This case study was conducted to give an in-depth analysis of the local stakeholder’s views on the role of education in Babati, Tanzania. The goal is to investigate differences and similarities between the views in Babati and mainstream western views, exemplified by the theory of Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen while being attentive to gender and socioeconomic differences. The purpose of this study is to examine local stakeholders' views, mainly guardians and educators on the role of education and to relate these to western mainstream views. The study results have been achieved with the help of the fieldwork executed in Babati, Tanzania where interviews and observations were made.  Previous literature emphasizes that education is considered necessary for enabling problem-solving, and fostering individual and societal advancements. Further, education is declared to be a right for all on the justification that it works to strengthen the respect of human rights, fundamental freedom and the development of human personality. Despite the consensus on the importance of education, the role of education remains complex and differs across contexts and socioeconomic groups, including gender and socioeconomic differences.  The quality, access, and attitudes to education in Tanzania have changed during recent years. These changes resonate with, among other things, higher enrollment, increased number of schools, educators with higher qualifications, and food served at school. The results show that education is perceived as central in the widely agreed upon quest to shape children into “good people” and that lead “good lives”. Although there are obstacles that hinder people from achieving these outcomes and reaching their fullest potential.

The main purpose of this C-essay is to answer the question: What have been the consequences and effects of the merit point system on language studies and the parties concerned (teachers, students and principals) during the school year of 2010/11? The merit point system is the result of a political decision and was implicated for the first time in the Swedish upper secondary school during the school year 2010/2011. Being a completely new phenomenon it is of great interest and importance to study its effects. The study in this essay also aims to verify, falsify or nullify two hypotheses very often referred to in the political discussions regarding the merit point system: The merit point system will replace affection and interest as main reasons for language studies in upper secondary school and cause a rectification amongst the students choices of additional courses. The merit point system will have a segregating effect upon society and make it harder for people to rise in society through education in the future. A verification of these hypotheses would imply the appearance of an increased rectification amongst students as well as an orientation towards an in the future more segregated society. The empiric material has been collected and examined with qualitative as well as quantitative methods (questionnaires and interviews) and belongs epistemologically to the phenomenological and hermeneutical traditions.

I denna studie har vi med ett kvantitativt tillvägagångsätt analyserat hur den självskattade hälsan hos en sjukdomspopulation förhåller sig till socioekonomiska faktorer, social kontext och de tre inkomsthypoteserna. De tre inkomsthypoteserna avser absolutinkomsthypotesen, relativinkomsthypotesen och inkomstskillnadshypotesen. Datamaterialet som ligger till grund för denna studie baseras på registerdata över cirka 7700 patienter över 18 år från Stockholms län som genomgått ryggkirurgi under åren 2006–2016. Den självskattade hälsan analyserades både vid inskrivningstillfället i samband med ryggkirurgi samt som förändringen i den självskattade hälsan från inskrivningstillfället till ett år efter operationen. Till vår vetskap har tidigare forskning inte i någon större utsträckning analyserat sambandet mellan socioekonomiska faktorer och förändringen i självskattad hälsa i samband med vårdinsats, vilket är en del av vårt forskningsbidrag. Resultaten indikerar att social kontext inte har ett statistiskt signifikant samband med förändringen i självskattad hälsa. Vid analys av den initiala hälsonivån finner vi dock tvetydiga resultat för inkomstskillnadshypotesen och relativinkomsthypotesen. Vi finner att absolutinkomsten har en positiv korrelation med den självskattade hälsan både vid inskrivningstillfället och vid förändringen. Vi finner även att universitetsutbildning har ett statiskt signifikant och positivt samband med förändringen i självskattad hälsa dock gäller inte detta för den självskattade hälsan vid inskrivningstillfället. Våra resultat indikerar även att vara född utanför Europa har en statistiskt signifikant negativ korrelation med den självskattade hälsan vid inskrivningstillfället samt vid förändringen i självskattad hälsa. Våra resultat ger en djupare förståelse för vilka faktorer som kan ligga till grund för skillnader i självskattad hälsa hos en sjukdomspopulation. Vidare ger studien underlag för utformning av policyrekommendationer som riktar sig mot en jämnare fördelning av hälsa i samhället genom implementering av tolk och individuellt anpassad information / In this study, we analyzed the correlation between differences in self-reported health, socioeconomic status, social context and the three income hypotheses. The three income hypotheses refer to the absolute income hypothesis, the relative income hypothesis and the income inequality hypothesis. The sample of our study consists of about 7700 individuals age 18 and above from Stockholm county who have gone through surgery due to back pain in the years 2006-2016. With a quantitative approach, we analyzed the correlations between socioeconomic status, social context and health at two times in conjunction to a health care input. To our knowledge has previous research not to a greater extent analyzed the connection between socioeconomic status and the change in health in connection to a health care input, which is part of the contribution of this study. The results indicate that social context does not have a statistically significant correlation with the change in health after a health care input, although we find ambiguous results for the income inequality hypothesis and the relative income hypothesis when analyzing the initial health status. We find that absolute income has a statistically significant and positive correlation with both the initial self-rated health and the change in self rated health over time. An education at university has a statistically significant and positive correlation with the change in self-rated health between the two-time periods, however we do not find this result for the initial health status. Our results indicate that to be born outside of Europe correlates negatively and statistically significant with the change in selfreported health and the initial health status. Our results give a deeper understanding and knowledge to which factors that could explain differences in health for a population with a defined disease. Furthermore, based on our results we give policy recommendations targeted at a more even distribution of health in Sweden through implementing the use of translators and individually customized information.

