on the participation, as well as their views on the child and childhood. The study is based on three research questions. The aim is examined in relation to comprehensive planning and use the Norwegian context as a comparison since the country has progressed further in the implementation of the convention. The theoretical framework consists of a research overview regarding social sustainability, and the concepts of child and childhood. An historical review of children’s geography is also conducted. In addition, previous research regarding children’s participation in planning, as well as participation models lays ground for the theoretical framework. The small-scale case study of three municipalities is carried out by six qualitative interviews with physical and strategical planners, as well as professionals with experience in citizen dialogue. In addition, the empirical analysis includes a small document study of the municipal frameworks for citizen participation. Key findings are that children's perspectives are lacking in municipal planning processes, especially in relation to the comprehensive planning. In the three cases in this study, the efforts to incorporate children’s perspective into the planning process seems to be largely guided by the planners' own knowledge and interests. The implementation work with the Convention on the Right of the Child varies somewhat between the municipalities, where one of them stood out and had come further than the other two in connection with the physical planning. The planners view of the child shaped the opportunities for the children to participate in the planning process. The lack of formal guidelines is also described as a reason for the children's lack of participation. An ambivalent picture of children is found among planners and decision makers. These split images create a difficulty in creating a uniform picture of children's participation in the municipalities, as well as finding suitable methods for participation. However, many of the interviewees expressed a strong interest in involving children in planning to a greater extent, and to gain access to more knowledge in the subject.

Many scholars seem to be very general in their research regarding child custody. Moreover, those that are not so general, seem to be focusing on areas that do not cover much about the views and feelings of children who are in out of their parents’ home care. This paper has aimed at investigating how Sweden has implemented suggestive improvements from the 2021 investigations, regarding children being placed out of their parents’ home care, to ensure the best interest of the child. Using Bacchi’s WPR policy analysis method, this paper has been able to analyze the 2023 report that was presented to the Swedish government regarding children being placed in out of their parents’ home care. The analysis of this paper has concluded that the Swedish government has recognized the issues that were presented in the 2023 report, and as a result, new laws have been implemented to ensure that children’s needs are met.