Denna uppsats handlar om användningen av E-böcker inom högre utbildning vid Malmö Högskola. Syftet är att undersöka studenters attityder när det gäller användningen av E-böcker jämfört med den tryckta motsvarigheten vid akademiska studier. Studien granskar studenternas preferenser vidanvändningen av E-böcker jämfört med tryckta böcker, samt hur dessa media påverkar studenternas läsvanor. Genom att klargöra i vilka situationer E-böcker eller tryckta böcker har mest fördelar, så kan studenterna göra välgrundade val om vilket medium som de har störst nytta av. En nätbaserad enkät och inspelade intervjuer utgjorde metoderna för insamlingen av data, som sedan jämfördes med tidigare publicerade relevanta studier. Det visade sig att studenterna föredrog tryckta böcker för sina studier, och dessa böcker används fortfarande i första hand vid läsning och analys av längre textavsnitt. Däremot befanns E-böcker vara bäst när man skriver forskningsrapporter. Detta betyder att båda dessa media även framgent har en given plats inom denhögre utbildningen. / This thesis is about the use of E-books in higher education, specifically at Malmö University. The purpose of this study is to investigate attitudes students have towards the use of E-books for scholarly purposes in higher education versus their printed counterparts. This study looks at student preferences in the use of E-books compared to printed books, along with the effects these media have on students reading habits. By discovering in which situations E-books or printed books are most beneficial, students can make informed decisions about which medium will benefit them the most. An online survey and recorded interviews were used as methods for collecting data, whichwas then compared to previously published studies related to this subject. Students were found to prefer the printed book for studying purposes, and it still remains as the main source for reading and analyzing longer passages of text. E-books, on the other hand, were found to be most advantageous when preparing research reports. This means that both media still have their place inhigher education, which is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.

With the continued digitization of higher education, students’ ability to selfregulate their studies in online and blended learning settings has become critical for their academic success. Goal-setting strategies are an important aspect of self-regulated learning which universities aim to support through the implementation of the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of courses and programs. These act as a promise for students of the knowledge and skills which they are expected to acquire. However, students often perceive an absence of clear connection between ILOs and course assignments that creates a disconnect between students’ course progression and their progression toward course ILOs. To assist students in this task, a student-facing learning analytics dashboard (LAD) allowing students to track and plan their learning progress toward the achievement of the selected course’s ILOs has been developed and evaluated in the context of STEM higher education. The LAD was developed using a participatory design approach combined with design science research methodology. Thirty-seven students contributed to the design of the dashboard through a F2F workshop and later a student feedback session in Spring 2023. The tool was evaluated through five semi-structured interviews informed by the Technology Acceptance Model. The results show students having a behavioral intention to use the dashboard in their everyday university studies. The thesis contributes with a LAD focused on student ILO achievement and task-interest. / Med den fortsatta digitaliseringen av utbildning på högre nivå så har studenters förmåga att självreglera sina studier i online och flerformsundervisning blivit kritisk för deras akademiska framgång. Målsättningstrategier är en viktig aspekt av självreglerad inlärning, universitet siktar på att ge support till studenters målsättningsstrategier genom implementering av kursmål. Dessa agerar som ett löfte till studenter om de kunskaper och förmågor de förväntas uppnått när en kurs är klar. Studenter upplever däremot en brist på tydliga kopplingar mellan kursprogression och progression mot kursmålen. För att hjälpa förtydliga dessa kopplingar till studenter, så har en student riktad learning analytic dashboard (LAD), som tillåter studenter att följa och planera sin progression mot kursmålen, utvecklats och utvärderats i kontexten av STEM högre utbildning. LAD:n utvecklades med användning av en deltagande designstrategi kombinerat med design science research metodik. Trettiosju studenter bidrog till designen av dashboarden genom att ge feedback via en ansikte-till-ansikte verkstad och en gruppfeedbacksession under våren 2023. Implementationen evaluerades sedan genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer baserade på Technology Acceptance modellen. Resultatet implicerar att studenter har en beetendemässig avsikt att använda verktyget i sina dag-för-dag universitetsstudier. Avhandlingen avslutas med diskussion om forskningsrelevans och framtida relaterade arbeten. Avhandlingen bidrar med en LAD fokuserad på studenters uppnående av kursmål och uppgiftintresse

