Magister Educationis - MEd / Every year there is a national outcry by educationists in South Africa relating to the poor performance of grade 12 mathematics learners. This is an unsatisfactory state of affairs in a country where mathematics is seen as playing a pivotal role in the preparation of students in disciplines for careers in science and technology. Interventions by the Department of Basic Education as well as by provincial education departments do not seem to be successful in stemming the tide in the decline of standards in the mathematical performance of learners. It is this which has motivated this study.The aim of this study was to identify the types of errors committed by students in their responses to question one of Paper 1 in the final Grade 12 mathematics examinations of 2010. By reviewing the work done by different authors, an analytical framework was compiled that was used to identify and to label errors in the written responses of learners. This study has adopted a documentary analysis approach and has selected a representative sample of examination scripts of Western Cape students who wrote the first paper of the grade 12 mathematics examination in 2010. The result shows that during the analysis of 1959 scripts (the sample taken from different educational departments and districts), 4163 errors were identified. These errors have been identified based on the above-mentioned analytical framework. Comparisons were labeled according to the different types of errors, across the different ex- department schools and per districts. If the percentage is calculated based on the number of scripts analyzed, the number of errors varies from 12% careless errors to 40% calculation errors. It was also noticed that the number of errors found in the urban districts was higher than all of the errors found in the different rural districts. In return, in the urban districts, the numbers of errors found were evenly distributed over the four districts. When the different ex-department schools were compared, the numbers of application and procedural errors were significantly higher in the DET schools(Department of Education and Training, which consists of mostly black disadvantaged learners) than all the other schools. The rest of the errors were evenly distributed over all the exdepartment schools. The inability of learners solving inequality equations stood out as a major concern.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Algebraic graphs are a difficult topic for most secondary school mathematics learners. My experience as a Mathematics teacher in the Further Education and Training Phase (FET) is that learners solve problems involving graphs with difficulty. Consequently, the purpose of this research was to investigate learners’ ways of working with algebraic graphs in high-stakes examinations including their errors and misconceptions in this respect. The investigation carried out to identify learners’ errors and misconceptions is based on the analysis of 444 scripts from the 2012 grade 12 final Mathematics examination. More specifically, the study aimed to investigate the ways learners used to solve questions related to graphs in this examination. The focus of the study was the algebraic graphs tested in Paper 1 of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination with an emphasis on the identification of errors exhibited in the learners’ scripts. The study adopted a qualitative approach using documentary analysis methodology. As data, the study used the scripts of the final grade 12 Mathematics examinations of schools participating in a project for the improvement of Mathematics based at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The analysis of learners’ scripts reveals that learners make many errors when they work with algebraic graphs. These errors that have been found in this investigation were coordinate, intercept, domain and range, asymptote, identification, drawing and function errors. Additional errors which were identified are transformation and inverse errors.

