published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

In this thesis I explore issues of food security and food-identity relationships among international students at the University of Guelph and the University of Windsor. I argue students who attempt to maintain traditional diets are more likely to experience food insecurity than students who explore diverse foods because they are more likely to be negatively affected by food availability, food access and structural barriers. What students eat can also have implications for identity maintenance and identity creation. Thus in this thesis I also explore the relationship between food and identity by considering how identity and food-security can be closely related to preferred food availability and accessibility. I argue that students consume certain foods as a means to maintain and create identities, and as such I suggest that familiar food eaters may experience a sense of losing their identities as their food insecurity increases.

The central role of education for sustainable development (SD) has been emphasized since the 1990s. SD involves the three areas of environment, economy and society, with a focus on the relationships between environmental protection and human development. Education for sustainable development (ESD) takes a holistic view on the environmental, economic and social dimensions of SD and aims to empower students to engage in the democratic development of society in a more sustainable direction. Policy-level and research community discussions have addressed the ways in which ESD has been implemented internationally. This study focuses on upper secondary students, and investigates their views on sustainability and the ways they make decisions related to SD. The study aims to address the interdisciplinary and multidimensional content embraced in the concept of SD and the development of competences often associated with ESD. A survey investigating students’ (n=638) sustainability consciousness (SC) and their decision-making in a number of SD related contexts was conducted in 15 Swedish upper secondary schools. The results show that students attending schools with an ESD profile are characterized by stronger SC than students attending regular schools; however the difference is small and mostly related to the economic dimension of SD. Furthermore, students who prioritize environmental decisions in SD dilemmas show stronger SC than students giving priority to economic reasons. When environmental, economic and social dimensions are introduced separately, social aspects are given the highest priority by the students. In contrast, environmental aspects are up-graded when the dimensions are introduced in an integrated manner. However, different dimensions are prioritized in different contexts. The study provides empirical support for using multiple contexts and including both harmonious and conflict-based perspectives on SD in education. It also contributes knowledge to the discussion about the implementation of ESD in Sweden in terms of outcomes among students. / This study addresses the interdisciplinary and multidimensional content embraced in the concept of sustainable development (SD) and the development of competences often associated with education for sustainable development (ESD). A survey was conducted among 638 students from 15 upper secondary schools, investigating their sustainability consciousness (SC) and their decision-making in relation to a number of sustainability dilemmas. The results showed that students attending schools with an ESD profile were characterized by stronger SC than students attending regular schools; however the difference between the groups was small and mostly related to the economic dimension of SD. Students who prioritized environmental decisions in SD dilemmas showed stronger SC than students who prioritized economic reasons. The SD dimensions were given varying importance depending on the context and whether a harmony-based or a conflict-based perspective on environmental, economic and social dimensions was used. The study provides support for using multiple perspectives and including both harmonious- and conflict-based perspectives on SD in education. It also contributes knowledge of the implementation of ESD in Sweden in terms of the student sustainability consciousness in the two groups.

This essay gives examples of possible ways to inspire young adults to become politically more aware and active using dystopian fiction in the EFL classroom. First, an overview of the dystopian genre and different ways of using it in the EFL classroom to improve critical thinking skills will be given. Subsequently, different scenes from The Hunger Games will be analyzed to show how young adults can be inspired to be more aware of social and environmental justice and to act. Finally, it is discussed why literary material in a classroom must relate to a student’s personal life and why the relevance must be explained to a student to raise their interest. As a conclusion, it is claimed that it cannot be expected that all students care for the world, but showing them why they should and how they could do it is a first step.

Syftet med den här studien var att göra en kvantitativ datainsamling för att kartlägga om det fanns ett samband mellan användning av sociala medier, spel- och studietimmar och stress hos gymnasieungdomar i årskurs 3. Mätinstrumenten som användes var Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS) och Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) samt två frågor om elevernas spel-och studietimmar.       Resultatet visade att det inte fanns några korrelationer som gav stöd för hypoteserna förutom när det gällde kvinnor, men eftersom de var underrepresenterade var det inte en stark sådan. Enligt resultaten för samband mellan stress, medieanvändning, studietimmar och speltimmar för kvinnor och män fanns det ett medelstarkt positivt samband mellan medieanvändning och studietimmar (r=.556), vilket innebar att ju större användning av sociala medier kvinnorna hade desto fler studietimmar hade de.       Lämplig framtida forskning skulle kunna vara kvantitativa longitudinella studier för att få en bredare analys. Som komplement skulle en kvalitativ intervjustudie kunna användas för djupare analyser inom området. / The aim of this study was to make a quantitative data collection to investigate the relationship between social media usage, time spent gaming, time spent studying and stress of upper secondary school students in grade 3. Two survey methods which were used in the study were Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and two questions concerning time spent gaming and time spent on homework.       The result showed no significant correlations to support the hypotheses except for women but as they were underrepresented the correlation was insignificant. According to the results as for the relationship between social media usage, time spent gaming, time spent studying and stress of upper secondary school students for men and women a medium strong positive correlation (r=.556) between social media usage and time spent on homework was found in the study which implies that the more social media usage for women, the more time spent studying. Future research should consider quantitative longitudinal studies for broader analyses. Qualitative studies with interviews would help achieving a deeper analysis in the field.

This study focuses on students in upper secondary school and their experiences of citizenship related to the school subject of social science. Education is a central part when describing adolescents’ citizenship because the school has a democratic commitment to form democratic citizens. The subject of social science has for various reasons become the subject where civic knowledge is mediated. The purpose of the study is to describe students experiences as citizens and to provide further understanding of how they relate to citizenship. The study also aims to examine their perceptions of the content in social science as part of the development of their citizenship. The empirical data consists of semi-structured interviews with seven upper secondary students between the ages of 17-19. The theoretical outset is based on a feminist approach to adolescents’ citizenship but is mainly focused on Lister’s four building blocks. Biesta’s three functions for good education is used to analyse the students’ perceptions of the subject social science. The results of this study indicate that social science is a superficial and broad subject. The subject contributes with knowledge and skills that can be related to what the students think is appropriate for a citizen to know. The knowledge and skills mentioned are to understand the structure of society, to discuss and be able to form an opinion and to be critical of what sources are being used. A citizenship, according to the students, is based on belonging, respect and solidarity, skills and to obey the laws. The results also show that their own experiences as citizens vary depending on situations that appear within their school. Their role as citizens is degraded because of their age and they are met with a lack of respect from older citizens. One of my conclusions is that the citizenship of upper secondary students can seem ambivalent because they are sometimes seen as adults and sometimes, they are seen as children. Another conclusion is that social science contributes to different civic skills which is also considered important for their interpretation of citizenship.