Studiens utgångspunkt var skollagens bestämmelser sedan år 2014 om att stöd till elever kan ges i form av extra anpassningar och särskilt stöd (Prop.2013/14:160; SFS 2010:800. Enligt gymnasieutredningen behövs mer kunskap kring den praktiska tillämpningen av dessa bestämmelser (SOU 2016:77). Studiens syfte var att beskriva och analysera hur lärare upplever arbetet med stödinsatser för gymnasieelever. Som metod för datainsamling valdes kvalitativa intervjuer och tio lärare intervjuades. Lärarna uttryckte att extra anpassningar ansvarar ordinarie lärare för och de består exempelvis av uppläst material samt anpassade läromedel och uppgifter. Som särskilt stöd uppgavs bland annat stödundervisning utanför den ordinarie undervisningen. Resultatet visade att de två skolorna där lärarna arbetar skiljer sig bland annat genom organiseringen av stödundervisning. Studien fann att relationer och kommunikation mellan elever och lärare samt lärare och övrig skolpersonal är betydelsefulla faktorer i arbetet kring stödinsatser. / The starting point of this study is the regulations in the Swedish Education Act of 2014 about how support for students can be given in the form of extra adaptations and special support (Prop.2013/14:160; SFS 2010:800). According to a survey about the Swedish upper secondary school, there is a need for more knowledge on the practical application of these regulations (SOU 2016:77). The aim of this study was to analyze and describe how teachers perceive the work with supportive actions for students in upper secondary schools. As a method for data collection, qualitative interviews were chosen and ten teachers were interviewed. The teachers stated that the responsibility for extra adaptations lies with regular teachers and mentioned examples of adaptation such as access to read material and adjusted study material and tasks. Special support was mentioned, among other things, as a support for teaching outside of the regular teaching. The result showed that one difference between the two schools where the teachers work is the organization of this support teaching. The study found that relationships and communication between students and teachers, and as well as between teachers and other school staff, are important factors in the work around suppoortive actions.

In today's Swedish preschool and elementary school all children are entitled to an inclusive education, where they receive the support and are presented with the educational challenges they are perceived to be in need of. To meet the needs and preconditions of all children, the educational mission of teachers today involves the apply of special educational tools, such as for example the use of visual support. The aim of this study is to analyse teachers experiences of visual support and the results they have experienced from using visual support in the learning environment. The study involves a preschool and an elementary school in a municipality in Sweden, and is based on interviews with three preschool teachers, three elementary school teachers, the headmaster of the preschool, and the headmaster of the elementary school. The results have been analyzed using sociocultural theory and a relational perspective on special education. The overall results show that teachers have used visual support for the children as a group, combined if necessary with visual support for individual children. Furthermore the results show that the use of visual support originates from a necessity to address pedagogical dilemmas and problems that have arisen within the learning environment. Both the headmasters and the teachers describe that the use of visual support has been beneficial for improving the learning environment for all of the children as well as the working environment for the teachers. In accordance with sociocultural theory and a relational perspective on special education, visual support has been used by the teachers participating in this study, as a tool to promote inclusion of all children, and as means of adapting the learning environment according to difficulties children experience within that context. The results of this study confirms that the use of visual support for children as a group can be considered a good example of what Jensen (2017) describes as reversed inclusion, meaning that the learning environment is adapted on a group level to meet the needs and preconditions of children in need of special support.

