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The study aims to describe variation in the expression of students’ mathematical ability and the various ways in which their mathematical aptitude is acknowledged and supported by their teachers, parents and peers in a Swedish context. Ability is defined as a complex of various abilities each of which may be more or less pronounced in a given individual. The study is based on ten case studies of highly able students (ages 6-19). Six of the studies are longitudinal, ranging from three to six years. In order to validate the results of the case studies, two survey studies were carried out involving 180 teachers (preschool to Grade 9 in Swedish compulsory school) and 284 mathematics developers from 229 Swedish municipalities. The survey studies raised questions concerning the teachers’ personal experience of identifying and supporting highly able students, the nature of their everyday teaching, and the support given to able students. The results show that mathematical abilities can take many different forms and there is great need for pedagogical support for this group of students. Since extra resources are rarely available for the benefit of nurturing talent and since there are, as yet, no Swedish national or local policy documents that specifically address the support of talent in students, teachers are on their own in figuring out how to best help able students develop mathematically. The study points to the importance of the social norms that influence the interaction between teacher and student(s): everyday social norms as well as socio-mathematical norms, i.e. norms specific to the subject of mathematics. The latter place considerable demands on the teachers’ mathematical knowledge and competence. The benefits of early interventions, of supportive teaching environments, and of providing the students with challenging tasks and questions are also discussed.

National and international studies, such as PISA and TIMSS, which are part of the national evaluation system, are carried out continuosly. Skolverket, in collaboration with researchers, are responsible for the implementation, evaluation, and analysis of the studies. National results show an increasing percentage of pupils who do not reach the goals in mathematics. The last completed international studies PISA 2009 and TIMSS 2007 show an impaired trend of knowledge, in international comparison. Moreover, studies also show that the differences between schools and also within the same school in Sweden have increased. In summary, the analysis of the studies shows that the Swedish students' math skills have been declining over time. The purpose of this report is to examine possible causes, essential factors that are affecting and future actions in order to achieve better results. Completed national and international studies and analysis show a range of factors that are affecting Swedish students´ declining mathematic skills. However, this report clarifies the big complexity that is revealed when results are being analyzed. This is due to a multitude of factors of influence of underlying causes. Nevertheless, results and analysis show that teachers’ skills are a strong factor which affects and influences the progression and accumulation of knowledge. / Nationella samt internationella studier såsom PISA och TIMSS genomförs med kontinuitet. Dessa är en del av det nationella systemet för utvärdering vad gäller kunskapstrend. Skolverket, i samarbete med forskare, ansvarar för genomförande, utvärdering samt analys. Nationella mätningar visar en procentuell ökning av elever som ej når målen i matematik. De senaste genomförda internationella studierna PISA 2009 samt TIMSS 2007 visar på en nedåtgående kunskapstrend i internationell jämförelse. Dessutom visar analys på minskad likvärdighet både mellan skolor i Sverige, men även inom en och samma skola. Påvisbart, vid analys av genomförda studier, är svenska elevers sjunkande matematikkunskaper. Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka möjliga orsaker, essentiella påverkansfaktorer samt framtida insatser för resultatförbättring. Genomförda nationella och internationella studier samt analyser visar på en rad påverkansfaktorer. Dock visar denna rapport på den omfattande komplexitet som analyser av resultat bidrar till, då en mångfald av influerande bakomliggande orsaker till resultaten kan skönjas. Resultat och analyser antyder att lärarkompetens är en stark påverkansfaktor, vad gäller kunskapsackumulation och kunskapsprogression.

The aim of this study is to analyse the factors underlying successful reading and writing education and the educational conditions promoting reflective didactic skills, focusing on the students’ develop­ment of reading and writing abilities. Large international surveys indicate that the consensus concerning read­ing and writing education achieved by science during the past decade has had limit­ed impact on class­room activities. Thus, an underlying question is how research results can be implement­ed in every­day schoolwork. This study uses a praxis-oriented approach by working with classroom observations and reflective communication with teachers about learning processes and pedagogical methodology. The importance of the teachers having a solid theoretical background is underlined since it enables them to identify the students’ developmental stage, to adapt the instruction accordingly and to instant­ly grasp pedagogical opportunities to interpret and utilize the diagnostic signals. Another conclusion is that successful reading and writing education must be viewed in a context of language develop­ment as a whole, involving both its oral and its written aspects. This study also demonstrates that re­search results are perceived by teachers to be more accessible and relevant when the focus is on applied peda­gogics, allowing theory and practical applications to interact. The teachers’ professional development is shown to be an on-going, interactive, social process in which organisation, time and communicative meetings play an important part. Abduction proves to be an effective learn­ing strategy in the development of professional competence whereby academic know­ledge and on-the-spot know-how are allowed to coalesce in practically useful know­ledge. The study’s praxis-oriented approach has made it possible to define the teachers’ experience-based know­ledge at the same time as the theoretical knowledge in the field has developed. This opens up possibilities for scientific theories to establish themselves in practical school work. / <p>En bearbetad version av Catharina Tjernbergs avhandling, med titeln "Framgångsrik läs- och skrivundervisning: en bro mellan teori och praktik", ISBN 9789127137387, finns utgiven på förlaget Natur och kultur 2013.</p>

