A presente pesquisa investiga a interação discursiva em quatro atividades de campo junto a estudantes de sexta série do Ensino Fundamental, assumindo as explicações construídas como ferramenta cultural à luz da Teoria da Ação Mediada, de James Wertsch, na perspectiva da construção de significados. Para tal evidenciamos a contribuição do processo interativo, fundamental para uma alfabetização científica. De uma forma mais específica e no escopo do ensino de Biologia, defendemos a tese de que, na atividade de campo a construção de significados se faz pela incorporação do objeto no discurso, quer por sua presença como parte do cenário, quer como representação em gestos. Esta afirmação emerge a partir de nossos dados de pesquisa, organizados em mapas de interatividade, os quais revelam as conexões entre objeto empírico, gestos, modelos conceituais e outros recursos presentes no discurso dos sujeitos em interação, concernentes com o quadro teórico de apoio. Nessa perspectiva, observamos que nas situações de ensino estão presentes diversos modos semióticos, e investigar como os educadores os combinam, contribui para que compreendamos os processos de construção de significados para além da análise verbal nas interações discursivas, ou seja, para construirmos significados precisamos incorporar diversos modos de ação, sejam concretos ou abstratos, mas necessariamente compartilhados entre educadores e estudantes. Portanto, seria insuficiente analisar as interações discursivas apenas do ponto de vista da fala, da linguagem verbal, uma vez que, ao produzir um gesto, o sujeito produz ou altera a interpretação do outro. Observando ainda o contexto de produção dos gestos, apontamos que, nas explicações construídas pelos sujeitos, os gestos apresentaram estreitas relações com práticas epistêmicas, padrões de interações e o objeto empírico. Em termos conclusivos, apontamos como característica do movimento discursivo nas atividades de campo a incorporação do elemento empírico como recurso de negociação de significados, que somente terá sentido se a atenção for dirigida ao que é observável e relevante, função esta cumprida pelos gestos. / This study investigates the interaction of four discursive field activities with students from sixth grade of elementary school, assuming the explanations constructed as a cultural tool to the Theory of Mediated Action by James Wertsch, in view of the construction of meanings. To this evidence the contribution of the interactive process, fundamental to scientific literacy. On a more specific and scope of teaching biology, we defend the thesis that, in the field of activity of meaning making is done by embedding the object in the discourse, either by their presence as part of the scenario, either as representation in gestures. This statement emerges from our survey data, organized in interactive maps, which reveal the connections between empirical object, gestures, conceptual models and other features present in the speech of individuals in interaction, related to the theoretical framework of support. In this perspective, we note that in teaching situations are present different semiotic modes, and investigate how educators combine them, helps us to understand the processes of meaning beyond the verbal analysis in discursive interactions, i.e., to construct meanings need to incorporate different modes of action, whether concrete or abstract, but must be shared between educators and students. Therefore, it would be insufficient to analyze interactions discursive only from the point of view of speech, language verbally, since, in producing a gesture, the subject produces or alters the interpretation of the other. Noting further the production context of gestures, pointed out that the explanations constructed by the subjects, the gestures had close relations with epistemic practices, patterns of interactions and empirical object. In terms conclusive, pointed out as characteristic of motion in the discursive field activities incorporating the empirical element as feature negotiation of meaning, which only make sense if the attention is directed to what is \'observable\' and relevant, this function fulfilled by gestures.

