This aim of this study is to compare and contrast two textbooks in Swedish as a second language. The main focus is on textbooks written for newly arrived students in primary school. The aim is to see if, and how, written text and pictures worked together to provide opportunities for learning and understanding for the students. Two books were chosen, one published in 1996, Svenskbiten A1 and one from 2020 Mitt i språket A. A multimodal analysis of chosen extracts is made. The texts are discussed from a social semiotic theoretical point of view. Meaning-making according to the ideationell meta-function is one aspect from the social semiotic point theory that is used to examine the textbooks. The result from the analysis is that the two textbooks have a lot of similarities, which was expected since they have the same purpose and the same book publisher. One difference found is that the older textbook is more passive, and more repetitive than the newer book. The newer textbook contains more dialogue and contact with the reader. It is not possible to say if one of the textbooks are better than the other, it depends on the purpose of the teacher using them.

No description available.

Today, quality reviews of education for newly arrived students show major deficiencies in the Swedish school system. The newly arrived students do not get equal opportunities to achieve goals as other students in the classroom. Thus, an intervention study has started at two primary schools in central Sweden, where the purpose is to investigate whether cooperative methods can benefit students' participation and vocabulary learning in Swedish teaching. Therefore, the questions in this study are “in what ways can cooperative learning contribute to the participation of newly arrived students in Swedish teaching?” and “does cooperative learning have any visible effect on newly arrived students' vocabulary learning in Swedish?”. To answer the study questions a qualitative research method was conducted, with structured classroom observations, in two different primary schools. The participants in the study werefive newly arrived students in fourth and sixth grade. The results were analyzed using three theories, such as social constructivism, a participation model and vocabulary learning as a theoretical concept.   The analysis of the results showed that there are several advantages for the newly arrived students' communicative and linguistic development in cooperative learning, at the same time as it opens up for an increased participation in Swedish lessons. Didactically, the results of the study imply that the work with cooperative teaching methods leads to a progression in vocabulary learning and participation. This can be modeled in different ways, by grouping the newly arrived students in mixed groups or with other newly arrived students. What is further made visible in the study is that the newly arrived students are more active and involved when they are allowed to work and use the language in playful environments.

Den här licentiatuppsatsen behandlar berättade erfarenheter av att vara elev på Språkintroduktion. Programmet är ett av fem introduktionsprogram i den svenska gymnasieskolan och tar emot nyanlända ungdomar i åldrarna 16 till 19 år. Utbildningen på Språkintroduktion har en tyngdpunkt på svenska språket samt andra ämnen som eleverna har behov av att studera. Sålunda ska undervisningen organiseras utifrån varje elevs förutsättningar och behov. Studien bygger på intervjuer med språkintroduktionselever. Analysen fokuserar följaktligen 22 elevers berättade erfarenheter av att vara elever på Språkintroduktion. Elevernas berättelser blir ett sätt att förstå hur deras erfarenheter av programmet flätas samman med tidigare skol- och arbetslivserfarenheter liksom med tankar om framtiden. I resultaten presenteras tre teman som framträder i berättelserna.  Det första temat gäller samtliga elever och behandlar erfarenheten av att inte kunna svenska. Det andra temat innefattar vissa elever och synliggör två elevidentiteter som särskilt framträder. Den första av dem handlar om att gå från att vara en högpresterande elev till att vara nybörjare och den andra om att gå från att vara en elev med kort eller ingen skolbakgrund till att äntligen vara elev. Slutligen handlar det tredje temat om hur Språkintroduktion tar form som ett mellanrum.