In Sweden, an increasing number of pupils are defined as having some form of difficulties in school. In order to receive special support measures in school, these difficulties must have been subject to a pedagogical examination that state that the pupil is in need of special support measures. This work of identifying and defining difficulties implies that questions about normality and deviance inevitably come into play in school. There has been an increasing demand in school politics to identify these difficulties as early as possible, and this demand has placed further pressure on school personnel in this issue. Furthermore, the personnel’s perspective on the difficulties is also important, i.e., in terms of their origin, because this has importance for the design and content of the special support measures. The overall aim of this thesis is to analyse the tension between normality and deviance that is manifested in the school’s work procedures for pupils with special educational needs. Related to the overall aim, four overarching research questions are addressed. How have pupils with special educational needs and special education been articulated in national policy documents during recent decades? What perspective on school difficulties are being portrayed in schools’ individual educational plans for pupils with special educational needs? How do school personnel identify and differentiate pupils with special educational needs from “normal” pupils? How do pupils with special educational needs and their parents experience the special support measures that they receive in school and what seems to be the main concern of such support measures? The thesis consists of four studies that are based on different empirical materials such as policy documents, individual educational plans (IEPs) and qualitative interviews with school personnel, pupils and parents. The methods that are used for analysing the material are policy analysis, content analysis and grounded theory. The results show that the target group for special support measures has been ascribed with different meanings (over time) in policy documents, something that has affected the recommendations of the support measures and the choice of actors who are assigned to provide such support. Furthermore, the IEPs, as well as the interviews, reveal that an individual perspective on school difficulties seems to be deeply rooted in school.  The identification process of special educational needs followed three models: a pedagogical model, a social model, and a medical/health model.  However, the process of sorting out and defining these pupils invoked ambivalent feelings in the school personnel and the school class usually became the frame of reference for normal or deviant behaviour. Finally, the pupils’ and parent’ main concern of special support measures in school were described as a struggle for recognition and inclusion. The results are discussed with theoretical perspectives on school difficulties and special education. In the concluding discussion, it is argued that pupils with special educational needs have to balance between normality and deviance in school, but also between a pedagogical and a medical discourse by means of having a medical diagnosis in school.

This study is about what teachers in primary schools say that they are doing to create a school for all. The purpose of this study is to find out what teachers in primary schools say that they do on their mission to create a school for everyone and how they organize teaching to achieve this. The study was conducted as an interview of five teachers from elementary school of different gender and with a qualitative method because it provides a great opportunity to problematize, interpret and understand the responses of the interviewees. The results show that all the teachers think that their mission is to teach so that they can give each student what they need to achieve the goals. This may not be every day but over time, they hope that all students feel that they get so much of the teacher's time that they need.

Mitt syfte är att bidra med kunskap om pedagogers arbete med barns delaktighet i förskolan, med inriktning på barn i behov av särskilt stöd. För att undersöka detta har jag gjort intervjuer med pedagoger i förskolan. Jag valde semistrukturerade intervjuer, då jag ville ha öppna svar, med det menas att jag vill ha pedagogens egna ord, inte ett svarsalternativ de kan välja på. Resultatet visade att alla pedagoger i intervjuerna anser att delaktighet är något alla ska få och att vara en del i gruppen är en självklarhet. De kämpar varje dag för att delaktighet ska finnas genom att stötta och finnas där för de barn som har en resurs knuten till sig. Stöttningen kan bestå i exempelvis att pedagogerna finns nära för att förtydliga och utveckla barns språk. Hjälpa barnen att förstå lekens regler och stötta till delaktighet i lekar och aktiviteter med andra barn på förskolan. De använder olika former av kommunikativa hjälpmedel, den vanligaste är TAKK, tecken som alternativ kompletterande kommunikation. De personer jag intervjuat beskriver olika arbetssätt. Några hade resurs i barngruppen, andra hade resurs kopplat till ett specifikt barn. De var alla överens om att det var bra för både barn och pedagoger att variera resursperson. Ett öppet arbetslag där de kan gå in för att byta av varandra gjorde att de orkade med resursarbetet då det ibland inte bara är psykiskt tungt utan även fysiskt. För att möjliggöra delaktighet i gruppen arbetar de ofta i smågrupper. Detta för att få en nära kontakt med gruppen och det specifika barnet. Det gör det också möjligt för alla barn att få egna positiva upplevelser av lek och aktivitet med de barn som behöver extra stöd. De är alla överens om att leken är en svår situation för delaktighet. Pedagogerna i min studie och tidigare forskning (Luttorpp, 2011; Skogman, 2004) menar att barnets förmåga till initiativtagande och flexibilitet har stor påverkan för delaktighet. Som en utmaning lyfte de alla tiden, tiden för reflektion, tiden att få kunskap och tiden att bara finnas. / The purpose of my study is to bring more knowledge regarding children in need of special support and how preschool teachers work with the participation of children in need of special support. I interviewed a number of educationalists from different preschools and I have chosen a form of questions with open answers. They all believe that it is very important for all children to have the opportunity to participate by their own abilities. Children with special needs get extra support, for example help to understand the child’s own language, words or special signs.  It could also be to help the child to be included in the play and other common activities and to understand the playing rules. This can be done by alternative communication. There are different kinds of communication. Often used is TAKK, a method of using signs as supplemental communication. The interviewee’s describe different form of work processes. Some of them had resources in the children groups, while others had resources connected to a specific child. They all agreed that variation of resource persons is good for both the children and the educators. A better way of work would be a team where they could cover for each other. It is not just psychology tough but also physical. To make it easier for participation in the group they often have the children in small groups. This is to get a good contact with the group and with the specific child. It is also to create possibilities for children without disabilities to get their own positive experience from play and activities with children with special needs. They all agree that play is a difficult situation for participation where the flexibility and ability to take initiative of the child is very important. As a challenge, they all lifted time for reflection, time to get more knowledge and time just to be.

