Several decades of research into the effectiveness of corrective feedback on ESL writing have resulted in the emergence of a consensus on a number of best practices. This study aims to investigate what recommendations the Swedish National Agency for Education provides upper secondary English teachers to use when responding to students’ writing, and if these recommendations are aligned with current research on corrective feedback. Through a content analysis, I examine four support resource materials from the Swedish National Agency for Education explicitly aimed at helping teachers with using feedback. The findings of this study show that the four resources from Skolverket depict a unified perception of what type of feedback teachers should provide: the feedback needs to be didactically considered, taking the learning goals of the syllabus, the individual student’s learning needs, and the level of detail it should contain in consideration both before and during the responding. It also needs to be indirect so that it does not constrain students’ writing style, yet it needs to provide constructive explanations so the students are not left confused by the feedback. The findings further show that for the most part, the four resources and the research are aligned when it comes to the content and the focus of the feedback, however, they differ in areas regarding how extensive and explanatory the feedback needs to be.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur svenska som andraspråkslärare inom språkintroduktionsprogram arbetar för att stödja nyanlända elever som lider av posttraumatisk stress (PTSD) för att främja deras andraspråksinlärning. För att uppnå studiens syfte valdes en kvalitativ ansats och semistrukturerade intervjuer som metod. Informanterna utgörs av sex lärare i svenska som andraspråk som alla arbetar med nyanlända elever på språkintroduktionsprogram (både på gymnasiet och i grundskola). Resultatet visar att lärarna är överens om att PTSD kan ha en påverkan på andraspråksinlärningen och inlärning generellt. Detta är något som även tidigare forskning visar på stämmer. Det framkommer även att lärarnas kunskaper om PTSD hos elever ser olika ut beroende på vilken kommun de arbetar i. Studiens slutsats landar i att lärarna ser PTSD som en diagnos som hämmar andraspråksinlärningen. Trots detta tycks lärares kompetens i frågan om undervisning av elever med PTSD generellt sett vara låg. Lärarna menar att de gärna hade sett större satsningar på att fortbilda lärare i hur man kan arbeta med dessa elever, i syfte att gynna deras andraspråksinlärning.

The aim of this study was to investigate Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes toward English in school as well as to identify in what ways and to what extent they interact with English outside of school. An online questionnaire was used to collect data. The participants were three groups consisting of a total of 31 students at a school in northern Sweden. Findings from this study indicate that although the attitudes differ significantly within and between the different groups, the consensus was that English is a moderately difficult subject where they learn as much as or less than they learn outside of school. Additionally, all groups were shown to spend a lot of time engaging in a variety of different English activities outside of school, among which listening to music, using social media and watching different kinds of online visual media were the most prevalent.

The present thesis is made up by three articles and in all of these the mathematics curriculum for upper secondary school in Sweden is analysed. The main focus is the citizen and citizenship and the point of departure is problem solving as a competence. Besides an investigation of the connection between citizenship and the curricu- lum or the role the citizen have in the curriculum, questions about what tensions appear when problem solving is recontextualised in- to the curriculum are posed. Following an international trend in (mathematics) education, the mathematics curriculum in Sweden stresses demands made on the students and citizens instead of rights that the students or citizens have. Demands that everyone must become problem-solving citizens. By the use of Bernstein’s theories about the pedagogic device and his division of different knowledge forms into a vertical and a horizontal discourse, I inves- tigate possible effects of these demands. Despite intentions that all should be included, I show that there is a risk for exclusion instead. Bernstein suggested that school reproduces social inequity. In this thesis I discuss how this is done in the curriculum. My conclusion points at a risk of segregation and exclusion of lower socio- economic groups from influence, power and control. Furthermore, the reproduction of social inequity is build more solidly into the system with the new curriculum as although it is unclear whether the purpose of the changes to the curriculum was really to divide groups and exclude some from power.

This knowledge overview seeks to answer the question; What opportunities and difficulties are there in using students' private mobile phones as a didactic tool? To answer the question, we will also investigate what students and teachers' views are. We will use various research texts that will give us an insight into how the situation looks for students in the classroom. The research is done between the years 2013-2022 with both Sweden and the international arena as focus. The research texts show that the possibilities with mobile phones as didactic tools are many and broad, however the difficulties are likewise. This knowledge overview has given us as new teachers a broader understanding of how mobile phones can be used to an advantage or disadvantage. The research also shows that mobile phones can be used as a didactic tool with the right resources, understanding and efforts. Unfortunately, we believe that there is not enough research on how it concretely can be used in Sweden and what the school world needs to contribute.

