The purpose of this study was to increase knowledge about how socio-economic conditions in different groups of students can affect students' perceptions of the subject of social studies. This was done by accounting for, analysing and discussing differences and similarities in perceptions of the subject of social studies between students in vocational and in tertiary preparatory programsin upper secondary school in Sweden. The data for this qualitative study was collected through focus group interviews and was thereafter thematically analysed. The results show that all students, regardless of program, find social studies important both for themselves and for the society as a whole. However, preferences regarding teaching methods vary between programs. Vocational programs tend to prefer shorter individual writing assignments while tertiary preparatory programs like to work both individually and in groups as well as both orally and in writing. There are also differences in how the programs view their use for social studies in the future. The vocational programs consider themself to have the most use for knowledge regarding economy while the tertiary preparatory programs believe they will have most use forwhat they have learned concerning the subject of individuals and identity. These differences can be explained by the student´s different capacities and different access to cultural and language capital as well as the real functions of the school system and cultural reproductionwhich are all due to socio-economic differences that exist between the students in vocationalprograms and the students in tertiary preparatory programs.

En stor fråga i samhället av idag är den om hur en god framtid på planeten möjliggörs och optimeras. Otaliga diskussioner och forskningar i ämnet finns och det är en brännande fråga för politiker och ledare världen över. Ett viktigt led i en hållbar utveckling – som frågan kommit att begreppsliggöras som – handlar om utbildning. För att möjliggöra en hållbar framtid krävs utbildade och ansvarsfulla människor, men det aktuella området ses ofta på med olika ögon och på olika sätt. Den här studien syftar till att öka förståelsen för hur undervisande mellanstadielärare förhåller sig till en hållbar utveckling, vilka perceptioner de har på begreppet och vilka didaktiska tillvägagångssätt som framträder som lyckosamma i strävan att utveckla medborgare med hållbarhet i fokus. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med sex mellanstadielärare i norra Sverige och efterföljande tematisk analys framträder en bild av begreppet som svårtolkat med, för lärarna, vissa kunskapsluckor vilket påverkar en praktik som därmed inte når upp till lärarnas egna förväntningar på sin undervisning. En undervisning som idealt är holistiskt och består av autentiska och reflekterande element och där barnet ses som den utvalde i önskan om en hållbar framtid. / A subject of importance in todays’ society is that of how a good future on the planet is enabled and optimized. Countless discussions and research exist and is a prevailing matter for politicians and leaders around the world. An important part of sustainable development – which is what the subject has come to be referred to – is about education. To enable a sustainable future educated and responsible people are of importance, but the matter in question is often differently viewed by different individuals. This study aims to increase the understanding of how middle school teachers relate to sustainable development, their perceptions of the concept and some didactic approaches viewed as successful in the pursuit of developing citizens with a sustainability in mind. Through qualitative interviews with six middle school teachers in the north of Sweden and subsequent thematic analyses, a picture of the concept as difficult to interpret emerges, along with some knowledge gaps affecting the practice which in relation does not meet the teachers’ expectations of their own teaching. A teaching that, ideally, is holistic and consists of authentic and reflective elements and where the child is seen as the chosen in the quest for a sustainable future.

The following essay has the purpose of giving an account of how the increasing digitalization, medialization and flow of information has affected social science as a subject, and how this has changed the expectations put on students and teachers. Furthermore, the way teachers’ TPACK knowledge and web literacy skills affect their teaching is also examined. Lastly, students’ level of understanding for the term media and information literacy is further investigated.  This is being done with the help of the following three question formulations: 1. What further demands does the increasing digitalization, medialization and flow of information pose for students and teachers, and how does it connect to social science as a subject? 2. How do teachers' knowledge of TPACK and web literacy affect their teaching? 3. What level of understanding do students have for the term media and information literacy?  The essay is based upon 15 peer-reviewed scientific articles, which have been chosen to represent the field of knowledge and answer the three question formulations. The interconnection between media and information literacy and democracy makes the subject increasingly important in today’s society with threats like propaganda, misinformation, and anti-democratic rhetoric. One conclusion made is how important it is for the students’ learning outcomes that the teacher is well-informed and has the necessary knowledge to help and support the students in their learning. It is also important to consider that the way students define media and information literacy may differ from teachers’ understanding, and that can lead to students’ knowledge being interpreted as higher than it is in reality.