The purpose of this thesis is to be able to contribute a small insight into how first-generationSomali women experience higher education and what they experience as opportunities andobstacles. The data has been collected through a semi-structured qualitative telephoneinterview. The result is based on five interviews with first-generation Somali femalestudents who have lived in Sweden for less than ten years and who are currently pursuingbachelors or master's level of education. The results showed that higher education plays animportant role in the lives of all the students, it also shows that the students socio-culturalupbringing is the driving force behind their pursuing of higher education. Education is alsoseen as crucial for gaining social cultural and economic capital. The results also shows thatthe female students face challenges such as prejudices, socio-cultural barriers and evendifficulties in finding work after their education.

Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva akademikers bana mot att bli professionella då de kommer ut i arbetslivet med en magisterexamen i psykologi eller statsvetenskap. The study has a longitudinal design where Political Science and Psychology graduates’ have been interviewed on three consecutive occasions; the last semester before graduation, the first year and then, in the third year of professional work. The theoretical frame of reference comprises a situated and social learning theory and a gender perspective. These theories were chosen since they elaborate on concepts such as identity, practice, participation and learning. The results indicate that becoming a professional is not an isolated phenomenon merely learned and nurtured in higher education and/or in working life. It is emphasised as a dynamic learning process between a reflective individual, the interaction with a professional practice as well as a relationship between other spheres of life, e.g. the personal and the private. The graduates’ professional trajectories can be characterised by a movement from appropriating new knowledge to a need to change direction, e.g. new work tasks or professional fields. This is also a process of professional identity formation. The graduates’ professional identity is emphasised as being both closely related to a gender identity and influenced by the individuals’ belonging to and participation in other practices. The results thus indicate that professional identity formation is an interplay between different spheres of life that changes over time. By using a longitudinal design, it can be claimed that becoming a professional requires balancing one’s whole life situation. / Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva akademikers bana mot att bli professionella då de kommer ut i arbetslivet med en magisterexamen i psykologi eller statsvetenskap. Avhandlingen baserar sig på en longitudinell studie där statsvetare och psykologer har blivit intervjuade vid tre olika tillfällen; sista terminen innan examen samt efter första och tredje året i arbetslivet. Den teoretiska referensramen utgörs av begrepp från situerat och social lärteori samt från ett genusperspektiv. Dessa teorier valdes då de fokuserar på begreppen identitet, praktik, deltagande och lärande.Resultaten visar att utvecklingen mot att bli professionell inte är ett isolerat fenomen förvärvat och underhållet i högre utbildning och/eller arbetslivet. Det uttrycks snarare som en dynamisk lärprocess mellan en reflekterande individ, interaktion med en professionell praktik samt med olika sfärer i livet, den professionella, den personliga och den privata. Akademikernas professionella bana kan karakteriseras som en rörelse mellan att utveckla ny kunskap och göra den till sin, till ett behov av förändring i form av nya arbetsuppgifter eller byte av professionellt fält. Att bli professionell innebär även en utveckling av en professionell identitet. Statsvetarnas och psykologernas professionella identitet skapas i relation till en genusidentitet och är influerad av individernas tillhörighet och medverkan i olika praktiker. Resultatet visar därför utveckling av professionell identitet som ett samspel mellan olika sfärer i livet som är föränderligt över tid. Utifrån den utförda longitudinella studien är det möjligt att hävda att utvecklingen mot att bli professionell är ett sätt att skapa ett samspel och balans i individens livssituation.