Undervisningen i samhällskunskap på gymnasieskolan ska enligt anvisningarna i ämnesplanen bedrivas ”med utgångspunkt i samhällsfrågor”. Vad innebär det? I denna licentiatuppsats diskuteras ämnet samhällskunskap och dess potential, analyserat utifrån samhällsfrågor som didaktiskt begrepp. Studien är en sammanläggning av tre artiklar som bygger på tre studier. I den första studien analyseras begreppet samhällsfrågor i styrdokument över tid. Den andra studien bygger på en enkät som 74 gymnasielärare i samhällskunskap besvarat. Den tredje studien är slutligen en intervjustudie med sju av de lärare som medverkat i enkätstudien. Studiens design medger en successiv förflyttning av fokus från struktur till aktör. När analysen riktas mot samhällsfrågor som didaktiskt begrepp framträder samhällskunskapsämnet som ett ämne som är öppet för det oväntade och som låter såväl aktuella händelser som elevers genuina frågor forma ämnet. I uppsatsen diskuteras argument för att undervisning som sker med utgångspunkt i samhällsfrågor kan motverka ett instrumentellt förhållningssätt till ämnet. Göran Morén är verksam som lärarutbildare vid Högskolan Dalarna. Han har tidigare erfarenhet som samhällskunskapslärare i gymnasieskola. Sedan 2013 har han ingått i forskarskolan Skolnära, ett samarbete mellan Karlstads universitet och Högskolan Dalarna. / This licentiate thesis examines and discusses the potential of the subject social studies by way of an analysis of the concept social issues. It comprises three articles which are based on three separate studies. The first was a discourse analysis on the concept of social issues in steering documents for social studies in upper secondary school from the 1960’s until the current curriculum. The second was a questionnaire in which 74 social studies teachers answered questions regarding their understanding and teaching of social studies, specifically in relation to the concept of social issues. The third study was based on interviews with seven teachers who had completed the questionnaire. The study allows for a shift in focus between structure and agency. Whereas the structure dominates the analysis in the first article the teachers, with agency, gradually move into the foreground in the other articles. With a social-constructionist perspective, phenomena like a school subject and teaching practice are seen as formed by both structure, such as discourse, and agents, in this case professional teachers. The text analysis shows that social issues as a didactical concept is shifting in its meaning and didactical function for the subject depending on the discourse. It is argued that social issues, in the current steering documents, are downplayed in relation to concepts like “core content” and “knowledge requirements”. The questionnaire that followed showed that teachers had an understanding of social issues that challenged the logic of the previous discourse analysis. They seemed to find it possible to combine “teaching with social issues as the point of departure” with the predefined content and knowledge requirements of the subject syllabus. Based on the results of the final interview study the third article argues that the subject social studies, when seen through the lens of social issues, is one that is open, strives beyond the limitations of  core content and calls for  authentic, sometimes controversial content. The conclusion of the licentiate thesis is that the concept of social issues carries the potential to create a subject that is meaningful for students and that challenges the risk of school becoming instrumental.

Almost all organizations sometimes undergo some form of transformation and reforms. How these transformations and reforms are designed, received by those it applies or implemented in practice may look different depending on who it is that is affected and for whom the reform applies. The Swedish education system and the school are no exception when it comes to implementing reforms and transformations. The single biggest transformation in recent years for the upper secondary school is Gymnasiereformen 2011. The main task of the reform was to create a new structure for the upper secondary school. Gymnasiereformen 2011 began to apply from the school year 2011/2012. The purpose of this study is to create new knowledge about an implementation of a reform in an organization, specifically the school, with traditions of inertia and an organization with street level bureaucracy and teacher´s idea of school governance. The method for collecting and analyzing data is done through a questionnaire to upper secondary school teachers about the implementation of Gymnasiereformen 2011. As a methodological analysis tool, an analysis is made of the questionnaire responses related to previous research and the expectations that can be expected when implementing a comprehensive reform in school. The results of this study show that the teachers' perception is that the implementation were led by the principals and that the financial resources for further training or time for teachers to familiarize themselves with the new reform to a limited extent. The teachers' view is also that the administrative work will increase in the long term and almost two-thirds of the teachers state that the new subject plans have made them add new content areas in their teaching. At the same time almost seventy percent have excluded only minor content areas. When it comes to the question of the teachers' perception of how the governance of the school should look, it is an overwhelming majority of the teachers who believe that the state should have a great influence over the school both in terms of governance and implementation of reforms.

