The focus of this qualitative study is the professional environment where post-school transitions take place. It seeks to identify some possible means for improving outcomes for young people with low educational achievement, dyslexia, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties as they move on from school. The study picks up a recommendation made by Ward and Thomson (1997), following their Scotland-wide survey, that further investigation is needed into post-school transitions of such ‘unrecorded’ young people. Taking ahead this task brings together different areas of knowledge, for example, inclusive education, youth transitions and social theory. To orient the research, initial data were gathered through a questionnaire completed by 14 educational professionals and in structured interviews with 16 youngsters, mostly recently enrolled at college, and their families. Ideas occurring here were then used to inform the main data gathering process. This was conducted in 17 semi-structured audio-recorded interviews, each approximately one hour’s duration, with school teachers, college lecturers and other professionals associated with transition. The methodology utilised a critical friends group to shape the research as it progressed. The thematic analysis of the data produced information about dissimilar models of transition support, varying constructions of young people and difficulties in partnership working. The ensuing discussion considered the roles of trusted signals of youth’s value, of careership based on transformations of identity and aspects of social capital on transitions of young people with additional support needs. The conclusion sets out areas for improvement and asks that greater consideration be given to the constraining factors within the professional environment of the post-school transitions of young people with additional support needs.

本研究旨在調查高一學生英文字彙學習困難，目的在於探尋高一學生所遭遇字彙學習困難的原因、瞭解課堂上老師所用的字彙敎學技巧、找出課堂上老師所使用的字彙練習活動、檢視用於測驗高一學生的字彙測驗類型、並發掘高一學生所使用的字彙學習策略。 本研究調查對象為臺北區七所公立高中的560位高一學生及三位英文任課教師，研究工具包括學生的字彙學習問卷調查及老師的口頭訪問。 研究結果，發現高一學生英文字彙學習困難的兩項主要原因：(1)高一字彙量太多。 (2)高一相關字彙練習活動困難。此外，最常用的字彙敎學技巧乃是以老師為中心的字彙敎學方法；字彙練習活動如造句及同義字、反義字練習最常用於課堂上；最常用的字彙測驗類型亦是傳統無上下文單題式字彙測驗類型；學生並不常運用字彙學習策略來幫助其學習字彙。除上述研究發現外，並對本研究的侷限及未來從事相關研究給予建議。 / This study investigated Senior I (first-year) high school students’ vocabulary learning difficulties. The purpose of the study was to (a) seek for reasons to account for vocabulary learning difficulties encountered by Senior I students, (b) investigate the vocabulary teaching techniques used in class, (c) find out the vocabulary practice activities used in class, (d) examine the vocabulary assessments given to Senior I students in class, and finally (e) explore vocabulary learning strategies used by Senior I students. 560 Senior I students and three teachers from the seven senior high schools in Taipei area participated in the present study. A vocabulary learning questionnaire was administered to the students, and the three teachers joined the oral interviews. Data were collected through the questionnaires for the students and oral interviews for the three teachers. Descriptive statistics were computed for data analysis. Two major reasons that account for vocabulary learning difficulties encountered by the Senior I students were: (1) huge increase of vocabulary size in Senior I and (2) more demanding vocabulary practices in Senior I. Besides, the most popular vocabulary teaching techniques were conventional teacher-centered ways of presenting new vocabulary items. Vocabulary practices such as sentence making are frequently used in senior I class, followed by synonym and antonym practices. Traditional decontextualized vocabulary assessments were frequently used in class. Finally, the students did not utilize vocabulary learning strategies frequently to help their vocabulary learning. Along with these findings, limitations of the study and implications for future research have been suggested.

