Uppsatsen behandlar ämnet unga högpresterande flickor som mår psykiskt dåligt. Syftet med undersökningen var att ta reda på hur skolan kan upplevas för någon som är drabbad av detta samt att få konkreta exempel på hur arbetet kan se ut på en gymnasieskola gällande detta problem. Metoden som användes var kvalitativa intervjuer och litteraturstudie. Fem intervjuer och litteratur som behandlar ämnen som självmord, depression, ångest samt ätstörningar har varit grundläggande för undersökningen. Den viktigaste slutsatsen är att det krävs ett annorlunda angreppssätt från skolans håll om vi vill förändra utsikterna för högpresterande flickor med psykiska problem. Det krävs bl.a. att fler lärare tar sina elever på allvar, är uppmärksamma på hur de mår samt har större kunskap på detta område. / The subject of this essay is high achieving girls with mental disorders. The purpose with the investigation was to find out how these girls felt during their years in school and also to get concrete examples of how a school handles these problems. This study was based on qualitative interviews. Five interwieves and literature about suicide, depression and eating disorders have been the foundation of this study. The most important conclusion of this work is that it seems like a new agenda will be needed if we want to improve the circumstances for high achieving girls with mental disorders. Amongst the many things that can be done, all teachers need to get more aware of how their pupils feel and more knowledge in this area.

In this thesis channel capacity of a special type of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Rayleigh fading channels is studied, where the transmitters are subject to a finite phase-shift keying (PSK) input alphabet. The constraint on the input alphabet makes an analytical solution for the capacity beyond reach. However we are able to simplify the final expression, which requires a single expectation and thus can be evaluated easily through simulation. To facilitate simulations, analytical expressions are derived for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a covariance matrix involved in the simplified capacity expression. The simplified expression is used to provide some good approximations to the capacity at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Involved in derivation of the capacity is the capacity-achieving input distribution. It is proved that a uniform prior distribution is capacity achieving. We also show that it is the only capacity-achieving distribution for our channel model. On top of that we generalize the uniqueness case for an input distribution to a broader range of channels.

<p>Abstract</p><p>This paper investigates how to individualize the tuition in English by using ability groupings. The study is primarily focusing on the group of under-achieving ability pupils since teachers have a special responsibility for those pupils who experience difficulties in attaining the goals that have been set for their education, according to the Curriculum for compulsory school Lpo 94. The main research question was if the groupings were positive or negative for the under-achieving pupils at school X, i.e. the compulsory school under investigation. In addition I also wanted to find out if the ability groupings at school X responded to the steering documents, i.e. the Curriculum in compulsory school and the Education Act. The study is based on primary data in the forms of interviews, with four English teachers, and questionnaires, answered by the under-achieving ability pupils.</p><p>Conclusions were drawn that the ability groupings seemed to be mostly negative concerning the under-achieving pupils. The groupings at school X are not supported in any steering documents either since the groupings are not temporary, they do to some extent put the pupils at a certain grade level and on a certain track which violates the Education Act. One of the conclusions in this paper is also that there should be clearer guidelines on how to approach this phenomenon.</p>

This study investigated the mental health of high school students enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) High School Diploma Program (n =139) in a large, southeastern high school. Mental health was assessed using both positive indicators (life satisfaction, academic achievement, academic self-efficacy) and negative indicators (psychopathology) indicators of adolescent social-emotional and school functioning. Findings from this study include that IB students perceive more stress than their general education peers, yet maintain mental health that is equivalent or superior to that of their general education peers. The role of coping in predicting mental health outcomes in IB students was also investigated. Findings indicate that specific coping styles are differentially related to mental health outcomes in this sub-population of adolescents. Furthermore, coping styles moderate the influence of stress on global life satisfaction and internalizing psychopathology. These findings suggest that participation in the academically rigorous and time-intensive IB program is not harmful to the mental health of high school students, and in fact may be beneficial, as evidenced by the superior academic functioning of students in the IB program.

