The aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge from a close teachers’ perspective on how teachers' considerations and choice of digital artefactsfor teaching are related to didactic beliefs that are shaped and changed over time in teacher's professional life. A thematic life history approach is used in combination with a socio-cultural perspective and didactic starting points. Life story interviews with six high school teachers from three Swe-dish schools constitute the empirical material that results in individual life history constructions about digitalization. The participating teachers have what is referred to as digital didactics, which focus on the teachers' competence to make didactic considerations and the choice of digital artefacts according to the needs that exist according to the target group for the teaching, subject content and surrounding envi-ronmental and time aspects. The findings of the study indicate that teachers have prominent didactic beliefs that are the hub for consideration and choice of digital resources. These can be understood as individual but also in a larger collective context. Teachers’ didactic beliefs are motivated by three dimensions, which are the teachers' subject matter, the desire to help the students and the personal satisfaction. The cognitive, historical and physical contexts are constantly changing due to the rapid development of digitalization and the didactic choices have been expanded with more opportunities but also greater chal-lenges. Didactic choices of digital artefacts can be divided into general-di-dactic choices, subject- and program-didactic choices and choices linked to didactic beliefs and experience. The contribution of this study is that teachers' digital didactics is based on teacher's didactic beliefs, which are formed in a historical, cultural and social context that influences the didactic present and the future. A school with digital artefacts is part of an ever-available global digital arena. The study contributes with a new model of an extended didactic triangle that visualizes teachers’ digital didactics where the teacher and the didactic belief are prominent.

Bakgrund: I denna globaliserade värld påverkar situationer som inträffar på andra platser i världen även oss i Sverige. Dessa förändringar i det svenska samhället kan även påverka skolan som får nya utmaningar. Elevunderlaget har blivit mer heterogent med elever från olika länder vilket kräver nya sätt att lära på. Lärande spelar en central roll i allas utveckling och enligt det sociokulturella perspektivet sker denna utveckling i interaktion med andra människor. Alla människor är viktiga i lärandet och var och en kan utvecklas med stöd av andra som kan lite mer än vad man kan själv, denna utveckling ger upphov till det som Vygotskij kallade för den proximala utvecklingszonen. En plats för formellt och organiserat lärande är skolan, men skolan är också en central plats för barn där de bygger upp relationer med andra barn och vuxna som inte tillhör familjen. I den mångkulturella skolan är dessa kontakter med andra utanför familjen en viktig del för lärandet till exempel för den personliga utvecklingen. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att utifrån elevers perspektiv i en mångkulturell kontext, undersöka elevens erfarenheter av lärande i en mångkulturell skola. 0 Metod: Kvalitativ metod användes i studien och data samlades in genom fem semistrukturerade fokusgruppintervjuer med elever i årkurs fem och sex. Resultatet har analyserats med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat och slutsatser: Under analysen framkom fyra huvudkategorier; den mångkulturella skolan, lärande, syn på läraren och skolmiljö vilka sammanlagt resulterade i 15 underkategorier. Eleverna anser att det är givande att vistas i en mångkulturell skola och att lärande sker ständig och i interaktion med kompisarna, lärarna och andra vuxna kring dem utanför skolan. Ett komplement för lärandet var digitala medier som blev ett stöd för eleverna i deras lärande både på skolan som i hemmet. / Background: Learning has a central role in everyone's development and according to the sociocultural perspective, this development takes place in interaction with other people. Other people are important so each can develop with the support of others who can little more than themselves, this stimulus gives rise to what Vygotsky called the proximal development zone. The school is a central place for children who, firstly, are a place of learning and, secondly, a place where they build relationships with other children and adults who are not family. In the multicultural school these contacts with others play an important role in learning such as personal development. Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate student's perspectives of learning in a multicultural context. Method: Qualitative method was used in the study and data was collected through 5 semistructured focus group interviews with students in grade five and six. The results have been analysed with qualitative content analysis. Results and conclusions: The analysis revealed four main categories; the multicultural school, learning and how the students view the teacher which resulted in a total of 15 subcategories. Students consider it rewarding to stay in a multicultural school. That learning takes place constantly in interaction with friends, even that teachers and adults outside school are an important support for their learning. Digital media as support was something that students used in their learning as a complement both at school and at home.