Die Digitale Transformation bringt weitreichende Änderungen mit sich. Dazu gehört der Wandel der Arbeitswelt. Im Rahmen der Diskussionen um die Zukunft der Arbeit wird unter New Work eine mögliche Ausgestaltung einer modernen Form der Unternehmensorganisation diskutiert. Um New Work zu konkretisieren, wird für diesen Beitrag auf das wissenschaftliche Konzept „New Ways of Working“ (NWW) zurückgegriffen. Aufgrund der Aktualität der Thematik sind erst wenige aussagekräftige Studien zu den Wirkungen von NWW vorhanden. Die Erforschung neuer Arbeitsformen ist jedoch von besonderer Bedeutung für Unternehmen, da die abgeleiteten Ergebnisse als eine Hilfestellung bei der Veränderung von Unternehmensorganisationen dienen können. Mithilfe von Literaturreviews wird dabei die Rolle der Führungskraft im Rahmen von NWW in den Mittelpunkt gestellt und erörtert, welche Veränderungen eine Führungskraft durchlaufen muss, um in einer modernen Arbeitswelt erfolgreich zu sein. Zusätzlich werden die Auswirkungen auf die Demokratie in den Unternehmen aufgrund der Einführung von NWW diskutiert. Der Beitrag kommt dabei zu den folgenden Ergebnissen: Die Führungskraft muss im ersten Schritt selbst einen Wandel vollziehen, um Erfolg haben zu können. Zudem ist ein hohes Anpassungsvermögen notwendig, da aufgrund der Flexibilisierung der Arbeit die Mitarbeitenden ihre Individualität ausleben können. Des Weiteren setzt die Einführung von NWW einen Demokratisierungsprozess in den Unternehmen in Gang. NWW als auch die Demokratisierung von Unternehmen führen zu mehr Empowerment bei den Mitarbeitenden, was wiederum den Erfolg der Unternehmen stärken kann. Da die Forschungslage zu den aufgestellten Forschungsfragen eher dünn ist, wurden aus den Ergebnissen dieses Beitrags weitere Forschungslücken identifiziert und potentielle Forschungsfragen für tiefergehende wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen herausgearbeitet.:Inhalt Abstract 1 Einleitung 2 Theoretischer Hintergrund 2.1 Anforderungen an die heutige Arbeitswelt 2.2 New Ways of Working 2.3 Taylorismus 2.4 Wirkungen von New Ways of Working 3 Methodik 4 Ergebnisse der Literaturreviews 4.1 Führung im Rahmen von New Ways of Working 4.2 Unternehmensdemokratie 5 Diskussion und Forschungsbedarf 6 Fazit und Limitationen Conflict of interest Literaturverzeichnis

Technological advancements have paved the way for flexible working arrangements across offices globally. This has fundamentally changed the notion of how work should be conducted, causing new opportunities and challenges to arise. Traditional boundaries and status quo are being challenged by the demands of future generations entering the workforce, situating young professionals in previously unexplored situations. The physical boundaries that used to separate work from personal space are now being blurred as a result of the increased technological connectedness. This paired with the lack of organisational understanding of how flexible work arrangements influence employees' ability to achieve work-life, balance puts young professionals at an elevated risk of experiencing setbacks. Existing research into work-life balance has mainly been situated regarding the concerns of conventional families, where marriage and parenting commonly are the focus. Young professionals are inherently different to previous generations, causing them to face completely unique challenges that this research project aims at exploring. This research adopted a qualitative data collection method through a purposive sampling technique. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with Swedish young professionals in various industries obtaining white-collar jobs. The data sets were analysed using grounded theory to generate aggregated dimensions leading to the results and subsequent conclusions of this research project. The key findings of this study highlight several challenges that affect young professionals' ability to achieve a functioning work-life balance. Flexible work arrangements strongly influence both physical and mental aspects of employee well-being through the lack of stimulating social interactions. Moreover, external, and internal pressure causes traditional boundaries between personal and professional life to blur, thus complicating their ability to achieve work-life balance. Lastly, the results highlight young professionals’ lack of professional experience as an influential variable both in terms of what they value and in their (in)ability to harmonise the different spheres of personal and professional life. The findings contribute to the current discussion about work-life balance by situating the research in a Swedish context of young professionals. They largely confirm and expand upon connections between flexible work arrangements and work-life balance challenges associated with them. Organisations, individuals, and legislators all benefit from our findings emphasising the wants and needs of future generations entering the labour market longing for work-life balance.

