The purpose of my study was to examine how teachers in physical education experience different frame factors impact on their outdoor education and their choice of didactic approach. My study is based on Lundgren´s frame factor theory and Peitersen´s didactic learning model. I have used a qualitative research method to answer my questions. I have been using semi-structured interviews to interview six PE teachers who all teach at high school level. Based on my results we see that the teachers experience teaching hours and class sizes as the frame factors that mainly affect the outdoor education. Teachers often choose to split up the outdoor activities into sequences in order to achieve better learning. Based on my results the report concludes that the teachers experience outdoor education as a major part of physical education. They consider the organizational framework to be strenuous and to be something that requires careful didactic planning. / Syftet med min studie har varit att undersöka hur lärare i idrott och hälsa upplever olika ramfaktorers inverkan på sin friluftsundervisning samt deras val av didaktiskt tillvägagångssätt. Min studie lutar sig mot Lundgrens (1989) ramfaktorsteori samt Peitersens (2001) didaktiska inlärningsmodell. För att besvara mina frågeställningar har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod används. Jag har med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer intervjuat sex idrottslärare som alla jobbar på högstadiet. Utifrån mina resultat ser man att idrottslärarna upplever undervisningstiden och klasstorlekarna som de ramfaktorer som påverkar friluftsundervisningen i störst grad. Lärarna väljer ofta en deluppbyggnadsundervisning när de ska lära ut friluftsliv i skolan. Utifrån mina resultat är uppsatsens slutsats att idrottslärarna upplever friluftsundervisningen som en stor del av ämnet. De anser att de organisatoriska ramarna är påfrestande och kräver en noga didaktisk planering.

This doctoral thesis consists of a thesis for a Licentiate degree (Kristoffersson, 2002. Föräldrainflytande i grundskolan. En studie av nio lokala styrelser med föräldramajoritet i grundskolan. [Parents involvement in compulsory school. A study of nine local boards with parents in majority in compulsory school]) and two articles (Kristoffersson, 2005. Parental involvement: Parents´ new role in Swedish schools; and Kristoffersson, 2007. The paradox of parental influence in Danish schools. A Swedish perspective). In this thesis my interest is particularly governance, management, communication and partnership. The research aimed comprehensively to describe the school boards and discuss the education policy behind the implementation of the boards. An additional aim were to see whose interests favoured in local school boards. I also wanted to study how comparative research in this case can be relevant to Swedish studies of local school boards. I used the frame factor theory, which aids the exploration of the correspondence relations between factors that affect local school boards. Governance and partnership are key concepts applied to the analysis of data. Critical analysis and discussions of these boards from a hermeneutic sign are included, which meant that I tried to understand the boards in their context. I used a case study method. Data were gathered through interviews, observations and analysis of documents (e.g., school board minutes). The results signify that different interests are not adequately balanced on the boards. Communication between the board and the parents not on the board was not satisfactory in many cases and such parents felt excluded from the board’s activity. The principal’s collaboration with the board’s chairperson was an important influence on the board. Evaluation, support and feedback of the board’s activity from the local school authority in the municipality were often neglected. The implementation of the boards related to the transferred welfare policy to more market-oriented political governance. The political governing of the school changed, and was influenced by neo-liberal trends where partnership had become the new prestige word. Parents are today seen as individual consumers in a market, whereas as board members they should make decisions that include all parents. Instead of increased parental influence in the schools, the effect of boards could be increased differences between pupils and between parents. This arose because parents are not a homogenous group. Social, cultural and economic conditions have an influence on parents’ activities. The state implementation of local school boards in Sweden and in many countries is, therefore, complex. This can be seen through the weak interest in the creation of boards, which also can be linked to the top-down character of the reform. This study is an example where global, national and local factors interact.