This thesis presents the contribution to research that my doctoral education led to. My starting point was a large scale qualitative research project (here after called the VR-project) which reviewed the implementation of national tests in the third grade on the subject of mathematics. The VR-project investigated how the test affected the pupils with a special focus on pupils in need of special support. An urge to look further into issues concerning the support, the pupil in need and the test was revealed in he initial VR-project. These issues therefore constitutes the problem area of this thesis. The VR-project studied a total of 22 classrooms in two different municipalities' during 2010- 2012. The methodology used for this project was inspired by ethnography and discourse analysis. The raw data consisted of test instructions, video observations of the actual test subjects, interviews from teachers and pupils about the test, the support that was given throughout the testing as well as the observations and interviews of the pupils requiring special assistance. Activated discourses and positions of the participants were demarcated. The results revealed that a traditional testing discourse, a caring discourse and a competitive discourse are activated during the tests. The testing discourse is stable and traditional. Much of what was shown and said in classrooms, routines and rules regarding the test were repeated in all the schools and in all the classrooms. The discourse on support is affected by ambiguity, which is revealed especially when issues of pupils’ equity is put against the tests equality. This is connected to the teachers restricted agency to give support due to the teacher position as a test taker. The positions in need that are available to students are not the same in pupils, teachers and steering documents. The situation is especially troublesome for pupils that do not manage Swedish good enough to take the test and for pupils in need of special support. Some of the conclusions from this thesis is that the national test format: Disciplines not only the pupil, but also the teacher, the classroom and the school at large. Results indicate that the test: Activates a focus on achievementLeads attention away from learning Activates issues of accountability Influences pupils and teachers with stakes involved Besides evaluating knowledge, the test disciplines not only the pupil, but also the teacher, the classroom and the school at large. Discussing the national test as an arena for equity might be a way towards attaining equality in education for all pupils. / Nationella prov i matematik – vad gör testandet med eleverna?