Activity Based Workplaces (ABW) is the latest trend within the office layout for knowledge workers. The design and layout of an activity based workplace is based on the worker's need to carry out different tasks, in the most efficient way. In order to achieve that the office is divided into different zones and the workers doesn't have a private work-station. The biggest advantage with ABW is a space efficient working environment that promotes knowledge- and information sharing within the company’s different departments. The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate how to implement Activity Based Workplaces in an efficient way. In order to do that a literature review on existing research and a qualitative study have been carried out. The qualitative study is based on interviews with key persons at five different companies that have implemented ABW or had the intention to do so. The transition to ABW have been studied in three different blocks; the decision process, the implementation process and the outcome and user perspective. The analysis of the results from the qualitative study shows that the transition includes a lot of different challenges. One of the biggest challenge that the management has to overcome is to assure the co-workers that the implementation of an Activity Based Workplace will bring positive effects to the company. In order to achieve that it is important that the management acquires the right knowledge to successfully handle the implementation and is able to create a clear strategy of how to do so. During the process it is important to involve the co-workers in order to identify their needs. After all it is the co-workers who carry out the activities that the workplace is supposed to support. The involvement of the co-workers will also create a more positive attitude towards the concept of ABW. After the implementation of the Activity Based Workplace the challenge lies within the ability to constantly adapt and develop the office space after the changing needs of the company and its co-workers. The co-workers changing needs are hard to identify in advance, therefore it is important to adapt the workplace when these needs are identified. The demand for space efficient offices will grow in the future and in comparison to a traditional office space layout, we believe the Activity Based Workplace allows for a workplace better suited for the needs of the company and its co-workers. / Aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatser (förkortas ABW) är den hetaste kontorstrenden för tillfället. Konceptet ABW bygger på att utforma kontoret och dess arbetsplatser utifrån personalens behov. På ett aktivitetsbaserat kontor ska personalens arbetsuppgifter styra valet av arbetsplats och personalen har därför inga fasta arbetsplatser. De stora fördelarna med ABW är en förbättrad och mer yteffektiv arbetsmiljö som främjar informations- och kunskapsutbyte mellan ett företags eller en organisations olika avdelningar. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatser kan implementeras på ett effektivt sätt. Syftet har besvarats genom en litteraturstudie, bestående av aktuell forskning inom området, samt en kvalitativ empirisk studie av fem stycken företag som antingen har implementerat ABW eller haft för avsikt att göra detta. Hos dessa fem företag har olika nyckelpersoner intervjuats kring konceptet ABW. Övergången till ABW har studerats ur tre block; beslutsprocessen, implementeringsprocessen samt resultat och användarperspektiv. Analysen av resultaten från den empiriska studien visar att utmaningarna vid en implementering av ett aktivitetsbaserat kontor är många. En av de största utmaningarna är att företagets ledning lyckas övertyga personalen om att ett aktivitetsbaserat kontor kommer att gynna verksamheten och skapa en arbetsmiljö som på ett bättre sätt tillgodoser medarbetarnas behov. För att lyckas med detta krävs det att ledningen på företaget tillskansar sig kunskap om vad ABW är för någonting och har en tydlig strategi kring hur implementeringen ska genomföras. Under implementeringsprocessen är det viktigt att låta personalen vara delaktig för att på bästa sätt kunna tillgodose deras behov. Att låta personalen vara delaktig i processen resulterar också i en högre acceptans gentemot det nya aktivitetsbaserade konceptet. Efter implementeringen av det aktivitetsbaserade kontoret ligger utmaningen i att fortsätta utveckla kontoret. Personalens behov förändras med tiden och det kan även vara svårt att på förhand tillgodose samtliga behov vilket innebär att ett kontinuerligt utvärderingsarbete av kontorets layout är viktigt. En implementering av ABW är ingen punktinsats som avslutas efter flytten till det nya kontoret. Efterfrågan på yteffektiva kontor kommer i framtiden att öka och i jämförelse med ett traditionellt öppet kontorslandskap skapar ABW en arbetsmiljö som vi tror på ett bättre sätt tillgodoser företagens och dess personals behov.