In the educational literature on peer effects, attention has been brought to the fact that the mechanisms creating peer effects are still to a large extent hidden in obscurity. The hypothesis in this study is that the Frame Factor Theory can be used to explain these mechanisms. At heart of the theory is the concept of “time needed” for students to learn a certain curricula unit. The relations between class-aggregated time needed and the actual time available, steers and hinders the actions possible for the teacher. Further, the theory predicts that the timing and pacing of the teachers’ instruction is governed by a “steering criterion group” (SCG), namely the pupils in the 10th-25th percentile of the aptitude distribution in class. The class composition hereby set the possibilities and limitations for instruction, creating peer effects on individual outcomes. To test if the theory can be applied to the issue of peer effects, the study employs multilevel structural equation modelling (M-SEM) on Swedish TIMSS 2015-data (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study; students N=3761, teachers N=179). Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the SEM-framework, latent variables are specified according to the theory, such as “limitations of instruction” from TIMSS survey items. The results indicate a good model fit to data of the measurement model. The SEM-model verify a strong relation between the mean level of the SCG and the latent variable of limitations on instruction, a variable which in turn has a great impact on individual students’ test results. Thus, the analysis indicates a confirmation of the predictions derived from the frame factor theory and reveals that one of the important mechanisms creating peer effects in student outcomes is the effect the class composition has upon the teachers’ instruction in class.

The Swedish school as an institution has during a period of continuous change and control affected the teacher's profession and agency. One of the biggest resources a school has is the teachers. That is why it is important how the teachers themselves and their work are defined. The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge of the teacher's perception of professional practice and autonomy with the help of a questionnaire survey in the form of a mixed method. There are separate factors that have changed the teaching profession and with the help of a framework theory we can clearly see this. The frame factors are used in our work to gain an understanding of how external factors affect the teachers' profession. This is used as a way of structuring and analyzing the empirical data. Through the questionnaire responses, we have gained knowledge of teachers' experiences and descriptions of their professional practice and autonomy. The results have consistently highlighted the factors that affect autonomy and how this in turn affects the teacher's professional practice. The external factors that the results show are that a higher requirement is placed on documentation and student care, which means that subject knowledge is not prioritized. In relation to this, teachers are also critical of new scheduled activities that are outside the teacher's profession where there is an unclear division of responsibilities and insufficient resources.

In this qualitative study, eight school policies against degrading treatment and bullying, which were applied in eight municipalities in six different counties in Sweden, were analyzed to study what interventions the schools used to prevent degrading treatment and bullying and what course of actions the schools took in case such behavior was shown. These policies were analyzed with thematic analysis, which involved finding codes in the qualitative data and developing them into themes within the data. As a result, the study showed that 130 interventions were used in these schools. These interventions were developed into 59 themes, which were categorized according to the frame factor theory, which included four frames: judicial, administrative, physical, and social frames. They were also categorized into five levels, at which they were applied: school-level, classroom-level, individual-level, school-level interventions that were applied by students, and security-level. The first three levels were taken from Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP), and the following two levels were constructed during the study. The results showed that the four frames and the interventions in them intervened more with each other than it was originally discussed in the frame factor theory, as well as with the different levels at which they were used. The results also suggested the necessity of a remodeling of the theory in the light of conclusions based on the data and changes in school as an institution caused by changes in society. Keywords: Middle school policies, thematic analysis, frame factor theory, degrading treatment, bullying.

The aim of this study was to research the visual arts classroom and its impact on the teaching possibilities within. The visual arts subject has been subject to many studies based on curriculum and policy documents. This study chose to focus its research on the physical elements of the classroom, which meant the classrooms construction, materials and furnishing as the focal point. Observations have been made to study these layers in the visual arts classroom in three separate schools in the south of Sweden, which were all public elementary schools. In the three schools there have been four visual arts classrooms observed, and the teachers of these classrooms answered an open question survey around the time of the observations. The material was then analyzed using frame factor theory and Foucault’s power theory (1979). Based on the observations and the survey multiple discoveries were made. There is a power in how the classrooms are furnished, and the funding of the school has a big impact on what the art teachers can do. Most of the art teachers wants to work with three-dimensional materials and assignments, but feel limited due to either space, class size, limited budget, or limited time among others. The primary materials the teachers were working with were therefore paints or pencil crayons on paper. The study has also seen the similarities and differences in the arts classrooms furnishing and has shown some ways that the students try to create their own persona and revolt against the school structure.

