The aim of this study is to examine how British culture and British cultural identity is discursively constructed and represented in two texts, including images accompanying the texts, found in two textbooks used in the foundation course for English as a second language in the Swedish upper-secondary school, the textbooks published in the 1970s and the 1980s respectively. The aim also includes to see if British cultural identity is represented in a stereotypical manner and to see which views on culture are present in the texts. The methods used in the study are discourse analysis based on Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory, and Hall’s visual analysis. Two theories are applied to the material, these are Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory and Hall’s theory of stereotyping. The result of the present study shows that there are several representations of British cultural identity in the 1970s text and that all are stereotypical. In one of the representations, British cultural identity is understood as someone who is an Englishman which entails amongst other things being brought up in England as a real Englishman. The other representations of British cultural identity included the identities English people, Englishmen and cockneys. The identity English people includes both of the identities Englishmen and cockneys. The representation of English people is that background, class and the way you speak are important and that English people check each other’s background and class by listening to one another’s speech. The representation of Englishmen includes that they are upper-class proper Englishmen who speak the Queens English whereas cockneys are represented as lower-class people who speak a vulgar sort of English. In the 1980s text there are two representations of British cultural identity. The first one of these, which was found to be represented in a stereotypical manner, is constituted by the group identity pupils with British cultural background within a culturally and nationally diverse class in Britain. This representation is culturally exclusive since only pupils with British cultural background are included in this representation. The second representations of British cultural identity found in the 1980s text is a British class made up by a group of pupils with culturally and nationally diverse backgrounds. This representation was deemed to be non-stereotypical and culturally inclusive since this representation of British cultural identity is culturally diverse.

It has been reported in the media that teachers can be influenced by other factors than students'knowledge when grading, something that the grades should reflect. Previous studies have also shownthat grades can be affected by other factors than students' knowledge, however, there are no studiesthat have shed light on how social studies teachers experience the grading practice, a research gapthat we intended to fill. The subject of social studies has a significant role to play in socializingcitizens in society. If teachers set grades that do not reflect students' knowledge, it is conceivable thatstudents will have different perceptions of their knowledge, which may affect their future. Thepurpose of this work was to investigate whether teachers of social studies in upper secondary schoolexperience that they can give fair grades to their students. By the method grounded theory, we havethrough semi-structured interviews with four teachers developed theoretical concepts based on theirexperiences. The result of our analysis indicated that the teachers experience that the grades are basedon students' knowledge. On the other hand, the analysis also showed that the grading can beinfluenced by external actors and expectations, students 'characteristics, resources at the school anduncertainty about students' knowledge. / <p>21-01-20</p>

Previous research about dropout-students where the student has a long absence from school shows different complicated causes to them staying at home. Non secondary education leads to less chances of work and eventually a worse quality of life, often related to mental illness. The purpose of the study was to investigate the causes of staying at home from school, how the professional closest to these students work, and with what resources they can get adolescents back to school. From three research questions we have investigated the professionals perceive the courses about staying at home from school, how the different professionals with the dropout-students work and which factors has according to the professionals greatest impact to get the dropout-students back to school. The result has come from interviews with different professionals that later are thematically analyzed with help from the ecology development, salutogenesis and SOC (Sense of Coherence). It showed that combinations of different courses for example neuropsychiatric disabilities, mental illness, bad relationships and lack of support may be behind the adolescents long-term school absence. Collaboration and good relations between home and school and with other professionals is important to strengthen the individuals own resources for a comeback. / Tidigare forskning om hemmasittare där eleven har långvarig skolfrånvaro visar att det finns olika komplexa orsaker till att eleven börjar stanna hemma från skolan. Utebliven gymnasieutbildning leder till mindre chanser att få arbete och på sikt en sämre livskvalitet, ofta relaterad till psykisk ohälsa. Syftet med studien var att studera yrkesverksammas uppfattningar om orsaker till hemmasittande, hur de yrkesverksamma närmast hemmasittande gymnasieelever arbetar, samt med vilka resurser de kan få ungdomar tillbaka till skolan. Utifrån tre frågeställningar har vi undersökt; vad uppfattar de yrkesverksamma att orsakerna kan vara bakom hemmasittande, hur arbetar de olika professionerna med hemmasittande elever och vilka faktorer har enligt de yrkesverksamma störst påverkan för att få tillbaka hemmasittare till skolan. Resultatet har framkommit genom intervjuer med olika professioner som sedan analyserats tematiskt med hjälp av utvecklingsekologin, salutogenes och kasam (känsla av sammanhang). Det visade sig att kombinationer av orsaker som till exempel neuropsykiatriska funktionshinder, psykisk ohälsa, dåliga relationer och bristande stöd kan ligga bakom att ungdomen blir långvarigt borta från skolan. De olika relationerna eleven har samt bemötandet från olika yrkesverksamma är viktiga faktorer för återgång till skolan. Samarbete och goda relationer mellan hem och skola, samt med andra yrkesverksamma är viktigt för att stärka individen och ta vara på dennes egna resurser för en återgång.

