This study set out primarily to investigate the nature of reading comprehension instruction in Saint Lucia, and to examine the explanations of teachers with regard to the factors that they perceive contribute to Grade 6 students' failure in the main idea comprehension test in the national Common Entrance Examination in Saint Lucia. Four effective Grades 5 and 6 teachers (two per grade) from two Saint Lucian primary schools participated in a total of four individual semi-structured interviews and were observed in their regularly scheduled reading comprehension lessons. A total of 27 lessons were observed and audio tape-recorded to examine the nature of reading comprehension instruction in the classrooms. From this cohort of lessons, a sample of 16 lessons was randomly selected and transcribed to determine the presence of direct instruction in comprehension strategies, and the quality of instruction that took place. This quality was measured and described in terms of the elements of the Direct Instruction Model (Pearson Dole, 1987), the nature of questioning, and time allotted to instruction. This data was also used to make comparisons between Grades 5 and 6 classes. The results show that the four teachers perceived that there are four areas of blame for students' poor performance in reading comprehension: the teacher's inability to instruct, the students' poor decoding and comprehension abilities, the inadequacy of the main idea test, and the teaching materials available for teaching comprehension. However, the main factor perceived by teachers as contributing to the students' poor performance is teachers' inability to instruct. Nonetheless, the observation of the Grades 5 and 6 effective teachers' reading comprehension lessons showed that these teachers were indeed teaching a number of comprehension strategies. They relied predominantly on the question answering strategy in all their lessons which was mainly taught in combination with other strategies. However, it was the teaching of summarization through the main idea that was the dominant strategy more explicitly taught in 7 of the 16 lessons observed, appearing more frequently in the Grade 6 classes. An assessment of the quality of the reading comprehension instruction revealed that 11 of1 6 lessons, included all the four elements of direct instruction, and were rated as 'excellent' in quality. None of the lessons had fewer than two elements identified on the model. An assessment of the types of questions asked also showed that questioning was used both for the purpose of assessment and as an instructional strategy. The timing of the lessons support the quality of instruction, as 90% of the total time observed was allotted to instruction. The greater portion of that time went to guided practice (38%) and independent practice (33%) of reading comprehension strategies. This study shows that explicit comprehension instruction of strategies is evident in the reading comprehension classes of the 4 effective Saint Lucian Grades 5 and 6 teachers. It is therefore recommended that educational officials ensure that similar practices are maintained in other Saint Lucian classes, that the reading comprehension instruction practices of a wider cross section of Saint Lucian teachers be examined, and that future research looks into other probable causes of students' failure on the main idea comprehension test.

This study is a qualitative, phenomenological inquiry into teachers’ and children’s ‘lived experiences’ of the child-teacher relationship in an Irish upper primary school context. It highlights the current need to re-focus our attention on the child-teacher relationship which Biesta (2004) argues is the 'location' of education. An overview of the literature on relational pedagogy is provided which connects the child-teacher relationship to broader theoretical debates including Heidegger's (1962) concept of Mitsein and Buber's I- Thou relation (1937). Hermeneutic phenomenology describes the overarching methodology following van Manen’s (1990) ‘lived experience’ approach. The study was conducted in a large, suburban, primary school with designated disadvantaged status. Before data generation commenced, a Children’s Research Advisory Group was established in the school following Lundy, McEvoy, and Byrne (2011). The function of this group was to advise about conducting research with children. Research participants included three teachers and five children from each of those teachers’ classes. Data generation featured the use of protocol writing and conversational interviews following van Manen (1990, 2014) and the use of embodied, drama methods which were unique to this study but inspired by the work of Norris (2000) and guided by O’Sullivan (2011). Data was also generated using visual methods drawing on the work of Mitchell (2011), Tinkler (2015) and Chappell and Craft (2011). In line with the phenomenological approach adopted, data was interpreted in what Gadamer (1989) describes as a circular manner. This involves attending to ‘parts’ whilst keeping in mind the ‘whole’ picture. This study identified three overarching thematic findings which find resonance with the fields of relational pedagogy and embodied teaching and learning as well as new insights at the point where these two areas overlap. These include how teachers and children relate to one another as ‘whole, embodied feeling beings’; the idea that there is a tension between ‘closeness’ and ‘distance’ in the child teacher relationship and that there is a need for both ‘structure’ and ‘freedom’ to feature in that relationship. Further, this study found that the child-teacher relationship is experienced as ‘knotted’ with social and contextual relationships. These findings are discussed in light of the concepts of ‘connectedness’ and ‘emergence’, features of complexity theory. This study provides new insights into how teachers and children experience their relationships with one another, thereby extending the body of knowledge on the child-teacher relationship.