<p>Abstract</p><p>The purpose with this essay is to get an insight on how the school has changed over the past years in terms of reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia. In the literature studies I mention reading- and writing difficulties and the reasons why some people get these problems. Further on in the literature study it is written about what the education act and the curriculum say about the school’s duties towards pupils in need of special support.</p><p>The result contains interviews with one language pedagogue and one special pedagogue who work in two different municipalities. In addition I interviewed two former pupils who went to school 15-20 years ago.</p><p>I came to the conclusion that today’s schools have changed to the better for the pupils with difficulties. During the 1990’s the problems around dyslexia was getting attention in the society. This made the school more aware about reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia and gave them more knowledge about the difficulties.</p> / <p>Sammandrag</p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att få en inblick i hur skolan har förändrats under de senare åren vad gällande elever med läs- och skrisvårigheter/dyslexi. I litteraturgenomgången tas läs- och skrivsvårigheter/dyslexi upp och vad det finns för bakomliggande orsaker till varför vissa personer får dessa svårigheter. Vidare står det om vad skollagen och läroplanen säger om skolans skyldigheter till att hjälpa elever i behov av särskilt stöd.</p><p>Undersökningen som behandlades i resultatet omfattade intervjuer med en språkpedagog och en specialpedagog som är verksamma i två olika kommuner samt intervjuer med två före detta elever med dyslexi som gick i skolan för cirka 15-20 år sedan.</p><p>Resultatet av undersökningen visade på att dagens skola har förändrats till det bättre för elever med dessa svårigheter. Under 1990-talet uppmärksammades dyslexiproblematiken i samhället vilket gjorde att skolan blev mer medveten och fick kunskap om läs- och skrivsvårigheter/dyslexi.</p>

<p>The aim of this essay is to examine how students in 6-9 grade with reading and writing difficulties are treated and supported by teachers and staff at Ideskolan, a community school north of Stockholm. I have chosen to answer the following question:</p><p>- How does Ideskolan cope with and support students with reading and writing difficulties</p><p>This has in turn generated the following questions:</p><p>- How is special education organized at Ideskolan?</p><p>- Is a diagnose always needed in order to deploy extra support?</p><p>The method I have employed is observation while participating, together with informal talks and interviews. I have visited Ideskolan twice, one week at the time. The material that the visits have generated is the foundation of the essay, supported by previous research in the field.</p><p>The essay clarifies what right to special support students have according to law, regulations, curriculum and teaching plans and what they look like in reality at Ideskolan. This paper questions why schools focus on the individual student in these matters instead on the schools organisation and way of working. It might not automatically be the students’ difficulties with reading and writing that limits their continued learning, but rather the schools attitude towards students with special needs. Some ways of working might minimize the difficulties while some can increase them. If so, perhaps a change is in order?</p><p>The essay also discusses the role of the special teacher – should she be supporting the students or her colleagues, or both. It also discusses if the teacher training should evolve to better suite the need to handle students with reading and writing difficulties.</p><p>Even though Ideskolan recognizes the fact that two – three students in each class suffers with reading and writing difficulties the support to these students are inadequate. The school can excuse it self by saying that there is no “right way to go”, for each student with reading and writing difficulties are unique and there for require different support.</p>

<p><strong>Abstrakt</strong></p><p>Studien behandlar begreppskunskap inom området positionssystemet hos elever i matematiksvårigheter. Undersökningen har gjorts i årskurs 4 och omfattar naturliga tal avseende tiobassystemet.</p><p>Studien består av en kvantitativ undersökning och en kvalitativ del med intervjuer.</p><p>Resultatet av studien har organiserats i tre områden som har betydelse för individens utveckling av matematiska begrepp. Talområdet 1-10, talsystemets uppbyggnad samt förståelsen av stora tal.</p><p>Av resultatet framgår att förståelse av ett begrepp kan vara mer ytlig än den ser ut att vara. Brister i grundläggande begreppsförståelse kan leda till att räknesvårigheter uppstår. Svårigheter är bland annat begreppen talsort och platsvärde, särskilt i stora tal.</p><p><em>Sökord:</em> begrepp, matematiksvårigheter, positionssystemet, schema, specialundervisning, tiobassystemet.</p> / <p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>The study deals with the conceptual knowledge in the positional system for pupils with mathematical difficulties. The investigation was conducted in grade four and includes natural numbers for the ten-base system.<strong></strong></p><p>The study consists of a quantitative survey and a quality part with interviews.</p><p>The result of the study has been organized into three areas which have importance to the development of mathematical concepts for individuals. The number field 1-10, rules for the building of system of numbers and the understanding of large numbers.</p><p>The result shows that the understanding of a concept may be more superficial then it appears to be. Deficiency in basic conceptual understanding can lead to numeracy problems. The difficulties included the concepts place-value and magnitude of number, especially in large numbers.</p><p> </p><p><em>Keywords:</em> concept, mathematical difficulties, positional system, schema, special needs education, ten-base system.</p>