The planetary crisis is a factor with undoubted effects on society. Education in Sweden concerns itself with preparing students for societal life through passing on values and emphasising the need for critical thinking. Many students today engage in environmental activism with the agenda to demand change from governing bodies to mitigate climate change. To understand the process of change, additional information is needed regarding what it means to be human. This text concerns itself with environmental teaching for the EFL-setting. Through focusing on literature, and contributing to an in-depth understanding of the characters, increased awareness about what it means to be human can be achieved. By selecting the short story “Bears Discover Fire,” it is illustrated how such an understanding can be found through fictional works. This paper covers an ecocritical reading focusing on how representation, relationship, and structures detrimental for the climate figure in Terry Bisson’s story. In addition, it argues that a deeper understanding of the characters results from applying the biophilia hypothesis. The findings from the analysis of characters and the representation of nature and relationships are applied to the EFL-setting, providing examples for how teaching can be conducted to promote further activism and strengthen the relationship between students and nature.

The aim of this paper was to analyse foregrounding elements in Seamus Heaney’s poem “Digging.” The analysis shows that deviances from everyday non-literary language, i.e. foregrounding, are both likely to evoke defamiliarisation in readers and also provide readers with the likelihood of having an aesthetic experience. This has been done by adhering to the literary theory of Cognitive stylistics and to its related literary concepts, namely the theory of foregrounding. Furthermore, this paper also aimed to provide examples of how “Digging” can be taught in a pedagogical setting. In short, this paper argues for a teaching of poetry that focuses on the sensual aesthetic qualities in a poem. Therefore, this paper supports the claim that students need to attentively read, watch and perform poetry in order to experience its sounds and textures fully. Such an approach corresponds well to an aesthetic education which aims at developing, in students, a heightened awareness of and appreciation for all that touches our lives. Lastly, the pedagogical implementations showed that a foregrounding analysis of “Digging” can be fruitful to incorporate in the EFL classroom. Apart from evoking defamiliarisation and aesthetic reactions, a stylistic analysis can also serve to raise students' linguistic and literary awareness. As a result, students can discover why poets make particular language choices as well as develop their ability to interpret literary works.

This essay applies theories from gender studies and reader response to Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X (2018). The essay discusses diversity in meaning making by investigating differences in creating envisionments. The aim is to unmask the differences in reading to improve and direct teaching practices in EFL classrooms. Moreover, an additional aim is to discuss whether envisionment can be seen as a gendered concept, or if the different readings are equally possible to reach Langer’s five stances. The Poet X centres on a female first-person narrator where the critique towards church, society and normative behaviour is prominent. The potential differences can be seen in understanding the characters in the novel, relating to previous experience and differing understandings of social structures. The pedagogical implementation aims at designing a learning situation where these differing understandings of text can be shared through metacognitive reflection and open-ended methods of pedagogy. The shared understanding of The Poet X in EFL settings can develop the students’ ability to find agency in interpretating texts.

