This dissertation aims to examine some aspects of special education in Swedish upper secondary schools. The availability of special education resources, the occurrence of ability grouping and the organisational modalities of special education support are investigated. The further aim of the thesis is to discuss how these phenomena can be understood on the basis of democratic educational theories and theories of social educational justice. The study describes how special education support was organised in 764 upper secondary schools in Sweden in the academic school year 2010/2011, with a response rate of 80.4% (n=764). The design of the study is a cross-sectional total population survey, where data have been collected by way of questionnaires and supplemented with public statistics. The results of the study show that about 37.5% of upper secondary schools lack special education resources in terms of special educators or special education teachers. Special education support is not provided in 68% of the independent schools compared with 10% of the public schools. This uneven balance between public and independent schools can be interpreted to be a threat to an equivalent and democratic school, since students in need of special support do not have the same opportunities to receive such support in all schools. Furthermore, schools with a higher average parental educational background have shown higher availability of special education resources. It seems that students with parents who have higher educational backgrounds have to a greater extent access to special education resources. Ability grouping is used in about 43% of the schools. It is most commonly used within foundation subjects, particularly in Mathematics. The schools that use ability grouping to a very large extent have lower and more varied merit rating values and greater availability of special education resources. Special education support is primarily provided outside the students’ regular teaching groups. This is also the case with support provided by other school staff: indeed, 87% of the schools report that the majority of special education support is provided outside the students’ regular teaching groups. This can be understood as a way to organise special support in which heterogeneity and pluralism are not considered important. Based on democratic theories, the support provided outside the regular teaching group might be a risk to the creation of a democratic school where all students are given opportunities to meet and interact.    Overall, the results from this thesis show that special education resources are unevenly distributed among independent and public schools; that 43% of the schools use ability grouping; and that special support is primarily provided outside the students’ regular teaching groups. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: In press.</p><p> </p>

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2017-02-01T15:13:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1758046 bytes, checksum: e968ad7641c02183aec5207b275d0343 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-01T15:13:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1758046 bytes, checksum: e968ad7641c02183aec5207b275d0343 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-17 / In addition to the importance of vitamin D for bone health, is of great interest to elucidate its relationship with obesity. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between habitual dietary intake of vitamin D and body weight in all age groups of the same population. A cross-sectional population-based study, involving 866 individuals from a city in northeastern Brazil. Demographic data were collected and 24-hour recalls, and held anthropometric assessment. The adequacy of nutrients was estimated by adjusting the person variance of nutrient intake. Applied to multiple regression between variables. In the total sample, 45.27% of the participants were overweight or obese. The average habitual intake of vitamin D is approximately 2mg. There was a relationship between habitual dietary intake of vitamin D and body weight in the total sample (t = -2.34, p = 0.019), in adolescents (t = -2.51, p = 0.012) and adults (t = -2.75, p = 0.006). For children and the elderly these relationships were observed. The existence of a relationship between habitual dietary intake of vitamin D and body weight in adolescents and adults but not in children and the elderly, suggests that those most vulnerable age groups the metabolic pathways of vitamin D, which may favor weight loss, are not being stimulated or active, although the intake of children was higher and the elderly similar to the other groups. / Além da importância da vitamina D para a saúde óssea, é de grande interesse elucidar sua relação com a obesidade. O objetivo deste estudo foi examinar a relação entre o consumo alimentar habitual de vitamina D e o peso corporal em todos os grupos etários de uma mesma população. Estudo epidemiológico transversal de base populacional, envolvendo 866 indivíduos de um município do nordeste do Brasil. Foram coletados dados demográficos e recordatórios de 24 horas, e realizou-se