<p>Syftet med examensarbetet var att undersöka hur den språkliga dräkten i</p><p>matematiska textuppgifter inverkar på elevernas förmåga att lösa uppgiften.</p><p>Fokus i undersökningen har lagts på elever i matematiksvårigheter.</p><p> </p><p>Utifrån teorier om olika svårigheter som språkets utformning kan ge inom</p><p>matematik och svenska, fokuserades i den följande undersökningen på</p><p>kategorierna signalord, kontextualisering och förstärkning av bild. Sex uppgifter</p><p>valdes ut från läromedel för att omformuleras i ytterligare två varianter vardera.</p><p>Undersökningen inleddes som en kvantitativ undersökning i årskurs fyra där</p><p>eleverna fick lösa sex uppgifter. Utifrån resultatet valdes elever ut för</p><p>kvalitativa intervjuer om textformuleringar. De intervjuade eleverna ingick i den</p><p>definierade målgruppen.</p><p> </p><p>Resultatet visar att eleverna har lättare att hitta svar när det finns ett signalord i</p><p>uppgiften. De reagerar olika inför lösandet av en textuppgift, en del känner</p><p>tilltro medan andra konstaterar att uppgiften inte går att lösa. Elever i</p><p>matematiksvårigheter undviker att skriva uträkningar och enheter i svaren.</p> / <p>The purpose of this study was to examine how the linguistic costume in</p><p>mathematical tasks affects students' ability to solve the task. The focus of the</p><p>investigation was on students with mathematics difficulties.</p><p> </p><p>Based on the theories of various difficulties in language design and how it can</p><p>effect in Mathematics and Swedish, the investigation was focused on the</p><p>categories signal words, contextualization and the strengthening of the</p><p>illustration. Six tasks were selected from textbooks to be reformulated in two</p><p>variants each. The investigation began as a quantitative survey in year four,</p><p>where students were to solve six tasks. Based on the results pupils were selected</p><p>for interviews about mathematical texts. The interviewed pupils belonged to the</p><p>defined group.</p><p> </p><p>The results show that the pupils easier can find answers when there is a signal</p><p>word in the task. They react in different ways when they have to solve a task in</p><p>mathematic. Some pupils have enough confidence to think they can solve it,</p><p>while others feel that the task can not be solved. Students with mathematics</p><p>difficulties avoid writing calculations and units of the answers.</p>

企業面對全球競爭，所壓縮利潤必需降低更多成本。目標成本制重視源流管理，從新產品設計階段開始掌控成本，為有效成本管理工具。擬採用企業除期待目標成本制帶來成效外，對於可能遭遇問題亦是關注。但相關文獻十分缺乏，值得深入研究。 本研究希冀探討實施目標成本制企業所遭遇及需急迫解決問題，做為企業提早規劃防範之用。研究結果如下： 一、個案公司對問卷所列問題皆有遭遇，經因素分析後可分為七個構面。 二、共同遭遇需急迫解決問題為「目標成本的訂定及達成」及「資訊的取得及衡量」。 三、不同遭遇需急迫解決問題及其原因如下： 「內部衝突及時間管理」：導入時間較晚，組織架構仍需調整。 「上下游廠商及產品創新」：協同開發模式發展較晚，對供應商能力品質較不確定。 「技術母廠的溝通及許可」：技術母廠掌控設計造成諸多限制。 / In competitive environment, enterprises need to decrease cost to prohibit profit keeping diminish. Target Costing advances the time of cost-down evaluation to the product design and development stage. It’s an effective cost management system. Enterprises not only expect the effect after adopting but also beware of difficulties during implementation. But there are few relative researches in the world. It is worthy of closer study. The purpose of study is to explore the urgency difficulties during implementation. It can be an advice to enterprises to avoid incurring same difficulties. The conclusions of this study are: 1.Case companies suffered all the difficulties. By factor analysis, all the difficulties can be divided into seven aspects. 2.The same urgent difficulties are “setting and achieving target costs” and “acquiring and measuring information”. 3.The different urgent difficulties and the causes are: “Internal conflict and time management”: The implementation-time was not long enough; organization structure needs to be adjusted. “Value chain and produce innovation”: It was too late to make collaborative development. The qualities and capacities of supplies were uncertainty. “Communication and permission from parent manufacturing companies”: Enterprise was been constrained by lack of design right from parent manufacturing company.