This study aims to explore the framework behind teachers’ choice of fiction in their teaching in the subject Swedish. The two research questions examine how teachers discuss their possibilities to choose fiction and how it affects their teaching methods and what they think they need to consider when they select fiction for use in their teaching. Earlier research shows that reading comprehension among students have decreased throughout the years. Furthermore, earlier research discusses the different factors that show why reading fiction is important. The aim is examined through a qualitative thematic analysis where interviews with four teachers in upper secondary school is the material for analysis. Results are analyzed by the help of frame factor theory in order to investigate how the frame affects the teachers’ planning and teaching methods. Results also show that the curriculum and syllabus direct the teachers more than they perceive. The other frame factor that is significant in the teachers’ teaching methods is the students’ ability to read because it directly affects the way teachers approach literature to motivate them.

Denna studie undersöker begreppet likvärdighet genom att analysera hur elevernas bristande kunskapskontinuitet vid skolbyte upplevs och hanteras av rektorer och lärare, samt deras uppfattningar om den nya stadieindelade timplanens påverkan i måluppfyllelse och likvärdighet. Studien baseras på en semikvantitativ webbenkätundersökning med 145 rektorer och lärare i grundskolor i hela landet.  Mer än hälften av informanterna får inte någon information om elevernas tidigare undervisningstid. Kartläggning av elevernas kunskapsnivå vid skolbyte är utbredd och många bekräftar att påtagliga kunskapsluckor existerar. Majoriteten menar att eleverna får möjlighet att ta igen undervisningen genom kompensatoriska åtgärder som innebär anpassning av undervisningssätt och extra insatser utanför skolans ordinarie schema. Tidsstyrningen i skolan påverkas huvudsakligen av timplanen istället för lärarnas och elevernas önskemål. Ramfaktorteori och händelselogik visar att begreppet likvärdighet har två dimensioner. Likvärdighet mellan skolorna påverkas negativt av den befintliga timplanens brist på avstämningstillfällen, som leder till låg kunskapskontinuitet vid skolbyte. Detta avspeglas i informanternas positiva attityd mot centraliseringsåtgärder som exempelvis en stadiepreciserad timplan. Likvärdighet mellan eleverna är det mål som informanterna enligt sin inre logik strävar efter med hjälp av pedagogisk kartläggning och kompensatoriska åtgärdar. För att öka likvärdigheten måste timplanens implementering vara mer realistisk och stadieprecisering måste kompletteras med uppföljning i förhållande till måluppfyllelse. / This study examines the interpretation of educational equity by analysing how students’ lack of knowledge continuity upon school switching is experienced and handled by principals and teachers, and their opinion on the new level-divided national time schedule’s effects on goal attainment and equity. 145 principals and teachers in primary and lower secondary schools in Sweden participate in a semi-quantitative web survey for this study.  More than half of the informants do not receive any information concerning students’ former teaching hours. It is a common practice to chart students’ level of knowledge and one third of the informants confirm a significant knowledge gap. Catching up on lost teaching is possible according to most informants, with compensatory measures that encompass adaptation of teaching methods and extra-curricular activities not included in the normal timetable. Time allocation is mainly determined by the constraints of the national time schedule instead of the needs of teachers and students. By applyingthe theory of frame factor and practical reasoning, it is shown that equity has two dimensions. Equity between schools is dampened by the current national time schedule’s lack of follow-up occasions, leading to inadequate knowledge continuity upon school switching. This is reflected by the informants’ positive attitude towards educational centralisation by means of a more precise, level-divided time schedule. Equity between students has been the main goal that most schools strive for, by implementing knowledge-charting procedures and compensatory measures in the light of practical reasoning. In order to improve equity, a more precise and realistic time schedule needs to be complemented by more rigorous control in relation to goal-fulfilment.