Detta arbete utforskar utvecklingen av demokratisk kompetens hos mellanstadieelever inom samhällskunskap. Studiens syfte är att ge lärare en fördjupad förståelse för praktisk implementering av demokratiuppdraget, en central aspekt i den aktuella läroplanen för grundskolan (Lgr 22). Genom en kritisk granskning och syntes av befintlig forskning identifieras fem nyckelfaktorer som är avgörande för att skapa en demokratisk lärandemiljö: professionellt ledarskap, innehållskunskap, inflytande, kommunikativ kompetens och aktivitet. Analysen fokuserar på hur dessa element kan integreras i klassrummet för att effektivt främja demokratiskt engagemang och förståelse hos eleverna.  Resultaten pekar på vikten av en integrerad ansats i undervisningen där alla fem faktorer samverkar. Professionellt ledarskap och innehållskunskap bildar grunden för en stabil och informativ miljö, medan inflytande, kommunikativ kompetens och aktivitet aktivt engagerar eleverna i demokratiska processer och främjar deras förståelse och deltagande. Dessa faktorer bidrar inte bara till elevernas förståelse och deltagande i demokrati, utan främjar även en djupare insikt i och engagemang för demokratiska värderingar och processer. Arbetet erbjuder därmed viktiga insikter och konkreta tips för lärare som strävar efter att integrera demokrati i sitt pedagogiska arbete och förbereda eleverna för ett aktivt samhällsengagemang.

In the light of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the present study has studied the swedish upper secondary school students' perceptions of the subject of social studies. More precisely, the purpose of the study has been to investigate whether the students feel that the subject of social studies - and teaching has been of any use in terms of understanding the prevailing external situation. In the case of the study, the focus group interview has become the methodology that the undersigned found particularly relevant to the purpose of the study [...].

Syftet med denna strukturerade litteraturstudie är att med fokus på platsbaserad undervisning skapa förståelse för hur lärare kan arbeta med undervisning utanför klassrummet inom de samhällsorienterande ämnena i förskoleklass och årskurs 1–3. Studien undersöker vilken betydelse plats har för undervisning och lärande, vilka fördelar platsbaserad undervisning kan medföra samt vilka begräsningar som kan hindra skolor från att implementera denna undervisningsmetod. Följande frågeställningar valdes: Vilka pedagogiska och didaktiska vinster kan en platsbaserad undervisning medföra? Vilka hinder och begränsningar kan försvåra implementeringen av platsbaserad undervisning? Hur kan undervisning utanför klassrummet bedrivas i praktiken inom de samhällsorienterande ämnena? Två primära sökmetoder har använts för att finna ett relevant urval, databassökning och manuell sökning. Analysen av urvalet visar att platsen har en betydelsefull inverkan på undervisningen och lärandet. En platsbaserad undervisning ökar elevernas engagemang, deltagande och ökar elevernas förmåga att komma ihåg sina kunskaper. Forskningen visar dock att det finns aspekter som försvårar implementeringen av undervisningsmetoden för yrkesverksamma lärare. Studien visar slutligen på allmänna aspekter som lärare med fördel kan ha i åtanke vid genomförandet av undervisning utanför klassrummet på olika platser.

Sustainable development is arguably a core element and a desirable objective for the institutions of a society to reach for. Upper secondary schools of Sweden are not an exception. Among the many subjects that the upper secondary school provides, civics education is arguably the most relevant one in relation to the matter of sustainable development. How does civic education portray the matter of sustainability, both regarding quantity and quality? What can the production of the subjects' purpose, key content and grades affiliation with sustainable development tell us about the society it´s been framed in? This essay attempts to provide some answers to those questions, by scrutinizing the three different subjects and courses of civics education from 1994 to the upcoming subject of 2025. The democratic, patriarchal and scientifically rational perspectives of society and education, formed by Tomas Englund, constitute the theoretical framework of the essay. The method used is qualitative text analysis, where categorization will help to identify content related to sustainable development in the subjects and courses. The study's result shows that all subjects could be classified as democratic, and that the subjects of 2011 and 2025 provide more and diversified content related to sustainable development than 1994, which indicates a progression. Also, the subjects of 2011 and 2025 could be classified, beyond democratic, as patriarch and scientific rationale, which makes a notable difference between the subjects.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the social studies subject can be usedas a means to integrate immigrant students into the Swedish school and society, withfocus on how pedagogical methods and policies can be optimized to support saidstudents. The study is using the theoretical frameworks multicultural education andsocio-cultural integration to later on analyze the empirical evidence. Themethodology of the study is a litterature-based approach to analyze existing researchfindings and policy documents to understand current practices and their effectivenessin promoting integration. The findings highlight that while there are some robustpedagogical strategies such as differentiated and culturally responsive instruction,significant gaps remain in their consistent application in schools. The study highlightsimportant challenges such as language barriers, the relevance of curriculum andsubject content, and the effective integration and use of digital tools, which can oftenhinder immigrant students’ educational experiences. Based on the analysis, the studyshows that it is important to improve teacher training so that teachers get theknowledge and tools to manage a multicultural classroom, improve the integration ofdigital tools and access to those resources and develop clearer policies to have clearerguidelines regarding the school’s integration work