Sammanfattning Bakgrund Forskning har visat att pojkars och flickors matvanor skiljer sig åt på högstadiet. Riksmaten ungdoms resultat visade att mer än 90% av deltagarna åt mindre än hälften av den rekommenderade mängden frukt och grönsaker. Ungdomar har god kännedom om vad som anses vara hälsosam och ohälsosam mat. Utbildning i matlagning behöver finnas med i läroplanen för att säkerställa att kunskapen om goda vanor bevaras ur ett hälsoperspektiv. Syfte Syftet var att studera hur högstadieelever resonerar kring matvanor och vad som påverkar deras matvanor. Metod Kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med 17 informanter,tio flickor och sju pojkar som fyllt 15 år. Intervjuerna spelades in och transkriberades för att sedan analyseras med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat Största delen av informanterna säger att sallad och grönsaker är hälsosamma val av livsmedel. Låg fetthalt, gärna vegetariskt och hemlagat nämns som bra val ur hälsoperspektiv. Att äta varierad kost för att få i sig alla näringsämnen en behöver genom att följa tallriksmodellen samt att dricka vatten till maten ansågs hälsosamt. Snabbmat från McDonalds nämndes ofta som exempel på ohälsosam mat. Fysisk aktivitet och umgänge med kompisar, samt om det var vardag eller helg påverkade informanternas matvanor. Mat som de uttryckte var ohälsosam ansågs även som godare, medan mat som de fann som hälsosam inte tycktes smaka lika bra. Slutsats Ungdomars resonemang stämmer väl överens med de nuvarande råden kring kost. Ungdomarna kan väl beskriva vad som är hälsosamt och inte. Den större delen av informanterna nämner att hem- och konsumentkunskap inte påverkat nämnvärt hur de ska äta. Några av dem tycker att de blivit påverkade av undervisningen. Sociala medier har i viss mån negativ inverkan på ungdomar, som att få dem att äta lite mat för att hålla sig smala, men sociala medier kan också inspirera ungdomar till att laga mat.

The topic of this study is multiperspectivity, a concept in history didactics denoting a way and predisposition to view history through many different perspectives, with regards to, among other things, historical people, events, and historiography. Using multiperspectivity in history education not only reveals the varied ways in which history is constructed, but also exposes the history of peoples previously marginalized in historical narratives, such as women, children, the poor, and various ethnic groups. Using a content analysis and coding scheme, the study examines the representtation of the era of the Swedish empire in five history textbooks for upper secondary school in Sweden. Textbooks are an important part of teaching, and as research material they can provide insight into how a given subject may be represented, which in turn makes it possible to analyse the implications of that representation. The study finds that the textbooks varied considerably regarding their multiperspectivity. Some included the perspectives of peasants, women, immigration, and the effects of religion on society, while others did not, and were instead noticeably more limited in their perspectivity. All textbooks did however focus heavily on military and political matters. The various wars Sweden was engaged in, as well as the kings – particularly Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII – receive most attention throughout the texts, while other perspectives are, more or less depending on the textbook, given far less attention. Furthermore, the texts themselves are most often framed as a narrative of the rise and fall of an empire. These findings are in many ways congruent with previous research on history textbooks, and together with previous research on multiperspectivity, the study shows the complexity of applying this concept to history education.

To assess choir singing is a phenomenon that has been researched for several decades.What has been relevant in previous research is what to assess in choir singing and howit ́s done. This study explore upper secondary choral teachers ́perception of assessmentin choir singing. Through qualitative interviews, six choral teachers get to provide theirperception. Phenomenography constitutes astheoretical perspective, but also as a method,as the variation of different perceptions is analyzed. Three categories appears in theresults: the music teachers ́goal regarding choir singing and assessment, knowledge andabilities in choir singing, and assessment practices. The music teacher ́s goal with choirsinging vary depending on what the music teacher considers important. Perceptions aboutknowledge and abilities in choir singing differs slightly, however a joint perception is thatresponsibility and leadership is have a high impact on students ́ grade. Seven variousperceptions about assessment practices are prominent: digital recording, individual tests,choir singing tests, theoretical tests, assessment through experience, peer assessment and collective performance. In the discussion, two different natures emerge regardingteachers ́ goals with choral education: aesthetic goals and institutional goals. Findingspointed out that the nature of the goal affects the use of different assessment practices, tobenefit the objectives of the teacher.