During the year 2007 when this thesis was completed the European Union could look back at fifty years of collaboration, which began with the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and which has developed from being mainly economic in character to incorporating a political as well as a social dimension at the European level. In 2007 the European Union also commemorated the twentieth anniversary of Erasmus, its higher education mobility programme. It is this relatively new political dimension which I have been interested in investigating in this thesis. More precisely, it is the political construction of a common European identity which is analysed using a critical discourse analysis approach. The major aim of this thesis has been two-fold. The first aim has been to investigate how the European is constructed in the discourse contained within the official European Union documents. I have been interested in analysing the various structures, in the form of ideas and norms which are used to construct 'the European'. The second aim has been to explore whether the role of higher educated, as constructed in the official European Union discourse, is given a similar identity-making role as education is argued to have in the nation-state according to the theory on national identity. I argue that there are three versions of European identity construction, i.e. cultural, civic, and neo-liberal, with their own relationship to higher education, present in the empirical material analysed, consisting of official European Union documents. Further, this thesis is also a study of the power of modern government. I argue that there is an increase in normative soft power where 'the Good European' is not something 'you' are but something 'you' become by being a responsible active citizen. Through the use of critical discourse analysis I illuminate the power which resides in the language in the discourse analysed. Thus, I have been interested in investigating how the discourse analysed works to both include and exclude individuals. / Under 2007 då denna avhandling färdigställdes kunde den Europeiska Unionen se tillbaka på femtio år av samarbete som började med Romfördraget 1957 och som har utvecklats från att vara framförallt ekonomiskt till att även behandla politiska och sociala frågor på den europeiska nivån. År 2007 firade den Europeiska Unionen även tjugoårsjubileet för Erasmus, sitt program för rörlighet inom högre utbildning. Det är denna relativt nya politiska dimension som jag har varit intresserad av att undersöka i avhandlingen. Närmare bestämt, det är den politiska konstruktionen av en gemensam europeisk identitet som analyseras med hjälp av kritisk diskurs analys. Syftet med avhandlingen har varit tvådelat. Det första syftet har varit att undersöka hur europén skapas i diskursen som finns att finna i officiella EU policy dokument. Jag har varit intresserad av att analysera de olika strukturer, i form av idéer och normer som används för att konstruera 'europén'. Det andra syftet har varit att undersöka om högre utbildning, som den konstrueras i den officiella EU diskursen, har samma identitetsskapande roll som utbildning sägs ha i nationalstaten enligt nationell identitetsteori. Jag påstår att det finns tre versioner av europeisk identitet, i.e. kulturell, politisk och neoliberal, var och en med sin egen relation till högre utbildning, i det empiriska materialet, bestående av officiella EU dokument, som har undersökts. Dessutom, avhandlingen är en studie av den makt som är del av modernt styrande. Jag påstår att det har varit en ökning då det gäller 'mjuk. makt där en 'God Europé' inte är något 'du' är utan något 'du' blir genom att vara en ansvarstagande aktiv medborgare. Genom kritisk diskursanalys belyser jag uttrycken av makt som finns att finnas i den diskurs jag analyserar. Med andra ord, jag har varit intresserad av att undersöka hur den analyserade diskursen både inkluderar och exkluderar individer.

What defines a Swedish university college? This is the overarching question in this archival study of the development of the Swedish university colleges during the past 35 years. The objective of the study is to explore the binary elements in the overall unitary Swedish university system. Departing from existing macro level research on the university colleges (UCs), this study focuses on one single UC. Development of the UC was conceptualized as a question of decision-making in the UC in interplay with political decisions. The UC was explored by taking an extensive inductive approach starting from the original Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice, a perspective on organizations that focuses on the temporal order emerging from decisions, rather than enduring orders. Nine decisions situations in the UC were identified as well as four political reforms. The study shows that the concept “streams” from the model are the phenomena occupying organization members mind over time, thus constituting a recurring element although not an enduring order, tying together the temporal orders. The streams are shared between the UC and political decision-making; the two decision-making entities both take part in forming the streams over time. The streams are: (1) the academic discipline; (2) the vocational education; (3) research as a means to enhance the quality of education; and (4) regional relevance. The study proposes the emergence of a fifth stream, the research profile, which is taken to be a unique stream for the UCs in general, that differentiates them from the universities. The analysis shows that the UC continuously adjusts the law to the organizational conditions rather than implements legislation when new, hence offering a perspective on organizational change as a persistent condition inherent in the organizational body rather than definable events. By using the concept stream the study suggests a conceptualization of the political influence on the UC organizational body as well as a conceptualization of how the UC influence political decisions. This conceptualization provides a novel perspective on the relationship between state and the universities. A perspective that can be explored in future research, focusing on mutual adjustments of the streams.