abstract: The purposes of this dissertation are two-fold. First, it aims to re-examine the new generation of Chinese students in the United States (U.S.) in light of the changing international and educational contexts. Second, the dissertation seeks to understand the new generation of Chinese students’ experience in First-year Composition (FYC) classes in a public U.S. university. A model of dynamic sociocultural approach is developed and applied to explore this new generation of Chinese students. Compared to previous generations of overseas students, the new generation is substantially different in their backgrounds and shares their own unique characteristics. Taking a sociocultural approach, this dissertation undertakes a systematic examination to delineate Chinese overseas students’ demographic trends over time, the backgrounds and characteristics of the new generation, the motivations for them studying in the United States, and the pathways these students take to come to the U.S. universities. Furthermore, this dissertation explores the experiences of 23 Chinese undergraduate student participants in FYC classes at a U.S. university. In the past decade, with a soaring number of Chinese undergraduate students, there is a dramatic rise in the number of Chinese students in FYC classes. Compared with their previous English education and learning experience in China, what these Chinese undergraduates are experiencing and how them adapting to in their FYC classes will shed light to better understanding of this new generation, as well as how their previous educational experience in China overlap, facilitate, or collide with their current studying in the United States. This dissertation enriches the literature on understanding the new generation of Chinese students, their background, and their adjustments to foreign countries and new educational environments. Using the dynamic sociocultural approach, the study provides teachers and administrators an approach for viewing Chinese and other second language (L2) students in a more holistic way. To a greater extent, the study has implications on how to meet the challenges of diversity in our universities and how to help students with different home cultural backgrounds to succeed in class. The results can also be used to improve the services and programs in the U.S. higher education institutions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2020

This scientific essay is about communication and collaboration between the preschool and a home with Swedish as a second language and has its foundation based on two dilemmas. The first dilemma describes a parent-teacher conference that I have with a guardian who has Swedish as their second language. In the conversation, I feel that the communication is failing, even though I get help from an interpreter. The second dilemma is also about a conversation with a guardian who has Swedish as their second language, but this conversation takes place more spontaneously. The second conversation also leads to misunderstanding as communication between us fails. My aim with this essay is to investigate how communication affects the collaboration between the preschool and home. As well as whether the language has any significance for communication and how it affects the children's right to influence and participation in the preschool. The method I use in the degree project is essay writing as I reflect on my role as a teacher and try to understand my thoughts from the guardians' perspectives. I reflect on my issues that have emerged from my designs with the help of the socio-cultural and intercultural perspective and other relevant literature. This essay has made me reflect on my cultural identity, both in my professional role and as an individual, and how I use my experiences in social contexts. My hope for this essay is to increase my understanding of others' perspectives more than I have experienced before.

El primer brote de COVID-19, la primavera del 2020, causó que la educación se adaptase a nuevas circunstancias. Por ejemplo, en Suecia el cierre de los institutos conllevó a que los alumnos se vieran obligados a quedarse en sus casas imponiéndoles así la educación a distancia. Por lo tanto, se investiga en el presente trabajo si los profesores de bachillerato pudieron aplicar la pedagogía de género a través de las clases virtuales y si dichos profesores pudieron apoyar a cada uno de sus alumnos de forma individual en la producción de textos. El grupo de profesores elegidos son profesores del curso español 3 en Suecia y han sido elegidos al azar. Para llevar a cabo el presente trabajo se ha usado la combinación de métodos, con la técnica de encuestas. Los resultados muestran que fue difícil impartir las clases virtuales pero que la pedagogía de género es un método adecuado para la enseñanza.

Många elever i dagens svenska skolor har matematiksvårigheter. Det leder till att de inte klarar kunskapskraven i ämnet. En av de största anledningarna till elevers matematiksvårigheter i ämnet matematik är att eleverna har matematikängslan. Syftet med denna studie är därför att få kunskaper om lärares och rektorers syn på hur skolan arbetar med elever som har matematikängslan. För att uppnå studiens syfte genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med lärare och rektorer på två olika skolor. Resultatet av studien visar att lärare och rektorers syn på arbetet med elevers matematikängslan skiljer sig i vissa avseenden. Det kan leda till att synen på hur skolan ska arbeta för att motverka matematikängslan hos elever skiljer sig mellan lärare och rektorer. Resultatet i studien visar att lärarnas arbetssätt för att motverka matematikängslan hos elever är att de arbetar med positiv respons och hur de kommunicerar matematik. Rektorernas syn på hur lärarna ska nå elever med matematikängslan är att öka lärarnas kompetens med exempelvis kompetensutbildningar. Samtidigt är lärarnas uppfattning att de vill få mer stöd i form av ökade resurser, som exempelvis en extra vuxen i klassrummet. Studiens slutsats är att det finns indikationer på att lärare och rektorer inte är överens om hur ett arbete med elevers matematikängslan borde se ut och gå till. / There are many pupils in Swedish schools who have mathematical difficulties, which means that they don’t meet the knowledge requirements. One of the biggest reasons for pupils' mathematical difficulties in mathematics is that the students have mathematic anxiety. The purpose with this study is therefore to gain knowledge about teachers’ and principals’ views on how the school work with pupils who have mathematics anxiety. To find out how schools work with this we have conducted semi-structured interviews with teachers and principals at two different schools. The result of this study shows that teachers and principals don’t agree in their views on how to work with pupils’ mathematics anxiety. Because of this there are different views on how to counteract pupils’ mathematics anxiety. The result of this study shows that the way teachers are teaching today to counteract the pupils’ mathematic anxiety is that they work with positive response and how they communicate mathematics with the pupils. The principals’ view of how teachers should approach pupils with mathematic anxiety is to increase teachers’ competence. At the same time, the teachers’ view is that they want to be given more support by increased resources, such as an extra adult in the classroom for example. The conclusion of this study is that we see indications that teachers and principals don’t agree about how they should approach pupils with mathematics anxiety and how to work with them.

