As a teacher of the New South Wales Higher School Certificate Geography Syllabus in the 1970s, I became aware of problems of interpretation and implementation of syllabus documents dealing with models and theories of human aggregate behaviour. A positivistic underpinning allowed explanation in human geography to employ deductive - nomological methodology. This field study investigates a defined literature of academic geography including journals, and both secondary and tertiary documents to identify the extent and quality of nomothetic and idiographic traditions from the late 19th century to the mid 1970s. The literature prior to the late 1950s revealed a dominant regional tradition and idiographic methodology with an emphasis on description of uniqueness of areal phenomena. But underlying currents of a nomothetic nature, running parallel to this regionalidiographic tradition,exerted a noticeable challenge to gain acceptance in geographic circles. This kind of nomothetism was in the form of environmental determinism which held that physical laws operating in nature were also at work to shape and direct human societies. Environmental determinism contained generalised assertions, enjoyed some appeal, but lacked rigorous justification. Even within regional frameworks, authors used environmentally induced determinants to explain the unique character of regions. Not until the 1930s did environmental determinism lose its appeal, after which time the regional - idiographic tradition strengthened as an explanatory mode of human behaviour. Nomothetism emerged in the late 1950s in Australia in the application of models and theories explaining human behaviour. Normative theory was supported by an increased use of quantification and by the growing preference for systematic studies in geography. Neither mode of explanation exists at the total exclusion of the other; so that while nomothetism enjoyed widespread appeal in academic geography from the late 1950s, significant challenges were mounted against it because of its inadequacies as a mode of explaining human aggregate behaviour. Nomothetic explanation in human geography can be seen at the research level and in education circles. Many normative models and theories found their way into senior geography courses to the extent they promoted a systems approach. Teachers would have been aware of normative theory in geography from their university studies and teacher training courses during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. The tension between associated explanatory modes in systematic and regional geography becomes apparent in the analysis of the N.S.W. H.S.C. Geography Syllabus in which confusing statements raise problems for teachers interpreting and implementing this prescriptive document. Given these tensions and problems of explanation in human geography, the adoption of a critical rationalist viewpoint as propounded by Karl Popper is suggested as a possible solution for geography teachers when interpreting a syllabus such as that of the N.S.W. H.S.C. Falsification rather than verification should be the node of inquiry towards explanation of human aggregate behaviour.

This Study considers some of the problems and solutions to the needs of Vietnamese tertiary students with respect to writing in English in the University setting. The Study identifies that writing English as a foreign language has been and continues to be a f u n d a mental difficulty for Vietnamese tertiary students. Consequently, in order to understand the difficulty and the needs of such students, this Study enters into a consideration of the language and learning needs of the target population and describes the teaching strategy and syllabus content necessary to assist such students to function in English writing more adequately. In order to realise these aims, the Study reviews the relevant literature with respect to: (i) the development of the theory of the concept of writing in a foreign language , and (ii) the teaching of different foreign language teaching methods in the twentieth century. Finally , details of syllabus design and suggested techniques are presented in Appendices 1 and 2 respectively.

<p><strong>Purpose</strong>: Investigate how fiction can be used in the intermediate school in order to give the students a chance to reach goals in the curriculum and the syllabus.</p><p><strong>Question formulation</strong>: How is fiction used today in order to reach goals in the syllabus and curriculum? How can fiction be used to reach the goals?</p><p><strong>Method</strong>: I have read three fictional books which are used in the intermediate school at two schools today and analysed how these books can be useful to be able to reach goals considering democracy, equality and fair treatment. I did a small interview with two teachers in Swedish who uses these books in their teaching to see how the books are used at the moment and what goals the teachers have set up for their students to reach.</p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong>: Seen to the analysis that I have made I find fiction to be very useful in school as a tool which can be used to reach goals in the syllabus and curriculum which is the foundation of our school today by using discussions as a method of making the students understand what they have read. Teachers who use fiction think that it is a good way of making the students aware of the different worldviews that exists.</p>