The aim of this study is to examine the Swedish social orientation law. The question that we seek to answer is “how the social communicators interpret the social orientation law?” The findings in this study are based on a qualitative method of semi-structured interviews and the study participants are six social communicators from six different municipalities. The data that we gathered was analyzed by Jurgen Habermas perspective of lifeworld and system. The main findings show that the nonspecific character of the social orientation law made the social communicator’s interpretation of the law highly subjective. With the use of Habermas, we interpreted this as a colonization of the system made by the lifeworld. Other findings show that the social communicators felt that they had too much of a scope in the shaping of the social orientation law and that they in many cases used their own past experiences as immigrants as a tool when teaching. At the same time, they felt that the role as a social communicator was not well defined and because of this they were not sure of what their work duties were. We hope that the findings in this study show that the lax approach that the Swedish government has had with the integration policy, may need some changes in the form of stronger directives.

This study has a multicultural and intercultural orientation. The aim of the study is to investigate the thoughts and experiences of newly arrived Afghan pupils in encountering history and cultural heritage in Sweden. The study is therefore based on a student ́s perspective. Interviews used as a method that are of a qualitative nature. It is a type of group interview, called focus interviews. The method allows the participants ́ collective and shared thoughts, feelings and experiences to be expressed. The material of the essay consists of recorded interviews with two student groups, primary school students and high school students. The theoretical concepts that used are historical consciousness, use of history and historical culture. The result shows that it is not easy for youths to live according to the norms and values of the new society. Learning about the country ́s history and culture becomes possible by knowing the language. In the light of their experiences from their homeland they appreciate diversity and freedom of religion. For these young people history is an important and exciting subject, but it becomes more interesting if it is about their original country and history. During the study it became obvious that the pupils belong to the folk group of hazara. The older generation had a crucial role in their historical culture to tell their children about a unique history: discrimination, persecution and genocide of hazara people. The collective story is reinforced and communicated through the new generation. The history of the genocide that exists in the world of youths is very significant for the hazara people ́s identity and community. / Den föreliggande undersökningen har en mångkulturell och interkulturell inriktning. Syftet med studien är att undersöka nyanlända afghanska elevers tankar och upplevelser i mötet med historia och kulturarv i Sverige. Som metod används intervju som är av kvalitativ karaktär. Den typ av intervju som används kallas för fokusgruppsintervju. Metoden låter deltagarnas kollektiva och gemensamma tankar, känslor och erfarenheter att komma till uttryck. Uppsatsens material utgörs av inspelade intervjuer med två elevgrupper, grundskoleelever respektive gymnasieelever. Studiens teoretiska begrepp är Historiemedvetande, historiebruk och historiekultur. Av resultatet framgår det att det inte är lätt för ungdomarna att leva enligt det nya samhällets normer och värderingar. Att lära sig om landets historia och kultur blir möjligt genom att behärska språket. Mot bakgrunden av sina erfarenheter från hemlandet uppskattar de mångfalden och religionsfriheten. För ungdomarna är historia ett viktigt och spännande ämne men det blir mer intressant om det handlar om deras ursprungliga land och historia. Under undersökningen blev det tydligt att eleverna tillhör folkgruppen hazara. Den äldre generationen hade en avgörande roll i sin historiekultur att berätta för sina barn om en unik historia: diskriminering, förföljelse och folkmord mot hazarer. Den kollektiva berättelsen förstärks och förmedlas genom den nya generationen. Historien om folkmordet som existerar i ungdomarnas värld har stor relevans för hazarabefolkningens identitet och gemenskap.

Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om förutsättningar i skolan för elever med särskild begåvning och andraspråk utifrån några lärares uppfattningar och erfarenheter. Fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med två lärare i svenska som andraspråk och tre specialpedagoger. Båda grupperna hade lång erfarenhet av andraspråkselever. Studien visade att synsättet att ”smarta” elever klarade sig på egen hand levde kvar i svensk skola. Elever som ansågs att ha hög och särskild begåvning lämnades ofta till självstudier utanför det sociala samspelet i klassrummet. Elever med svenska som andraspråk och speciellt elever utan god skolbakgrund missgynnades i hög grad av det arbetssättet. Andraspråkselever riskerade att bli felbedömda samt under- och överdiagnostiserade på grund av svårigheter med bedömning när elevens svenska hade brister. Studien synliggjorde följande framgångsfaktorer för att öka medvetenheten om andraspråkselever med särskild begåvning: tydligare process för identifiering av begåvning exempelvis med hjälp av kartläggningar i litteracitet och numeracitet; olika typer av bedömning och dynamisk bedömning; samarbete med studiehandledare och modersmålslärare; mer kunskap om särskild begåvning och om andraspråksinlärning; samarbete med och vägledning från elevhälsan; mer flexibilitet inom organisationen samt öppna diskussioner om vad som gynnar den specifika eleven bäst. Utan de åtgärderna riskerade elever med särskild begåvning och andraspråk att förbli ”vår mest dolda behovsgrupp”. / The purpose of the present study was to contribute with knowledge about the school conditions for gifted pupils with Swedish as a second language based on some teachers’ perceptions and experiences. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with two teachers of Swedish as a second language and three special education teachers. Both groups had long experience of teaching second language pupils. The study showed that the tradition that smart students were supposed to manage on their own still existed in the Swedish school. Pupils, who were considered to have higher intellectual abilities, were often left on their own for self-studies, outside the social interaction in the classroom. Swedish learners, especially those without good school background, were greatly disadvantaged by this working method. Besides, Swedish learners risked being incorrectly assessed as well as misdiagnosed because of the assessment difficulties when their second language was under development. The results showed the following success factors for gifted second language pupils: clearer process for identifying giftedness, for example, using tests in literacy and numeracy; different types of assessment and dynamic assessment; more cooperation with native language; more knowledge about giftedness and about second language acquisition among the school staff; cooperation with and guidance from the student health service; more flexible organisation structure; open discussions about what would benefit the specific student in the best way. Without these measures, gifted students with Swedish as a second language risk remaining “our most hidden pupil category”.

A number of studies have found that pupils, both newly arrived and other pupils who speak Swedish as a second language, have difficulties with mathematical tasks that consist of a few or more lines of text. It often seems to be a matter of mainly linguistic problems that are related to word and reading comprehension, that is, understanding and interpretation of formal concepts and words in the second language. Multilingual pupils who have recently migrated to Sweden from their home countries, but also pupils with foreign backgrounds who have lived in Sweden for several years - or in some cases, their entire lives - show lack of recognition in terms of cultural and traditional contexts. This study examines the difficulties and possibilities that were created when eight different multilingual pupils were being presented with text-rich mathematical tasks (word problems), but also focuses on examining the resources used during said process where the pupils read, interpreted and tried to solve given tasks. As the study is based on qualitative research, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The basis of the interviews consists of six word problems with related questions where the students had to think, reason and reflect upon the language being used in the tasks as well as the content, context and mathematical problems presented. The study has a theoretical approach based in both the social semiotics and the Language as Resource-model, of which both have been used to analyze the empirical material obtained from the interviews. In social semiotics, meaning-making is explained as a social practice that is created through interaction with the surrounding social and cultural contexts. While gathering and analyzing material, the so called “semiotic resources” were thus being observed, that is, the resources being used to communicate, interpret and create meaning of, for example, in this case, mathematical word problems. The results indicate that multilingual pupils use a variety of resources such as code-switching, translanguaging, drawing pictures, marking numbers and more while working with word problems. In addition to this, they also utilize the interviewer/teacher as a resource to, for example, read out information to them, explain concepts and words they do not understand et cetera. Multilingual pupils thus create bridges in several dynamic ways to overcome their difficulties and rather turn them into possibilities.