Många kvinnor betraktar amning som det naturligaste sättet att ge sitt nyfödda barn föda. Mödrar får information av sjukvården att bröstmjölk innehåller all näring som det nyfödda barnet behöver samt antikroppar som skyddar barnet mot de vanligaste barnsjukdomarna. Det är inte alla kvinnor som kan amma i dagens samhälle och detta kan leda till att känslor väcks hos den nyblivna mamman som under graviditeten tänkt amma men som sedan inte kunnat göra det. Syftet med studien var att utifrån bloggtexter beskriva mödrars upplevelser av amningssvårigheter under de första sex månaderna efter barnets födelse. Studien har en kvalitativ metod med en induktiv ansats. Data samlades in genom blogginlägg samt kommentarer från femton olika bloggar och analyserades sedan med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. I resultatet framkom två kategorier: ”Leva upp till samhällets normer och attityder” samt ”Det professionella stödet i amningsrådgivning”. Kategorierna bildade sedan temat: ”Mödrars kamp att kunna balansera krav och förväntningar på amningen”. Utifrån denna studie kan personal som arbetar med mödrar och amningsrådgivning på olika vårdenheter, få ökad kunskap om hur mödrar upplever amningssvårigheter. Studien kan ligga till grund för ändrade vårdrutiner samt att patientsäkerheten ökas. Det i sin tur kan bidra till att mödrar upplever mindre lidande i möte med hälso- och sjukvården. / Many women consider breastfeeding as the most natural way to give their newborn child nutrition. Mothers receive information from medical staff that breast milk contains all the nutrients that the infant needs and antibodies that protect the baby against common childhood diseases. Not all women can breastfeed in today's society and that could wake feelings in mothers that during the pregnancy has been thinking to breastfeeding but who involuntarily have been unable to do so. The aim of the study was to with blog texts describe mother’s experiences of breastfeeding difficulties in the first six months following the birth. The study was based on a qualitative approach with an inductive approach. Data were collected through blog posts and comments from fifteen different blogs and then analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results are based on two categories: “Living up to the norms and attitudes” and “Professional support in breastfeeding consulting”. These categories formed a theme: “Mothers struggle to balance between the requirements and expectations of breastfeeding”. Based on this study, the staff who work with mothers and breastfeeding consulting on various health care units enhance the understanding of how mothers experiencing breastfeeding difficulties. This furthermore could contribute to mother´s experiencing less distress interaction with health and medical care.

Psychosomatic health, including sleep, is important for adolescent well-being and daily functioning. Sleep difficulties are more seldom studied per se and whether there is socio-demographic variation in sleep difficulties among adolescents in Sweden is less known. The overall aim of the present study was to examine the frequency and social distribution of sleep difficulties among adolescents in Sweden. The child supplements of the Survey of Living Conditions, a Swedish nationally representative sample of ages 10-18, from years 2002 and 2003 were used (n=2531). Information from adolescents was linked to information from parents in a cross-sectional study design. Based on logistic regression analyses, variation in sleep difficulties was present according to gender, age, family structure, family economy, parent’s unemployment and residential area. No systematic sleep inequality by social class was found in the present study. The main results showed that adolescent girls, older age groups of adolescents, adolescents living in reconstituted families, living in families with a lack of cash margin, having unemployed parents and living in big cities reported sleep difficulties to a greater extent. Social factors, together with biological, psychological and cultural factors interact in explaining the variation in sleep difficulties.