Student engagement is a multifaceted construct gaining increased interest within the fields of psychology and education. Current literature suggests that student engagement is linked to important student outcomes including academic achievement, psychopathology, and mental wellness; however, there is a dearth of studies that have examined all components of student engagement simultaneously as they relate to the aforementioned outcomes. Additionally, past literature has found support for a decreasing trend in student engagement across the school years, but less attention has been paid to student engagement in the high school years. Among high school students, a particular subgroup has been virtually ignored: high-achieving students enrolled in college-level curricula such as International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP). Research questions answered in the current study pertain to: (a) differences in the components of student engagement among IB and AP students, (b) differences in the components of student engagement of IB and AP students across grade level, (c) the extent to which student engagement relates to academic achievement, and (d) the extent to which student engagement relates to mental health. To answer these questions, self-report surveys and school records data from 727 IB and AP high school students were analyzed. Several main effects for program type and grade level were found among the various dimensions of engagement, as well as two interactions between program type and grade level. Regarding predictive relationships, results indicate that the linear combination of all seven indicators of student engagement accounted for 19.56% of the variance in students' academic achievement, 17.47% of the variance in students' life satisfaction, and 6.17% of the variance in students' anxiety. Implications for school psychologists and future directions are discussed.

Understanding the factors that influence a community college governing board to increase its engagement in accountability for student success was the purpose of this grounded theory case study. A further aim was to develop a model that described how these factors interact. A highly engaged community college governing board, as defined by a focus, perspective, infrastructure, and behavior that identified student success as a priority, was selected and studied to learn what were the principle influences on their engagement in student success. Eight factors were identified initially that influenced the governing board’s interest in student success: Board Characteristics, Changing External Context, Achieving the Dream, Board Roles and Responsibilities, Board Culture, College Role and Purpose, Changing Internal Context, and Student Success. Another factor, Administrative Leadership, also influenced the governing board’s engagement and was added to the final model. Two models emerged from the data: a six factor model that describes how a board becomes engaged in student success and a model incorporating all eight influences that describes governing with a student success agenda already in place. Key findings included the importance of an external emphasis on improving student outcomes at the state and national level; the need for board education on their fiduciary responsibility for ensuring academic quality; and the value of an outside change agent. In this case study, Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, served as the catalyst for change in the governing board’s engagement in student success. The Achieving the Dream Board of Trustees Institute, which educated board members about their roles and responsibilities related to student success, shifted board members’ perspectives and understanding and began the board’s interest in governing with student success as a priority. / text

Abstract This paper investigates how to individualize the tuition in English by using ability groupings. The study is primarily focusing on the group of under-achieving ability pupils since teachers have a special responsibility for those pupils who experience difficulties in attaining the goals that have been set for their education, according to the Curriculum for compulsory school Lpo 94. The main research question was if the groupings were positive or negative for the under-achieving pupils at school X, i.e. the compulsory school under investigation. In addition I also wanted to find out if the ability groupings at school X responded to the steering documents, i.e. the Curriculum in compulsory school and the Education Act. The study is based on primary data in the forms of interviews, with four English teachers, and questionnaires, answered by the under-achieving ability pupils. Conclusions were drawn that the ability groupings seemed to be mostly negative concerning the under-achieving pupils. The groupings at school X are not supported in any steering documents either since the groupings are not temporary, they do to some extent put the pupils at a certain grade level and on a certain track which violates the Education Act. One of the conclusions in this paper is also that there should be clearer guidelines on how to approach this phenomenon.

