The Holocaust is an important part of Swedish history teaching. It tends to exemplify human rights violations and has become a means to educate students to be better citizens. Swedish studies have often focused on students’ historical consciousness. This study aims to examine students’ historical thinking about the Holocaust. Three questions are addressed; how students express substantive knowledge, how students express procedural concepts, and how do students express moral aspects about the Holocaust. The material was created during the authors’ teaching practice (in Swedish VFU) and consists of 28 students’ texts. To analyze the material qualitative content analysis was used. Procedural concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, historical agency and, moral aspects, were also used as tools to interpret students’ texts about what was the cause of the Holocaust. The results show that students made implicit references to different procedural concepts when describing how the Holocaust happened. Students often referred to anti-Semitism, Adolf Hitler, and the developed train system as causes for the Holocaust. They tended to understand Hitler as the founder of anti-Semitism and Nazism. He was described to convince the German people to vote for him. Structures and agency of other actors, therefore, disappeared leading to a shallow understanding of the Holocaust. The author of the study argues for a Holocaust education that uses Alice Pettigrews’ concept of “powerful knowledge” and Gert Biestas’ notion of qualification, socialization, and subjectification, to develop students’ moral and civic understanding.

Syftet med undersökningen är att finna olika arbetsmetoder som lågstadiepedagoger i årskurserna 1–3 använder i sin samhällskunskapsundervisning om nyheter. Undersökningen reflekterar även om vilka möjligheter och hinder som lågstadiepedagoger möter i sina arbetsmetoder när det kommer till nyhetsundervisning. Arbetsmetoderna skulle därmed kunna bidra till kunskap- och lärandetillfällen som man själv kan använda i sin egen undervisning. Forskning har visat att det finns ett begränsat antal undersökningar utförda på lågstadiet med yngre elever inom samhällskunskapsämnet. Forskningen som finns har bland annat belyst hur lågstadielärare arbetar med samhällskunskapsämnet i bredare omfång. En större mängd forskning finns för de äldre årskurserna då forskare bland annat undersökt hur elever förstod information i tidningsartiklar, nyheter kopplat till bilder samt hur elever i olika åldrar uppfattade sanna och falska nyheter. För denna undersökning har metoderna observation och kvalitativ intervju använts där fyra observationstillfällen och sju intervjuer med lågstadiepedagoger som undervisar i årskurserna 1 – 3 blivit utförda. Teorin som använts i denna undersökning var det sociokulturella perspektivet. Analyser och diskussioner har sedan blivit utförda med stöd av teorin och den tidigare forskningen där resultatet grundat sig i lågstadielärarnas utsagor.Undersökningens resultat visar hur lågstadielärare inkluderar nyhetsprogrammet Lilla aktuellt som en del av sin samhällskunskapsundervisning om nyheter. Lilla aktuellt har ett stort fokus i klassrummen och lärarnas arbetsmetoder relaterat till nyhetsprogrammet skiljer sig beroende på vilken skola de arbetar på samt vilken elevgrupp som klassen består av. I samband med nyhetsundervisning har samtliga lärare prioriterat muntlig kommunikation som tillvägagångsätt då man antingen tillsammans i helklass eller i mindre grupper samtalat om nyhetsinnehåll. En del lärare lägger större tyngd på att diskutera nyhetsinnehåll på ytan medan andra vill att eleverna ska gräva djupare för att förstå nyhetens bakgrund, händelse och lösning. / The purpose of this paper was to find different teaching methods that is used by primary school teachers in grades 1 – 3 in their social studies instruction regarding news. This paper would also inform the possibilities and the obstacles that the primary school teachers face with their own teaching methods when it comes to news education. The teaching methods would thereby contribute to knowledge- and learning opportunities that other teachers can use in their own classrooms. Research has shown that there are limited number of surveys done in social studies education for lower grades with younger children. The research that can be found has shown with a wider range how primary school teachers educate the students in social studies. A bigger amount of research can be found for older students in news teaching and some of this research show how students understood the information in articles, the connection between news and pictures and also what students in different ages could understand with true and fake news. The methods that have been used for this paper are observation and qualitative interview and the total of four observations and seven interviews with primary school teachers that teach in the grades 1 – 3 have been collected. The theory that has been included in this paper is the sociocultural perspective regarding teaching methods. With the support from the theory and previous research has statements from the primary school teachers been analyzed and discussed.The result of this paper has shown that primary school teachers include the news program Lilla aktuellt as a part of the social studies when it comes to teaching about news. The news program Lilla aktuellt has a big focus in classrooms but the teachers’ teaching methods related to this varied based on the school and the groups of students. The most common teaching methods when it comes to news education has shown to be oral communication either in smaller groups or with all the students together. Some teachers put energy in the basic information regarding news, for example the event, while others think it is important for the students to learn the whole picture like the news background, event and the solution.

As climate changes are progressing so is the need for further knowledge surrounding them and their consequences. This includes the ocean’s role in the climate system. Previous studies indicate a general lack of research in students’ understanding of the ocean, which this thesis aims to fill a part of. This thesis has investigated upper secondary school students’ basic knowledges of the ocean’s natural processes and chemistry, as well as the students’ understanding of the consequences of the ongoing ocean warming. The methods used have been a combination of participant observation and a quiz, considering students in an upper secondary school in Stockholm. The results of the quiz show that two thirds of the students have a basic understanding of the ocean’s processes and chemistry. The participant observation supports this conclusion. It additionally showed that most students displayed superficial knowledge of oceanic processes, while having a poorer understanding of more complex processes and the concurrence between processes. Some misunderstandings and alternative understandings surfaced amongst the students’ answers. These, along with systematic geography and its preconditions, are discussed in the discussion section. While the present study was too limited to draw definite conclusions, this study indicated preliminary that students with focus on natural science display a deeper knowledge in the ocean’s chemistry and natural processes than students with focus on social sciences, which would be interesting to investigate further in future research.

