This licentiate thesis addresses what textbooks in the school subject Swedish specifically oriented to pupils in different vocational programmes at Swedish high school/ upper secondary schools (Gymnasiet) offer to their readers. The study uses qualitative textual analysis as its main approach as well as, to a certain extent, quantitative data from textbooks in the Blickpunkt series (Blickpunktserien). Since they are included in so called comprehensive teaching materials, Bra Svenska A and Bra Svenska B, certain aspects of these two books, primarily their selection of texts are also studied. My point of departure is that a given textbook presumes a certain type of reader – this is supported by Umberto Eco’s theory that an author always writes with a reader in mind, a model reader, and I pose the following question: What views on subject matter, literature and cognitive approach are conveyed by the textbooks and what does this tell us about their model readers? My interpretation is that there are both many similarities and many differencies between the various model readers presumed by the textbooks. The focus on future professional activities permeates all of the textbooks, but is somewhat less prominent in Blickpunkt bygg and Blickpunkt el, where, to a certain extent, the model reader is presumed to be working with topics which can be attributed to the Swedish subject matter area. In Blickpunkt barn och fritid, Blickpunkt fordon, Blickpunkt hotell och restaurang and Blickpunkt omvårdnad, the postulated reader is assumed to be uninterested in literature and is expected to work in a field only marginally related to the Swedish subject matter area. Instead the textbooks are organized on the basis of a general assumption regarding what know-how and qualifications are currently in demand on the labor market. Therefore we cannot say that they contain a genuine Swedish subject matter area. The formulation of the textbooks implies that a model reader is not expected to approach the texts with a critical mind in order to help him or her develop cognitive thinking and oral and written language skills.

Sammanfattning/Abstract Olsson Nina ( 2005) Svensk-norska unionsupplösningen i läroböckerna. The Swedish - Norwegian union in textbooks. Gymnasielärarutbildningen, Historievetenskap och lärande. Lärarutbildningen, Malmö högskola. Syfte Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka och jämföra hur den svensk- norska unionsupplösningen har behandlas i norska och svenska läroböcker i historia. Samt identifiera skillnader och likheter och försöka förklara dem. Metod Christer Karlegärds har ett antal punkter för att analysera läroböcker i historia. Det är utifrån dessa punkter jag har valt att analysera texterna om unionsupplösningen. Jag jämför läroböckerna med varandra för att se skillnader och likheter. I min analys redogör jag för rimliga hypoteser som syftar till att förklara de skillnader och likheter jag har identifierat. Resultat Undersökningen visar att det finns en hel del skillnader och likheter. Den största skillnaden är texternas omfattning. De orsaker som kan förklara skillnaderna är att unionsupplösningen har olika betydelser i de båda länderna och detta i sin tur har påverkat läroböckernas utformning. Likheterna i texterna kan förklaras med likartade kursplaner och läroboksförfattarnas vilja att framställa så neutral historia som möjligt. Nyckelord: Unionsupplösningen 1905, läroboksanalys, norska historieböcker, svenska historieböcker. / Purpose The purpose of this work is to examine and compare how the dissolution of The Swedish – Norwegian union, is handled in textbooks. The purpose is also to identify similarities and differences and attempt to explain them. Methods Christer Karlegärd has a number of points to analyze text books in history. I have based my study on these points. In my final analysis I describe reasonable hypothesis, in order to explain the similarities and differences I have found. Result In my work I found a number of similarities and differences. The biggest difference is the variation of length. The Norwegian texts are longer than the Swedish. I found that the reason to why the Norwegian texts are longer than the Swedish is because the view of the dissolution of the union is differently. And that is shown in the text books. The similarities can be explained by the writers will to describe history as neutral as possible. Keywords: The dissolution of The Swedish – Norwegian union. Textbook analysis Norwegian history books, Swedish history books.

