The study highlights English teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of creative writing in the English subject in Swedish compulsory school years 7-9 and upper secondary school. The data in this study was collected through a quantitative web survey answered by 13 respondents and qualitative, semi-structured interviews with four teachers selected from the survey respondents. The findings show that the teachers’ attitudes to creative writing as a part of English teaching are influenced partly by how important they think writing in English is but also by external factors, such as the school’s steering documents and the social environment.

I dagens skola används läromedel dagligen. De läromedel som används blir på ett sätt elever- nas verklighet eftersom texter av olika slag formar vårt sätt att tänka och agera. När den stat- liga förhandsgranskningen av läromedel upphörde i början av 1990-talet blev det skolornas ansvar att kvalitetssäkra läromedlen, något som många lärare har uppgett att de inte har tid med. Statliga utredningar under 2000-talet har visat på brister i läromedel avseende hur väl de lever upp till läroplanens värdegrund samt på ett underskott av kvinnliga representanter. Syf- tet med det här examensarbetet i svenska var att bidra med kunskap om hur genuskonstruktion har förändrats över tid i svenska läseböcker. Därav analyserades fem olika läromedel från 1970-talet och fram till 2010-talet avsedda för grundskolans tidiga år. Till min hjälp har jag använt mig av Yvonne Hirdmans genusteori, Lena Kårelands resonemang om genusordning och Elisabeth Öhrns kunskapsöversikt om förändrade könsmönster i skolan. I analysen fram- kommer att samtliga läseböcker visar på skillnader mellan kvinnor och män inom olika områ- den. Det tyder på att genusfrågor i skolan fortfarande är aktuella. / Today in school, teaching materials are used daily. The teaching materials used become, in a way, the pupils' reality because texts of various kinds shape our way of thinking and acting. When the government preview of teaching materials ceased in the early 1990s, it became the schools' responsibility to ensure the quality of teaching materials, something that many te- achers have stated that they do not have the time for. Government studies during the 2000s have shown shortcomings in teaching materials regarding how well they live up to the cur- riculum's moral values and on a deficit of female representatives. The purpose of this thesis in Swedish was to contribute knowledge about how gender construction has changed over time in Swedish textbooks. Hence, five different textbooks were analyzed from the 1970s until the 2010s intended for the early years of compulsory school. To my help, I have used Yvonne Hirdman’s theory about gender, Lena Kåreland's reasoning about gender order and Elisabeth Öhrn's research overview about changing gender patterns in school. The analysis reveals that every textbook shows differences between women and men in different areas. This indicates that gender questions in school are still relevant.

<p>Denna studie utgår ifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på lärande och syftet med studien är att undersöka huruvida seminarier som arbets- och bedömningsform kan främja intresset för olika moment inom naturvetenskap i allmänhet och biologi i synnerhet, samt att undersöka huruvida seminarier även kan fungera som ett bra bedömningsverktyg.</p><p> </p><p>De metoder som användes i studien var enkät och intervju. Studien utfördes i tre moment. Först genomfördes seminarier inom ämnet biologi i en årskurs 8. Därefter besvarades en enkät av ca. 60 elever från seminarieromgången. Slutligen genomfördes två gruppintervjuer, en med elever och en med lärare. </p><p> </p><p>Resultaten visar att det verkar finnas en koppling mellan seminarieformen och ett ökat intresse, men att kopplingen endast går att göra till intresset för det specifika ämnesområde som tas upp under seminariet. Det är möjligt att detta i förlängningen kan leda till ökat intresse för biologi, men det skulle krävas ytterligare undersökningar för att ta reda på detta. Resultaten visar också att seminarier för vissa elever är en uppskattad bedömningsform och att lärarna tycker att den fungerar bra som komplement till skriftliga metoder. Tydliga kriterier framhålls som viktiga av både elever och lärare.</p> / <p>This diploma work leans on the socio-cultural perspective on education, represented by, among others, Vygotskij. The purpose of this work is to investigate whether seminars could work as a reliable alternative to written exams and to investigate if seminars as a method could enhance interest in different parts of natural sciences, in particular Biology.</p><p> </p><p>The methods used in this study were survey and interviews. The study was carried out in three major parts: seminars were performed in secondary school with children aged 14; a survey regarding these seminars was held and finally, group interviews, one with teachers and one with pupils, were conducted. The interviews focused on the perception of the seminars as a method of learning and evaluation.