<p><strong>Background:</strong> In the schools today it is common that teachers talk about children with special needs and children with “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” – ADHD. You can often hear people discuss about children with ADHD from the teachers point of view, that pupils are hard to handle and that they do not know how to create a good relationship with them. But you seldom hear anyone talk about school from the children’s perspective, how they feel, think and experience their school attendance. </p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how a functional disability like ADHD can effect a childs schooling and also to show how pupils with ADHD themselves experience their school attendance and how they are being treated by teachers and other pupils.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> In order to investigate this, five interviews was carried out with students in the the ages of 16-25. I was interested in their experiences from their years in compulsory school, first to ninth grade. The theoretical basis in this study has been Vygotskijs socio-cultural perspective and concepts such as self-esteem and individualization.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> The result of the interviews shows that large classes and disturbing noises in the classroom affected the pupil’s concentration in a bad way. They felt that their teachers did not listen or understood their complex of problems, which resulted in frustration, disappointment and anger, which often led to conflicts. They also felt that the teachers very often criticized and punished them, which resulted in more frustration and decreased self-esteem. All respondents felt a kind of alienation because of the treatment from teachers and other children.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> One of the conclusions in this study is that the teachers did not have enough knowledge, understanding or competence to give the pupils the support they required, and therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of further education for teachers.</p>

The aim of this dissertation is to increase understanding of being a pupil in a remedial class. The thesis is based on interviews, questionnaires, and observations and includes parents, teachers, and pupils in ten remedial classes. Fifty-five percent of the studied pupils had no specific diagnosis. The thesis is based on five articles emanating from the interdisciplinary BASTA project (Basic skills, social interaction and training of the working memory). Article I focuses on self-concept, with a rating scale completed by the children. In Article II ethical issues related to the methodology of interviewing children are stressed. Article III focuses on teaching children in remedial classes, and is based on questionnaires completed by teachers and parents. Article IV is based on interviews with pupils. Article V is based on interviews with teachers and on classroom observations, and highlights the classroom climate. The theoretical approach used is a sociocultural perspective. From this perspective, learning is seen as becoming involved in different discourses, where interaction is seen as part of learning and development. The results of the thesis show that the pupils become bearers of the school’s perspective and blame the referral to remedial class on shortcomings in themselves. In transferring to the remedial class the pupils can lose their friends. Factors that reinforce this construction are the structured teaching and organisation of the classroom. These may hinder the pupils both in terms of friendship and of learning of subject knowledge. The main result is, however, that what the pupils in remedial classes primarily learn is to be pupils in remedial classes.

The intention of this study is to interview teachers in order to create a picture of how they look at their work with IUP (Plan of individual development). The main question formulated in my study is in what way IUP can become a contribution to the learner´s development. All teachers who participated in the interviews believe that the purpose of the document is to be proactive, developing and positive for the pupils. The teachers also believe that it is intended to serve as a clarification for pupils as well as teachers. It´s clear to see that the IUP generally is believed to be a supportive resource in education. The results of the interviews, however, show that the document does not in any significant way function as a support to the pupils and their learning during the term.  Most of the attention is put into the meeting between teacher, parents and pupil (“utvecklingssamtal”) held once per term, in which the individual plan also is set up. A variety of reasons contribute to the fact that the majority of the responding teachers do not enable the pupils themselves to use the document on a regular basis in everyday work. Only one of the participating teachers stated that she actively encouraged pupils to use their IUP on a continual basis during their school day. In the other cases the IUP was filed and often kept locked up while the pupil and the parents kept a copy at home. However, the pupils are involved in the establishing of the IUP and are given a good opportunity to take part in formulating its goals, based on their capacities. The pupil´s own wording is important to make him or her feel that the IUP is fit for them. There were different statements about how much and how often the teachers participate in discussing the work of IUP with colleagues. One conclusion is that there was, in most of the cases, a will to create a common interpretation in order to get more out of the document.