<p>Syftet med undersökningen har varit att undersöka hur eleverna uppfattar textilslöjden. Jag ville ta reda på hur de uppfattar textilslöjden som ämne och även vad de anser att ämnet går ut på. Tycker eleverna de någon nytta av textilslöjden, eller är det ett ämne som tjänat ut sin roll? Eleverna går i årskurs 9 i en skola i Mellansverige. Intervjuerna har utförts som gruppintervjuer, fyra grupper med 3-4 elever i varje grupp. De uppmanades att reflektera över alla år de haft textilslöjd, alltså från årskurs 3-9. Frågorna rörde sig inom två områden. Det ena området rörde slöjden som ämne och det andra berörde undervisningen. Resultatet visade att eleverna ser ämnet till stor del som en förberedelse för vuxenlivet. De tyckte att de på fritiden har stor nytta av de kunskaper de fått i slöjden. De menade att det inte bara är de olika teknikerna de lärt sig, utan också att de kunskaper de fått, gör att de vågar prova andra projekt än det de arbetat med i slöjden.I frågorna som rörde undervisningen fanns det stor spridning på svaren. Men de flesta elever tyckte att arbetsområdena var ganska styrda. De kunde inte välja <em>vad</em> de skulle göra men i viss mån <em>hur</em>. Eleverna uppgav att förutsättningen för lärandet i slöjden var läraren. Beskrivningar och förlagor kunde vara till hjälp men lärares handledning var viktigast.</p><p> </p><p>Min slutats är att eleverna tycker att slöjden är ett viktigt ämne eftersom de lär för livet utanför skolan, både för nu och för framtiden. Vad gäller undervisningen, och idé och kreativitet uppfattar jag att eleverna önskar mera utrymme för att få möjlighet till eget utforskande och experimenterande. Vilket också kursplanen i slöjd anger att ämnet ska innehålla.</p> / <p>The purpose with this examination has been to investigate the subject Textile handicraft from a student's perspective. My wish was to investigate how the students thought about textile handicraft as a subject and also how they think about the subject in a wider sense. Do they think that they shall benefit from textile handicraft or has the subject past its sell-by date? The students I chose to interview were located in class 9, in a town, in the middle of Sweden. I chose to do group interviews, four groups with 3-4 individuals in each group. I asked them to think about textile handicraft during all the years they have had it as a subject, which includes year 3 to 9. The questions were in two parts. The first part was about the subject and the second was about the teaching. The result of the investigation showed that the students think of the subject as a preparation for growing up. When they later were talking about their free time, they could see that they got a lot of experience from the subject. What they meant was that they have gained a lot of experience not only with technical things but also how to work in projects. When I asked questions about the teaching, there were a lot of different answers. But most of the students could see that the teachers always had a plan for the subject. The students told me that they couldn't choose what to do, but they had the opportunity to choose how to do it. They also said that the teacher had the biggest part to play in their education and influenced how they handled the subject.</p><p> </p><p>My conclusion is that the subject textile handicraft is an important subject because they learn to prepare for life outside of school both today and for the future. Regarding the education, ideas and creativity, I can see that the students would like to have more room amongst the opportunities for their own experimental spirit which the syllabus for textile handicraft describes.</p>