</p><p> </p><p>The results show that there may be a connection between seminars and an increased interest in specific topics within the field of Biology. However, this connection is so far only significantly detectable for the specific topic of these seminars and can as of now not be stretched to include Natural sciences, or even Biology. Therefore there is room for further investigations to confirm this hypothesis. The results also show that seminars are appreciated among teachers and a large number of students and that both these groups see seminars as a complement to other more traditional forms of teaching and written examinations.</p><p>Key words: seminar, seminars, assessment, interest, Biology, natural sciences, secondary school, upper level of compulsory school, senior level of compulsory school<strong></strong></p>

Denna studie utgår ifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på lärande och syftet med studien är att undersöka huruvida seminarier som arbets- och bedömningsform kan främja intresset för olika moment inom naturvetenskap i allmänhet och biologi i synnerhet, samt att undersöka huruvida seminarier även kan fungera som ett bra bedömningsverktyg.   De metoder som användes i studien var enkät och intervju. Studien utfördes i tre moment. Först genomfördes seminarier inom ämnet biologi i en årskurs 8. Därefter besvarades en enkät av ca. 60 elever från seminarieromgången. Slutligen genomfördes två gruppintervjuer, en med elever och en med lärare.    Resultaten visar att det verkar finnas en koppling mellan seminarieformen och ett ökat intresse, men att kopplingen endast går att göra till intresset för det specifika ämnesområde som tas upp under seminariet. Det är möjligt att detta i förlängningen kan leda till ökat intresse för biologi, men det skulle krävas ytterligare undersökningar för att ta reda på detta. Resultaten visar också att seminarier för vissa elever är en uppskattad bedömningsform och att lärarna tycker att den fungerar bra som komplement till skriftliga metoder. Tydliga kriterier framhålls som viktiga av både elever och lärare. / This diploma work leans on the socio-cultural perspective on education, represented by, among others, Vygotskij. The purpose of this work is to investigate whether seminars could work as a reliable alternative to written exams and to investigate if seminars as a method could enhance interest in different parts of natural sciences, in particular Biology.   The methods used in this study were survey and interviews. The study was carried out in three major parts: seminars were performed in secondary school with children aged 14; a survey regarding these seminars was held and finally, group interviews, one with teachers and one with pupils, were conducted. The interviews focused on the perception of the seminars as a method of learning and evaluation.   The results show that there may be a connection between seminars and an increased interest in specific topics within the field of Biology. However, this connection is so far only significantly detectable for the specific topic of these seminars and can as of now not be stretched to include Natural sciences, or even Biology. Therefore there is room for further investigations to confirm this hypothesis. The results also show that seminars are appreciated among teachers and a large number of students and that both these groups see seminars as a complement to other more traditional forms of teaching and written examinations. Key words: seminar, seminars, assessment, interest, Biology, natural sciences, secondary school, upper level of compulsory school, senior level of compulsory school

Abstract Research shows that the prevailing view is that the relationship between teacher and pupil is fundamental to learning. Although most studies emphasize the crucial importance of a positive relationship between teacher and student, it also highlights that more knowledge is needed about what actually happens when a teacher acts relationally. The purpose of this study is therefore to elucidate what teachers do in their practice which creates good conditions for a good teacher-student relationship with students incompulsory school for children with severe learning disabilities.The purpose is achieved by answering the questions: What good conditions for a good teacher-student relationship can be determined based on how teachers act in the teaching practice with students incompulsory school for children with severe learning disabilities? What good conditions for a good teacher-student relationship with students incompulsory school for children with severe learning disabilities can be determined based on the descriptions of three teaching teachers? and How can good prerequisites for a good teacher-student relationship with students inthe practice ofcompulsory school for children with severe learning disabilities be understood from a two-dimensional interpretation framework? The relational perspective according to Aspelin (2013, 2016) is the perspective used to interpret the study's empirics. According to this perspective, a two-dimensional interpretation framework consisting of two approaches, which Aspelin (2013) calls pedagogical approaches and pedagogical meetings, is required. In order to balance these, differentiation skills (Aspelin, 2016) are also required to have the ability to regulate proximity and distance in the relationship. Observational studies and interview studies were conducted to find answers to the study's questions. The study results show that the two survey methods complement each other, since the results of the study methods do not contradict each other, but rather substantiate and supplement, the assumption is made that this contributed to a more complex picture of relationship building. The methods illustrate the topic from two different perspectives, what the teacher does and what the teacher describes it to do. The result reflects the different ways of creating the conditions for relationships that the study's review of previous research shows. Based on a combination of the results of the study methods, it can be seen that teachers are often in the social and interpersonal dimension at the same time and that they influence and presuppose one another. Taken together, the study's results can be interpreted as the fact that specialist teachers' knowledge of the pedagogical work and their ability to self-insight is the basis of their work in building teacher-student relationships. And that differentiation creates the conditions for the teachers' ability to differentiate between private and professional as well as the prerequisite for the student to take a place as an individual. / Sammanfattning Forskning visar att den rådande synen är att relationen mellan lärare och elev är grundläggande för att lärande skall ske. Trots att flertalet studier framhåller den avgörande betydelsen av en positiv relation mellan lärare och elev lyfter den även att det behövs mer kunskap om vad som faktiskt äger rum när en lärare agerar relationellt. Syftet för denna studie är därför att belysa vad lärare gör i sin praktik som skapar goda förutsättningar för en god lärare- elevrelation i träningsskolan. Syftet uppnås genom att besvara frågeställningarna: Vilka goda förutsättningar för en god lärare- elevrelation går att utröna utifrån hur lärare agerar i undervisningens praktik i träningsskolan? Vilka goda förutsättningar för en god lärare- elevrelation i träningsskolan går att utröna utifrån tre undervisande lärares beskrivningar? samt Hur kan goda förutsättningar för en god lärare- elevrelation i träningsskolans praktik förstås utifrån en tvådimensionell tolkningsram?  Det relationella perspektivet enligt Aspelin är det perspektiv som används för att tolka studiens empiri.Enligt detta perspektiv fordras dels en tvådimensionelltolkningsram bestående av två förhållningssätt som Aspelin (2013) benämner pedagogiskt förhållningssätt och pedagogiskt möte. För att balansera dessa krävs även en differentieringskompetens för att ha förmågan att reglera närhet och distans i relationen. Observationsstudier och intervjustudier genomfördes för att finna svar på studiens frågeställningar. Studiens resultat visar att de två undersökningsmetoderna kompletterar varandra, då resultaten från studiens metoder inte motsäger varandra, utan snarare underbygger och kompletterar, görs antagandet att detta bidrog till en mer komplex bild av relationsbyggande. Metoderna belyser ämnet från två olika perspektiv, vad läraren gör och vad läraren beskriver att den gör.  Resultatet speglar de olika sätt att skapa förutsättningar för relationer som studiens genomgång av tidigare forskning visar. Utifrån en kombination av resultaten från studiens metoder syns att lärarna ofta befinner sig i den sociala och den mellanmänskliga dimensionen samtidigt samt att dessa påverkar och förutsätter varandra. Sammantaget kan studiens resultat tolkas som att speciallärares kunskap om det pedagogiska arbetet och deras förmåga till självinsikt är grunden i deras arbete med att bygga lärare- elevrelationer. Och att differentiering skapar förutsättningar för lärarnas förmåga att skilja på privat och professionell samt förutsättningen för eleven att ta plats som en egen individ.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka grundskollärarens uppfattningar av inkludering av grundsärskolans elever i grundskolans verksamhet. Frågeställningarna är; vilka möjligheter, utmaningar och framgångsfaktorer ser grundskolelärare angående inkludering av grundsärskolans elever i grundskolans verksamhet? Studien är en kvalitativ studie där sex semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförs med grundskollärare med erfarenhet av inkludering av grundsärskolans elever i grundskolans verksamhet från förskoleklass upp till årskurs sex. I analysen används två teorier, Asp-Onsjös (2008) teori om inkludering som belyser inkluderingen på nära håll och Nilholms (2007) perspektiv på specialpedagogik som tillåter en mer distanserad tolkning av fenomenet.     