Mathematics plays a pertinent role in physics. Students' understanding of this role has significant implications in their understanding of physics. Studies have shown that some students prefer the use of mathematics in learning physics. Other studies show mathematics as a barrier in students' learning of physics. In this study the role of mathematics in students' understanding of electricity problems was examined. The study undertakes a qualitative approach, and is based on an intepretivist research paradigm. A survey administered to students was used to establish students' expectations on the use of mathematics in physics. Focus group interviews were conducted with the students to further corroborate their views on the use of mathematics in physics. Copies of students' test scripts were made for analysis on students' actual work, applying mathematics as they were solving electricity problems. Analysis of the survey and interview data showed students' views being categorised into what they think it takes to learn physics, and what they think about the use of mathematics in physics. An emergent response was that students think that, problem solving in physics means finding the right equation to use. Students indicated that they sometimes get mathematical answers whose meaning they do not understand, while others maintained that they think that mathematics and physics are inseparable. Application of a tailor-made conceptual framework (MATHRICITY) on students work as they were solving electricity problems, showed activation of all the original four mathematical resources (intuitive knowledge, reasoning primitives, symbolic forms and interpretive devices). Two new mathematical resources were identified as retrieval cues and sense of instructional correctness. In general, students were found to be more inclined to activate formal mathematical rules, even when the use of basic or everyday day mathematics that require activation of intuitive knowledge elements and reasoning primitives, would be more efficient. Students' awareness of the domains of knowledge, which was a measure of their understanding, was done through the Extended Semantic Model. Students' awareness of the four domains (concrete, model, abstract, and symbolic) was evident as they were solving the electricity questions. The symbolic domain, which indicated students' awareness of the use of symbols to represent a problem, was the most prevalent. / Science and Technology Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Physics Education)))

The aim of this thesis is to introduce the theme of globalization and global issues as a topic of school education. There will be a didactic analysis of this topic in relation with the content of Civil and Social Sciences and the cross-curricular theme Education for Thinking in the European and Global Context at secondary grammar school. The theoretical part briefly defines globalization and explains the necessary sociological terms, such as global poverty, global unemployment and consumerism. There is also a chapter on global education in schools and on researches on understanding of globalization. The practical part explains the methodology of qualitative research and the method of in-depth interview of the semi-structured type serving as the basis of this work. Then, it presents the results of the research conducted on students' understanding realized with the secondary grammar school students. Finally, it gives recommendations for school education based on these results. KEY WORDS: globalization, global development education, global competence, constructivism, students' understanding, qualitative research, in-depth semi-structured interview

Mathematics plays a pertinent role in physics. Students' understanding of this role has significant implications in their understanding of physics. Studies have shown that some students prefer the use of mathematics in learning physics. Other studies show mathematics as a barrier in students' learning of physics. In this study the role of mathematics in students' understanding of electricity problems was examined. The study undertakes a qualitative approach, and is based on an intepretivist research paradigm. A survey administered to students was used to establish students' expectations on the use of mathematics in physics. Focus group interviews were conducted with the students to further corroborate their views on the use of mathematics in physics. Copies of students' test scripts were made for analysis on students' actual work, applying mathematics as they were solving electricity problems. Analysis of the survey and interview data showed students' views being categorised into what they think it takes to learn physics, and what they think about the use of mathematics in physics. An emergent response was that students think that, problem solving in physics means finding the right equation to use. Students indicated that they sometimes get mathematical answers whose meaning they do not understand, while others maintained that they think that mathematics and physics are inseparable. Application of a tailor-made conceptual framework (MATHRICITY) on students work as they were solving electricity problems, showed activation of all the original four mathematical resources (intuitive knowledge, reasoning primitives, symbolic forms and interpretive devices). Two new mathematical resources were identified as retrieval cues and sense of instructional correctness. In general, students were found to be more inclined to activate formal mathematical rules, even when the use of basic or everyday day mathematics that require activation of intuitive knowledge elements and reasoning primitives, would be more efficient. Students' awareness of the domains of knowledge, which was a measure of their understanding, was done through the Extended Semantic Model. Students' awareness of the four domains (concrete, model, abstract, and symbolic) was evident as they were solving the electricity questions. The symbolic domain, which indicated students' awareness of the use of symbols to represent a problem, was the most prevalent. / Science and Technology Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Physics Education))

The major aims of this paper are to present how we can improve the students understanding and involvement in mathematics by using a programming/graphic calculator. I will use differentials as examples such as differentiation ,integrals and differential equations, creating lines of slopes for differential equation of the type y’= f(x,y) . Find the solution of some differential equations by using regression and create the graph connected to the differential equation. As we have different approaches to solving a problem, it is a hope the students interest in mathematics will improve. The tools used will be programming, graphic commands as plot, f-line, etc. One goal is also to show how we can create small programs solving problems in mathematics. For many students this will be a stepping stone for further work with programming. The programs used can be copied using the program FA 124 that can be downloaded from Casios homepages. On request I can send you the programs.

The major aims of this paper are to present how we can improve the students understanding and involvement in mathematics by using a programming/graphic calculator. I will use differentials as examples such as differentiation ,integrals and differential equations, creating lines of slopes for differential equation of the type y’= f(x,y) . Find the solution of some differential equations by using regression and create the graph connected to the differential equation. As we have different approaches to solving a problem, it is a hope the students interest in mathematics will improve. The tools used will be programming, graphic commands as plot, f-line, etc. One goal is also to show how we can create small programs solving problems in mathematics. For many students this will be a stepping stone for further work with programming. The programs used can be copied using the program FA 124 that can be downloaded from Casios homepages. On request I can send you the programs.