The National Strategy for Science was progressively introduced from 2002 with the intention of providing a clear structure for improved delivery of the subject in secondary schools. Through a series of scripted training events, supported by printed resources, the intention was to provide science teachers with a clear framework for sequential teaching of key themes through the use of pedagogy intended to involve the students in their own learning. After several years, the nature of the National Strategy shifted to concentrate on the support of subject leaders, and the Strategy is planned to end in 2011. The current school cohorts have all experienced the teaching of science since the introduction of the Strategy, and should therefore have benefitted from the improved delivery, intended to create improved outcomes and more positive attitudes towards science. By means of a case study investigation in 2008 in a single school, the impact of the National Strategy was explored. By means of a range of qualitative methods, including questionnaires, interviews and lesson observations, it was possible to investigate the extent to which National Strategy ideas had become embedded in the daily routines of the science teachers, and the extent to which students viewed science positively. The study focused on Y7 (soon after entry to the school), Y9 (prior to the SATs examinations) and Y11 (during the run-up to GCSE). An initial study four years previously was used to provide an indication of changes during the life of the Strategy, and to indicate trends. In addition, sampling in other schools was used to determine whether the questionnaire results were atypical. The results showed that the Strategy had largely failed to become embedded in normal classroom practice, with little evidence of teachers making good use of the pedagogy or the structured delivery that was central to the Strategy message. The reasons for this failure were: • The expectation that centrally-delivered training would be effectively cascaded by one individual to other teachers in the school, • The failure to concentrate on a few simple messages or themes, repeatedly delivered and reinforced in subsequent training, • The introduction of a plethora of other initiatives, each demanding teacher time, and diluting efforts to focus attention on the National Strategy themes. As a result, the science teachers in 2008 showed less understanding of the Strategy than teachers in 2004, and their use of techniques such as the three-part lesson and enquiry-based learning were less evident. The Strategy was to be a mechanism to improve examination results and to improve student attitudes to science. The examination results are shown to be largely stagnant over this period 2003-2008, and the attitudes of students towards science are shown to become less positive during their time in secondary school. The key finding, therefore, is that the Strategy failed in its aims because it failed to listen to its own message. It failed to recognise that teachers, just as much as students, need simple messages, repeatedly delivered in innovative ways, in order to learn and fully internalise these ideas.

The overall objective of this thesis is to examine in what way ethical theory and ethical analysis can contribute to further understanding of the ethical challenges of the multicultural classroom. Based on the fact that the world is going through a process of globalization and migration, the education-system and daily praxis of teaching is put in front of new ethical challenges. The teacher in the multicultural classroom is on a daily base confronted with various dilemmas regarding for example conflicting duties, universal and conflicting values and citizenship. Martha Nussbaum´s theory of world citizenship is used as an analytical framework for the thesis and student interviews from upper secondary school is used as a complementary perspective to Nussbaum´s theory. The research questions of the thesis are: Can the theory of World Citizenship Education, when structured and analyzed, give guidance for teaching citizenship in a multicultural classroom? Is it a plausible theory confronted with the ethical challenges of the multicultural classroom? In what way can a student perspective from a multicultural classroom try the relevance and present a complementary perspective to the theory of World citizenship education? The theory and the interviews are analyzed and structured out of the research questions and by the three ethical challenges of universal values, conflicting values and sense of belonging. The conclusion of the thesis states that, even though Nussbaum´s theory does have some constraints, it is to a large degree applicable and possible to relate to the ethical challenges of the multicultural classroom and as a guide for teachers. The theory is plausible in some aspects because it presents reasonable arguments on the necessity of educational reform in an interconnected world and because it makes educational proposals of instrumental worth of the teacher. The theory is however not plausible in other aspects because; the universal values presented are to vague and not specified which makes the theory difficult to use in practise, it does not pay enough attention to the conflicting perspective of the ethical challenges in classroom nor the pedagogical importance of social inclusion when discussing conflicting values and finally the theory demonstrates a contradiction regarding how to act as a teacher about sense of belonging and recognising identity of the students. The interviews demonstrate similar but also different responses to the ethical challenges in comparison with the theory. The students recognize the existence of universal values across cultural borders in a similar way as Nussbaum, even though the values put forward are of another character than Nussbaum´s. They do however present a sceptical view towards the idea of a world citizenship and stresses the importance of bringing up discussions about nationhood, migration and belonging without being afraid of breaking any taboos. At the end the thesis presents some practical guidelines for the teacher in the multicultural classroom that follows logical out of the conclusion. The final discussion highlight the fact that the challenges of the multicultural classroom in Sweden will likely continue, and emphasizes the potential of using ethics as an analytical tool for further developing a professional teaching approach.