Syftet med denna studie är att redogöra för arbetssätt och strategier lärare i åk 4-6 använder för att gynna nyanlända elevers språkutveckling i den ordinarie engelskundervisningen. Studien utgår från ett lärarperspektiv och belyser utmaningar som lärare anser att nyanlända elever möter när de deltar i den ordinarie engelskundervisningen. Vidare framhävs de arbetssätt och anpassningar som tillämpas i undervisningen i syfte att möta dessa utmaningar. Studien har utgått från en sociokulturell teori på grund av studiens fokus som utgår från ett gemensamt lärande. Undersökningen utfördes med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod och det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter som har lång erfarenhet av att undervisa nyanlända elever i åk 4-6 i engelska. Resultatet som framgått i den empiriska undersökningen har visat att nyanlända elever möter utmaningar som grundar sig i deras motivationsnivå samt ämneskunskaper i stödspråket svenska men även i engelska. Vidare har det framgått att lärarna använder mycket transspråkande i sin undervisning i syfte att gynna elevernas språkinlärning samt skapa en samhörighet. För att göra individanpassningar utgår lärarna från den kartläggning som har gjorts av elevernas tidigare kunskaper. Anpassningarna framhävs främst vid lektionsplaneringen och implementeras senare i undervisningen. / The purpose of this study is to highlight working methods that English teachers in years 4-6 use to benefit newly arrived pupils’ English language development in the regular EFL classroom. This study is based on a teacher perspective and highlights challenges that teachers believe that newly arrived pupils face when participating in the regular English teaching. Furthermore, working methods and adaptations that are applied in the teaching in order to meet the challenges that newly arrived pupils face with regard to the English subject are emphasized. The survey has been based a qualitative method and the empirical material has been collected through semi-structured interviews. All the respondents who took part in the study have long experience of teaching newly arrived pupils English.  The results established by the empirical study have shown that newly arrived students face challenges based on their level of motivation and on their subject knowledge in the support language, Swedish, but also in English. Furthermore, it has been shown that the teachers use a lot of translanguaging in their teaching in order to benefit the students' language learning and create a sense of belonging. In order to make individual adaptations, the teachers use the mapping that has been done of the students' previous knowledge. The adaptations are emphasized mainly in the lesson planning and are implemented later in the teaching.

The overall aim of this licentiate thesis is to increase knowledge of the special educators’ professional role and work in relation to special educational support for recently arrived immigrant pupils. The need for the study is motivated by the immigrant pupils’ low achievement of goals and schools responsibility to adapt education to each pupil’s needs in a school for all. The first study examines special educators’ role and work in relation to special educational support for recently arrived immigrant pupils and the professional group's view of the reasons for special educational support for these pupils. The results are based on responses in a questionnaire directed to 483 special educators. The results show that the special educators state that the reasons why recently arrived immigrant pupils are in need of special educational support are that the knowledge requirements are too difficult for the pupils to achieve or that the pupils have individual shortcomings. The occupational group's tasks consist of administrative work and the development of learning environments. According to the special educators, most often class and subject teachers and mother tongue tutors provide special educational support. The special educators collaborate to the greatest extent with class and subject teachers and with the pupils, while they want more collaboration with mother tongue tutors. The results of the study are interpreted and discussed based on Abbott's theory (1988) reasoning about professional groups’ claims of jurisdiction, Persson's (1998) categorical and relational perspectives and Hughes' (1958) concept of dirty work. In the second study, free text answers (n = 451) from the questionnaire are examined, where the special educators describe how they and their schools have developed learning environments for recently arrived immigrant pupils in need of special educational support. The free text answers are analyzed using a qualitative content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). This analysis is then theorized based on Skrtics´ (1991; 2005) concepts of the school system to interpret obstacles and opportunities in the development of the learning environments. The results show that the development have mainly taken place through general adaptations (one size fits all solutions), language-adapted solutions and special solutions. The analysis based on Skrtics’ concepts shows how the machine and professional bureaucracy can act as an obstacle to the development of learning environments for recently arrived immigrant pupils in need of special educational support. The thesis helps to bring together the results from the two studies. A developed contextualization is made, and the results from the two studies are discussed in relation to previous research and theoretical points of departure. Abbott's (1988) reasoning on claims of jurisdiction and Skrtics’ conceptions of the school system (1991; 2005) are combined to get a deeper understanding of the deadlocks that may exist in the bureaucratic system.