Raising the qualification level for preschool staff is often seen by policymakers as a means of improving the quality of preschool. However, research examining the relation between qualifications of preschool staff and preschool quality has given inconsistent results. This suggests that one’s competence as a teacher is not necessarily reflected by one’s level of teacher qualification. The aim of this study was to contribute to knowledge about preschool teacher competence and its relation to education and practice. This was accomplished through documenting and examining perspectives on preschool teacher competence from currently enrolled Swedish preschool teacher students and recently graduated Swedish preschool teachers, who have prior work experience in early childhood education. In particular, this study focused on gaining a deeper understanding of which competences preschool teacher students and preschool teachers attribute to their education. Interviews were conducted with one preschool teacher education student and two recently graduated preschool teachers. The findings showed three competences reported as important by the participants: critical (self-)reflection, the competence to listen to the children, and the competence to care. Moreover, the participants believed that being confident in one’s profession, knowing why they are doing what they are doing, and the competence to reflect are competences gained in preschool teacher education. Lastly, the participants described a connection between theory and practice, which suggest that students with prior work experience do not experience a ‘reality gap’ between their education and the practical field. The research conducted in this study contributes to what is known about teacher competence and, more specifically, it gives more insight into the development of competence in preschool teacher education.

This study is about high-performing students in mathematics. The purpose of the study was to increase the knowledge about teachers view of adaptions for the high-performing students and how teaching mathematic and its content adapts to these children. The method used in the study was semi-structured in- terviews with 10 teachers in the early years of compulsory school. Data was an- alyzed using Shulmans theory of teacher knowledge base. The result shows three variations of lessons that the participating teachers use. The difference between these lessons was the mindset of how adaptions should be made to the high- performing students in mathematics. It also shows that teachers’ mindset and what guides them in general differs in the three different lessons, also how to work in mathematics. Even though, most teachers wants their students in the same subject area but in different levels of difficulty. The teachers in the study adapts mathematics to the high-performing students’ so the teaching is stimulated and challenging, but how the teachers dose it dif- fers. / Studien handlar om högpresterande elever i matematik. Studiens syfte var att öka kunskaperna om lärares syn på anpassningar för högpresterande elever samt hur matematikundervisningen och dess innehåll anpassades. Studiens undersökningsmetod var kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer och riktade sig till 10 lärare i grundskolans tidiga år. Den data som samlats in analyserades med hjälp av Shulmans ramverk om lärarkompetens. Resultaten visar tre olika lektionsvarianter som har olika tankesätt om hur anpassningar sker i undervis- ningen till högpresterande elever. Det visar även att det föreligger stora variat- ioner i hur lärare tänker och vad som styr dem i undervisningen, dessutom råder det skillnad i val av arbetssätt. De flesta lärare förespråkar att de vill ha alla ele- ver inom samma ämnesområde men på olika nivåer. Sammantaget gör lärarna anpassningar för att de högpresterande eleverna ska få en stimulerande och utmanade undervisning, men hur anpassningarna sker skiljer sig mellan lärarna.

Abstract The aim of the essay is to investigate how two teachers in grades 4–6 work with reading comprehension in their teaching in order to enable the pupils’ reading development. The methods used in the study are questionnaires and observations which were then subjected to qualitative analysis. The result shows that both teachers use various strategies to facilitate the pupils’ development in reading comprehension. The empirical data revealed the teachers’ opinion that reading comprehension is about moving freely between different reading comprehension strategies so that the pupils can own their own learning. Judging by the observations, the classroom climate and the teacher’s competence are of great importance for the pupils’ learning.