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vad i de naturorienterande ämnena som intresserar elever och varför. Syftet var även att undersöka vad elever finner intressant inom andra skolämnen och om detta kan användas i undervisningen i de naturorienterande ämnena, samt utifrån elevernas intresse få fram undervisningsinnehåll inom de naturorienterande ämnena. För att besvara dessa frågor användes en kvalitativ metod baserad på intervjuer. Studien utgick ifrån ett elevperspektiv där ambitionen var att elevernas egna åsikter skulle komma fram. Nio parintervjuer genomfördes med elever i årskurs sex i en och samma klass på en mellanstor skola i Västsverige. Resultatet av studien delades upp i tre olika dimensioner utifrån det som framkom angående elevernas intressen inom de naturorienterande ämnena och andra skolämnen som kan relateras till dem. Den första dimensionen var intresse för att deras prestationer resulterar i ett färdigt resultat, där den färdiga produkten var grunden för intresset. Den andra dimensionen var arbetssättets och arbetsformens påverkan för intresset där laborativt arbete, praktiskt arbete och grupparbete togs upp. Om dessa arbetssätt och arbetsformer användes menade eleverna att arbetspasset blev roligare och mer lustfyllt. Den sista dimensionen var elevernas intresse för omvärlden, både med koppling till de naturorienterande ämnena och andra skolämnen som kan kopplas till undervisningen i dessa. I diskussionen berörs bland annat att det finns risker då inte arbetssättet används för att belysa en teori och även att det verkar som görandet i sig är det intressanta för elever och inte varför ett moment görs. / The aim of this study was to find which areas within the natural science subjects interests students the most and why this is the case. The aim was also to investigate if an interest in another subject can be used when teaching the natural science subjects. To answer these questions, a qualitative method was used where students were interviewed. The study was performed from a student point of view with ambition to obtain their opinions. Nine interviews in pairs were carried out with students in the sixth grade from a single class in a medium sized school in western Sweden. The results were divided into three different aspects with regards to the students' interest in the natural science subjects and other related subjects. The first aspect describes the interest that their achievements results in actual progress, where the finished product was the foundation for the interest. The second aspect was the impact of the ways of working on the interest, where laboratory, practical and group work were covered. When these ways of working were used the students felt that the work was more joyful. The last aspect was the students' interest for the surrounding world, both with regard to the natural science subjects and other subjects connected to the teaching of these. The discussion covers, among other things, the risks when the way of working is not used to illustrate a theory and the fact that the actual performance of a task seems more interesting to the students, than the aim of it.

<p>Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vad i de naturorienterande ämnena som intresserar elever och varför. Syftet var även att undersöka vad elever finner intressant inom andra skolämnen och om detta kan användas i undervisningen i de naturorienterande ämnena, samt utifrån elevernas intresse få fram undervisningsinnehåll inom de naturorienterande ämnena. För att besvara dessa frågor användes en kvalitativ metod baserad på intervjuer. Studien utgick ifrån ett elevperspektiv där ambitionen var att elevernas egna åsikter skulle komma fram. Nio parintervjuer genomfördes med elever i årskurs sex i en och samma klass på en mellanstor skola i Västsverige. Resultatet av studien delades upp i tre olika dimensioner utifrån det som framkom angående elevernas intressen inom de naturorienterande ämnena och andra skolämnen som kan relateras till dem. Den första dimensionen var intresse för att deras prestationer resulterar i ett färdigt resultat, där den färdiga produkten var grunden för intresset. Den andra dimensionen var arbetssättets och arbetsformens påverkan för intresset där laborativt arbete, praktiskt arbete och grupparbete togs upp. Om dessa arbetssätt och arbetsformer användes menade eleverna att arbetspasset blev roligare och mer lustfyllt. Den sista dimensionen var elevernas intresse för omvärlden, både med koppling till de naturorienterande ämnena och andra skolämnen som kan kopplas till undervisningen i dessa. I diskussionen berörs bland annat att det finns risker då inte arbetssättet används för att belysa en teori och även att det verkar som görandet i sig är det intressanta för elever och inte varför ett moment görs.</p> / <p>The aim of this study was to find which areas within the natural science subjects interests students the most and why this is the case. The aim was also to investigate if an interest in another subject can be used when teaching the natural science subjects. To answer these questions, a qualitative method was used where students were interviewed. The study was performed from a student point of view with ambition to obtain their opinions. Nine interviews in pairs were carried out with students in the sixth grade from a single class in a medium sized school in western Sweden. The results were divided into three different aspects with regards to the students' interest in the natural science subjects and other related subjects. The first aspect describes the interest that their achievements results in actual progress, where the finished product was the foundation for the interest. The second aspect was the impact of the ways of working on the interest, where laboratory, practical and group work were covered. When these ways of working were used the students felt that the work was more joyful. The last aspect was the students' interest for the surrounding world, both with regard to the natural science subjects and other subjects connected to the teaching of these. The discussion covers, among other things, the risks when the way of working is not used to illustrate a theory and the fact that the actual performance of a task seems more interesting to the students, than the aim of it.</p>