Despite an increased interest in autism over the last decades, little research exists about life outcomes of autistic adults. The earliest follow-up studies of autistic individuals suggested that self- understanding and conscious efforts to change could be crucial factors in successfully reaching good life outcomes. However, these initial suggestions have not been further investigated. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative study examined the lives of eight highfunctioning autistic adults aged 25 to 63, from their own perspectives, through in-depth, semistructured interviews, to consider the relation of self-understanding and conscious efforts to change—in this study referred to as intentional personal development—to their life outcomes. All participants demonstrated a level of self-understanding beyond what would be predicted by current theoretical models of autism. Their self-understanding was assessed through participants’ self-definitions, meaning-making of life experiences, and understanding of emotions. In their self-definitions, the participants emphasized their abilities and personality characteristics, rather than their disabilities. For their self-defining memories, as indicators of their meaning making of life experiences, most participants chose positive experiences related to their personal development. Their autobiographical accounts revealed that most participants possess a large iii repertoire of emotion words, supporting an understanding of emotions. When a good life outcome is defined traditionally—as being employed, living independently, and having social relationships—this study, contrary to expectations, did not provide overwhelming evidence for the significant role of intentional personal development in achieving this. However, when a good life outcome is defined in terms of achieving personal excellence, then the study did provide confirmation of intentionality as important to attaining good life outcomes. This study therefore suggests that traditional life outcome measures are inadequate for assessing the life outcomes of autistic individuals because such measures do not take into account the individuals’ own sense of satisfaction with themselves and with their lives.

Despite an increased interest in autism over the last decades, little research exists about life outcomes of autistic adults. The earliest follow-up studies of autistic individuals suggested that self- understanding and conscious efforts to change could be crucial factors in successfully reaching good life outcomes. However, these initial suggestions have not been further investigated. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative study examined the lives of eight highfunctioning autistic adults aged 25 to 63, from their own perspectives, through in-depth, semistructured interviews, to consider the relation of self-understanding and conscious efforts to change—in this study referred to as intentional personal development—to their life outcomes. All participants demonstrated a level of self-understanding beyond what would be predicted by current theoretical models of autism. Their self-understanding was assessed through participants’ self-definitions, meaning-making of life experiences, and understanding of emotions. In their self-definitions, the participants emphasized their abilities and personality characteristics, rather than their disabilities. For their self-defining memories, as indicators of their meaning making of life experiences, most participants chose positive experiences related to their personal development. Their autobiographical accounts revealed that most participants possess a large iii repertoire of emotion words, supporting an understanding of emotions. When a good life outcome is defined traditionally—as being employed, living independently, and having social relationships—this study, contrary to expectations, did not provide overwhelming evidence for the significant role of intentional personal development in achieving this. However, when a good life outcome is defined in terms of achieving personal excellence, then the study did provide confirmation of intentionality as important to attaining good life outcomes. This study therefore suggests that traditional life outcome measures are inadequate for assessing the life outcomes of autistic individuals because such measures do not take into account the individuals’ own sense of satisfaction with themselves and with their lives.