Digital teknik har blivit en stor del av våra liv och har lett till omfattande förändringar på alla nivåer i samhället. Sverige är ett av världens mest utvecklade länder inom digital teknik och vi ser att det har haft sin inverkan på människors dagliga arbetsliv, vilket också inkluderar lärare inom skolan på alla nivåer. Huvudsyftet med studien är att undersöka hur svenska högskolelärare inom informatik upplever sin användning av digital teknik som de omges av på sin arbetsplats, vilket inbegriper hur de påverkar och påverkas av den digitala teknik som de använder. En kvalitativ forskningsansats användes för att svara på studiens fråga och metoden bestod av enskilda semistrukturerade intervjuer. I studien framgick det att svenska högskolelärare inom informatik kan uppleva sin användning av digital teknik som både besvärlig och bra. I de flesta fall kan de inte påverka den digitala tekniken i någon större utsträckning när det gäller dess utformning eller inköp, då system som administrationssystem och lärplattform införs via offentliga upphandlingar utan deras delaktighet. Det förekommer en tro om att högskolans digitalisering i framtiden kommer innebära att det underlättar deras administrativa arbete, men det råder ingen fullständig konsensus om att den digitala tekniken redan nu underlättar det på ett optimalt sätt. / Digital technology has become a big part of our lives and has led to extensive changes at all levels of society. With Sweden being one of the world's most technology evolved countries we see that technology has even set its roots within people's daily working lives, which also includes schoolteachers on all levels. The main purpose of the study is to investigate how Swedish university teachers in informatics experience their use with digital technology of which they are surrounded by at their workplace, which includes how they affect and are affected by the digital technology they use. A qualitative research approach was used to answer the study's question and the method consisted of individual semi-structured interviews. In the study, it emerged that Swedish university teachers in informatics experience their use of digital technology as both negative and positive. In most cases, they cannot influence the digital technology to any great extent in terms of its design or purchase, as systems such as administration systems and learning management platforms are introduced through public procurement without their participation. There is a belief that the university's digitization in the future will mean that it facilitates their administrative work, but there is no complete consensus that digital technology already facilitates it in an optimal way.

<p>Open and flexible learning can offer the prospective student a smorgasbord of possible learning activities. This study will investigate if this form of education really suits all students through an examination of relevant factors such as learning process expectations, attendance motives, study approaches (Biggs SPQ), communication initiative, expectation-based study and, finally, background variables such as socioeconomic status. Are there any variables that correlate positive to academic performance? If so, what are these variables and which are most important? This case study is an analysis of academic success involving 174 students in a business administration course in higher education.</p><p>Open and flexible learning is an approach in which distance education and campus mode converge. The emphasis shift is to the individual student’s needs and preferences, which enables students to choose there own learning paths and thus stimulates active and independent learning. The goal is to enable more effective management of learning by the learner. Open and flexible learning is often mentioned as a way to access higher education for non-traditional students. There is a large body of research, with a wide variety of theoretical frameworks and models, that try to explain, describe or predict students’ success. The research points to the fact that there is no one simple explanation or solution to help students towards degree completion or fulfilment of their goals.</p><p>A statistical correlation analysis is conducted in this study and a binary logistic regression is used to construct three models of the most important variables. The first model is based on data about the students that is known before a course starts. The second model includes variables that could be collected at the course start. The third model includes variables that could be collected when the students have attended the course. The result shows that the most important variable for academic success in the course is an achievement-oriented approach to learning. The second most important variable is expectation of the learning process as an individual activity. Other variables such as socioeconomic status and other background variables have less impact. The possibility to predict the academic success is 81 % and the third model explains 46-64 % of the variance of the academic outcome. The conclusion in this study is that the non-traditional students in the Business Administration course receives equal to, if not better results as the other students.</p>