Syftet med studien var att öka kunskapen kring hur förskollärare tolkar och resonerar kring fysisk aktivitet i relation till begreppet undervisning i den reviderade läroplanen Lpfö 18. I vår undersökning valde vi fokusgruppsintervjuer som kvalitativ intervjumetod. Fyra förskolor och totalt 16 förskollärare intervjuades och resultatet ställdes mot relevant litteratur samt tidigare forskning. I studien används ramfaktorteorin som teoretiskt ramverk för att upptäcka samband mellan rörelseglädje och ramfaktorteori. Resultatet visar att möjligheten till undervisning av fysiska aktiviteter i förskolan påverkas utifrån konstitutionella, organisatoriska och fysiska ramar. Undersökningens slutsats är att förskollärare alltid arbetat med undervisning i relation till rörelseglädje i förskolan men att det krävs tid, planering och engagemang till bearbetning av läroplan för att målstyrda lärprocesser ska kunna genomföras och uppnås. / The purpose of the study was to increase the knowledge about how preschool teachers ideas about physical activity in relation to the concept teaching in the new curriculum Lpfö 18. The study was a qualitative study and the data was collected in form of focus group interviews. Four preschools and total 16 preschool teachers were interviewed (four groups). Framework factor theory was used as a theoretical framework. The result shows that the possibility of teaching physical activities in preschool are influenced by constitutional, organizational and physical frameworks. The study's conclusion is that preschool teachers have always worked with teaching in relation to physical activity in preschool, but that it requires time, planning and commitment to the processing of the curriculum in order to be able to implement and achieve goal-oriented learning processes.