The purpose of this study is to describe some primary school teachers understanding of language development and approach of first and second language speakers with Arne Tragetons Writing to reading, for pupils in early ages. By using a qualitative method with interviews and participant observations and informal conversations, the basis for the survey was collected. Four teachers in three schools participated. The proportion of second-language pupils at each school was 35%, 17% and 0%. My theoretical starting point in the study was the hermeneutic research tradition, which has been used to interpret and understand the collected material. Theories of behaviorism, constructivism and socio-cultural perspective has been used in the analysis part of this study. Furthermore, the material has been compared against previous research on reading and writing development using computers. The development of reading and writing has been studied by the concept of functional reading and writing, theories of motivation, and pupil-oriented scaffolding of the proximal development zone. The results indicate that the teachers mainly use a sociocultural approach. They have a student close thinking in terms of both knowledge and interest in the implementation of teaching. The teachers take a positive view on learning with the aid of computer. They see the benefits that pupils have a good production of texts and that students have the opportunity to develop a meta-language through cooperation and dialogue when working with computers. A further result is that what is supportive for second language speaking pupils is also supportive for native language speaking pupils.

Studien syftar till att få en djupare insikt i hur sociala och kulturella faktorer påverkar barn och ungdomar i deras val av instrument för studier på en kulturskola. I bakgrundskapitlet presenteras tidigare forskning och annan relevant litteratur inom studiens ämnesområde. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkter utgörs av det sociokulturella perspektivet. Studiens metod utgörs av den kvalitativa intervjun. Sex nybörjare, tre flickor och tre pojkar i åldrarna 8-10 deltog i studien. I resultatet framkommer att omgivningen, media, musikskolan och barnet själv är faktorer som på olika sätt har påverkat barnen i deras val av instrument. Framförallt visas på att förebilder har haft en inspirerande påverkan och att informanterna bildade sig en egen uppfattning av vilka instrument de gillade och ogillade om de hade fått prova på att spela dessa. Även diskussionen lägger tonvikt på förebilder och barns egen uppfattning om val av instrument. Detta diskuteras i relation till tidigare forskning samt det sociokulturella perspektivet. / The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how social and cultural factors influence children and young people in their choice of instruments for studies at a music school. In the background chapter, previous research and other relevant literature in the study subject are presented. The study's theoretical point is the socio-cultural perspective. The study's method is the qualitative interview. Six novices, three girls and three boys between the ages of 8-10 participated in the study. The result shows that the environment, media, music school and the child itself are factors that in different ways have influenced the children in their choice of instruments. The result highlights that role models have had an inspiring effect and that informants formed their own opinion of what instruments they liked and disliked if they had the chance to play them. The discussion chapter also puts emphasis on role models and children’s own perception in the matter of choice of instruments. This is discussed in relation to previous research, and the socio-cultural perspective.

Background: In the schools today it is common that teachers talk about children with special needs and children with “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” – ADHD. You can often hear people discuss about children with ADHD from the teachers point of view, that pupils are hard to handle and that they do not know how to create a good relationship with them. But you seldom hear anyone talk about school from the children’s perspective, how they feel, think and experience their school attendance.  Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how a functional disability like ADHD can effect a childs schooling and also to show how pupils with ADHD themselves experience their school attendance and how they are being treated by teachers and other pupils. Method: In order to investigate this, five interviews was carried out with students in the the ages of 16-25. I was interested in their experiences from their years in compulsory school, first to ninth grade. The theoretical basis in this study has been Vygotskijs socio-cultural perspective and concepts such as self-esteem and individualization. Result: The result of the interviews shows that large classes and disturbing noises in the classroom affected the pupil’s concentration in a bad way. They felt that their teachers did not listen or understood their complex of problems, which resulted in frustration, disappointment and anger, which often led to conflicts. They also felt that the teachers very often criticized and punished them, which resulted in more frustration and decreased self-esteem. All respondents felt a kind of alienation because of the treatment from teachers and other children. Conclusions: One of the conclusions in this study is that the teachers did not have enough knowledge, understanding or competence to give the pupils the support they required, and therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of further education for teachers.

Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka hur fältsekreterare arbetar med och uppfattar det förebyggande arbetet med ungdomar. Studien har utformats som en kvalitativ intervjustudie där sju fältsekreterare från två olika kommuner deltagit. Intervjuerna utgick från en halvstrukturerad intervjuguide. Intervjuerna analyserades med hjälp av meningskoncentrering och tematisering. Studien har utgått från ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. Resultatet visar att fältsekreterarna som deltagit i studien utgår från tre olika nivåer i det förebyggande arbetet. De olika nivåerna skapar förutsättningar för fältsekreterarna att befinna sig på ungdomarnas olika arenor och därmed skapa sig en helhetssyn på ungdomarna. Målet med det förebyggande arbetet beskrivs utifrån syftet att skapa ett gott liv för ungdomarna. Det förebyggande arbetet bygger på kontaktskapande. Detta görs genom uppsökande arbete samt genom att möta ungdomarna utifrån deras perspektiv. Att skapa hållbara relationer beskrivs som viktigt. Detta görs genom att använda den egna personligheten som ett verktyg, samt genom att finnas kvar över tid för ungdomarna. Fältsekreterarna har beskrivit relationen som central och menar att den kan användas som ett verktyg för lärande och utveckling hos ungdomarna. Slutsatser som kan dras utifrån studiens resultat är att fältsekreterarna i sitt arbete strävar efter att arbeta utifrån en helhetssyn där ungdomens delaktighet i arbetet är i fokus. Ytterligare en slutsats är att relationen kan ses som ett centralt verktyg för ett lyckat förebyggande arbete / The purpose of this study was to investigate how field secretaries are working with and perceive the preventive work with young people. The study was designed as a qualitative study in which seven field secretaries from two different municipalities participated. The interviews were based on a half-structured interview guide. The interview data were coded and divided into relevant themes. The study was based on a socio-cultural perspective. The result revealed that the field secretaries who participated in the study based their work on three different levels of prevention. The different levels create conditions for the field secretaries to be on the young people's various venues and thereby gain a holistic view of the young people. The goal of prevention is described according to the purpose of creating a good life for young people. Preventative work is based on creating contacts. This is done through outreach work and by meeting young people from their perspective. Creating sustainable relationships are described as important. This is done by using one's own personality as a tool, as well as to continue to exist over time for the young people. The field secretaries have described the relationship's importance to their work and explain how it can be used as a tool for learning and development in the young people.A conclusion to be drawn from the study's results is that the field secretaries strive to work from a holistic view were the youths own participation in the work is the focus. Another conclusion is that the relationship can be seen as a key tool for a successful prevention

The purpose of the studyfocuses onhow teachersatan uppersecondary school, studentsin the autismspectrum,describetheir experiencesof working withmappingtools, Nylander(2012).Inmy research questionsIstarted fromthe teachers’ descriptions of their experiences of mapping procedures, if the outcome ofthe mapping hasinfluenced theteachers'educational work and ifmappingcould contribute tothe visibilityandclarification of the student´s functioning in aschool context. As the study is based on five interviews in which teachers reflect on their experiences from the tool of mapping, the socio-cultural perspective where learning takes place through interaction with the environment became a framework to build from. The method has been interviews based on a qualitative research interview. By using interviews, I was able to capture the diversity of the interviewees’ experiences described from the basis of an interview guide. This process also allowed room for flexibility where the interviewees were given the opportunity to elaborate on their views and ideas. This flexibility added valuable aspects of the teachers' experiences of mapping.   In the analysis ofmy result, I found that mappingwas importantin situations wherethe student'scontextneeded tobe made visible.The teachersexplained that themappingtoolwasan aidin understandinglearning andmoodas well asin detecting recurringpatterns in learning and mood. Based onthis information,teachersoccasionallyandin limitedcontextshave been able toadjust their teaching. Italso emerged that thetool of mappinghad notchanged theteachers'way of educating, butrather been used as a complementtothe learning situation. / Studiens syfte fokuserar på hur pedagoger på en gymnasiesärskola, elever inom autismspektrat, beskriver sina erfarenheter av att arbeta med ett kartläggande verktyg, Nylander (2012). I mina frågeställningar har jag utgått ifrån hur pedagogerna beskriver sina erfarenheter av kartläggningens genomförande, om resultatet av kartläggningen påverkat pedagogernas arbete i undervisningen och om kartläggningen kan bidra till ett synliggörande och tydliggörande av elevens fungerande i dess skolsammanhang.   Då studien bygger på fem intervjuer där pedagoger reflekterar utifrån verktyget kartläggning blev det sociokulturella perspektivet, där lärandet sker i samspel med omgivningen, en grund att utgå ifrån. Metoden har varit intervjuer utifrån en kvalitativ forskningsintervju. Genom att använda intervjuer kunde jag fånga den mångfald som de intervjuade beskrev utifrån en färdig intervjuguide. I denna process gavs även utrymme för flexibilitet där de intervjuade erbjöds möjlighet att utveckla sina synpunkter och idéer. Denna flexibilitet adderade värdefulla aspekter av pedagogernas erfarenheter kring kartläggning.     I analysen av mitt resultat fann jag att kartläggningen hade betydelse i situationer där elevens sammanhang behövde synliggöras. Pedagogerna förklarade att verktyget kartläggning blev ett stöd till förståelse av lärande och mående samt upptäckten av återkommande mönster i dessa. Utifrån denna information har pedagogerna stundtals och i begränsade kontexter kunnat anpassa undervisningen. Här framkom även att verktyget inte hade förändrat pedagogernas sätt att undervisa, utan snarare blivit ett komplement i lärsituationen.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om det finns grundläggande skillnader i undervisningsmetoder och pedagogiska förhållningssätt mellan fiolpedagoger inom genren svensk folkmusik. Jämförelsen fokuserar på lärare med respektive utan formell musiklärarexamen inom genren. Fyra kvalitativa telefonintervjuer har legat till grund för undersökningen där de med respektive utan examen representerats av två personer var. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten för studien har varit det sociokulturella perspektivet. Studiens resultat visar att det är mer som förbinder än som skiljer de fyra pedagogerna åt. Här finns ett betonande av gehörsundervisning, spelglädje och musikalisk funktion, vilket hör till traditionen i den svenska folkmusikgenren. Detta är en stor del av det sociokulturella perspektivet där tradition, sociala sammanhang och fysiska artefakter är centralt. Dock är det möjligt att se ett tydligare inslag av institutionaliserade kunskaper bland de med formell lärarexamen. Här finns ett större användande av noter och en något mer uttalad progression i pedagogiken. Här finns också en större öppenhet för genrebredd, medan de utan musiklärarexamen mer renodlat inriktar sig på svensk folkmusik och vad genrens historik grundas på. / The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there are fundamental differences in methodologies and pedagogical approach between violin pedagogues of the genre of Swedish folk music. The comparison focuses on teachers with and without formal music teacher education in the genre. Four qualitative telephone interviews were the basis for the study, where two people each represented those with and without a degree. The theoretical starting point for the study has been the socio-cultural perspective. The results demonstrate that there is more connecting than separating the four teachers ate. Here is an emphasis on ear training teaching, joy and musical function, which belongs to the tradition of the Swedish folk music genre. This way of working is connected to the socio-cultural perspective, where tradition, social context, and physical artefacts are in focus. However, it is possible to see a clearer part of institutionalized knowledge among the teachers with formal teaching qualification. These teachers have a greater use of notes and a slightly more pronounced progression in education. They also have a greater openness to all music, while those without a music teacher education more purely focuses on Swedish folk music and what the genre's history is based on.

