In recent years there has been an increased focus on the concept inclusion within the area of pedagogic research. This has led to recommendations that it’s better to give pedagogical support within the regular schoolroom, rather than placing pupils with different abilities and needs to another classroom. There are studies that suggest that placing pupils in remedial classes may have negative consequences for those pupils. It is said that it can be an ineffective and expensive way of giving pedagogical support and that the pupils in remedial classes may not be given as qualified support there as in the regular classroom. Placing pupils in remedial classes also risk effecting their self-esteem in a negative way, making them feel as though they must be in a remedial class because there is something wrong with them. Another criticism against remedial classes is that the pupil will miss out on the sense of community of being with the rest of the class. But being placed in a remedial class may also be a help. According to the Swedish schools inspectorate, Skolinspektionen, being placed in a remedial class can have a positive impact for some pupils regarding school results, school presence and social development. This study has an exploratory approach and aims to find out how pupils in remedial classes feel about that form of education. I’ve made semi-structured interviews with six pupils from four different schools. This study has an exploratory research approach which aims to develop hypothesizes or questions for further research. The study focuses on the pupils view of positive and negative aspects of remedial classes, how it’s different from being in the regular classroom together with the rest of the class, how the pupils would like to develop the education in the remedial classes and in the regular classroom and in what way the remedial class has affected their wellbeing in school. I’ve used PISA:s four dimensions of wellbeing as a definition of the concept wellbeing.  The result from the study show that all the pupils that I interviewed feel good about being in a remedial class. They all expressed that there’s a better and a quieter work environment in the remedial classes as opposed to the work environment in the regular classroom. They also expressed that they receive more pedagogical support in the remedial class than in the regular classroom. According to the pupils, the teachers have more time to help them there and they are given more additional adjustments in the education. Some of the pupils feel that the remedial class allows them to have a certain amount of flexibility regarding the schedule, school subjects and assignments, which they view as something positive. All the pupils expressed that they feel more satisfied with the schoolwork they do in the remedial classes than the schoolwork they do in the regular classroom. All the pupils in the study says that they are satisfied with the extent of their placement in the remedial classes. None of them are hoping to return more to the regular classroom in the future. However, almost all the pupils expressed that they like their classes and that education in the regular classroom can be good too. They appreciate talking to friends and asking them for help in class. None of the pupils talked about the other pupils in the remedial classes as something either positive or negative. In the remedial classes the pupils are more focused on their own work as opposed to joint activities together with the other pupils in the classroom. Some of the pupils missed the communal activities that usually is a natural part of school, such as to present assignments in front of the class. Although negative aspects of the remedial classes were mentioned and that most of the pupils had positive things to say about education in the regular classroom, the placement for these pupils in the remedial classes seem to have a mostly positive impact on their wellbeing in school, mostly for giving them a quiet place to work in and therefore allowing them to perform better at their schoolwork. It shall be mentioned however that the external validity can be regarded as relatively low because of the low number of participants in this study.

This study is about different teacher’s ´conception of remedial classes and its function in Today´s School. “A school for everyone” the utopia that all schools and teachers aspire for. All pupils, regardless of ethnic background, class, and religious affiliation should be able to go to school without being segregated and are seen as different. A large part of the research at this moment shows a picture of segregated schools with remedial classes. If remedial classes cause segregation or inclusion is a dilemma that should be highlighted and discussed. Pupils who are in need of special support should be supported, without being segregated and perceived as different. To perform this study, qualitative interviews were made. Seven teachers have participated and gave their views on remedial classes and what function they fill for the school. My theory that has been used highlights two conditions at school. One is segregating integration with the compensatory perspective (kompensatoriska perspektivet), and the other is including integration with the democratic participatory perspective (deltagarperspektiv). The result shows that the teachers who were interviewed, despite the intentions of the  “A school for everyone” and with all risk that remedial classes carries with it, consider it compensatory perspective should be followed to accommodate all the pupils’ needs according to their conditions.

I centrum för den här avhandlingen står det tidiga 1900-talets diskussion om skola, begåvning och social organisering. Tidsperioden som omfattas är 1910– 1950. Det är skolan i de större städerna Stockholm, Göteborg och Malmö som har stått i fokus. Det övergripande syftet har varit att analysera den betydelse som begåvning och intelligens fick i relation till skolväsendets förändring. Med utgångspunkt i detta syfte diskuteras hur uppfattningar om samhällets begåvningsresurser och individers förmågor har format 1900-talets samhällsliv. Betoningen på begåvning förde med sig primärt två saker: Att tillvarata god begåvning och att motverka låg begåvning. Avhandlingen har främst syftat till att granska de sociala och institutionella sammanhang i vilka intelligensmätningarna kom att uppfattas som användbara. Det innebär att intresset har riktats mot det inflytande som olika professionella via förhandlingar, professionalisering och vetenskapliggörande fick över skolans utformning. Teoretisk har undersökningen hämtat inspiration hos Michel Foucault, vilket ger en utgångspunkt som betonar sambandet mellan kunskapsbildning och makt. Genom olika gränsdragningar och uteslutningar – ”åtskiljande praktiker” – i utbildningssystemet blir individerna synliga i förhållande till olika institutionella arrangemang och konstrueras därmed både som individer och som grupper. Avhandlingen använder ett historiskt perspektiv för att studera hur makt och vetande i en given tid formulerar vad som är att betrakta som ett problem i samhället. / At the centre of this thesis is the early 20th century’s discussion on school, talent and social organisation. The period that is covered is 1910 – 1950. It is schools in the cities Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö that have been focused on. The overall purpose has been to analyse the importance that talent and intelligence had in relationship with the changes in the educational system. Using this as a starting point, it was discussed how views on society’s talent resources and the abilities of individuals have formed 20th century social life. Emphasis on talent led to primarily two things: to utilise good talent and counteract poor talent. The thesis has mainly aimed at examining the social and institutional contexts in which intelligence testing came to be seen as usable. This means that interest has been directed at the influence that different professionals had via deliberations, professionalizing and scientificating had on the forming of schools. Theoretically the study has been inspired by Michel Foucault, which provided an excellent starting point that emphasises the connection between education and power. Through different boundaries and conclusions – “separating practices” – in the education system the individuals become visible in relation to different institutional arrangements and can therefore be construed both as individuals and groups. The thesis uses an historic perspective to study how power and knowledge in a given time formulate what is considered as a problem in society.