Tidigare forskning visar att det finns brister i den samsyn och samverkan mellan skolpersonal som är en framgångsfaktor för hög måluppfyllelse i grundskolan (Nilholm & Göransson, 2013; SOU 2010:95; www.skolinspektionen.se; m fl). Mentorer, lokala elevhälsoteam och skolledare är de aktörer som ansvarar för utbildningen till elever med olika förutsättningar. Graden av samsyn dessa aktörer emellan är därför intressant. Denna studies syfte har varit att identifiera och beskriva eventuella mönster i mentorers, lokala elevhälsoteams och skolledares uppfattningar om extra anpassningar och särskilt stöd, utifrån frågeställningar om anledningar till olika insatser, vem/vilka som ska ansvara för insatserna samt om orsaker till bristande insatser. En totalundersökning i en kommun har genomförts via webbenkät och kvantitativ multivariat analys. Utgångspunkterna har varit socialkonstruktivistisk teori om ett kontextberoende lärande tillsammans med andra, och ett relationellt perspektiv på skolsvårigheter.  Studien visar att störst samsyn finns kring det faktum att inte alla elever med behov ges tillräckligt stöd i skolorna, och att tid för arbete för dessa elever saknas i personalens scheman. Viss samsyn finns också angående när elever ska ges stöd, men i mindre grad gällande vem/vilka som ska utföra insatserna. Studien har också visat att en relativt stor andel av respondenterna upplever bristande samsyn med kollegor gällande att se/tolka behov hos elever, avgöra lämpliga åtgärder samt utföra åtgärderna, samtidigt som alla tre grupperna i hög grad är överens om att de själva sällan eller aldrig har bristande kompetens gällande just att tolka behov och avgöra/utforma åtgärder.  Resultaten visar att samsyn och samverkan behöver vidareutvecklas inom skolorna via strategiska kontaktytor. Utifrån resultaten och teorin bör samtalen handla om uppdragsuppfattning, elevsyn och gemensamma strategier för ökad inkludering, delaktighet och måluppfyllelse. / Previous research shows that there are shortcomings in the consensus and collaboration among school personnel, a success factor for high achievement in primary school (Nilholm & Göransson, 2013; SOU 2010:95; www.skolinspektionen.se; m fl). Mentors, local student health teams and school leaders are those responsible for the education of students with different qualifications. The degree of consensus between these actors is therefore interesting. The purpose of this study has been to identify and describe any patterns of mentors' , local student health teams' and school leaders' perceptions about additional adjustments and special support, based on the questions of reasons for different actions, who/which is responsible for action and reasons for lack of action.  A total survey in a municipality has been conducted via online questionnaire and quantitative multivariate analysis. The starting point has been the social constructivist theory of context-dependent learning with others, and a relational perspective on school difficulties.    The study shows that the greatest consensus is about the fact that not all students in need are given sufficient support, and that time to work for these students is lacking in staff schedules. Some consensus is also about which students should receive support, but less so regarding which staff should perform it. The study has also shown that a relatively large proportion of respondents perceive lack of consensus with colleagues regarding interpreting the needs of pupils, determining appropriate actions and bringing them into action, while all three groups largely agree that themselves rarely or never lack of expertise regarding just that;  interpreting the needs and determining/performing measures.   The results show that consensus and collaboration need to be developed within schools through strategic contacts. Based on the results and theory, the discourse should be about assignment, perception of difficulties and concerted strategies for greater inclusion, participation and achievement.

The purpose with this essay is to explore how pupils in a special group of education experience how it feels to be part of this kind of group. Further I want to examine a special educationalist view of this kind of groups. To perform this essay I choose to interview four pupils and one special educationalist. Through the interviews I want to discover the pupils and the special educationalists thoughts and experience. The result has been compared with earlier research and the essay has its basis in different theories. The aim with this research is to get a view from the pupils and the special educationalist if it is required to continue the education in special groups. The result shows that the pupils enjoy belonging in special group of education. That provides them with an environment of teaching and education.  Also the special educationalist looks positive at special groups of education.