The main domain in which eating disorders are defined is medical, whereas socio-cultural perspectives are less common. Because social workers seeks to explain different problems taking societal factors into account, we asked ourselves if social workers have a way of understanding eating disorders, that is different from a medical point of view. Two focus group interviews were conducted; the one composed by social workers with experience of working with eating disorders, and the other by social workers without that experience, which enabled comparisons. The interviews were analyzed using socio-cultural and feminist perspectives. The result showed that the social workers use socio-cultural perspectives in explaining eating disorders. Both groups also emphasized the medical perspective, but the first group where less willing than the other to depart from this perspective. The conclusion were made that the social workers having experience of working with eating disorders are more into the medical discourse than are the ones without this experience. / Ätstörningar tolkas företrädesvis utifrån ett medicinskt perspektiv, medan förklaringar med utgångspunkt i perspektiv som betonar samhälleliga och kulturella orsaker är mindre vanliga. Eftersom sociokulturella faktorer, inom det sociala arbetets disciplin, är en central referenspunkt till de förklaringar som söks till olika problem, frågade vi oss om socionomer har ett annat sätt att se på ätstörningar, som skiljer sig från ett medicinskt synsätt. Två fokusgruppintervjuer genomfördes med socionomer med respektive utan erfarenhet av arbete med ätstörningar. På så sätt kunde jämförelser mellan grupperna göras. Materialet analyserades med hjälp av sociokulturella och feministiska perspektiv. Resultatet visade att socionomerna har en syn på ätstörningar som inkluderar sociokulturella faktorer. Även det medicinska perspektivet framhölls av båda grupperna, men gruppen med erfarenhet av arbete med ätstörningar var mindre benägen att frångå detta perspektiv. Av detta drogs slutsatsen att socionomerna som arbetar med ätstörningar är mer influerade av det medicinska synsättet än socionomerna utan denna erfarenhet.