a avaliação antropométrica. A adequação de nutrientes foi estimada ajustando a variância intrapessoal da ingestão de nutrientes. Aplicou-se a regressão múltipla entre as variáveis estudadas. Na amostra total, 45,27% dos participantes apresentavam sobrepeso ou obesidade. A média de ingestão habitual de vitamina D foi aproximadamente 2μg. Houve relação entre consumo alimentar habitual de vitamina D e peso corporal na amostra total (t=-2,34; p=0,019), no grupo de adolescentes (t=-2,51; p=0,012) e de adultos (t=-2,75; p=0,006). Para as crianças e idosos estas relações não foram observadas. A existência de relação entre consumo alimentar habitual de vitamina D e peso corporal em adolescentes e adultos, mas não em crianças e idosos, sugere que nesses grupos etários mais vulneráveis as vias metabólicas da vitamina D, que provavelmente favorecem a perda de peso, não estão sendo estimuladas ou atuantes, embora o consumo das crianças foi superior e o dos idosos semelhante aos demais grupos.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-17T15:02:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 2159650 bytes, checksum: a630825d5c57c04adc7a2e7b604844a1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This study assessed the overweight, obesity and BMI - Body Mass Index prevalence adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle variables in all age groups. This is a cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study with stratified and systematic sampling involving 1165 individuals of all ages from the population of a city in northeastern Brazil, from July 2008 to January 2010. From visits to selected households, the following was performed: application of a demographic questionnaire, weight and height measurement, socioeconomic evaluation on family income and education level, practice of physical activities, alcohol consumption and smoking. When the common statistical model was applied, a relationship was observed between overweight and obesity prevalence and the following factors: age group and gender in the total sample and when distributed by age, educational level, in the total sample and when distributed by age group, income when distributed by age group based on the median income. As for lifestyle, only smoking was associated with overweight and obesity prevalence in adults and in the total sample. The following results were significant (p <0.05): age group from 20 to 59 years, when the individual had schooling greater than or equal to high school, the average BMI increased by 2.4760 kg/m2; age group &#8805; 60 years, when the individual was female and BMI increased on average 1.7209 kg/m2. It is noteworthy that schooling and being female also stood out in the adjustment to total population as major factors influencing the increased BMI, followed by variables physical activity and family income. The adjusted results justify the adoption of intervention and prevention policies against these clinical conditions for the study population as a whole, specially directed to adults of higher education level, as well as for elderly females. / Nesta pesquisa examinou-se a prevalência de sobrepeso, obesidade e IMC Índice de Massa Corpórea ajustado por variáveis demográficas, socioeconômicas e de estilo de vida em todas as faixas etárias. Estudo epidemiológico transversal de base populacional com amostragem estratificada e sistemática, envolvendo 1165 indivíduos de todas as faixas etárias, da população de um município do nordeste do Brasil, no período de julho de 2008 a janeiro de 2010. A partir de visitas aos domicílios sorteados realizou-se: aplicação de questionário demográfico, aferição do peso e altura, avaliação socioeconômica sobre renda familiar e nível de escolaridade, prática de atividade física, consumo de álcool e hábito de fumar. Quando aplicado o modelo estatístico comum, observou-se relação entre a prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade com os seguintes fatores: faixa etária e gênero na amostra total e quando distribuídos por faixa etária; escolaridade, na amostra total e quando distribuídos por faixa etária; renda quando distribuídos por faixa etária com base na renda mediana. Quanto ao estilo de vida somente o hábito de fumar teve associação com a prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade na faixa etária de adultos e na amostra total. Foram significativos os seguintes resultados (p < 0.05): na faixa etária de 20 a 59 anos, quando o indivíduo tinha escolaridade maior ou igual ao ensino médio, o IMC médio aumentava em 2,4760 kg/m2; na faixa etária &#8805; 60 anos, quando o individuo era do sexo feminino o IMC aumentava em média 1,7209 kg/m2. Ressalta-se que a escolaridade e o sexo feminino destacaram-se também no ajuste para população total como maiores influenciadores do aumento do IMC, parecendo em seguida, as variáveis atividade física e renda familiar. Com base nos resultados ajustados justificam-se políticas de intervenção e de prevenção destas condições clínicas para a população estudada como um todo e especialmente direcionadas aos indivíduos adultos de maior nível de escolaridade, assim como para os indivíduos idosos do sexo feminino.