In this essay, I intent to examine history as a school subject in Swedish compulsory school (for children aged 7-16), it contains mostly an analysis of the syllabus for history in the three latest curriculums Lgr 69, Lgr 80 and Lpo 94. The main purpose of the essay is to illuminate the development and the change history as a subject has gone through during this specific time, and my will is also to illustrate the view on knowledge and learning that is revealed in the syllabus for history in today’s curriculum (Lpo 94). The survey shows that in Swedish compulsory school, history as a subject has changed significantly. During the examined years, the contents have been exceptionally broadened and that has lead to increasing demands on the students as it has gone from being directed to the individual and its contiguous history with shorter outlooks on the rest of the world, to requiring the individual to be able to see and understand other parts of the world and different time, on the basis of it’s own history and culture. According to my survey, this has lead to problems in the students learning ability. The curriculum as it is presented today demands a deeper kind of knowledge than one can expect from all students since far from all have the capacity to reach this sort of deeper knowledge. / Den här uppsatsen handlar om skolämnet historia för grundskolan och innefattar framförallt en analys av kursplanerna för historia i Lgr 69, Lgr 80 och Lpo 94. Huvudsyftet med uppsatsen är att belysa historieämnets utveckling och förändring under ovan nämnda tid, men min vilja är också att undersöka den syn på kunskap och inlärning som framställs i dagens kursplan (Lpo 94). Genomgången visar att historieämnets innehåll i synnerhet har breddats och kraven på eleven har således ökat enormt under de undersökta åren. Ämnet har gått från att riktas till individen och dess närliggande historia med kortare inblickar i andra delar av världen till att individen, utifrån sig själv, ska söka sig utåt i världen och därigenom få förståelse för olika historiska epoker och händelser. Detta innebär enligt min mening en problematik när det gäller elevens inlärning och förståelse för ämnet då långt ifrån alla har den kapacitet eller vilja som krävs för att se utanför sin egen historia och nå denna djupare förståelse för händelser långt utanför deras fysiska värld.

Syftet med undersökningen har varit att undersöka hur eleverna uppfattar textilslöjden. Jag ville ta reda på hur de uppfattar textilslöjden som ämne och även vad de anser att ämnet går ut på. Tycker eleverna de någon nytta av textilslöjden, eller är det ett ämne som tjänat ut sin roll? Eleverna går i årskurs 9 i en skola i Mellansverige. Intervjuerna har utförts som gruppintervjuer, fyra grupper med 3-4 elever i varje grupp. De uppmanades att reflektera över alla år de haft textilslöjd, alltså från årskurs 3-9. Frågorna rörde sig inom två områden. Det ena området rörde slöjden som ämne och det andra berörde undervisningen. Resultatet visade att eleverna ser ämnet till stor del som en förberedelse för vuxenlivet. De tyckte att de på fritiden har stor nytta av de kunskaper de fått i slöjden. De menade att det inte bara är de olika teknikerna de lärt sig, utan också att de kunskaper de fått, gör att de vågar prova andra projekt än det de arbetat med i slöjden.I frågorna som rörde undervisningen fanns det stor spridning på svaren. Men de flesta elever tyckte att arbetsområdena var ganska styrda. De kunde inte välja vad de skulle göra men i viss mån hur. Eleverna uppgav att förutsättningen för lärandet i slöjden var läraren. Beskrivningar och förlagor kunde vara till hjälp men lärares handledning var viktigast.   Min slutats är att eleverna tycker att slöjden är ett viktigt ämne eftersom de lär för livet utanför skolan, både för nu och för framtiden. Vad gäller undervisningen, och idé och kreativitet uppfattar jag att eleverna önskar mera utrymme för att få möjlighet till eget utforskande och experimenterande. Vilket också kursplanen i slöjd anger att ämnet ska innehålla. / The purpose with this examination has been to investigate the subject Textile handicraft from a student's perspective. My wish was to investigate how the students thought about textile handicraft as a subject and also how they think about the subject in a wider sense. Do they think that they shall benefit from textile handicraft or has the subject past its sell-by date? The students I chose to interview were located in class 9, in a town, in the middle of Sweden. I chose to do group interviews, four groups with 3-4 individuals in each group. I asked them to think about textile handicraft during all the years they have had it as a subject, which includes year 3 to 9. The questions were in two parts. The first part was about the subject and the second was about the teaching. The result of the investigation showed that the students think of the subject as a preparation for growing up. When they later were talking about their free time, they could see that they got a lot of experience from the subject. What they meant was that they have gained a lot of experience not only with technical things but also how to work in projects. When I asked questions about the teaching, there were a lot of different answers. But most of the students could see that the teachers always had a plan for the subject. The students told me that they couldn't choose what to do, but they had the opportunity to choose how to do it. They also said that the teacher had the biggest part to play in their education and influenced how they handled the subject.   My conclusion is that the subject textile handicraft is an important subject because they learn to prepare for life outside of school both today and for the future. Regarding the education, ideas and creativity, I can see that the students would like to have more room amongst the opportunities for their own experimental spirit which the syllabus for textile handicraft describes.