Η παρούσα μελέτη διερευνά τον τρόπο με τον οποίο τα παιδιά πρωτοσχολικής ηλικίας νοηματοδοτούν τα έργα τέχνης, και ειδικότερα τους πίνακες ζωγραφικής, στο πλαίσιο μιας οργανωμένης διδακτικής συνθήκης που σχετίζεται με το πεδίο της γλωσσικής και εικαστικής αγωγής και ανάπτυξης. Συγκεκριμένα,ακολουθώντας την κοινωνιοσημειωτική προοπτική της Συστημικής Λειτουργικής Γλωσσολογίας (ΣΛΓ) καθώς και μία γνωστική προσέγγιση για τις τέχνες στην εκπαίδευση, αναλύονται οι γλωσσικές πραγματώσεις μιας ομάδας παιδιών νηπιαγωγείου που αφορούν στην ερμηνεία 10 επιλεγμένων από την εκπαιδευτικό-ερευνήτρια πινάκων ζωγραφικής στις διαδοχικές φάσεις μιας λειτουργικά νοηματοδοτημένης διδακτικής παρέμβασης. Η έρευνα προσανατολίζεται στις δυνατότητες για την ενεργοποίηση των προϋπαρχουσών εμπειριών και γνώσεων των παιδιών και των διαδικασιών συλλογισμού και μάθησης πάνω στο κείμενο κατά την την ερμηνεία των έργων τέχνης. Επιπλέον, εξετάζεται η προοπτική της εν λόγω διαδικασίας για εμπλοκή των παιδιών με ποικίλα κειμενικά είδη καθώς και με σημειωτικές διαδικασίες («ειδικές» μορφές γλωσσικής σημείωσης) που συναρτώνται άμεσα με τη μετάβαση από το πεδίο της κοινής, καθημερινής γνώσης στη συστηματική, εκπαιδευτική γνώση. Βάσει της ανάλυσης των αποτελεσμάτων, η νοηματοδότηση των πινακων ζωγραφικής από τα παιδιά συναρτάται άμεσα με ζητήματα ανάκλησης από την πρότερη εμπειρία και γνώση τους (οικογενειακό, κοινωνικό και διδακτικό πλαίσιο), καθώς και το συμφραστικό και κειμενικό πλαίσιο αναφοράς, χρήσης συγκεκριμένων κειμενικών ειδών (περιγραφή, εξήγηση, επιχειρηματολογία και αφήγηση) και εμπλοκής με σημειωτικές διαδικασίες (κατονομασία, γενίκευση, χρήση αιτιωδών και χρονικών συνδέσεων κ.ά.) που μπορούν να θεωρηθούν ως γλωσσικά επιτεύγματα εφόσον εμπίπτουν στο πεδίο της «γλωσσικής προετοιμασίας» για την μετάβαση στη σχολική γνώση. Τα παιδιά νοούνται ως κοινωνικά τοποθετημένα υποκείμενα που συνομιλούν προκειμένου να διαπραγματευτούν το νόημα ή να παράγουν νέα νοήματα. Με δεδομένο ότι η γλωσσική ανάπτυξη δε συνιστά μία απλή ατομική διαδικασία αλλά συντελείται μέσα και μέσω διαλόγων, μέσω, δηλαδή, της ανθρώπινης και κοινωνικής αλληλόδρασης που κατασκευάζει και διατηρεί τη γλώσσα, κατανοούμε τη σημαντικότητα του σχολείου ως πλαίσιο στο οποίο συντελούνται συστηματικές και στοχοθετημένες πρακτικές γραμματισμού. Εστιάζοντας στον γραμματισμό ως τόπο μετάβασης από την κοινή (commonsense) στη μη κοινή (uncommonsense) γνώση, στην παρούσα μελέτη αναλύονται οι γλωσσικές διεπιδράσεις παιδιών πρωτοσχολικής ηλικίας σε μια διδακτική παρέμβαση στοχευμένη στην νοηματοδότηση πινάκων ζωγραφικής βάσει του θεωρητικού πλαισίου που παρέχει η εκπαιδευτική γλωσσολογία του ρεύματος της συστημικής λειτουργικής γλωσσολογίας (ΣΛΓ). / The purpose of this study is to investigate the way in which kindergarteners make meaning of works of art, in particular paintings, within an organized didactic project to the field of language and art education. More specifically, based on the socio-semiotic perspective of educational linguistics in the frame of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as well as a cognitive approach to arts in education, the study focus on the linguistic developments of a group of Greek kindergarteners, during successive phases of an art-and-language literacy intervention, in their effort to construe 10 paintings selected by the teacher - researcher. Following SLF framework, language development does not constitute an individual process but occurs in and through dialogue, through, social interaction in specific socio-cultural context. By these means, systematic and meaningful school literacy interaction is to be considered the dialogic context in which the transition from commonsense to uncommonsense knowledge is taking place. Through the analysis of the exchanges between children and their preschool teacher, by employing the tools provided by SLF, the research aims to explore children’s pre-existing experience and knowledge as well as the learning and reasoning processes, when they are trying to construe art paintings. More specifically, it aims to explore how children are engaged with various genres (such as description, explanation, argumentative, narrative) as well as the semiotic processes ("specific" forms of linguistic semiosis) that are directly related to the transition from common to systematic, educational knowledge. After our analysis, the meaning-making of the paintings by the children are not only directly linked to the recall of past experience and knowledge (family, social and educational context) but, more interestingly, with the use of specific genre and with the engagement with semiotic processes (naming, generalization, use of causative and time connectors, etc.) which can be considered as linguistic achievements provided they fall into the "linguistic preparation" for the transition to school knowledge. Our findings offer some evidence for both for language-based learning and knowledge and for literacy specific semiotic processes.

