This licentiate thesis addresses what textbooks in the school subject Swedish specifically oriented to pupils in different vocational programmes at Swedish high school/ upper secondary schools (Gymnasiet) offer to their readers. The study uses qualitative textual analysis as its main approach as well as, to a certain extent, quantitative data from textbooks in the Blickpunkt series (Blickpunktserien). Since they are included in so called comprehensive teaching materials, Bra Svenska A and Bra Svenska B, certain aspects of these two books, primarily their selection of texts are also studied. My point of departure is that a given textbook presumes a certain type of reader – this is supported by Umberto Eco’s theory that an author always writes with a reader in mind, a model reader, and I pose the following question: What views on subject matter, literature and cognitive approach are conveyed by the textbooks and what does this tell us about their model readers? My interpretation is that there are both many similarities and many differencies between the various model readers presumed by the textbooks. The focus on future professional activities permeates all of the textbooks, but is somewhat less prominent in Blickpunkt bygg and Blickpunkt el, where, to a certain extent, the model reader is presumed to be working with topics which can be attributed to the Swedish subject matter area. In Blickpunkt barn och fritid, Blickpunkt fordon, Blickpunkt hotell och restaurang and Blickpunkt omvårdnad, the postulated reader is assumed to be uninterested in literature and is expected to work in a field only marginally related to the Swedish subject matter area. Instead the textbooks are organized on the basis of a general assumption regarding what know-how and qualifications are currently in demand on the labor market. Therefore we cannot say that they contain a genuine Swedish subject matter area. The formulation of the textbooks implies that a model reader is not expected to approach the texts with a critical mind in order to help him or her develop cognitive thinking and oral and written language skills.

Trots att lyrik kan bidra med mycket till elevers utveckling visar såväl elever som lärare ofta en negativ eller osäker inställning till genren. Läromedel kan därför få ett stort inflytande över lyrikundervisningen. Syftet med detta arbete är att granska de frågor och arbetsuppgifter som kopplas till lyrikexempel i läroböcker för gymnasiekursen svenska 1, för att synliggöra vad dessa uppgifter didaktiskt kan bidra med i undervisningen.  En etnografisk innehållsanalys av tolv läroböcker för svenska 1, publicerade under åren 2011– 2015, genomförs. Frågorna och arbetsuppgifterna delas in i tio olika kategorier och granskas utifrån teorier från Dysthe (1996), Rosenblatt (1938/2002) och Tengberg (2011).  Resultatet visar att vad läroböckernas lyrikrelaterade arbetsuppgifter kan bidra med i undervisningen varierar stort, även inom de funna kategorierna. Uppgifter finns som kan underlätta elevens transaktion med texten, medan andra kan hindra denna. Slutsatsen är att lärare själva kritiskt bör granska de uppgifter som ges till eleverna, för att säkerställa deras kvalitet. / Even though poetry has a lot to contribute to students’ development, students as well as teachers often show a negative or uncertain attitude to the genre. Therefore, textbooks can have a great influence on poetry instruction.  The purpose of this study is to examine questions and tasks related to poetry in textbooks for the upper secondary school course Swedish 1, to bring to light what these questions and tasks can contribute didactically.  An ethnographic content analysis of twelve textbooks for Swedish 1, published in the years 2011–2015, is carried out. The questions and tasks are divided into ten different categories and examined through theories brought forth by Dysthe (1996), Rosenblatt (1938/2002) and Tengberg (2011).  The result shows that what poetry-related questions and tasks in the textbooks can contribute to instruction varies greatly, even within the categories found. Some tasks can aid the student’s transaction with the text, while others can hinder it. The conclusion is that teachers need to critically examine the tasks given to students, to ascertain their quality.