In recent years the field of reparations for indigenous peoples has increased remarkably. Past wrongs made by states in the distant past has become more important to highlight, not only because of the memories of historical injustice, but because of how the past impacts the future, and not least, still appears as structures of discrimination remaining from the past.   As an indigenous people the Saami people living in Sweden have experiences of both historical injustices as well as todays struggle with discrimination on different levels. Mostly regarding their right to be a part of decisions concerning them and the right of culture, language, identity, land and nature resources, fundamental for them as a people. In order to change their situation and to search for redress the Saami people in Sweden have announced their need of a truth commission. The Saami people are not the first indigenous people whom search for redress through a truth commission, but is it possible to learn from others?   With this in mind, my study aim to look at practical experiences of truth commissions in Canada and New Zealand and further, examine what the Saami people in Sweden hope to achieve with a truth commission. Thereafter, I weight other indigenous peoples experiences of a truth commission with the Saami peoples expectations to find out what keys need to be considered to increase the outcome of a truth commission. Where theory, practical experience and Saami expectations connects is where the key issues can be found. Given this, my study suggests that five different key issues must be thought through and shall not be underestimated as they may have an effect on the ongoing process as well as on the results and the aftermaths. The key issues that is suggested is as follows: 1) political will, 2) the role and engagement of Civil Society, 3) the Saami´s own involvement 4) the problem of what focus the commission should have, and 5) the awareness of “tough” questions coming up.

The aim of this paper is to deepen the understanding of the school debate in Sweden by focusing on one of the key topics of the debate, namely the allegedly threatened equality and equity of the education system. This debate circles around two aspects: (1) The quality of the education is to be the same at all schools, independent of geographical location or provider. (2) A fair grading process of the pupil’s achievements that follows the rule of law.The source material for the study consists of the web-based magazine Skolvärlden which is run by the teacher union Lärarnas Riksförbund. The magazine was chosen as the teacher union has developed a political program to tackle the equality and equity problems in the Swedish school. The research questions for the empirical examination are the following: (1) How is the debate about equality and equity in education described and constructed during 2018 in Skolvärlden? (2) What needs are to be fulfilled and what solutions are proposed by Skolvärlden to ensure an increase of the equity and equality in the Swedish school?The questions are inspired by framing theory which is used as a theoretical framework to explain the correlation between the answers to each question. To achieve this, the study uses a content analysis combined with a narrative analysis. Based on the analysis, the study answers a third question: (3) In which manners can the debate about equity and equality in Skolvärlden be an expression of ideas about justice, the governing of the school system and the school’s role in society? To reveal ideas about justice, John Rawls’ A theory of justice is applied to the public debate about equity and equality in education and the Swedish curriculum to create a theoretical framework.The study shows that the debate is constructed and described in a way that the political program proposed by Lärarnas Riksförbund appears as a perfect solution. The shaped narrative consists of decisionmakers who remain passive while teachers decry conditions for teaching and demand better terms to provide every pupil with quality education. While arguments about the situation for teachers appear, the emphasis lays on the consequences for the pupils. It is them, the articles claim, who are affected by the dreadful working conditions and lousy leadership. The proposed solution is a reformed school system which is governed and financed by the state instead of the current decentralized model.