Grammar teaching has been controversial since the introduction of the Communicative Language Teaching perspective. In addition, the steering documents, namely the Swedish syllabi and the CEFR are quite general on what and how to teach grammar, thus allowing teachers’ interpretations about the importance given to grammar in EFL/ESL classrooms. The present study focuses on English teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and practices towards grammar in the final year of compulsory school and the first year of upper-secondary school in Sweden. The principal aim is to find out why the English teachers propose grammar or not and how they enact grammar teaching. The research is empirical. The data consist of teachers’ interviews, and they were analysed using content analysis. The results have shown that teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and practices are mainly related to students’ levels and objectives even if they have different views on grammar. Then, teachers have shown great adaptability in their grammar teaching practices both in the diversity of means and methods. Furthermore, even though there are slight differences between the final year of compulsory school and the first year of upper-secondary school in the steering documents, grammar teaching is enacted differently for each level. Besides, on both levels, grammar teaching is linked to communicative skills and included in a more general communicative task aimed for students’ learning in EFL/ESL classrooms.

Motion pictures have been used in the history classroom for a long time. Despite that fact, there are not a lot written about how this can be done. This essay, therefore, explores the possibility of a theoretical frame with the aim for a motion picture to promote the development of historical empathy among students. It is not deployed in a classroom setting; however, it seeks to study the preconditions in how it can be done. The study draws from history didactics and film analysis to study Michael Haneke´s The White Ribbon from 2009. Haneke is renown in the academic world where his movies draw a lot of attention. The reason is that his movies have a tendency to depict the ongoing decay of our society. This study aims at intertwining theory of history didactics with film analysis in order to promote the development of historical empathy among students. The theoretical frame the essay provides show a possibility in how a motion picture can be used for this purpose in the history classroom.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur identitet framträder i läroböcker i samhällskunskap för gymnasieskolan. För att svara på syftet har följande frågeställningar besvarats: (1) Vilka aspekter av identitet framträder i läroböckerna? (2) Vilka likheter och skillnader framträder i läroböckernas sätt att presentera identitet? Studien har en normkritisk utgångspunkt och använder en metodkombination av kvalitativ och kvantitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visar att det inte råder en enighet om vilka kategoriseringar av identitet som ska behandlas. Däremot behandlas inte funktionsförmåga i någon av läroböckerna. Kategoriseringarna behandlas var och en för sig utan ett genomgående intersektionellt perspektiv. Det finns skillnader i hur läroböckerna definierar normer. Resultatet visar även att läroböckerna har en tendens av att presentera identitetsaspekter i form av dikotomier. / The aim of the study is to examine how identity is presented in social studies’ textbooks for upper secondary school. To reach the aim of the study the following questions have been answered (1) What aspects of identity are presented in the textbooks? (2) What similarities and differences appear in the textbooks’ approach of presenting identity? The theoretical framework of this study is norm criticism, and the method is a combination of qualitative and quantitative content analysis. The result shows that there is no unanimity on which categories of identity that should be addressed. However, neither of the textbooks address functional abilities. The categories are addressed detachedly without a consistent intersectional perspective. There are differences in how the textbooks define norms. The result also indicates that there is a tendency among the textbooks to present aspects of identity as dichotomies.

Covid-19 pandemic has affected lives in negative ways globally and these impacts on unaccompanied minors who are already disadvantaged and marginalized, are positioningthem at high risk in the society. This study aimed to examine the professionals and practitioners’ perception on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic and related challenges on unaccompanied minors in Sweden. A qualitative inductive research approach wasfollowed, conducting semi-structured interviews with professionals/practitioners such as teachers, foster parent, legal guardian and social worker focusing on the individual meanings and importance of reporting the complexity of the situation. The empirical data was analyzed using caringscapes/carescapes framework and intersectionality theory to understand how time, place and space affect different sets of identities of individuals experience of pandemic. The findings indicate the school space/place plays a very important role in overall wellbeing of unaccompanied minors. Furthermore, the challenges faced under the new law on upper secondary level studies and the negativeimpacts during pandemic