This thesis takes its departure in 15-year-old students’ learning about the human body. During a semester I followed most of the sciences taught in one class of grade 9 students. I have chosen to illustrate lessons and analyse using the influence of feminists perspectives different situated actions in this science classroom practice, thereby raising a number of didactic questions focusing on the limits and possibilities of school science teaching. With the help of different analytic tools I have made close readings of transcribed situations presented in four studies. The results show ways in which science content becomes relevant to students’ experiences, but also how students’ unique voices may shift focus from the expected science content. Overall, the results show how some discursive performances that are often taken for granted in science education are filled with explicit and implicit norms about how things should be for example in relation to femininity and masculinity. These performances may affect how students come to regard themselves and the world around them. However, the results also point out opportunities for changing these discursive performances. One way of doing this, which emerges from my results, is to create possibilities for acts in situations of equal subject positions, where different kinds of positions are welcomed. This is an approach where the content of science education involves and transforms the experiences of students’ social lives, where students’ actions in encounters with the differences are regarded as an important part of meaning making. Therefore, I suggest that ongoing negotiations in teaching should be taken into account, be regarded as a significant part of the learning processes and, through this, open up new possibilities of widening what kind of meaning making becomes available for the students. This, in turn, may create a space with unimagined ethical opportunities by paying attention to disparities, i.e. to others who may act from a different logic than we are used to, in other words: welcoming and involving differences. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Papers 2, 3 and 4: Manuscripts.

This thesis concerns the changing predispositions and conditions for contemporary meaning-making in school education. From a socio-cultural perspective, multimodal theory formation is used to find suitable tools and concepts for developing teaching and learning. The overall aims are to investigate and conceptualize meaning-making in school in the frame ofmultimodal theory. Firstly, the research questions are concerned with how teachers work with written; paper-based, expository texts, and secondly, with students' meaning-making, working with meaning-offerings from different modes and media. This is followed by questions surrounding the predispositions for a multimodal view in the Swedish curriculum outline. Finally, the consequences for the role of fiction in education, using multimodal theory formation as a framework are addressed. The thesis presents two empirical studies which investigate meaning-making in upper secondary education, followed by critical discussions of the cmTiculum outline and the role of fiction. The empirical data was collected using methods inspired by ethnography in classes taking social sciences and media courses. The analyses were inspired by multimodal research, and the main analytical tools consist of a discourse framework and model inspired by Roz IvaniC, the Leaming Design Sequence developed by Staffon Selander, the wheel of multimodality and the pedagogy of multiliteracies, both developed by the New London Group and Bill Cope and :Mary Kalantzis. The first study focuses on the teachers' perspective in trying to develop students' meaning-making through written, paper-based expository texts. Analyses within the discourse framework and design layer model are used to describe the teachers' practical theory. The wheel ofmultimodality is used to differentiate the meaning-offerings used in class, and the pedagogy of multiliteracies is used to describe and analyze the discussions in groups and with the teacher. Results highlight three major possibilities for working with written, paper-based expository texts: a vvider view on meaning-making, meaning-offerings encompassing several modes and media, and the teacher's modeling ofthe reading through discussion. The second study describes and analyzes meaning-making and design in learning \vith meaning-offerings from different modes and media from the students' perspective. The analytical tools are the wheel of multimodality, the Learning Design Sequence and the further-developed pedagogy of multiliteracies. Results show a similarity in meaning-making regardless of mode and media, staiiing with the visual mode and with the students focusing their efforts on comprehending the meaning-offering. This can be explained by lack of clarity and lack of guidance which are seen as obstacles for learning. The discussions surrounding the curriculum outline and the role of fiction show that, in using a multimodal theory formation frame, the curriculum does not explicitly support a multimodal view on meaning-making and that fiction can not be seen as unique due to neither mode nor media. The results suggest that multimodal theory formation gives access to tools that are useful in developing students' meaning-making according to the predispositions and conditions oftoday, in which reading development is viewed as part of developing meaning-making as a who lei and that meaning-making in school should be based on a non-hierarchical and inclusive view on modes and media to create a readiness and a flexibility to meet demands of a rapidly-changing society. As a consequence, the curriculum outline needs to be reworded and the role of fiction in education needs to be problematized.