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.

Introduktion: Fysisk inaktivitet beskrivs idag som ett växande globalt folkhälsoproblem där en tredjedel av världens alla vuxna inte når upp till de internationella rekommendationerna för fysisk aktivitet. Fysisk inaktivitet fastställs även som en av de ledande riskfaktor för förtida död och förknippas ofta med sjukdomar som hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar, diabetes och cancer. Kvinnor i åldrarna 18–64 år boende i socioekonomiskt utsatta områden beskrivs vara i särskild risk för fysisk inaktivitet, framförallt då bristande möjligheter till att utöva fysisk aktivitet är ledande för denna befolkningsgrupp. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att beskriva vilka riskfaktorer som kan bidra till fysisk inaktivitet samt vilka skyddsfaktorer som kan bidra till fysisk aktivitet bland kvinnor i åldrarna 18–64 år i socioekonomiskt utsatta områden i höginkomstländer. Metod: Den metod som tillämpades var en systematisk litteraturöversikt där 20 vetenskapliga artiklar stod till grund för resultatet. De databaser som användes i studien var PubMed och Medline och de vetenskapliga artiklarna var publicerade mellan år 2005–2020. Vidare granskades och bearbetats dessa artiklar utifrån en tematisk innehållsanalys. Resultat: Resultatet redovisades med utgångspunkt från tre huvudteman; socioekonomiska faktorer, psykosociala faktorer samt fysisk miljö. I resultatet framkom det att faktorer som låg utbildningsnivå, låg nivå av self-efficacy, avsaknad av socialt stöd samt bristande ekonomiska förutsättningar och fysisk miljö var påverkande orsaker till fysisk inaktivitet bland kvinnor i socioekonomiskt utsatta områden. Slutsats: Utifrån resultatet går det att dra slutsatsen att fysisk inaktivitet bland kvinnor i socioekonomiskt utsatta områden är ett synnerligen viktigt ämne som berör många perspektiv, både på individnivå och på samhällsnivå. Den fysiska inaktiviteten bland kvinnor i socioekonomiskt missgynnade stadsdelar handlar i stora delar om brist på de skyddsfaktorer som kan bidra till en ökad fysisk aktivitet. / Introduction: Physical inactivity is described as a growing global public health problem where one third of all the world’s adults do not achieve the international recommendations for physical activity. Physical inactivity is also identified as one of the leading risk factors for premature death and is often associated with diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Women aged 18-64 living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods are described as being at particular risk of physical inactivity, especially as lack of opportunitiesis common among this group of population when it comes to physical activity. Aim: The aim of this literature study is to describe the risk factors that can contribute to physical inactivity and the protective factors that can contribute to physical activity among women aged 18-64 living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods in high-income countries. Methods: The method used was a systematic literature review based on 20 scientific articles.The databases that were used in the study were PubMed and Medline and the scientific articles were published between 2005–2020. Furthermore, these articles were reviewed and processed on the basis of a thematic content analysis. Results: The results were presented on the basis of three main themes; socioeconomic factors, psychosocial factors and physical environment. The results showed that factors such as low level of education, low level of self efficacy, lack of social support and lack of financial prerequisites and physical environment were influential causes of physical inactivity among women in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that physical inactivity among women in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods is a particularly important topic that affects many perspectives, both at the individual level and at the societal level. The physical inactivity among women in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods is largely due to a lack of the protective factors that can contribute to increased physical activity.