The main aim of this thesis is to illuminate how researchers might provide support to the improvement of educators' competence, in a school development context. The thesis also sheds light on conditions and obstacles for such development. The theoretical approach derives inspiration from several lines of thought but above all from action theory and theories on adult learning and development. The approach of the thesis can be characterized as “contextual-constructivist” or “social constructivist”. Four different forms of collaboration between researchers and educators are studied and compared. The methods used were interviews, questionnaires and document study. The similarities between the different types of collaboration are striking. The educators’ competence for action and development seems to have increased in all types of collaboration, for example towards increased communicative and meta-cognitive competence. This, however, cannot be attributed solely to the researchers; rather it seems to be a result of the whole interplay with the environment that was initiated by the collaboration. One group of educators also turned out to act as bridge-builders between the researchers and their own colleagues. Further, the educators have had access to various tangible tools, which have appeared to be useful not only in developmental work but also in the everyday work. Finally, the utility aspect of school research is discussed, as well as the double, sometimes triple, helix of learning and developmental processes that educators may share as a result of the collaboration with researchers.

Šiame straipsnyje gvildenamas informacinių ir komunikacinių technologijų (IKT) taikymas profesijos mokymo įstaigų edukacinėje praktikoje remiantis ES ir Lietuvos teisiniais aktais, šalies ir užsienio mokslininkų darbais, įvairių institucijų organizuotų tyrimų duomenimis, atskleidžiamos IKT taikymo ugdymo procese techninės sąlygos, problemos ir jų sprendimo būdai, panaudojimas ugdymo procese ir jų poveikis ugdytiniui bei mokymo(si) procesui. / Legal base regulating educational system emphasizes knowledge based on information technologies. As ICT are penetrating into the process of vocational training the training methods and aids are changing and improving, an important role is falling on an educator – teacher. He/she must develop personal communication, literary and cultural competences as well as improve information and communication skills. This may be done by applying innovative ICT training methods and only when teacher has ICT competence. The objective of this work was to elucidate the application of information communication technologies in vocational training from the management and educational aspect. To that end research instruments were formed – questionnaire, according to which the above mentioned aspects were estimated from the point of view of students and teachers, and quality research was carried out by estimating the attitude of managers. 180 students, 100 teachers and 6 headmasters participated in the study carried out in Alanta, Anykščiai and Utena institutions of vocational training in December 2006. These institutions of vocational training do have conditions for application of electronic training aids. They provide themselves with IT aids by executing project activities and inducing teachers to participate in them. The introduction of system of e-services, Internet, e-library is intended in the schools. In educational process the priority is given for traditional training aids... [to full text]

The Case Study of the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS) is the main focus of this research inquiry. DAS is an instrument for teacher professional development aimed at enhancing the competency of teachers and accordingly, the quality of education. In the context of this exploratory study, informed by concerns about teacher learning, I sought to gain insight into how the implementation of government policy on teacher appraisal influences the way teachers strive to learn and change their practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to trace the implementation of government policy on teacher development in different contexts and to determine the extent to which DAS policy influenced teacher learning in these diverse contexts. The research inquiry is guided by one main research question: · What are the effects of developmental appraisal policy on teacher learning as seen through the eyes of teachers working in different resource contexts? In tracing the effects of DAS Policy, I focused on policy breakdown by looking at the views of implementers, i.e., educators at the level of the school. The study also explains how teachers understand the policy, which helped to lay the empirical foundation for exploring teacher learning. The investigation draws on recent work on what is called “teacher learning” for the conceptual focus. The framework provided a descriptive function that helped to assign content to the new concept on “teacher learning” in education research. It also presented an empirical function and exploratory purpose that assisted in exploring the effects of DAS Policy on the teacher learning. In seeking responses to the main research question, I conducted qualitative cases of 12 teachers who have been involved in the various phases of DAS. Teachers were selected from different resource contexts and sampled on the basis of their different profiles. I used teacher testimonies composed qualitatively through multiple methods of data collection, viz. biographical data, free writing schedule, semi-structured interviews, critical incident reports and teacher diaries. From the data generated, the following are the main findings of the study: · Teachers find the developmental promises of DAS to be unpersuasive because of its identification with the previous inspection system, and because of teachers’ identification with more powerful sources of learning. · The failure of the policy to give recognition in practice to the diverse contexts within which teachers work had a negative effect on teacher learning. · Teacher learning is an extremely complex process, and to pin down its critical features is very difficult in a developing country context. · Teachers found it difficult to ascribe “learning” to their DAS experiences given the largely negative experiences of the policy implementation process. · Context contributed to the disjuncture between understanding and practice in terms of teacher development and in particular to teacher learning. Finally, given the importance of teacher professional development in the reform process there is need for further research on how to effectively promote teacher learning. In addition, in considering the implications that diverse work contexts have for teacher learning in developing countries, policymakers can aim at effective programmes that will strengthen teacher learning. Therefore, research needs to address the link between teacher learning and diverse work contexts in different ways. / Thesis (PhD (Education Management and Policy Studies)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted