The purpose of this study was to investigate how the special education, for children with language impairment in preschool, was organised in a municipality in Sweden. The study was based on interviews and field studies as the primary research tools in qualitative and ethnographic method. The result showed that special education teachers were localised in different geographic areas of school and that there were preschools that lacked special educational expertise in language impairment. Literature and the importance of playing for language development were emphasised as well as the use of signs and visual aids as augmentative and alternative communication. In the preschool for children with language impairment, the teachers carried their knowledge into practical and pedagogical work. Different professions were involved in the work with the children with language impairment. Analysis based on the special educational perspectives showed that there was an emphasis on the compensatory perspective. There was also a strong main focus in sociocultural theory that highlighted that children acquire and develop language in social interaction with the environment.

Sammanfattning Syftet med studien är att undersöka förskollärares och specialpedagogers definitioner av inkluderingsbegreppet och deras arbetssätt för att skapa en miljö där alla barn får samma förutsättningar. Studien analyserades genom tematisk analys i relation till den sociala, didaktiska och rumsliga inkluderingen och det kompensatoriska, kritiska och dilemmaperspektivet. Datamaterialet samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med en kvalitativ metod. Resultaten visade att specialpedagoger och förskollärare beskrev inkludering som brett och komplext. De betonade vikten av att anpassa miljön och undervisningen för att främja inkluderingen i verksamheten. Genom att använda TAKK kunde pedagogerna stödja barn med särskilda behov i sitt lärande. Pedagogerna beskrev att inkludering innebär att lyssna på barns åsikter och att barns olikheter kan vara en resurs eller ett problem. Studiens slutsats var att begreppet inkludering är mångtydigt.   Nyckelord: Inkludering, miljö, undervisning, specialpedagogiska perspektiv / Abstract   The purpose of the study is to examine preschool teachers’ and special educators’ definitions of the concept of inclusion, and their working methods to creating an environment where all children have the same opportunities. The study was analyzed by using thematic analysis in relation to social, didactic and spatial inclusion, and to compensatory, critical and dilemma perspectives. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews using a qualitative method. The results showed that special educators and preschool teachers described inclusion as broad and complex. They emphasized the importance of adapting the environment and teaching to promote inclusion in the activities. By using TAKK, the educators were able to support children with special needs in their learning. The educators described that inclusion means listening to children’s opinions and viewing their differences as a resource or a problem. The study concluded that the concept of inclusion is multifaceted.     Keywords: inclusion, environment, teaching, adaptation, special educational perspectives.

Syftet med min undersökning är att studera sydafrikanska pedagogers perspektiv på barn i behov av särskilt stöd i förskolan och förskoleklassen. I syftet ingår också att undersöka pedagogers syn på vilka resurser som finns för dessa barn. Jag har använt mig av metoden kvalitativa intervjuer för att få öppna och detaljerade beskrivningar från pedagogerna. Pedagogerna menade att barn i behov av särskilt stöd är barn som avviker från kamraterna i kunskaps- och mognadsnivå samt barn med funktionsnedsättningar, sjukdomar eller sociala problem. De sydafrikanska pedagogerna hade två perspektiv på barn i behov av särskilt stöd. Det första är det kategoriska perspektivet och innebär att dela upp barn i kategorier, t.ex. barn med inlärningssvårigheter. Det andra perspektivet är det relationella perspektivet som innebär att miljön och verksamheten runtomkring avgör om ett barn är i behov av särskilt stöd eller inte. Pedagogerna menar att de inte har speciella hjälpmedel för barn i behov av särskilt stöd. För att motivera barnen använder pedagogerna kreativa metoder, till exempel låter de dem skriva i sand, på griffeltavlan och vara delaktiga. De gör vad de kan med de begränsade resurserna. / The purpose of the study is to explore the views from South African educators on children in need of special support in preschool. The purpose also includes to study the educator’s view on what resources there are for these children. I have used the method qualitative interviews to capture open and detailed descriptions from the educators. The South African educators mean that children in need of special support are children who differ from their peers in knowledge and maturity level, and children with disabilities, sicknesses or social problems. The South African educators had two perspectives on children in need of special support. The first is the categorical perspective, which means that they divide learners in categories, for example learners having learning disabilities. The second one is relational perspective which means that the surrounding environment determines if a child is in need of special support or not. The educators mean they don’t have enough resources for children in need of special support. To motivate the children the educators use creative methods, for example write in sand, on the chalkboard and let them be active. They do what they can with limited resources.