Sammanfattning I denna studie har FRAM-samarbetet stått i fokus. FRAM är ett interkommunalt skolutvecklingssamarbete som har pågått i några kommuner i en av storstadsregionerna . Syftet har varit att genom intervjuundersökningar belysa hur FRAM bidragit till kvalitetsförbättring och skolutveckling i de utvärderade skolorna. Utgångspunkten för denna studie har varit att undersöka i vilken grad två aktörer i ledningsnivå, nämligen förvaltningschefer och rektorer, har uppfattat FRAM’s bidrag och på vilket sätt de anser att den lett till kvalitetsförbättring. Studien är en kvalitativ forskningsstudie där förvaltningschefer och rektorer har blivit intervjuade med utgångspunkt från ett ramfaktorteoretiskt perspektiv. Där aktörerna och deras handlingsutrymme har beaktas i samband med de institutionella ramar och förutsättningar i vilka de befinner sig i. Ett dialektiskt samspel mellan individen och de institutionella normer och rutiner i vilken individernas handlingar formas av och i. Studien har en abduktiv ansats i betydelsen att den söker efter mönster och drag, i empirin, det vill säga de processer som pågått i samband med utvärderingarna, tillsyfte att med stöd av teorin för att öka förståelsen och kunskapen om FRAM-utvärderingens bidrag till kvalitetsförbättring i den enskilda skolan och den kommunala skolorganisationen. Studien lyfter upp blicken från de skolinterna aktörer (rektorer, lärare, elever) till de externa det vill säga den kommunala förvaltningens och de statlig institutionellas betydelse för hur det praktiska kvalitetsfrågorna formas och sker i skolan. För att förstå olika aktörers handlingar i det skolexterna, belystes två centrala begrepp, kvalitetsförbättring och utvärdering, vilket har präglat skolan i de senaste 20 åren. Vidare redovisades hur förändringar i styrningsmekanismer lett till dessa begrepps intrång i skolväsendet. Kvalitetsredovisningar och kvalitetskontroll av olika slag har så småningom omvandlats till härskande styrmekanism i skolan. Med kvalitetsstyrning följer andra kontroll mekanismer såsom uppföljning och utvärdering i skolans vokabulär. På så sätt har utvärdering omvandlas till en självklar melodi i skolan och övriga samhället för den delen. Men vad dessa utvärderingar leder till och vilken funktion de har pratas mindre om. Vidare redovisas hur åtstramning i den statliga ramfaktornivån gällande kvalitetsredovisningar ledde till åtskilliga aktiviteter och åtgärder runt om i landet i början och mitten av 2000-talet. FRAM är en av dem. Resultatet i den här forskningsstudien bekräftar tidigare forskning att externa och centralstyrda utvärderingars funktion ofta är av en administrativ karaktär och tjänar mest de centrala organisationerna än den lokala. Undersökningen bekräftar även att yttre aktörerna handlingar har betydelse för att leda och stödja utvecklingsarbetet i den enskilda skolan och hur den kan formas och drivas. Av studien framgår att skolutveckling och kvalitetsförbättring, i betydelsen högre måluppfyllelse, är en lokal angelägenhet och de växer utifrån analys av de lokala behov och långsiktig förändringsarbete. Forskning visar även att den lokala skolan inte mäktar ensamt att hålla en stadig förändringstakt om den inte får stöd från förvaltningen med analysverktyg, ledarskap och andra resurser. Nyckelord: Utvärdering, skolutvärdering, kvalitetsförbättring, skolutveckling, uppföljning, kvalitetsredovisning, Skolinspektion, Handlingsutrymme, ramfaktorteorin, inre och yttre gränser / In this study, FRAM- cooperation was in focus. FRAM is an inter-municipal school development cooperation that has been going on in a few communities in the metropolitan regions. The aim has been to highlight how FRAM by using interview surveys contributed to quality improvement and school improvement in the evaluated schools. The starting point of this study was to examine the degree to which two actors in management, namely managing directors and principals, have perceived FRAM´s contributions and how they feel it has led to quality improvement. The study is a qualitative research study in which management directors and principals have been interviewed on the basis of one Frame factor theoretical perspective. There, participants and their flexibility have taken into account the institutional framework and the conditions in which they are involved. This is a dialectical interplay between the individual and the institutional norms and practices in which the actions of individuals are shaped. The study is abductive in the sense that it looks for patterns and traits, the empirically, that is, the processes going on in the evaluations, intended to with the support of the theory increase understanding and knowledge of FRAM evaluation contribution to quality improvement of the school and the local school organization. The study changes perspective from the impact of school's internal participants (principals, teachers, students) to that of the external ones i. e. the municipal administration and the state institution on how the practical quality issues are formed in school. In order to understand different actors ´actions in the school externally, two key concepts were quality highlighted, improvement and evaluation, which have characterized the school system in the past 20 years in Sweden. It is also reported how changes in governance mechanisms have lead to intrusion of these concepts into the school system. Quality reports and quality control of various kinds have been gradually converted into dominant control mechanism in school. With quality management follows the other control mechanisms such as monitoring and evaluation of the school's vocabulary. In this way, evaluation has become a natural feature in school and society too, for that matter. But what these evaluations lead to and what function they have, is less talked about. Furthermore it is shown how austerity at government framework level concerning quality reports led to numerous activities and actions around the country in the early and mid 2000's. FRAM is one of them. The results of this research study confirm previous research that external and centralized function evaluations often are of an administrative character and they mostly serve central organizations more than the local ones. The survey also confirms that external actors are relevant in order to lead and support the development of the school and how it can be formed and operated. The study shows that school development and quality improvement, in the sense of greater achievement, is a local matter and they develop by the analysis of local needs and long-term change. Research also shows that the local school alone is not capable of keeping a steady pace of change if it is not supported by management with tools of analysis, leadership, and other resources.