In this thesis I have studied the conflicts that arose in Vara when the municipality ordered a sculpture by the artist Katharina Grosse in collaboration with The National Swedish Public Art Council and the Swedish Transport Administration in 2012. The aim of the study is to analyze the meaning-making of the sculpture as a process determined by social negotiations concerning variables such as identity, societal hierarchies and education. The material is foremost consisting of interviews with employees from The National Swedish Public Art Council and Vara municipality, a local objector whom organized a protesting Facebook group and a local newspaper journalist. The material is analyzed with discourse theory in order to examine how the discourses about public art are characterized in a local context today and how its meaning continually is being constructed and reconstructed through this. By studying the resistance and critique against The Blue Orange in Vara as local fragments of a more global context the analysis also targets how the practices and meaning-making of art in the public domain are conditioned by political ideologies and societal structures such as the neoliberal market, economic growth and competition. The protesters and protagonists of the art work places the sculpture in different narratives about the municipality where the municipality is either described as something progressing; moving from a state where something is lacking, or as something with a fixed identity and already defined. The latter narrative is used by those who criticize the art work because it does not reflect their perceived shared identity while the former motivates the advocates who want to create a more distinct municipal identity, a branding of sorts, to attract tourists and stimulate economic growth. These narratives demonstrates how debates revolving art works and the public domain can bring up articulations and everyday experiences of power structures, citizenship and societal norms.

Missing children is one of the horrors that we are confronted with in today's society. The case study method, a feminist co-search methodology, is used to give a missing child's mother the opportunity to tell and re-tell the painful story. During this co-search process the following aspects of doing ethics and pastoral care and counselling with the mother are constantly negotiated. The term "missing child" is defined and the relevance between the distinction of "missing children" and "run-away children" is discussed. Furthermore, this study explores the many diverse practices of narrative pastoral care and counselling with parents of missing children within an economically disadvantaged community. The conceptualisations regarding loss, hope and meaning-making and how these are utilised in the life of a missing child's mother is discussed. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th.

This insider research journey explores the meaning-making processes of female spousal caregivers in anticipatory mourning and the knowledges which they have gained in retrospect. The research traces the social constructions of meaning and how they influence the process of meaning-making. A phenomenological study was undertaken in which unstructured interviews were conducted with five bereaved participants, highlighting the unique way in which each woman made meaning of loss in anticipatory mourning. The main phenomenological themes to emerge from their meaning-making were: a) the significance of time; b) challenges and gifts; c) witnessing the decline; d) paradoxes; e) the significance of the spousal relationship; and f) spirituality. The therapeutic effect of telling the life story is explored in this study and the need for contextual pastoral care that is specific to the state of anticipatory mourning is highlighted. Finally, possibilities for co-constructive pastoral care are raised in the light of the research findings. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. ( Practical Theology, with Specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

This work was undertaken with a view to developing a textbook for United States secondary schools on the subject of death and dying through a religious lens. The purpose of this work is to provide high school teens with the means of coping with loss and a foundation for crafting their own meaning of life and death. Taking a close look at death attitudes among young people in the United States, as well as high school faculty and staff for the purpose of determining whether or not death education can be provided for public high school students, the work starts from the premise that said death education, using a religious model, should be provided for teenagers because the religious model provides the necessary elements of idea, ritual, and community, so necessary for building a world-view. Research was conducted in the form of survey and historical review to determine the efficacy of the proposed course of study. Upon analysis of the available information on death education history and course offering, as well as analysis of the survey results, the conclusion was reached that the provision of death education in the nation‟s public high schools would go a long way to reducing death anxiety amongst United States teenagers, and also give the adolescents a model for creating their own sense of meaning for all of life that includes death. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)