New ways of working with a flexibilization in time and space are characteristics of today’s office world, but at the same time stress-related health problems are on the rise. Nature contacts is shown to be a resource for health, and outdoor offices were invented to combine both flexible working and health resources at the workplace. As outdoor office work (OOW) is quite new and little is known about its usage, the aim of the study was to deepen our understanding about what circumstances lead to the consequence, that employees do not conduct office-related work tasks outdoors, even if they have access to outdoor spaces and green areas. Following research question was about to be answered by a grounded theory study: What factors hinder office workers to conduct office-related tasks outdoors? The data collection was conducted in 9 semi-structured online interviews and 3 phones calls with participants from Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany. The theoretical model was constructed through a process of coding and memo writing. The results show a theoretical model that entails one core category, Norms, and three main categories, Personal Factors, Organizational Factors and Practical Issues. The categories act interdependent, whereas existing norms have the most powerful impact. Work is perceived as something that should be conducted indoors at a desk, and as something that is stressful and can be inconvenient. The existing norms of how to conduct office work are influencing personal, organizational, and practical factors that lead to the consequence that employees do not conduct office work outdoors. The findings of the study provide useful knowledge for further research in the field of OOW, as well as for organizations that want to implement an outdoor office.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att med en explorativ ansats få en djupare förståelse för hur nyanställda skapar mening av sin nya arbetsroll vid NWW, när den sociala interaktionen inte är lika framträdande. Utifrån ett processperspektiv på organisering kommer den intervjubaserade fallstudien att tolka nyanställdas upplevelser av sin nya roll och tillhörighet vid NWW. Som ett resultat besvaras studien syfte och frågeställningar med målet att bidra med nya insikter om hur organisationer kan förbättra nyanställdas socialiseringsprocess i en NWW organisation. Metod: Kvalitativ fallstudie med abduktiv ansats, intervjuer, tematisk analys Slutsats: Nyanställda engagerade sig i fem olika meningsskapande iscensättningar som influerade mening av deras nya arbetsroll. De fem iscensättningar nyanställda engagerade sig i var; erkänner fördelarna, osäkerhet, förvirring, frustration och förståelse för situationen, detta ger en djupare förståelse för nyanställdas meningsskapandeprocess samtidigt som det belyser att flera olika iscensättningar kan samexistera. Relationer, organisatorisk-, social- och främst personlig identitet påverkade nyanställdas upplevda tillhörighet vid NWW. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is through an exploratory approach, gain a deeper understanding of how newcomers make sense of their new job-role during NWW, when social interactions are limited. Based on a process perspective on organizations, the interview-based case study will interpret newcomers experiences of their new role and sense of belonging during NWW. As a result, the purpose and research questions will be answered with the aim of contributing with new insights on how organizations can improve newcomer socialization in an NWW organization.  Method: Qualitative abductive case study, interviews, thematic analysis Conclusion: Newcomers engaged in five different sensemaking enactments that influenced their meaning of their new job role. These enactments were; acknowledging the benefits, uncertainty, confusion, frustration and understanding of the situation. Relations, organizational-, social-, and most prominently personal identity affected newcomers’ sense of belonging during NWW.

In recent years the number of adolescent refugees entering Sweden without an accompanying guardian has increased almost 10000 percent. Due to this unprecedented increase, career counseling must take new paths, explore new avenues and adopt new way of thinking in order to improve the structure. This is necessary to be able to provide enough guidance for adolescent refugees to begin the integration process into Swedish society. The aim of the study is to find out which ways of working and which career counseling methods are being used with adolescent refugees. The aim is also to see what the expectations are on the career counselors from a macro- and meso-perspective and to find out what the different parties want from counseling, since career counseling is a component of the integration process. This study is qualitative. Four career counselors, one department manager, one county council politician responsible for education and one employee at the Swedish National Agency for Education were interviewed. The result have been analyzed using chosen concepts in Careership theory, SCCT and Systems theory. Concepts of cultural competence and asymmetrical powers have also been used. The study results show that career counselors need more time to be able to perform high quality sessions and have the opportunity to use group counseling when appropriate. The counselor’s level of commitment strongly affects the result of the career counseling. The cultural competence of the counselors and engaged parents or guardians are crucial to successfully integrating youth refugees.