This doctoral thesis had two purposes. 1. To study some preschool teachers’ possibilities to develop a gender aware pedagogy by applying theories of organisation, profession and collaboration. 2. To do qualitative research by drawing on principles of research for social justice, as a contribution to the development of methodology in feminist educational action research. The following research questions helped elucidate these purposes: How do preschool teachers create space for reflection and knowledge processes over time? What individual and collective actions do preschool teachers take over time? How can this study contribute to organisational development? Feminist pragmatism served as the philosophical underpinning for feminist action research (FAR) as a methodology and method. The preschool teachers were regarded as agents for change in their own pedagogic and organisational practices. Over a three-year period meetings were conducted on a regular basis. One-on-one interviews, group interviews, numerous emails, telephone calls and some observations completed the data collection. The analytical research narrative emerged by linking the preschool teachers’ actions to their ambiguous professional status. Actions were interpreted by applying the principles inherent in FAR, what, who and critical incidents over time. The absence of professional recognition from the municipal employer and parents for the preschool teachers was evident. Since the preschool teachers needed professional recognition, they experienced the collaborative nature of this study of great value as it conferred legitimacy for their professional development. There emerged meaningful pedagogic change over time, which emphasised the temporal aspect of organisational change from the bottom up. Collective actions began to take root in a shared value system. The design of the project – to collaborate with an outside ally – was decisive in regard to creating space for reflection and collective actions. Collective actions were possible due to the courage of individual participants who dared break silences surrounding organisational injustices. In conclusion, it can be stated that organisational change over time is indeed possible by practising radical openness for agency. Transformative knowledge processes can be achieved provided that genuine offers of participation are issued and well received. By elaborating on terms such as action, participation, emancipation, social justice and knowledge, a methodological contribution could be made to feminist action research. / Denna avhandling hade två syften. 1. Att i ett organisations-, professions- och pedagogiskt samverkansperspektiv studera några förskollärares möjligheter och hinder för utvecklingen av en genusmedveten pedagogik. 2. Att bedriva kvalita-tiv forskning utifrån antaganden om forskning för social rättvisa, som ett bidrag till metodologiutveckling. Följande frågeställningar belyste dessa syften: Hur skapar förskollärare utrymme för reflektion och kunskapsprocesser över tid; vil-ka individuella och kollektiva handlingar utför förskollärare över tid; vilka bi-drag till verksamhetsutveckling kan en studie av detta slag göra? Med feminis-tisk pragmatism som vetenskapsteoretisk grund tillämpades feministisk aktions-forskning som satte förskollärarnas frågeställningar i centrum. Under tre års tid ägde regelbundna träffar rum för gemensamma reflektioner, utvärderingar och planeringar av pedagogiska handlingar. Enskilda och gruppintervjuer, deltagande observationer samt en stor mängd mejl-, telefon- och brevutbyten kompletterade datainsamlingen. Den analytiska forskningsberättelsen växte fram under åter-koppling till förskollärares handlingar och i ljuset av förskollärares diffusa pro-fessionstillhörighet. Handlingarna tolkades utifrån de i feministisk aktionsforsk-ningsmetodologi inneboende principerna vad, vem och kritiska händelser över tid. Organisations- och professionsteoretiska analyser visade att förskollärarnas handlingar varken erkändes som professionella av den kommunala arbetsgivaren eller föräldrarna. Förskollärarnas behov av professionell erkänsla var stort, men när den uteblev, visade sig det långsiktiga utvecklingsarbetet vara av stort värde, därför att förskollärarna lyckades åstadkomma pedagogiskt sett meningsfulla förändringar, vilket understryker den temporala aspekten av organisatoriska för-ändringar underifrån. Förskollärarnas kollektiva handlingar började rota sig i en gemensam värdegrund. Formen av utvecklingsarbetet - att samarbeta med en al-lierad utifrån - var avgörande för skapandet av utrymme för reflektion och kol-lektiva handlingar. Kollektiva handlingar möjliggjordes i hög utsträckning tack vare enskilda deltagares mod att bryta tystnader om orättvisor i den egna verk-samheten. En slutsats är att det är möjligt att åstadkomma organisatoriska för-ändringar över tid genom en radikal öppenhet för agency. Transformativa kun-skapsprocesser kan åstadkommas om erbjudanden till ett genuint deltagande i ett förändringsarbete lämnas och mottas. Genom en problematisering av termer som handling, deltagande, emancipation, social rättvisa och kunskap gjordes ett me-todologiskt bidrag till feministisk aktionsforskning.