Elever med dyslexi har i svensk skola rätt till extra anpassningar, vilka ska svara upp mot elevernas behov gällande stöd för läsning och skrivning. I den här studien har vi utifrån en fenomenografisk forskningsansats undersökt hur elever i åk 5 - 6 med dyslexi beskriver sina extra anpassningar gällande läsning och skrivning med avseende på delaktighet och motivation. Åtta elever i tre mellansvenska skolor intervjuades enskilt. Den kvalitativa analysen av elevsvaren resulterade i ett utfall av sammanlagt tolv beskrivningskategorier, var och en bestående av varierade uppfattningar. Av dessa beskrivningskategorier utgör åtta kategorier elevers beskrivningar av sina extra anpassningar och vad som motiverat till läsning och skrivning eller inte utifrån dessa. Resultatet visar på lärarens betydelse för elevernas motivation utifrån de extra anpassningar som ges genom förmågan att anpassa utifrån elevens behov, vilka kan variera utifrån situation och skolämne. Resultatet visade även på betydelsen av teknik som stöd för läsning och skrivning samt att arbetet med en kamrat är den extra anpassning som eleverna beskriver påverkar arbetet med läsning och skrivning mest. Utfallet av elevernas beskrivningar gällande upplevelsen av delaktighet i valet av, genomförandet samt utvärderingar av sina extra anpassningar resulterade i fyra beskrivningskategorier. Resultatet visade på att eleverna i olika omfattning är delaktiga i utformandet av sina extra anpassningar. Vidare visade resultatet att upplevelsen av delaktighet till stor del påverkas av relationen mellan lärare och elev samt acceptans och erkännande från både lärare och skolkamrater. / Pupils with dyslexia have the right to special adjustments in Swedish schools, depending on the pupil´s needs regarding support for reading and writing. In this study we have, on the basis of a phenomenographic research approach, identified how pupils in grade 5–6 with dyslexia describe their adaptations for reading and writing with regard to participation and motivation. Data was collected through individual interviews with eight students in three Swedish schools. The observations were then examined using a qualitative method of analysis, which resulted in a total of twelve description categories, each containing varied perceptions. Of these description categories, eight categories represent students' descriptions of their extra adaptations and what motivates and discourages reading and writing. The results show the importance of working together with a classmate, which is the extra adaptation that the students describe as affecting their reading and writing the most. Furthermore, the students describe the importance of the teacher for motivating reading and writing, based on the teacher's ability to adapt to the student's needs, which can vary depending on the situation and discipline. The use of assistive technology as support for reading and writing was, according to the students, another important motivating factor. The outcome of the pupils descriptions regarding the level of participation in the choice, implementation and evaluations of their extra adaptations resulted in four description categories. The results showed that the pupils are involved in the design of their extra adaptations to varying degrees. Furthermore, the result showed that the level of participation is largely influenced by the relationship between teacher and student as well as acceptance and recognition from both teachers and schoolmates.

In diesem Beitrag werden eine videographierte Musikstunde und Interviews, die mit den Schülerinnen und Schülern sowie mit der Lehrerin über die Stunde geführt wurden, in Beziehung gesetzt zu einem Modell „Dimensionen von Unterrichtsqualität“. In diesem Modell, das im Rahmen der TIMSS-Video-Studie entwickelt wurde, wird zwischen Angebot, Nutzung und Wirkung von Unterricht unterschieden. Deshalb wird das Lernangebot der videographierten Stunde mit Hilfe von Unterrichtsbeobachtung und von Äußerungen der Lehrerin erschlossen; Nutzung und Wirkung dieses Angebots werden durch eine Analyse der Schülerinterviews rekonstruiert. Im Ergebnis klaffen Angebot und Nutzung auseinander; Leistung, Verständnis und Motivation als erwünschte Wirkungen von Unterricht haben sich nicht in wünschenswertem Umfang eingestellt. In den Äußerungen der Schülerinnen und Schüler offenbart sich eine enge Verbindung zwischen der Angemessenheit des Anforderungsniveaus, ihrem Lernen und ihrer Motivation. / This article relates a videotaped lesson of general music education to a model of teaching quality that was developed within the TIMSS Video Study. The model differentiates between teaching offers, the way students make use of them and students’ learning outcomes. The teaching offer is made accessible not only by video analysis but also by evaluating a teacher interview. Student interviews allow the reconstruction of both students’ usage and outcomes. The results reveal a big difference between the learning offers on the one hand and the students’ usage of those on the other hand. Achievement, comprehension and motivation were not accomplished as desired. The student interviews show a correlation between an adequate level of requirements, the learning process and motivation.

In diesem Beitrag werden eine videographierte Musikstunde und Interviews, die mit den Schülerinnen und Schülern sowie mit der Lehrerin über die Stunde geführt wurden, in Beziehung gesetzt zu einem Modell „Dimensionen von Unterrichtsqualität“. In diesem Modell, das im Rahmen der TIMSS-Video-Studie entwickelt wurde, wird zwischen Angebot, Nutzung und Wirkung von Unterricht unterschieden. Deshalb wird das Lernangebot der videographierten Stunde mit Hilfe von Unterrichtsbeobachtung und von Äußerungen der Lehrerin erschlossen; Nutzung und Wirkung dieses Angebots werden durch eine Analyse der Schülerinterviews rekonstruiert. Im Ergebnis klaffen Angebot und Nutzung auseinander; Leistung, Verständnis und Motivation als erwünschte Wirkungen von Unterricht haben sich nicht in wünschenswertem Umfang eingestellt. In den Äußerungen der Schülerinnen und Schüler offenbart sich eine enge Verbindung zwischen der Angemessenheit des Anforderungsniveaus, ihrem Lernen und ihrer Motivation. / This article relates a videotaped lesson of general music education to a model of teaching quality that was developed within the TIMSS Video Study. The model differentiates between teaching offers, the way students make use of them and students’ learning outcomes. The teaching offer is made accessible not only by video analysis but also by evaluating a teacher interview. Student interviews allow the reconstruction of both students’ usage and outcomes. The results reveal a big difference between the learning offers on the one hand and the students’ usage of those on the other hand. Achievement, comprehension and motivation were not accomplished as desired. The student interviews show a correlation between an adequate level of requirements, the learning process and motivation.

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