I studien framkommer de demokratiska och sociala fördelarna med att inkludera elever samt utmaningarna som innefattar såväl ledningens ansvar, lärarens arbetsvillkor, föräldrarnas inflytande och det dagliga arbetet. Framgångsfaktorer som blir tydliga är lärartäthet, tillgång till grupprum och att inkluderingen påbörjas direkt i förskoleklass. Intressant att lyfta är de samstämmiga uppfattningarna som presenteras såväl i litteraturen, forskningen, som av informanterna om de positiva effekterna, utmaningarna och framgångsfaktorer i inkluderingssammanhang. Mest anmärkningsvärt är hur betydelsefull socio-kommunikationen är mellan lärare och eleverna som inkluderas för att skapa sammanhang och förståelse om vad som avhandlas. Likaså betonas vikten av att upprätthålla ett gott socialt klimat på skolan.   Studiens resultat genererar ny kunskap som ger en möjlig förklaring om varför inkludering högre upp i skolåren tenderar att misslyckas. Genom att uppmärksamma vad som leder till exkludering kan skolledning, grundskollärare och speciallärare samverka för att finna lämpliga åtgärder för att motverka det. På så vis kan det som framkommer i denna studie användas i den pedagogiska praktiken. I undersökningen framkommer även vad som gynnar en inkluderande verksamhet och därmed kan detta sätta fokus på vad skolor behöver utveckla och inom vilka delar personalen behöver fortbildning för att kunna arbeta inkluderande. / The studies purpose is to examine inclusion of pupils with intellectual disabilities in compulsory schools. The key question is: what are the possibilities, challenges and successful methods as to how teachers can include pupils with intellectual disabilities and involve them in compulsory school? The study is qualitative where six semi-structured interviews are conducted by teachers with experience of including pupils with intellectual disabilities from preschool up to year 6 in compulsory schools. In the analysis there are two theories: The Asp- Onsjös (2008) theory which allowed a close analysis of the topic and Nilholms (2007) prespective on special needs teaching that allows a more distanced interpretation of the phenomenon.   In the study there are both the social and democratic advantages that incorporates pupils challenges. These challenges are also effected by the leadership, teacher, working conditions, parents influence and their daily work. Successful factors that are working are teaching experience, access to student work rooms that are included directly as a continuation of kindergarten. The interest is that the same experiences presented in the literature and research, can present the positive effects, challenges and successful methods inherent in compulsory inclusion. Most noticeable is how important socio-communication is between teachers and pupils that can be included to create inclusion and understanding in a permissive learning environment. It also stressed the importance of maintaining a good social climate at school.   The result of the study generates a new knowledge and gives a possible explanation about why placing inclusive pupils with intellectual disability higher up in the learning stage generally fails. Paying attention to what leads to exclusion can help the school leadership, teachers and special needs teachers co-operate to find suitable alternatives. The finding from this study may lead to improved future learnings and understandings of pedagogy in the school environment. In future studies there should be consideration to what constitutes appropriate activities and what schools need to develop. Staff professional development would also play an important part in this to develop their awareness and knowledge of inclusion of pupils with an intellectual disability.

The aim of this study is to investigate teachers’ views of ethics in religion classes in grade school. What do they teach in ethics? What is it that the teachers are assessing? Do they experience any problems with the assessment of ethics? I chose to write about this subject for many reasons, including my interest in the subject, the lack of earlier research, and the fact that ethics was not included in my education at the university. I have written an empirical study, based on qualitative scientific interviews. I have interviewed six teachers, who all teach at compulsory school ages 12-15. The results show that the pupils mostly discuss different ethical dilemmas during ethics sessions, and as an exam the teachers evaluate their knowledge in these three methods by letting the pupils write about them. I come to the conclusion that the teachers don’t find it hard to assess ethics, but at the same time, they mostly value the different methods in ethics that are found in Lgr 11. One of six teachers said that a student shouldn’t be able to get a higher grade if their ethics doesn’t correspond to the values listed in Lgr 11. The other five are in the opinion that teachers shouldn’t assess opinions, only knowledge. The question is, are the teachers able to set their own ethical beliefs aside?