This essay provides an attempt to reflect the notions of violence, right or law and fate in Benjamin’s Zur Kritik der Gewalt, in order to clarify his very dense historical-philosophical reflection on the constitutive relation between violence and law. In contrast to what is most often the case, this essay will not address the notion of divine violence in a direct sense, but mainly focus on Benjamin’s discussion on right and law. The complex of his historical reflection, his attempt to articulate what he calls the “historical function” not only of violence, but also of law, is crucially related to the notion of fate. First and foremost fate is what turns the suspicion of the perniciousness of this historical function into a certainty, actualizing its destruction as something obligatory in terms of divine violence, by deepening the analysis and revealing the fundamental relation between law and violence. By pointing out the function of violence within the sphere of law, Benjamin not only states that violence cannot be thought otherwise than in relation to this sphere, but also that the relation between law and violence has to be thought in terms of the “uncertainty of the legal threat”. The deepest meaning of both the “uncertainty” and “the legal threat” emerges from the “sphere of fate”, and by reflecting this notion this essay will try to outline the legal complex and the meaning of fate in terms of guilt, misfortune and judgement, and how it is constituted with reference to the notion of “bare life” – that is, the marked bearer of guilt. The complexity of the relation between violence and law shows itself in the circumstance that this “bearer” in terms of guilt also becomes the bearer of the relation itself, bearing the validity of law, or more precise, the being in force of law. This also conceptualizes law as a phenomenon of frontiers, in a double sense that will explain the meaning of guilt and fate in terms of infringement, but also the legal relation to violence understood as a line constituting an inside and an outside within the sphere of law itself. And this will also explain why the meaning of justification of violence – significantly related to fate and the phenomenon of this line – never can be understood ethically.

In my essay, I will start with a story that represents my dilemma from my own experience. In the story, dealing with children that challenges teachers and other children in preschool, I wonder how I as a teacher can be fair and inclusive when I feel insufficient on several occasions. I reflect on my own approach because it can be difficult when we encounter children with different needs and abilities in preschool. I write the essay in experience-based essay form. The essays form makes it possible for me to reflect on my own experience and by using selected theoretical perspectives processing my dilemma. In my essay, I explore my own approach, what is meant by fairness and how the concept can be interpreted and how I can in the best way include all children in activities. I conclude that fairness from a perspective can be seen from the five criteria similarity, need, performance, compensation and rights. The teachers should reflect on their approach and take into account all the needs of every children based on their conditions. Fronesis, practical knowledge, is required to, among other things, make good judgement and to make wise decisions in preschool.

This study is an examination of how a music education that is run by a NGO, Non Governmental Organisation, in South Africa works. The organisation Arkwork for Art NPC, and their artistic programme Access Music Project, AMP, based in Grahamstown in Eastern Cape province, works as an case study. This study shows what different opportunities and challenges are of the work with the project and describes who the young participants enrolled in the project are and how they experience the music education. Further more this work explore the relationship between music education and social justice. Information was gathered through qualitative semi-structured interviews with the participants and project founder and leadership of the project. Partly information also was gathered through unstructured observations. The result shows that Arkwork for Art is filling an important gap where the government lack resources to offer music education for youth in marginalised communities. The organisation struggle with many things, most difficult for them is to get stable funding. AMP have many big future plans and want for instance to change the curriculum of music education in the future. My examination shows that the participants are very satisfied to be a part of AMP and that the project has an important role in their lifes and the community where they are based.

Meritocracy is a much-debated concept in both academia and society in general. Previous studies mostly defined meritocracy in terms of talent and effort. However, even if there exists an academic acceptance of the complexity and the multitude of dimensions of meritocracy in general, little has been said about the cultural prerequisites of meritocracy. This shows a need to be explicit about exactly what is meant by the term ‘meritocracy’. This paper aims to share new light on prerequisites of meritocracy with the help of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological studies of symbolic capital, with the backdrop understanding of Adam Smith’s theory on necessities. Furthermore, the study aims by adopting a reflexive approach of Bourdieu’s theories, to construct a new theoretical framework, set out to define the phenomena of meritocracy and its cultural prerequisites.