I följande studie kommer jag redovisa resultatet ifrån den självstudie som jag har bedrivit i syfte av att utforska huruvida min instuderingsprocess skiljer sig utifrån jazz- och klassisk repertoar på instrumentet kontrabas. Studien redovisar även hur jag erhåller och nyttjar den instuderade tekniken och materialet i de givna jazz- och stråkorkestertillfällena, samt om hur instuderingen skiljer sig i den mån av tidigare erfarenheter kunskaper. Studien tar form utifrån hur jag som erfaren jazzbassist instuderar och spelar i stråkorkester som novis i den miljön, samt hur jag fördjupar mitt instuderande till jazzensemblerna. I syfte att studien har ett stort fokus på instudering och ensemblespel så diskuteras även huruvida de olika ensemblekulterna skiljer sig i mån av styrning, inflytande och uttryck. Arbetet bearbetas genom videodokumentation som sker under instudering- och övningspass, samt ensembletillfällen. Matrealet bearbetas sedan genom transkription och analys där matre- alet kategoriseras efter olika kategorier i syfte att besvara mina frågeställningar. Arbetet utgår utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv och där med har ett fokus på hur jag brukar kunskap och artefakter i olika kulturer och miljöer, samt hur jag lär mig utifrån de olika ensembleformerna. Resultatet i arbetet visar hur notläsningen i stråkorkestern är direkt kopplat till mitt gehör, och genom instudering av notmatrealet så betingas mitt gehör till min psykomotorik. Studien visar även huruvida mina bristande tekniska förutsättningar med redskapet stråken bidrar till att jag flyttar blicken ifrån noten till stråken, vilket får konsekvenser i mån av flöde och koncentrat- ion i spelandet. I mån av det musikaliskt flöde som befinner sig i orkestern så underlättas not- läsningen genom ensemblens harmoniska samspel och tempo. De olika ensembleformerna vi- sar sig skilja sig markant i mån av styrning och inflytande vilket kan kopplas till de ensemb- lernas skillnader i mån av storlek. Studien redovisar även hur brukandet av andra instrument bidrar till en större uppfattning av repertoaren till jazzensemblen, vilket får positiva fördelar i mån av gehör, improvisation och formkänsla. / In the following study I will report the results from the self-study i have conducted in order to explore whether my study process differs based on jazz and classical repertoire on the instru- ment double bass. The study also reports whether I obtain and use the studied technique and the material in the given jazz and string orchestra occasions, and how the study differs to the extent of previous experience knowledge. The study takes the form of how I, as an experienced jazz bassist study and play in string or- chestras as a novice in that environment, and how I deepen my study of the jazz ensembles. In order that the study has a great focus on study and ensemble play, it will also be discussed whether the different ensemble cultures differ in terms of control, influence and expression. The work is processed through video documentation that takes place during study and practice sessions, as well as ensemble occasions for the purpose of follow-up. The video documentation will be processed through transcription and analysis where the material is categorized according to different categories in order to answer lesser questions. The work is based on a socio-cultural perspective and with a focus on how I use knowledge and artifacts in different musical cultures and environments, and how I learn based on the different ensemble forms. The result of the work shows how the note reading in the string orchestra is directly connected to my hearing, and by studying the sheet music, my hearing is conditioned to my psychomotor skills. The study also shows whether less technical deficiencies with the implement strings contribute to moving the gaze from the note to the strings, which has consequences in terms of flow and concentra- tion. As far as the musical flow in the orchestra is concerned, the note reading is facilitated by the ensemble's harmonious interaction and tempo. The different ensemble forms appear to differ markedly in terms of control and influence which can be linked to the differences of the ensem- bles in terms of size. The study also shows how the use of other instruments contributes to a greater perception of the repertoire of the jazz ensemble, which receives positive benefits as far as hearing, improvisation and sense of form are concerned.