The overall point of the study is to describe and understand the endeavours of the pre-school teachers’ trade union to establish professionalism within this field of work, from the end of the 1960s to 2005. In order to shed light on the subject the main questions asked and answered in this study were: How does the pre-school teachers’ trade union act on issues regarding the autonomy of the pre-school teaching profession? To what extent, and in what way, does the pre-school teachers’ trade union strengthen the pre-school teaching profession’s position by differentiating itself from, and/or allying itself with other professional groups? Which knowledge base is the pre-school teachers’ trade union trying to establish and how does the union act on issues concerning the pre-school teaching profession’s knowledge base? How can these endeavours be understood from a gender perspective? The study presents profession and gender theoretical perspectives. It is based on an analysis of trade-union and official documents concerning pre-school, such as government enquiries, general guidelines and formal instructions. The analysis shows that state regulation of pre-school and its teachers has increased over the 45-year period in question. The result of this has been clearer directives but, at the same time, a loss of professional autonomy. The pre-school teachers’ trade unions’ endeavours to establish a professional monopoly through attempting to differentiate the profession by excluding people without a university degree, has been unsuccessful despite exclusion strategies aimed at nursery nurses. A clear effort can be seen to build an alliance with the teachers in compulsory schools. Aside from extending the pre-school teachers’ university training to 3.5 years, it is also evident that the move from care and developmental psychology to pedagogy and learning has been effected through the alliance with the compulsory school teachers. From a gender perspective, the context of pre-school teaching can be seen to have changed symbolically from one primarily intended to provide care and monitor children to a more pedagogical institution. Pre-school teachers have become teachers and children’s learning is emphasised more than their development. Overall this means that the pre-school teachers have a new identity and that pre-school teaching is no longer so clearly a woman’s job.

Det pågår en ständig utveckling av normativa teorier om krig för att kunna anpassa sig till nutida konflikter. Nya teorier utvecklas i takt med ny teknologi och nya motståndare. De teorier som utvecklats på senare tid har föranlett till denna jämförelse mellan manöverkrigföring och Shock and Awe, Achieving Rapid Dominance. Uppsatsen syftar till att studera huruvida Shock and Awe, Achieving Rapid Dominance är en egen teori och i vilken utsträckning den grundar sig i manöverkrigföring. Genom en kvalitativ metod där textanalyser har legat till fokus, skapas idealtyper av manöverkrigföringens grundläggande element. Dessa verkar sedan som indikatorer för att urskilja likheter och skillnader med Shock and Awe. Resultatet visar på ett flertal likheter och skillnader som leder till slutsatsen att Shock and Awe inte kan definieras som en originell teori, då likheterna med manöverkrigföringen är allt för stora.

This thesis reports on two different investigations. The first is a systematic review of pedagogical and organizational practices associated with gifted pupils’ education in mathematics, and on the empirical basis for those practices. The review shows that certain practices – for example, enrichment programs and differentiated instructions in heterogeneous classrooms or acceleration programs and ability groupings outside those classrooms – may be beneficial for the development of gifted pupils. Also, motivational characteristics of and gender differences between mathematically gifted pupils are discussed. Around 60% of analysed papers report on empirical studies, while remaining articles are based on literature reviews, theoretical discourses and the authors’ personal experiences – acceleration programs and ability groupings are supported by more empirical data than practices aimed for the heterogeneous classroom. Further, the analyses indicate that successful acceleration programs and ability groupings should fulfil some important criteria; pupils’ participation should be voluntary, the teaching should be adapted to the capacity of participants, introduced tasks should be challenging, by offering more depth and less breadth within a certain topic, and teachers engaged in these practices should be prepared for the characteristics of gifted pupils. The second investigation reports on the interaction of mathematical abilities and the role of mathematical memory in the context of non-routine problems. In this respect, six Swedish high-achieving students from upper secondary school were observed individually on two occasions approximately one year apart. For these studies, an analytical framework, based on the mathematical ability defined by Krutetskii (1976), was developed. Concerning the interaction of mathematical abilities, it was found that every problem-solving activity started with an orientation phase, which was followed by a phase of processing mathematical information and every activity ended with a checking phase, when the correctness of obtained results was controlled. Further, mathematical memory was observed in close interaction with the ability to obtain and formalize mathematical information, for relatively small amounts of the total time dedicated to problem solving. Participants selected problem-solving methods at the orientation phase and found it difficult to abandon or modify those methods. In addition, when solving problems one year apart, even when not recalling the previously solved problem, participants approached both problems with methods that were identical at the individual level. The analyses show that participants who applied algebraic methods were more successful than participants who applied particular methods. Thus, by demonstrating that the success of participants’ problem-solving activities is dependent on applied methods, it is suggested that mathematical memory, despite its relatively modest presence, has a pivotal role in participants’ problem-solving activities. Finally, it is indicated that participants who applied particular methods were not able to generalize mathematical relations and operations – a mathematical ability considered an important prerequisite for the development of mathematical memory – at appropriate levels. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: In press.</p>