English is an important language since the world is becoming more interconnected and it is central to motivate Swedish pupils to study language. The Swedish Agency for Education states that motivation and learning increase when pupils access a living language and that teacher therefore should use authentic material. Yet, teachers of the English subject still rely a lot on textbooks. The aim of this study is to highlight the use of literature in the EFL classroom for grades 4-6, and to investigate teachers’ attitudes to the use of literature and also examine how they use literature and what they want to achieve by that use. To answer those questions an empirical study was conducted through interviews and a questionnaire. The main findings of this study are that teachers have a positive attitude towards using literature with their pupils and wants to use it more than they currently do. The main reason teachers use literature is to increase the pupils’ vocabulary and help them learn grammatical patterns as well as increasing their motivation. The most commonly used method is reading aloud. However, there are some hindrances for using literature such as the poor availability of English literature in schools. / <p>Engelska</p>

This essay focuses on how students in the later years of elementary school evaluate/assess the democratic values ​​that the school board has justified as a cornerstone of education. In order to measure this, students from grades seven, eight and nine in a medium-sized school in a medium-sized Swedish city participated in interviews where they were asked to evaluate ten statements that deal with the five values ​​that the school board has put forward. This study used both quantitative and qualitative elements. The quantitative element was that the students receive a form with statements that they then rated from 0-7 and the qualitative element was that a group interview was conducted after which the students discussed their answers and then re-evaluated them. The only background variable of interest was the grade the students were in. As this study was not on a larger scale, the results can only give an indication of how students evaluate/assess the democratic values. On a larger scale with more schools, in different cities and with more students, the answer could have been broader and clearer. The results show that students in upper primary school assess the different democratic values differently before and after the group interviews are done and that the students that participated from the three classes assess the democratic values differently from each other. / <p>Godkänd 2023-03-13</p>

This thesis deals with the "pyramid" nutrition that is currently mostly used in teaching in primary schools. The aim of the study is to evaluate the possibilities of didactic use model "pyramid" nutrition teaching health education in primary schools and where appropriate, propose an updated form of "pyramid" diet, which all schools could benefit from harmonized or create a tutorial project that focused on nutrition pyramid. The theoretical part is written in the form of a literature review. It deals with the analysis of books and information about dietary recommendations in the form of a "pyramid" nutrition and analyzing textbooks, Framework curriculum and educational programs for elementary school students due to the use of a "pyramid" nutrition. The empiric part uses quantitative and qualitative methods. It focuses on the analysis of school educational programs at selected schools and another part is dedicated to exploring how elementary school teachers use the "pyramid" nutrition in teaching and what students have knowledge of the food pyramid. A further empiric section devoted to a summary of the results of the work, conclusions and recommendations. The outcome of this work is based on research results suggest the concept of an educational program what makes it easier for students to...

The main research problem concerns the characteristics of tick-borne disease and determine the quantity and quality of information that students get in health education and biology of these diseases. The theoretical part deals with the history, etiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease. It also discusses the general problems of tick and other diseases that ticks carry and cause. Also is mentioned the inclusion of tick-borne diseases in the educational program. The practical part is devoted to the awareness of upper primary school students and changes in their knowledge about the issue during their elementary education. The aim of this thesis is to determine how the students are informed about diseases transmitted by ticks, especially about Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. This method is used questionnaire, which includes questions regarding this issue. Although the results of the research show a certain degree of knowledge of students at upper primary school, especially in some classes is unsatisfactory. Based on research, there is provided a recommendation for pedagogical practices. KEYWORDS: tick, tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease, knowledge, disease, upper primary school