This degree project is a quantitative study of dialogues and speaking exercises in twelve EFL textbooks used in secondary schools in Sweden. The chosen textbooks are from the four textbook series Happy, Time, Whats’s Up? and Wings Base Book. The aim is to investigate if there is any over-representation of female or male characters in the textbook dialogues. We will be looking at four different typologies, namely the number of initiated dialogues, turns taken, number of characters and words used. Previous research concerning classroom interaction, scholastic performance, textbooks and textbook dialogues is included to provide some background into this area. The findings show over-representation exists in all the textbook series in various degrees of both female and male characters. This degree project maps the over-representation of female and male characters both in the four textbook series and the twelve individual textbooks. Our results will show that while a textbook series might over-represent one gender it does not necessarily mean that the individual textbook within that series over-represents the same gender. The findings make it clear that educators need to be aware of gender-biased textbook dialogues in order to be better equipped to ensure equal opportunities for all learners.

This dissertation is a feminist analysis of Blueprint A, a contemporary textbook for upper secondary English A. Relatively few studies on textbooks and gender have been carried out and those that have do not concern textbooks for the language subjects. In addition to the actual textbook analysis, I have studied the Swedish curriculum for the non-compulsory school system as well as the syllabus for English. Although the curriculum is explicit about the importance of increasing gender equality in education, there is no mentioning of how to implement a gender perspective in the syllabus for English. The textbook takes up various aspects of power, but it does not present any texts or discussions that challenge gender norms. The analysis reveals a rather conservative depiction of men and women.

Syftet med detta arbete är att se hur det multikulturella samhället speglas i de läromedel som används på skolorna idag. Undersökningen tittar på vilka individer som väljs ut som representanter för en hel religion och tar avstamp i ett genus och etnicitetsperspektiv. Läromedlen är alla utgivna under Lpo 94. Resultaten har kommit fram via en innehållsanalytisk och komparativ studie där individerna i läromedlen undersökts; saker som kön, etnicitet och innehåll i utsagorna har lyfts fram. De har därutöver komparerats mot varandra för att ge ett övergripande resultat och sammanställning. Sammanfattningsvis ges en bild av ett gott genus och etnicitetsperspektiv hos individerna i de läromedel som undersökts. / The aim of this study was to examine how the multi cultural society is reflected in the Religion textbooks used in schools today. The study looks at which individuals are chosen as representatives of a whole religion and it takes off in a gender- and ethnicity perspective. The textbooks have all been published under the curriculum of Lpo 94.The results were found with the use of a content analysis and a comparative analysis. These analyses have been used to look at the individuals in the textbooks and things like gender, ethnicity and content in their statements have been emphasized. In addition to that these things have been compared to one another in order to form a general compilation of the results. In conclusion, the image of the individuals examined in the textbooks proves to be of a fair gender- and ethnicity perspective.

The purpose of the study is to se how coherent certain parts of four textbooks is with the curriculums Lpo 94 and Lgr 80. The study will examine Christianity and Islam in four textbooks. The aforementioned books are high school textbooks. To help us conduct the study we will use Hellspongs qualitative analysis method that’s allows us to conduct a profound analysis. The results are then compared to the curriculums to give us our answers. The comparisons are based on three different parts. The first part is the analyzed material. The second part is the earlier research that we present in the paper and it is the studies scientifical platform. The third part is the curriculums. The result of the study is that the textbooks show flaws in the comparisons to the curriculum. We find parts that are influenced by the authors in form of generalizations, a patriarchal view of women and the textbooks tend to use Christianity as the norm for other religions. A positive thing is that the newer books that are based on Lpo 94 show a clear approach against prejudice. They contextualize certain hot spot topics and problematize others and by doing this the books create a platform for better understanding.