Open and flexible learning can offer the prospective student a smorgasbord of possible learning activities. This study will investigate if this form of education really suits all students through an examination of relevant factors such as learning process expectations, attendance motives, study approaches (Biggs SPQ), communication initiative, expectation-based study and, finally, background variables such as socioeconomic status. Are there any variables that correlate positive to academic performance? If so, what are these variables and which are most important? This case study is an analysis of academic success involving 174 students in a business administration course in higher education. Open and flexible learning is an approach in which distance education and campus mode converge. The emphasis shift is to the individual student’s needs and preferences, which enables students to choose there own learning paths and thus stimulates active and independent learning. The goal is to enable more effective management of learning by the learner. Open and flexible learning is often mentioned as a way to access higher education for non-traditional students. There is a large body of research, with a wide variety of theoretical frameworks and models, that try to explain, describe or predict students’ success. The research points to the fact that there is no one simple explanation or solution to help students towards degree completion or fulfilment of their goals. A statistical correlation analysis is conducted in this study and a binary logistic regression is used to construct three models of the most important variables. The first model is based on data about the students that is known before a course starts. The second model includes variables that could be collected at the course start. The third model includes variables that could be collected when the students have attended the course. The result shows that the most important variable for academic success in the course is an achievement-oriented approach to learning. The second most important variable is expectation of the learning process as an individual activity. Other variables such as socioeconomic status and other background variables have less impact. The possibility to predict the academic success is 81 % and the third model explains 46-64 % of the variance of the academic outcome. The conclusion in this study is that the non-traditional students in the Business Administration course receives equal to, if not better results as the other students.

The overarching aim of the present thesis is to gain knowledge about how Rwandan university students understand and practice group-based learning. Specifically, this research takes a social constructivist perspective when examining how second year students within the area of Modern Languages reflect on collaborative writing and peer assessment as means to promote academic writing and active learning. Four studies make up this research. Thus, Study I examines how students carry out self-directed group work in writing. Study II investigates how instructor-guided writing groups can help promote students’ collaborative learning. Study III explores in what ways process writing as instruction method can help develop students’ academic writing abilities and Study IV focuses on how students experience peer assessment and peer feedback on group writing. The data, which are qualitative, were collected by means of interviews carried out with groups of students. The findings show that students perceive and conduct group-based learning in different ways, which can impact the quality of their learning. Also, based on initial support and guidance from the course instructor, most students acknowledged having been able to take stock of their common writing abilities and understand in what ways peer assessment and peer feedback can help them improve, and thus enrich their learning. A few students considered the common writing process time consuming though. In conclusion, some strategies are suggested to further improve group-based learning. / Det övergripande syftet med denna avhandling är att söka kunskap om hur universitetsstudenter i Rwanda förstår och praktiserar gruppbaserat lärande. Teoretiskt utgår den från ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv med särskilt fokus riktat mot hur studenter inom ämnesområdet moderna språk reflekterar över kollaborativt skrivande och inbördes bedömning som ett sätt att främja akademiskt skrivande och aktivt lärande. Avhandlingen består av fyra studier. I studie I undersöks studenters reflektioner över hur deras självstyrda skrivande i grupp genomförs. Studie II belyser lärarens roll i lärarlett skrivande i grupp och hur det kan påverka studenters kollaborativa lärande. I studie III studeras på vilket sätt metoder som synliggör skrivprocessen kan stödja studenters utveckling inom akademiskt skrivande. Studie IV fokuserar hur studenter erfar inbördes bedömning av skrivande i grupp. Data består av kvalitativa intervjuer genomförda med grupper av studenter under deras andra högskoleår Resultaten visar att studenterna uppfattar och genomför gruppbaserat lärande på olika sätt vilket kan påverka kvaliteten på deras lärande. Givet ett initialt stöd och vägledning från läraren som grund, bekräftade de flesta studenterna att de i grupparbetet kunde utnyttja sin gemensamma skrivförmåga och förstå på vilket sätt inbördes utvärdering kan hjälpa dem att förbättra sitt skrivande och därmed berika deras lärande. Vissa ansåg dock att den gemensamma skrivprocessen var tidsödande. Avslutningsvis föreslås strategier som kan användas för att ytterligare förbättra ett gruppbaserat lärande.