Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-207). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-207). Also available on the Internet.

The purpose of this study is to examine the teachings of rhetoric’s in schools, more specifically within the Swedish subject; furthermore it examines how Swedish teachers work with rhetoric in the Swedish subject on a practical basis. The study also highlights teachers' approaches to the curriculum for high school. The method I have used to conduct this study, have been to use interviews and inductive ethnography.   The teachers whom have been interviewed in my study have similar understandings of what oral presentations actually are, but their idea of what the term rhetoric stands for however differs. Teachers have received similar training in rhetoric; however, they have different experiences within it. This has contributed to the difference in teachers' approaches to rhetoric. However, teachers' education in rhetoric is not sufficiently comprehensive in relation to the requirements of the curriculum considering rhetoric. A reason to this is that neither rhetoric nor oral preparation has been a required subject in the education of the teachers. Many teachers have on their own studied rhetoric to complete the requirements of the curriculum.   Generally, these teachers work with rhetoric as independent parts of the Swedish subject. But there is a desire that rhetoric must also be integrated into other subjects. Thus, students will have more opportunities to come into contact with rhetoric and can translate the theory of rhetoric into practice in different contexts. Shared by all six teachers is the opinion that they work with rhetoric in a way that they attach both oral and written parts in rhetoric. Through various methods, exercises and facts, students can thus achieve a sense of self-confidence, which they could use when they speak to different audiences in different contexts. Students also become aware of the power of the spoken word. This also contributes to language learning and language development with the students.

The purpose of this study is to find out which attitudes, norms and values exists about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families in preschools. Based on five qualitative interviews with teachers that work at a LGBT-certified preschool and one that is active in their work with norm critical pedagogy. To be able to fulfil my purpose of this study I concentrated on why these teachers believed that it was of importance to counter society’s heteronormativity, to prevent discrimination and mistreatments towards children and their LGBT parents in preschool. I wanted to find out what the teachers thoughts were on the concept of what a family is and how the diversity of families is shown in the preschools material and pedagogy. When I analysed the results of my qualitative interviews I used queer theories that include heteronormativity and norm critical pedagogy. The interviews of the teachers showed that they thought it was of great importance to work with a norm critical pedagogy because they did not believe that society’s heteronormativity could or should rule in preschools. The assumption that the majority, to not say all of the children, come from nuclear families does not agree with the reality of many children in our society. To assume such thing can lead to discrimination and obscureness. The results of my study show that by reviewing your own norms and perceptions of normality, will allow you to work with a norm critical approach. It also gives you an awareness that will help you as an educator to make sure that more children and families feel that they are acknowledged and respected. The active choice of methods and materials in the preschool helps the teachers to ensure that the children can be seen and reflected on a daily basis. By questioning heteronormativity in preschool, teachers offer children more opportunities and presents different realities. It also helps them to develop measures to analyse the norms and not just assume that there is only one right way to live.

This paper aims to describe how religion teachers in Swedish schools teach concerning questions about life issues and popular culture. To research the teachers' didactic approach to these issues, didactics has been defined with three educational questions: what, how and why. The essay focuses on teachers' effective implementation of teaching on life issues and popular culture, which we used a theory of offering meaningfulness describing what subject matter that may be imparted to the students. An offer of meaningfulness can be pursued and can be made visible in the context of what and how performs the teaching and also in the context where the teacher planned the teaching elements. The method that the paper has used is the interviews of four different active religious educators in Stockholm and Uppsala area. These interviews were conducted at every teacher’s workplace. The interviews were recorded and we used a semi- structured interview guide, which has been created to ensure that the important issues for the survey answered. The results show that religion teachers are experiencing a shortage of time, when planning the teaching elements of life issues teaching on life issues and popular culture. The results also show that when students receive instructions in the subjects concerning life issues and popular culture, it is usually in relation to the other world religions. In the discussion, our results were partially consistent with previous studies in the field of life issues and popular culture. The interviewed teachers created different offer of meaningfulness that the students could impart in their creation of answers to the questions of life.