The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the content of textbooks used in undergraduate survey courses in interdisciplinary humanities to understand the content of the curriculum and how an author's viewpoint shapes the product. By enumerating the texts and images authors and their publishers used to illustrate 20th century culture and the transition into the 21st century, the analysis generated a description of the range of perspectives from traditional to postmodern found in six sampled textbooks. Textbook content provided chronological data, while authors' source citations established identity properties of the works' contributors. Through a ranking system of authors' treatment of content and citations, the most traditional perspectives were compared to the most postmodern. Classifying cultural contributors by identity properties gave a quantitative rate of inclusion of traditionally excluded groups. A trend of increase in "diversity-infusion" was observed among all authors when the content of the textbooks was compared in chronological sequence. The qualitative differences, as constructed for this dissertation, indicate that each textbook constitutes a varied and unique representation of author perspective. The project's contribution to future research is the development of a database of art works and literary sources from the years 1900-2006 that can be used for quantification and for further study.

This essay aims to contribute to the field of criticism of religion and citizenship education by analyzing how two Swedish textbooks portray different forms of criticism of religion. Based on Stenmark´s definition of criticism of religion that contains internal, external, negative and constructive criticism of religion and content analysis, the occurrence of the various forms of criticism of religion is categorized and counted. Furthermore, the portrayal of criticism of religion is analyzed based on agent and existence in order to examine the type of citizen that the textbooks' portrayal can give rise to. The use of content analysis contributed to being able to identify and categorize different forms of criticism of religion. The second part of the analysis, which was based on agent and existence, contributed to creating a deeper understanding of what the depiction of criticism of religion can mean from a citizenship education perspective. The results showed that all forms of criticism of religion appeared in both textbooks, but to different extents. Furthermore, the results showed that the portrayal of criticism of religion in the textbooks probably affects citizenship education.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att förstå den bild av medeltida män, kvinnor och könsförhållanden som förmedlas av läromedel i vår tids gymnasieutbildning. Till detta ändamål granskades tre historieläromedel genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Teman som gick att urskilja i läromedlens historieskrivning var bland annat att stora delar av texten var manligt kodad, att kvinnor tenderade att osynliggöras och beskrivas som passiva offer och att avsnitt om såväl kvinnor som könsförhållanden regelbundet placerades utanför narrativet. Efter en genusteoretisk analys drogs slutsatsen att genusskildringen till stor del kan förklaras av en inom historieskrivningen seglivad föreställning om att aktörer och händelser i den offentliga sfären är av större betydelse än dem i den privata sfären. En historiedidaktisk analys påvisade att de läromedelsförfattare som sökte skildra historien genom att kombinera ett flertal olika perspektiv kunde uppnå en mer balanserad skildring av medeltidens könsförhållanden, medan ett mer enspårigt narrativ korrelerade med det motsatta / The purpose of this essay was to understand the portrayal of medieval men, women and gender relations that is conveyed by teaching materials in the Swedish secondary education of today. For this purpose, three history teaching materials were examined through a qualitative content analysis. The themes that could be discerned were, among other things, that large parts of the text were male-coded, that women tended to be rendered invisible and described as passive victims, and that sections about both women and gender relations regularly were placed outside the narrative. After a gender-theoretical analysis, the conclusion was drawn that the depiction of gender largely can be explained by a conception within historiography that actors and events in the public sphere are of greater importance than those in the private sphere. A history-didactic analysis showed that the authors who tried to depict history by combining several different perspectives were able to achieve a more balanced depiction of medieval gender relations, while a more one-track narrative correlated with the opposite

This study conducted to examine the distribution of problem-solving tasks in mathematics textbook related to mathematical literacy. The aim of the study was to analyze the extent to which mathematical literacy is addressed through problem-solving tasks in two grade 4 mathematics textbooks. To analyze the types and distribution of problem-solving tasks within the textbooks the study employed a quantitative approach where the analysis tool was based on four main components that contribute to development of mathematical literacy. The findings revealed that the distribution of problem-solving tasks over had overall was similar with a few differences in percentage in both textbooks. The textbook Matte Direkt 4A provided a greater emphasis on mathematical literacy through problem-solving tasks compared to Koll på matematik 4A. The results also indicated that problem-solving tasks who had a context within the real-world were more prevalent than others in the materials analyzed. These findings implicate the need for a more balanced and comprehensive approach to incorporating problem-solving tasks that promote mathematical literacy in educational materials.