I övergripande kollektivavtal på svensk arbetsmarknad framgår en strävan efter ett positivt samband mellan lön, motivation och resultat som en följd av individuell lönesättning. Denna studie undersöker individuell lönesättnings eventuella påverkan på arbetsmotivation hos lärare, kort efter att en statligt finansierad lönesatsning hade höjt lönerna för många av dessa. Studien har i huvudsak kvalitativ ansats och har genomförts med hjälp av ett teoretiskt ramverk bestående av self determination theory, teorier om avund och rättviseteori. För att undersöka om individuell lönesättning påverkar grundskollärares arbetsmotivation genomfördes intervjuer med 8 respondenter på två skolor i en svensk kommun, som även fick besvara en enkät om arbetsmotivation. Studiens resultat tyder på att individuell lönesättning förvisso kan föranleda positiva arbetsmotivationseffekter hos personer som premieras med högre lön, men att de som missgynnas i den individuella lönesättningen riskerar att få mindre självdeterminerad arbetsmotivation och/eller minska sin arbetsinsats för att utjämna upplevd orättvisa. Utöver detta riskerar individuell lönesättning att försämra relationer mellan kollegor, vilket kan innebära att arbetsmotivation blir mindre självdeterminerad, både hos den som främjas av individuell lönesättning och den som missgynnas.

The aim of this essay is to show how the relationship between credit and critique is important for Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction of law. I will start from Force of Law, in which law, as well as justice, is deconstructed by Derrida. My purpose is further to show how the two concepts, credit and critique, are intertwined in the discourse of law and thereby crucial for Derrida’s deconstruction. As Derrida always states, the rational projects need to have a master concept, which the project revolves around, and this master concept needs at least one other subordinate concept to contrast itself against. In this context, I argue that critique can be that master concept. I base this argument upon the fact that critique in its ancient Greek sense, krinein, can be translated into the verb ‘to separate’, ‘to decide’ or ‘to judge’, which shows that there is an obvious link to the task of a judge. This puts critique in center of the discourse of law. Credit on the other hand is not rational, which makes it opposed to critique, but it is still important for law. It is a typical subordinated concept that just appears in the discourse without any further explanation but is present by its implicit importance to the discourse. I argue that credit is the subordinate concept that is needed for the concept of critique to be a master concept. Both concepts are important for the foundation of law, and this is why I believe that Derrida in the end states the importance to take responsibility for the law. In other words, one must take responsibility for both founding aspects of credit and critique when deconstructing the law.

Den här magisteruppsatsen består av en partiell översättning från japanska till svenska av IMAMURA Natsukos bok Kvinnan i den lila kjolen samt en översättningskommentar med fokus på kulturspecifika kategorier uttryckt i det japanska språket som egocentriciteten och andra kulturspecifika element i den japanska texten, de beskrivande onomatope (onomatopoetiska och mimetiska uttryck), och de västerländska låneordens förskjutningar (shifts) i en översättning. Dessa kategorier kan upplevas som svåra att översätta mellan två språk som ligger långt ifrån varandra. De teoretiska ramarna för uppsatsen lägger tyngdpunkten på riktningsekvivalens (directional equivalence), ett begrepp myntat av Anthony Pym, med fokus på likhet (similarities) i översättningen (Chesterman 1996), tillsammans med den etiska utgångspunkten representationell rättvisa (representational justice), beskrivet av Liu Yameng (2007). De utgör basen för översättningsmetoden och blir ledljus i översättningsval för översättning mellan språk i periferin av varandra. / This essay consists of a partial translation of IMAMURA Natsuko’s book The Woman In The Purple Skirt from Japanese to Swedish, together with a translation commentary focusing on egocentricity and other culture-specific concepts in Japanese texts, the descriptive onomatope (onomatopoetic and mimetic expressions) and the shifts in loanwords from western languages when translated. These categories are prone to cause issues when translating between languages so far removed from each other. The theoretical framework in this essay concentrates on directional equivalence, an expression coined by Anthony Pym, focusing on similarities in translations (Chesterman 1996) together with the ethical starting point representational justice as described by Liu Yameng (2007). These form the base for the translation method and serve as guiding lights in the choices made when translating between languages peripheral to each other.