Huvudsyftet med denna studie är att belysa utvalda lärares och föräldrars perspektiv på hur föräldrasamverkan implementeras i deras aktuella grundskolor. Varierade aspekter till varför detta samarbete är väsentligt beskrivs i relation till den aktuella forskningsfronten. Grunden till examensarbetet är en kvalitativ intervjustudie med sex föräldrar och fem verksamma lärare i en kommun i mellersta Sverige. Lärarna är verksamma på skilda skolor i kommunen med omnejd, med elever i olika grundsko-lestadier, varav en är högstadielärare. Föräldrarna har ett till fyra barn, där de som är i grundskoleålder är mellan sju och sexton år, även här på varierande skolor. I den tidigare forskningen har det bland annat framkommit att föräldrasamverkan eller ett samar-bete mellan hem och skola gynnar barns skolgång. Trots detta visar studier att hinder kan uppstå i samarbetet. Exempelvis lyfts brister i föräldrars engagemang, lärares relationsbyggande samt i in-formationsflödet som försvårande faktorer. Detta bekräftas i föreliggande studie, där föräldrars samt lärares perspektiv ställdes mot varandra vilket klargjorde liknande resultat. Utöver detta visar min studie att det däremot finns en drivkraft och vilja hos informanterna att utveckla samarbetet, men att brister trots allt upplevs. En slutsats kan vara otydligheter i den ömsesidiga kommunikationen, bris-tande överenskommelser kring gemensamma mål samt att relationen mellan föräldrar och lärare kan ha byggts på en otillräcklig grund. Det finns även tankar om att relationen mellan lärare och förälder likt relationen mellan lärare och elev bör individanpassas och att skolan med det möter varje familj efter deras varierade förutsättningar.

Studiens syfte var att öka kunskapen kring hur lärare i årskurs 4–6 förhåller sig till olika lässtrategier i relation till skönlitteratur samt hur lärare motiverar elever till läsning av skönlitterära verk. Studiens undersökningsmetod var kvalitativa intervjuer med hög grad av standardisering och låg grad av strukturering. I studien ingick 10 grundskollärare. De kvalitativa intervjuerna har genomförts genom digitala videomöten. Resultatet visade att övervägande del av lärarna använder sig av reciprok undervisning, detta genom Läsfixarna från En läsande klass. Textsamtal och upprepad läsning är två andra lässtrategier som lärarna i studien var överens om som fungerande metoder. Genom intervjuerna kan också ett antal syften som lärare ansåg att skönlitteraturen fyllde urskiljas. Det handlade om att ha gemensamma texter i klassen att diskutera kring, men också att låta eleverna få förståelse för andra människor och andra kulturer genom skönlitteratur. Lärarna arbetade med motivation dels genom att läsa och låta eleverna möta många olika typer av böcker och genrer, dels genom att låta eleverna önska böcker de vill höra eller läsa. Just mötet med många olika sorters böcker och genrer var ett genomgående svar från många lärare i studien. Bibliotek och bibliotekarie var också någonting som lärare ansåg bidrog positivt till elevernas motivation för läsning av skönlitteratur. / The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of how teachers in grade 4-6 relate to different reading strategies for reading fiction and how teachers motivate students to read works of fiction. The method used in this study was qualitative interviews with a high degree of standardization and a low degree of structuring. The study included 10 teachers. The qualitative interviews were conducted through digital video meetings. The results showed that most teachers used reciprocal teaching, through Läsfixarna from En läsande klass. Teachers in the study also agreed that literature discussion and repeated reading are two other methods that work well. Through the interviews, the teachers all agreed that working with fiction has several purposes. These purposes were to have texts in common that the class could discuss, and to let the students develop better understanding for other people and cultures through fiction. The teachers worked with increasing the students’ motivationpartly through reading for the students and letting the students encounter a lot of different kinds of books and genres, partly through letting the students participate in choosing what kind of books they would like to hear or read. To let the students’ encounter different kinds of books and genres was a consistent answer from many of the teachers in the study. The teachers also believed that the library and the librarian had a positive influence on students’ motivation ofreading fiction.