The diploma thesis is focused on hand metalworking in Technical Education, which is taught at Upper Primary School, in 6th and 7th classes. Content and range of this thesis is adapted for pupils of 6th and 7th class at Primary School. The work includes descriptions of particular training of hand metalworking supplemented by author's photographic material. There are fourteen videos as a multimedia material in the appendix. The created videos contain demonstrations of technique of hand metalworking which are mentioned in the thesis. This created multimedia material could be used not only by pupils in the lesson of Technical Education but also by uncertificated teachers, who taught this subject.

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyse teachers’ experiences of the transition from year 3 to year 4 in the Swedish compulsory school regarding the subject English. The study also concerned collaboration between teachers of English both within the same unit of the school system and between different units. Both questionnaires and interviews were used to collect the data and a total amount of 32 teachers from all over the country answered the questionnaires, 12 lower primary school teachers (years 1-3) and 20 upper primary school teachers (years 4-6). Three of the lower primary school teachers and eight of the upper primary school teachers also participated in a follow-up interview. The study revealed that the information passed on from lower primary school teachers to upper primary school teachers regarding the subject English differed greatly between different schools. The teachers’ experience of how well functioning the routines regarding meetings before the transition are also differed as well as how much attention the subject received during those meetings. Collaboration between teachers within the subject was found to be close to non-existent. This study shows the importance of functional and adequate routines and guidelines concerning the transmission of information about the pupils’ knowledge development to future teachers. The transition for and the continuous teaching of the pupils ease if sufficient information is passed on.

The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ opinions and thoughts on teaching reading strategies to pupils in upper primary school in Sweden and how teachers explain their choices regarding texts and strategies. More specifically the aim was to highlight teachers’ perceptions and experience of teaching reading strategies. In this study semi-structured interviews were conducted with four teachers in grades 4-6 during the spring term of 2020. All four teachers taught Swedish as a school subject. The results of the study showed that the interviewed teachers each explain their choices of text according to their own set of criteria. When choosing reading strategies, the teachers based their choices largely on a particular course package developed in Sweden. The outlook the teachers had on the teaching of teaching reading strategies came across as positive. They felt that the strategies that they taught their pupils helped them to develop their reading comprehension skills. This was especially true for the low-achieving readers in the class. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka svensklärares uppfattningar och tankar om lässtrategiundervisning i årskurs 4–6 och hur de motiverar sina val av texter, strategiprogram och lässtrategier i den undervisningen. Mer specifikt har syftet varit att synliggöra lärares uppfattningar och erfarenheter om lässtrategiundervisning. Till studien har material samlats in genom metoden semistrukturerad intervju som är en kvalitativ metod. Intervjuerna genomfördes med fyra svensklärare i årskurs 4–6 under vårterminen 2020. Resultatet visar att lärarna motiverar sina val av texter med hjälp av flera kriterier och i deras val av lässtrategier utgick de från ett strategiprogram utvecklat i Sverige. Inställningen till lässtrategiundervisning framstod som positiv och lärarna upplevde den som främjande för elevernas läsförståelse, särskilt för de svaga läsarna.

This diploma thesis deals with the use of games in the Czech upper primary EFL classroom. In the theoretical part, the author attempts to categorise games in general, as well as at a pedagogical level and to characterise the methodology of using games in English language lessons at upper primary level. In the practical part, the author, through quantitative research, focuses on the real use of games by teachers of English at upper primary level, using surveys to find out whether games are used to teach at upper primary level, to what extent and for what purpose. Through the use of a survey addressed to pupils of upper primary schools, the author aims to find out whether there is a general interest in playing games during English lessons and whether games are seen as a meaningful tool for learning English. Qualitative research by means of interviews and observations aims to find out how demanding the preparation and implementation of games in English language teaching is and the extent to which participants, both pupils and teachers, perceive its meaningfulness. KEYWORDS Educational game, teaching English at upper primary school, didactic game, teenagers, young adolescents