This dissertation is an investigation of 13-14 year-old learners in Grade Five and Grade Six being taught and learning moral sociocultural values. The specific variables investigated are children’s perspective of values, their beliefs, goals and motives implicit or explicit in the learning of sociocultural values. The investigation uses the theoretical framework of Cultural Psychology in which Activity Theory is used to analyse and explain the school as an activity system. The working hypothesis is that activities are embedded into each other if they share a common object and envision a common outcome. The notion of embedded activities is developed based on the Engeströmian third generation Activity Theory model. The assumption is that if the school is the central activity system in a formal teaching and learning milieu, then other activities systems that support the teaching-learning processes constitute embedded activities. For instance, the classroom, a lesson, a morning assembly and any other project that contributes to the teaching-learning processes of sociocultural values. The method used for this investigation was ethnography. Data were collected using participant observation, interviews, still photographs, videography, school records, documents, and children’s artefacts. The data were analysed by Atlas.ti version 5.2 computer based qualitative data analysis software using strategies from Strauss and Corbin’s ‘microanalyses’ and Maykut and Morehouse’s ‘interpretive-descriptive’ strategy. The results showed that children at first learn sociocultural values from the culturally more able; in this way, values are taught through co-construction of knowledge. Children learn sociocultural values through what they do. This constitutes their activities: mental and practices as derived from their home ethos through to their school ethos. If this is missing, children will learn other values presuming these to be the best for their welfare, which may have undesirable outcomes and undesirable implications. Sociocultural theory provides the way out that initially children need to be taught the art of living by the culturally more able as the necessary thing to do.

I dagens läge ska lärplattan i förskolan användas av både barn och förskollärare. Förskollärare ska ta ansvar till att varje barn får använda digitala verktyg på ett sätt som ska stimulera utveckling och lärande.Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur förskollärare låter barnen använda lärplattan i både planerade aktiviteter men även i spontana tillfällen utifrån ett pedagogiskt syfte. Den teori som använts för att stärka studien är den sociokulturella perspektivet. Som metod har jag använt mig av webbaserade enkäter som både rektorer och förskollärare i sydöstra Sverige svarat på.  I resultatet går jag igenom vad samtliga förskollärare svarade på min enkät utifrån svaren från förskollärarna visades olika grader på kompetens kring användandet av lärplattan i förskolan trots att alla rektorer tycker att förskollärarna har bra kompetens till lärplattan som ett pedagogiskt verktyg i förskolan. Samtliga rektorer förklarar att de har varsin IT-pedagog som har ansvaret att ge ut kompetensutbildningar till förskollärarna om hur digitala verktyg och lärplattan kan användas i ett pedagogiskt syfte.  Avslutningsvis kommer det en slutsats kring hela uppsatsen och även tips på förslag till vidare forskning.

The study describes educators´ perceptions of reading comprehension for students with intellectual disabilities and neuropsychiatric disabilities in compulsory special school grades 7–9 for students who read the subject Swedish. The study also sheds light on the strategies educators´ use to make texts comprehensible and provide support in reading comprehension. Based on the educators´ descriptions, the opportunities and challenges the educators face are highlighted.    The study is based on eight qualitative semi-structured interviews with educators active in upper secondary school. All informants teach the subject Swedish. The theoretical framework for the study consists of the socio-cultural perspective and a cognitive science perspective. The result is analyzed on the basis of concepts taken from the two theoretical starting points.   Based on the educators' descriptions, it appears that reading comprehension teaching takes place as a group activity, couple activity but also as an individual work. The educators attach great importance to getting the students involved in conversations to guide the students through the text. In teaching, the educators work to create a background knowledge of the text and to explain words and concepts. The strategies described are based on the educators modeling and thinking aloud about how the student can find answers in a text and make inferences. A large part of the teaching is based on finding texts and working methods that motivate and make the text comprehensible. In their work, the educators use creative methods with theatrical working methods and a personal commitment to get students' attention and create motivation. An important basis is to get to know the student, starting from a survey of the student's level and then find adapted material. The results also show that a large part of the student group has difficulty with decoding and language / listening comprehension, which are important factors for reading comprehension.   The study shows that reading comprehension is not only a cognitive ability, but motivation and how one sees oneself as a reader is of crucial importance.   The study's special pedagogical relevance shows that educators need to be active in text conversations and strategies to engage students in reading comprehension teaching.