The subject area of this study is English Teachers’ usage and attitudes towards textbooks when teaching. From personal work and practice experiences, teachers base their English teaching solely on textbooks. For many years, the use of textbooks in different subjects has been criticized. Despite this, the textbook is still a teaching aid that is widely used today. This study examines how the teachers use the textbook in their English teaching and how much room it gets. This case study begins with a presentation of different findings together with a literature review where it will display the nature of textbooks and teachers’ attitudes towards the use of textbooks. Furthermore, this case study will present the textbooks, and how they relate to the English subject in the Swedish curriculum. This, and how to accommodate the learners when teaching ESL will be displayed. This case study is based on two observations, one in grade 3, and one in grade 4. The observations are done in the same school, which will be referred to as the second school in this study. The contrast between the use of textbooks in the different grades will be analyzed through a review of content. This study will further present what other teaching materials are used. The observations will be analyzed and compared to interviews with six different teachers. Three teachers at one school, two of them in grade 3 and one of them in grade 4, and one teacher in grade 3 and two teachers in grade 4 at the second school. The results of this case study concluded that the use of textbooks differs depending on what school the teacher works in, what view the school has when using teaching aids, and if it is the decision of the teachers or the schools on what teaching aid should be used. The problem where the textbooks are not compatible with the curriculum can be considered as the most frequently appearing mistake that affects the development of young ESL learners. Moreover, any benefits of using textbooks will further be presented.

This empirical degree project explores the use of Swedish in foreign language learning such as English and the subsequent consequences. For this study, we explored the positions of researchers regarding the topic and investigated how, when and why three teachers in Sweden used the Swedish language during English teaching. The study provides an overview of theories and literature regarding the use of first language during foreign language teaching. Some findings suggest that the first language should not be excluded in second language acquisition but incorporated with limited use. However, it could be problematic to incorporate the Swedish language for the students with different origins. In that scenario, the students would be forced to acquire a foreign language through their second or third language. The study also connects these findings and research to the theoretical background of the socio-cultural views in the classrooms and the zone of proximal development. The method used for this study was a qualitative data collection in the form of semi-structured interviews with three primary teachers. The results show that these teachers reported using the Swedish language with variations thus the common reason for usage of Swedish during English learning would be for instructing purposes. Moreover, research suggests that maximising the target language during foreign language learning would expose the students to utilize the target language and that if the teacher would overuse Swedish during foreign language teaching the students would not sense the need to practise the language. The study also investigates when and how the teachers believe their students are exposed to the English language. The participants agreed upon that the exposure of the English language occurs on daily basis for the students moreover, participants would also agree that most of the exposure would be extramural. Our major conclusion is that incorporating the Swedish language in English learning should be considered with care. Some research suggests that the first language may provide enough scaffolding for the students however, the teachers may find several variations of providing the scaffolding for the students without the incorporation of the Swedish language.

Föreliggande arbete är en kvalitativ studie som har som syfte att bidra med kunskap om förskollärares perspektiv på undervisning i naturvetenskap på förskolegården. Två frågeställningar används för att konkretisera studiens syfte. Som metod användes en digital enkät, samt sex personliga intervjuer. För att analysera studiens resultat användes det sociokulturella perspektivet som teorianknytning. Studiens resultat visar att förskollärare ser förskolegården som en möjlig arena för undervisning i naturvetenskap. Resultatet visar även att förskollärare använder olika material när de undervisar i naturvetenskap på förskolegården. Förskollärares närvaro i barnens utforskande inom naturvetenskap på förskolegården är något som är av vikt för att utmana barnen i sitt intresse. Att kunna begreppsliggöra barnens utforskande med naturvetenskapliga begrepp är något som framkommer i studiens resultat. Vidare jämförs resultatet med tidigare forskning och diskuteras med utgångspunkt i studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Avslutningsvis beskrivs förslag på vidare forskning samt olika implikationer på förskollärarprofessionen. / The present work is a qualitative study which aims to contribute with knowledge about preschool teachers' perspectives on teaching science in the preschool yard. Two questions are used to concretize the purpose of the study. The method used was a digital survey, as well as six personal interviews. To analyze the results of the study, the socio-cultural perspective was used as a theoretical connection. The results of the study show that preschool teachers see the preschool garden as a possible arena for teaching science. The results also show that preschool teachers use different materials when teaching science in the preschool garden. Preschool teachers' presence in the children's exploration of science in the preschool yard is something that is important to challenge the children in their interests. Being able to conceptualize the children's exploration with scientific concepts is something that emerges in the results of the study. Furthermore, the results are compared with previous research and discussed based on the study's purpose and questions. In conclusion, suggestions for further research and various implications for the preschool teaching profession are described.