Syftet med min undersökning är att studera sydafrikanska pedagogers perspektiv på barn i behov av särskilt stöd i förskolan och förskoleklassen. I syftet ingår också att undersöka pedagogers syn på vilka resurser som finns för dessa barn. Jag har använt mig av metoden kvalitativa intervjuer för att få öppna och detaljerade beskrivningar från pedagogerna. Pedagogerna menade att barn i behov av särskilt stöd är barn som avviker från kamraterna i kunskaps- och mognadsnivå samt barn med funktionsnedsättningar, sjukdomar eller sociala problem. De sydafrikanska pedagogerna hade två perspektiv på barn i behov av särskilt stöd. Det första är det kategoriska perspektivet och innebär att dela upp barn i kategorier, t.ex. barn med inlärningssvårigheter. Det andra perspektivet är det relationella perspektivet som innebär att miljön och verksamheten runtomkring avgör om ett barn är i behov av särskilt stöd eller inte. Pedagogerna menar att de inte har speciella hjälpmedel för barn i behov av särskilt stöd. För att motivera barnen använder pedagogerna kreativa metoder, till exempel låter de dem skriva i sand, på griffeltavlan och vara delaktiga. De gör vad de kan med de begränsade resurserna. / The purpose of the study is to explore the views from South African educators on children in need of special support in preschool. The purpose also includes to study the educator’s view on what resources there are for these children. I have used the method qualitative interviews to capture open and detailed descriptions from the educators. The South African educators mean that children in need of special support are children who differ from their peers in knowledge and maturity level, and children with disabilities, sicknesses or social problems. The South African educators had two perspectives on children in need of special support. The first is the categorical perspective, which means that they divide learners in categories, for example learners having learning disabilities. The second one is relational perspective which means that the surrounding environment determines if a child is in need of special support or not. The educators mean they don’t have enough resources for children in need of special support. To motivate the children the educators use creative methods, for example write in sand, on the chalkboard and let them be active. They do what they can with limited resources.

Studien är en kvalitativ studie med en hermeneutisk fenomenologisk ansats. Syftet med studien är att förstå och beskriva hur sju förskollärare upplever sitt arbete med barn i behov av särskilt stöd i förskolan. Studiens resultat visar att förskollärarna upplever att de arbetar med barn i behov av särskilt stöd. Samtliga respondenter berättar om barn som har behov av särskilt stöd av socioemotionell karaktär. De beskriver att de arbetar med barn som har svårt att kommunicera, att koncentrera sig, att styra sina impulser och som behöver stöd i sitt samspel och sina relationer med andra barn och vuxna. Förskollärarna berättar att de har funderingar över vilka barn som egentligen är barn i behov av särskilt stöd. De tydliggör att alla barn har olika behov och förutsättningar. Studiens resultat visar att förskollärarna har strategier för att möta barn i behov av särskilt stöd. Strategier som de lyfter som framgångsrika är att skapa närhet och trygghet, att fånga intresse och motivation, att stötta i leken, att skapa tydlighet och struktur, att arbeta med mindre barngrupper, att ta vara på utemiljön samt att samverka inom och utanför arbetslaget. Respondenterna menar att dessa strategier gynnar alla barn i barngruppen. Resultatet visar också att förskollärarna upplever en del svårigheter kring att möta barn i behov av särskilt stöd. Svårigheter som de lyfter är att barngrupper är stora, att personaltätheten är låg, att barnet lätt blir syndabock, att det brister i anknytningen och att det brister i samverkan. / The study is a qualitative study with a hermeneutic, phenomenological approach. The purpose of the study is too understand and describe how seven preschool teachers experience their efforts with children in need of special support in the preschool. The study’s results show that the preschool teachers believe that they work with children in need of special support. All respondents report about children in need of special support of socio emotional nature. They describe that they work with children with troubles communicating, concentrating, control impulses, and who needs support in their relationships with other children and with grown-ups. The preschool teachers acknowledge that they contemplate which children that really are children in need of special support. They highlight that every child have different needs and pre-conditions. The results of the study show that the preschool teachers have strategies in their efforts with children in need of special support. Strategies which are brought forward and considered successful include to create closeness and safety, to capture interest and motivation, to support the children’s play, to create clearness and structure, to work with small groups of children, to benefit from the outdoor environment, and to cooperate within and between teams. The respondents think these strategies benefit all children in the children’s group. The results also show that the preschool teachers experience some difficulties related to supporting children in need of special support. Difficulties brought forward include too large children’s groups, too few staff members, the tendency to make a child into a scapegoat, flaws in connection and flaws in the interaction.