The aim of this study is to investigate how fiction in English is taught in Swedish Junior High Schools with the present syllabus as a focus. I compare the present syllabus with the previous one in order to observe what changes English language teaching has undergone in regards to the teaching of fiction. Seven English teachers from different parts of Sweden discuss what role fiction has in their classroom, why they teach fiction and how the teaching of fiction is realized in practice. The reading literacy and frequency of reading are also analyzed in contrast with the increased consumption of technology. The results were consistent with research and statistics as presented in this study. The notion of students as individuals with individual needs and interests was consistent among the informants as was the awareness of the necessity of introducing reading as an everyday activity in the compulsory school.

The purpose of this study has been to compare the present with the future syllabus of mathematics. With a text analytical approach has questions about how the structure is different, how the look at knowledge has changed and which learning theory that characterizes the two syllabus been answered. As a theoretical framework I adopt three different learning theories, behaviourism, cognitivism and the socio-cultural perspective. The pervious research I have looked at is the concept of knowledge an the underlying theories to previous curriculum. During the increase results in the greatest difference seen in the structure. The next syllabus structure is based on one level as opposed to before when it was built on two levels of objectives, which makes the upcoming syllabus clearer and more concrete than the current syllabus in mathematics.

A new curriculum, Lgr11, was introduced in Sweden during the Autumn Semester 2011. My aim in this paper is to investigate whether an integrated and interdisciplinary approach is possible within this new Swedish curriculum. Firstly, I will describe the approach to integration and interdisciplinary work used in the new Swedish curriculum. Secondly, I will analyze whether the curriculum allows for an integrated and interdisciplinary work. The method used in this paper is a qualitative textual analysis and analyzing the new curriculum´s approach to integration and interdisciplinary education has been the focus. The analysis has been based on the explicit and implicit basics of integration and interdisciplinary work in the curriculum. I assume theories of subject integration and curricula to come up with my results in the paper. To conclude, the results of my analysis of the curriculum show that an integrated and interdisciplinary approach is not only possible, but it is also each school Principal's responsibility as well as part of each teacher`s objective. The Principal's responsibility is to ensure that the integration and interdisciplinary approach is undertaken in school. The curriculum is clear that teachers should let their students work interdisciplinary as well as vary their methods of teaching. The results show that even language as a subject is important to have in the curriculum. The results also show that all school subjects play an important role in the overall language development of students.

The Swedish educational system has taken a step toward change in hopes of a better education by presenting a new national curriculum: Curriculum for the compulsory school, preschool class and the leisure-time centre 2011 (Lgr 11). I have therefore chosen to analyze the textbooks Champion 4 and Portfolio based on the objectives and areas of knowledge for grades 4-6 found in the syllabus for English in Lgr 11 in order to find out whether or not the textbooks are in harmony with the syllabus and if the textbooks can be used to help students meet the requirements found in the syllabus for the English subject. The purpose of this study is to analyze selected textbooks for the English subject for students in fourth grade to find out which of the curriculum’s requirements are met for grades 4-6, that is, goals and areas of knowledge and if they can be used in the compulsory school. The results of this study show that the analyzed books can be used in an education that today follows a new curriculum. However the education should not only be based on the textbooks. The teacher must take responsibility for designing an education that suits the intended student group, but also provides students with different learning styles an opportunity to develop in their individual ways. Therefore it is not a reasonable option to allow the teaching to only revolve around the textbooks even if these books offer exercises that help develop the abilities that are written in the curriculum.