The purpose of this study is to survey how teachers work with reading to motivate students to raise an interest. The aim of this study is to find answers on which elements can affect students reading habits, in which ways teachers can operate to make reading education motivating and how we can operate to build an interest and a desire to read among the students. The survey has been defined to operative teachers in Karlstad kommun and students in the ages 9- 10. To implement this study both qualitative observations and qualitative interviews have occurred. Three teachers have been interviewed and their classes has been observed. The result of this study shows that, a varying education is beneficial and promotes motivation and interest amongst the students. All teachers illustrate how important reading education is and puts much effort in presenting the students a continuous instruction in reading. / Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur pedagoger arbetar med läsning för att motivera elever att bygga ett intresse. Studiens avsikt är att få svar på vilka faktorer som kan påverka elevernas läsning, på vilka sätt som pedagoger kan arbeta för att göra läsundervisningen motiverande samt för att bygga ett intresse och en läslust hos eleverna. Studien har centrerats till verksamma pedagoger i Karlstad kommun samt elever i åldrarna 9–10 år. För att genomföra denna studie har kvalitativa observationer samt intervjuer genomförts. Tre pedagoger har blivit intervjuade och deras klasser har observerats. Resultatet av studien visar hur varierande arbetssätt främjar motivation och intresse hos eleverna. Samtliga deltagande lärare belyser hur viktigt läsundervisning är och lägger stor vikt vid att ge eleverna en kontinuerlig undervisning kring läsning.

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development is approaching its end and it is important to investigate the effects of the efforts to implement education for sustainable development (ESD) nationally, before decisions on forthcoming efforts are made. There are few investigations of the effect of ESD implementation that take a broad approach. In order to measure the educational effects of ESD implementation broadly and inclusively, I introduce the concept of sustainability consciousness (SC), which will be operationalized into the research through a Likert scale questionnaire. This licentiate thesis contributes new knowledge on the implementation of ESD in the Swedish school system as reflected in young people’s SC. Two studies have been conducted. In the first study, I investigated the effects of ESD implementation by a comparison of SC between students in schools with an explicit ESD approach and control schools without an explicit approach. In the second study, I investigated whether the perceptual dip among adolescents found in the field of environmental education was also present in the economic and social dimensions of their SC in addition to the environmental one. The total sample included 2 413 students in 6th, 9th and 12th grades of the Swedish schools system. Results of the two studies indicate that the implementation of ESD in the Swedish compulsory school system does not seem to have been particularly successful as there are only small positive effects of an explicit ESD approach in 6th grade and even a small negative effect of an explicit ESD approach in the 9th grade. Furthermore, the dip in adolescent 9th graders’ SC is confirmed. This indicates that different age groups tackle the effects of the prevailing traditional sustainability teaching in different ways, which suggests that ESD in schools need to be adapted to different levels. / Baksidestext: The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development is drawing to an end and it is important to investigate the effects of implementing education for sustainable development (ESD) nationally. This thesis contributes new knowledge on the implementation of ESD in the Swedish school system. The concept of sustainability consciousness (SC) is introduced and operationalized to measure the educational effects of ESD by taking a broad and inclusive approach in two studies with a total of 2 413 students in 6th, 9th, and 12th grades. The first study investigated differences in students’ SC by comparing students in schools with an explicit ESD approach and control schools without an explicit approach. The second study investigated if there is a dip in 9th graders’ SC in comparison with younger and older age groups. Results reveal that the implementation of ESD in the Swedish schools does not seem to have been particularly successful as there are only small effects of an explicit ESD approach. A dip in adolescent 9th graders’ SC is also confirmed. Different age groups respond to the prevailing traditional sustainability teaching in different ways, which suggest that ESD in schools need to be adapted to different levels.

This thesis deals with the current situation of denominational religious education in Austria and the question of its future. The situation will be described including the historical development of the relationship between religion and politics and the legal framework of religious education in Austria. Afterwards models and systems of religious education in other European countries will be discussed. A major part of the thesis deals with challenges and recent developments of denominational religious education in Austria. This current situation will be discussed then against the historical background of the relationship between politics and religion in Austria. Afterwards the Austrian situation will be compared to other models in Europe to find out about similarities and differences. The final conclusion outlines what denominational religious education in Austria can learn from other systems in Europe and what are some ways it can be adapted to a more religiously diverse and secular Austria in the future.