of THESIS The aim of the thesis "Projects of environmental education at a preliminary class" is to point to more effective ways leading to better integration of children coming of socioculturally disadvantaging environment to an education process by means of environmental education projects. The theoretical part of this thesis, issuing from the expert literature, deals with upbringing and education of pupils at the preliminary class of the special primary school, with general rules of creating/carrying out projects. The applied part includes the concrete elaborated projects. The observation is focused on analysis of importance of concrete activities accomplished within the projects for asuccessful participation of the target group in the education process.

The aim of this study is to examine how a group of bilingual 9th grade students perceive their language development and their linguistic identity through Swedish as a second language. This study focuses on an interview with students in the 9th grade. The content of the interview is analyzed by two theoretical perspectives, Säljö perspective of socio-cultural learning and Lorentz & Bergstedt perspective of intercultural learning. The results from the study show that the students who participated in the interview experience that their language development is influenced by their surroundings, it has also led to the students having multiple linguistic identities.

This research paper presents a study exploring if using the Conversational Analysis (CA) method in design research could result in designing more socioculturally contextual conversational agents. The research specifically focused on understanding the 1) effect on the design outcome and 2) the role in the design process. This was studied through practice-based design research, participant evaluation of the design outcome, and expert interviews on the design method. The findings were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively and showed, that socioculturally contextual design could potentially be a data-rich field of study with connections to design concepts such as inclusive design, affective design, design ethics, increased user experience, and further studies are therefore recommended. Furthermore, the study provided an understanding of the contexts in which the CA method may be useful in design, how it can potentially impact the design, and how to apply it to the design process and showed a positive effect on the design outcome in terms of socioculturally contextual design.

This PhD thesis was set to examine newcomer teenagers’ identity as learners of mathematics and English as an Additional Language (EAL) in the context of their transition into the Canadian educational system. Drawing on Ivanič (1998) who suggests a four-part model for the conceptualization of identity as a co-constitutive multi-dimensional framework, and addressing Ricoeur’s (1992) etymological distinction between idem and ipse (identity as sameness and identity as selfhood), a research design was set up to allow for an exploration of newcomer teenagers’ identity as learners of mathematics and of English as an Additional Language (EAL). The theoretical framework of this study draws on Ivanič’s (1998) four identity-related dimensions of (a) autobiographical identities, (b) authorial identities, (c) discoursal identities, and (d) socioculturally available selfhoods. The research design comprised three sets of data collection through family and individual interviews and focus group discussions. Following a dissemination of a Call for Participants, six families who have recently emigrated from Israel to Canada expressed interest to participate in the research. In total, six sessions of 90-minute family-unit interviews, 16 sessions of 90-minute individual interviews, and two sets of all-parent and all-teenage focus groups lasting 90-minute each yielded 26 interviews of over 39 hours. Data were organized according to the four identity-related dimensions that are developed in the theoretical framework of this study. Multiple, iterative rounds of analyses were conducted to first examine how identity is formulated in and through each of the four dimensions identified in the research literature and later explore the inter-relationship between the four identified dimensions and emergent themes. Findings reveal that teenage newcomers’ identity as learners of mathematics and EAL is multifarious, multidirectional, and inter-animated. While the teenage newcomers struggle with their developing identities as speakers of EAL and learners of mathematics in a new educational system, their collective identity as Israelis who make it against all odds, their developing stances in relation to EAL and mathematics, and the socioculturally available selfhoods draw a complex picture that depicts identity work in its making. Given the findings, the study adds to our understanding of the multifaceted and multidirectional nature of identity as crucial in the learning of EAL and mathematics among teenage newcomers.