This small scale study was informed by Symbolic Interactionism and Interpretivist Analysis and was carried out in a county within the south of England, referred to as ‘Southshire’. File searches and questionnaires were employed to gather contextual data. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather participant views and thematic analysis was used to analyse these interviews. This was a two part study consisting of two papers. The participants in Paper one of the study were young people with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) and their parents or carers. Paper one focussed on the participants’ views and experiences of mainstream and special education after they had experienced both. The views of the special school keyworker were also sought in order to improve understanding of the support and barriers that exist for young people and families. Views were elicited through individual semi-structured interviews which were analysed qualitatively using a thematic analysis approach (Braun and Clarke 2006). To gain contextual information within the county and to help in the process of selecting participants, the files of fifty young people identified as experiencing BESD were searched and analysed and relevant information was recorded. Paper two focussed on practitioners’ experiences of supporting young people with BESD. An electronic questionnaire was sent to practitioners from a wide range of agencies and collected qualitative and quantitative data which informed the researcher of the local context and gave insights into practitioner views. Five practitioners were invited to take part in individual semi-structured interviews to explore their views on supporting young people with BESD. Interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Findings from papers one and two were assimilated and the implications for Educational Psychology practice were considered. The following research aims were addressed: 1. To improve our understanding of the support and barriers experienced by children and young people with BESD in a Local Authority 2. To develop a better understanding of how Educational Psychologists can support children and young people experiencing BESD, their parents, carers and other practitioners. Summary of findings The key finding within Paper 1 was that both the young people and parents/carers reported experiences that were contrary to the intentions of current inclusion policy. Broadly, negative experiences were reported at mainstream school and positive experiences were reported while at special school for BESD. Participants felt that they had been treated negatively by mainstream practitioners in particular and that young people had been denied access to the curriculum and activities within mainstream school. Additionally the young people had experienced bullying at mainstream school and the bullying had been ignored or the young people themselves had been perceived as the bully despite being the victim. Perceptions of and attitudes towards the ‘unseen’ disability of BESD were also referred to and parents and carers reported feeling isolated while their child was attending mainstream education. The key finding within Paper 2 was that practitioners also reported experiences that were contrary to the intentions of the current inclusion policy. They reported many challenges that are faced by practitioners when trying to include young people with BESD in mainstream schools, and when supporting them within the Local Authority. Participants felt that negative attitudes towards BESD exist within mainstream schools, that working with other agencies to support young people with BESD is difficult, that parental involvement is key, but not always possible and that elements within the government and Local Authority context conflict with the inclusion agenda and with meeting children’s needs. Significance and Contribution Through a design informed by Symbolic Interactionism and Interpretivist Analysis the participants authentic voices have been heard in order to deepen our understanding of their experiences. Previous research has explored the views and experiences of young people, families and practitioners; however this is the first time that they have been considered together sufficiently in order to identify shared views. Additionally, young people, families and keyworkers views were sought at a specific point within the young person’s journey - after they had attended both mainstream school and special school. Furthermore experiences of the transition from mainstream school to special school were considered. The findings within this study suggest that the application of a simple solution (i.e. including young people with BESD in mainstream schools) to a complex problem (the social inclusion of young people with BESD), has had a negative impact. In fact the findings seem to imply that the inclusion of young people with BESD within mainstream schools has actually created the social exclusion that inclusion was designed to alleviate. The evidence for this is present within the findings within this study. In relation to BESD, the medical model has been criticised for individualising the ‘problem’, however if an educational model view of BESD is taken we are led to consider that the education system itself is imperfect. Therefore taking the educational model approach and applying the simple solution of ‘inclusion’ to the very complex problem of social inclusion highlights many areas of difficulty. These areas of difficulty have been outlined in the findings of this study and of previous studies. The identified issues are entrenched within the education system and can only be tackled through an examination of the system itself. The reported experiences of inclusion are more nuanced than the powerful message my data suggests, therefore it is essential to note that this study is not simply suggesting that inclusion is ‘negative’ or ‘bad’ and that special school is ‘positive’ or ‘good’ – a much more complex picture has been presented. The complexities that have been highlighted within this study have also been considered alongside the role of the Educational Psychologist and how they can facilitate inclusion and essentially social inclusion through their work with young people, families and practitioners. As a result of the findings, it has been suggested that further research should focus on examining the education system and in particular the dichotomy between the inclusion agenda and results centred teaching and the specialist provision for BESD that exists since the implementation of the inclusion agenda and whether it is meeting the needs of young people. Further research may also focus on whether the case presented for young people with BESD in this study is similar for young people with other types of SEN. This further research on how inclusion policy translates into practice will be particularly pertinent as new government policies and agendas unfold.