Financial literacy is a debated concept and field of knowledge. There are various interpretations regarding what the financial literacy education should contain and aim for. This study focuses on financial literacy and how it is presented in various teaching materials intended for Swedish upper secondary school and the subject of social studies. The purpose of the survey is to analyze what appears to be important financial knowledge and how the content is presented. The survey also aims to examine what kind of “ideal citizen”  that the materials seek to create. To examine this, I use the citizenship conceptions outlined by Westheimer and Kahne. The analysis shows that the teaching materials convey similar content despite being produced by different providers. There are, however, some differences in what aspects the various teaching materials highlight and choose to focus on. Income, expenses, budgeting, loans, savings and debts are recurring themes in all teaching materials. These can therefore be interpreted as important financial knowledge. The content is mainly presented in an explanatory and normative way. The analysis reveals that the three citizenship conceptions "the personally responsible citizen", "the participatory citizen", and "the justice-oriented citizen" are expressed in almost all teaching materials. However, the citizenship conception that predominates and is particularly evident is "the personally responsible citizen". The overarching goal appears to be to educate students to become responsible citizens who manage their finances, plan, budget, save, avoid unnecessary loans and debt, and make effective and responsible decisions. The content of the teaching materials largely mirrors the OECD's definition of financial literacy and has generally a strong focus on individual financial behavior, responsibility and choices.

Detta arbete syftar till att bidra med utökad kunskap om hur samhällskunskapslärare på gymnasiet utformar undervisning om samhällsaktuella händelser. Studien ämnar beskriva lärarnas didaktiska avvägningar vid urvalet av undervisningsmetoder. Utöver det var syftet att undersöka vilka ramfaktorer som påverkar lärarna mest i undervisningen om samhällsaktuella händelser. Studien bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med sex lärare i samhällskunskap som undervisar på olika skolor i landet. Dessa hade varierade erfarenheter av undervisningen och utöver det undervisade olika elevgrupper som kännetecknades av olika etniska, kulturella och socioekonomiska bakgrunder. Resultatet visar att lärarna påverkas i undervisningen av olika faktorer som bestäms främst genom styrdokumenten, administrationen och de olika elevgrupperna. Empirin visar att lärarna undervisar kontinuerligt om samhällsaktuella händelser genom varierande undervisningsmetoder. Empirin påvisar också att de mest positiva påverkningsfaktorerna i undervisningen var eleverna själva medan de hämmande undervisningsfaktorerna var av den administrativa karaktären. Slutsatsen som dras från studien handlar om lärarens behov av anpassning till skolans specifika kultur och miljö, arbetsvillkor med avseende på tillgängliga resurser samt den miljö som eleverna kommer ifrån. Studiens viktigaste bidrag bekräftar det ramfaktorteoretiska ramverkets riktighet att undervisningen utformas med hjälp av olika tolkningar av styrdokumenten och anpassas till en specifik elevgrupp. Konsekvensen blir att såväl lektionsinnehåll som krav och bedömningar ser olika ut i olika undervisningsgrupper. / This work aims to contribute with increased knowledge about how social studies teachers at upper secondary school design teaching about current events in society. The study aims to describe the teacher´s didactic considerations for the selection of teaching methods. In addition to that, the aim was to investigate which framework factors influence the teachers the most in teaching about current events in society. The study is based on qualitative interviews with six social studies teachers who teach at different schools in the country. These had varied experiences of teaching and, in addition, taught different groups of students characterized by different ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. The results show that the teachers are influenced in teaching by a range of factors which are mainly determined by the governing documents, the administration, and the different student groups. Empiric evidence shows that teachers continuously teach about current events in society through varying teaching methods. Empiric evidence shows also that the most positive influencing factors in teaching were the students themselves, while the inhibiting teaching factors were of an administrative nature. The conclusion drawn from the study concerns the teacher's need for adaptation to the school's specific culture and environment, working conditions with respect to available resources and the environment the students come from. The study's most important contribution confirms the correctness of the frame factor theoretical framework, that the teaching is designed with the help of different interpretations of the governing documents and is adapted to a specific student group. Consequently, lesson content, as well as requirements and assessment are different in different student group.