The aim of this study was to, from a special educational approach, describe and analyse nine teachers and headmasters experiences and perceptions of the use of laptos, ”1-1”, as a tool for working with 13-16 year old pupils born outside of Sweden and with special educational needs (SEN). Interviews were used for data collection. The interview material was analysed with the phenomenografic analysis method and with meaning condensation method. The result was analysed through three perspectives on special education and the concept of inclusion as the study’s frame of reference. The major result showed that teachers perceived 1-1 facilitated adaption of instruction to multicultural instruction groups. 1-1 also enabled a more individualised and inclusive instruction when pupils could get indvidualised tasks and study material and a lot of technical support in their computers. Cooperation with schoolmates and with families was not facilitated with 1-1, rather were many difficulties exposed in this area.

Subitiseringsförmåga ses som en grundläggande färdighet inom taluppfattning. Syftet med studien var att bidra med kunskap om sambandet mellan konceptuell subitisering och taluppfattning, samt vilken påverkan vårt interventionsprogram har på elever med svag konceptuell subitiseringsförmåga. Syftet var också att synliggöra utvecklingsarbetet av ett interventionsprogram i konceptuell subitisering. Interventionen genomfördes med 15 elever i årskurs 4 med två till fyra elever i varje grupp. Upplägget som var grundat i konstruktivismen byggde på att använda konkret material med gemensamma diskussioner. Före och efter interventionen gjordes tester för att kartlägga elevernas kunskapsnivåer. Kvantitativ metod användes för att få svar på våra forskningsfrågor om korrelation mellan konceptuell subitiseringsförmåga och taluppfattning samt interventionsprogrammets påverkan på elevernas konceptuella subitiseringsförmåga och taluppfattning. Resultaten visade att interventionsgruppen förbättrat sig något mer än kontrollgruppen gällande både subitiseringsförmåga och taluppfattning. Resultaten visade också på en viss korrelation mellan konceptuell subitiseringsförmåga och taluppfattning. Det är svårt att dra några generella slutsatser kring resultaten eftersom urvalet i studien var litet och skillnaderna mellan interventionsgrupp och kontrollgrupp små. Kvalitativ metod med återkommande reflekterande samtal användes för att besvara forskningsfrågan om interventionsprogrammets påverkan på elevernas kunskapsutveckling, engagemang och självförtroende samt för att synliggöra vilka förändringar som behövde göras i programmet. Eleverna visade engagemang och självförtroendet gällande taluppfattning. Vi såg detta genom elevernas höga aktivitetsnivå, kreativitet och rikliga kommunikation. Förändringar av interventionsprogrammet gjordes främst genom att göra övningarna enklare eller mer utmanande. För att tolka och förstå konsekvenserna av de perspektivval som gjordes under interventionen gällande metoder för att möta elevers olikheter, åtgärda svårigheter och undanröja hinder använde vi oss av två grundläggande specialpedagogiska perspektiv, relationellt respektive kategoriskt. Intervention som specialpedagogisk insats kan utveckla elevers matematiska förmågor och därmed minska risken för misslyckande med samhälleliga begränsningar som följd. Intervention kan som i vår studie även användas som ett verktyg för professionsutveckling. / Subitizing ability is seen as a basic skill in number sense. The purpose of this study was to contribute with knowledge about the connection between conceptual subitization and number sense and what impact our intervention program may have on students with weak conceptual subitizing ability. The purpose was also to make the development process visible in our work with an intervention program in conceptual subitizing. The intervention was implemented with 15 students in year 4, with two to four students in each group. The design of the intervention was founded in constructivism. Concrete materials and joint discussions were used. To map the students’ knowledge development, tests were performed both before and after the intervention. Quantitative methods were used to answer our research questions about the correlation between conceptual subitizing ability and number sense, as well as the intervention program’s impact on students' conceptual subitizing ability and number sense. The results showed that the intervention group improved slightly more than the control group in terms of both subitizing ability and number sense. The results also showed a minor correlation between conceptual subitizing ability and number sense. It is difficult to make any general conclusions from the results because the sample in the study was small and the differences between the intervention group and control group were small. Qualitative methods with recurring reflective conversations were used to answer the research question about the intervention program’s impact on knowledge development, students’ commitment and self-confidence and to identify which changes that need to be done to the program. The students showed commitment and self-confidence regarding number sense. We saw this through the students’ high level of activity, their creativity and abundant communication. The changes to the intervention program consisted mainly of making the exercises simpler or more challenging. In order to understand the consequences of the perspective choices made during the intervention regarding methods for meeting students’ differences, resolving difficulties and removing obstacles, we used two basic special educational perspectives: the relational and the categorical. Intervention as a special educational effort can develop students' mathematical abilities and thereby decrease the risk of failure with societal limitations as a result. As in our study, intervention can beused as an implement for professional development.