In the following essay, a study on three textbooks used for educating pupils in Swedish secondary schools in the subject of English is presented. One aim of the study was to investigate how the selection of texts, both fiction and non-fiction, used for reading and listening comprehension purposes and their respective author representations in three Swedish EFL-textbooks could be considered to represent a broad perspective of the English-speaking world. The categories used to find evidence are based on Kachru’s model of Three Circles of English. Furthermore, an additional aim was to uncover evidence of invisibility- and imbalance and selectivity-biases within each textbook’s content. These biases are originally part of the Sadker et al. framework Seven Forms of Bias. The study results indicate that even though all textbooks provide some examples of the English-language from a global perspective, none manage to present a fully balanced and indiscriminate picture of such. Furthermore, the findings suggest that none of the textbooks succeed in providing learners with an evenly distributed array of texts transpiring in, and authors originating from, countries belonging to Kachru’s inner-, as -and- and expanding circle. Instead, it was found that a majority of texts transpire in, and authors originate from, countries within the inner-circle, which further seem to reinforce the perception of a standard English springing from what is by Kachru referred to as the inner, norm-providing circle. Therefore, based on the findings in this study, it is suggested that further research be carried out. In particular, a more substantial number of textbooks should be analysed in order to ensure that the content of EFL-textbooks used in the Swedish educational system agrees with the standards of the core curriculum for English 5.

Barn och ungas skulder som registrerats hos Kronofogden har under de senaste åren aldrig varit flera. Skolan har ett ansvar att försöka hindra denna oroväckande utveckling. Denna uppsats handlar om privatekonomins förekomst i tre olika läroböcker för samhällskunskap 1A1 på gymnasiet och har som mål att undersöka vilken hjälp dessa böcker ger lärare och elever på gymnasiet. I den senaste läroplanen SKOLFS 2011 har privatekonomi lagts till och är numera ett gymnasiegemensamt ämne som alla elever läser. Genom ett kodschema har jag kunnat identifiera förekomsten av privatekonomin och bestämma kvantiteten av densamma genom räknandet av ord. Undersökningen är tvådelad där den andra delen analyserar innehållet och försöker göra slutsatser genom olika typer av textanalyser. Slutsatsen för undersökningen är att de tre böckerna har olika styrkor och svagheter men framförallt är det språkbruket som skiljer sig åt. Ett lärobokstext bör inte kräva allt för stora förkunskaper eller läsförståelse i en A-kurs. Två av böckerna hanterar detta väl medan den tredje lyckas mindre bra. / The debts of children and teenagers that are registered at the Swedish Enforcement Authority, have in the past few years hit an all-time high. School has a responsibility to try and stop this disturbing development. This essay is about private economy and its existence in three different textbooks for civics 1A1 and the Swedish high school. The goal is to investigate which support these books can give teachers and students. Private economy is a recent addition to the Swedish teaching program 2011 and is now read by all high school students. I have been able to identify the existence of private economy in textbooks by creating a code schedule. This way I have been able to decide the quantitative by simply counting words. The review is categorical in two parts where the second part illuminating the content and tries to make conclusions by different types of text analyses.  The conclusion of this essay is that the books have its differences, both strengths and weaknesses. It is mostly the use of language that differs. A textbook in civics does not demand great text understanding. Two of the books handle this well, while the third one does not.

This essay is a textbook study where I aim to review four textbooks regarding some historical events in the subject History. The textbooks are used in junior high school and the historical events are as follows: the genocide that happened in Congo during the leadership of king Leopold II, the genocide on Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, the Holocaust and the Vietnam War. By performing this study I wanted to answer these three questions: What differences and similarities can be found in how the events circumscribed? How much space do the various events have and has it evolved through the years 1980-2009? How can this be explained? The study has been analyzed from a post-colonial perspective and the recurring patterns that appear show how the texts are post-colonial. This means that the authors of the textbooks are writing about the same subjects, but in very different ways.

本研究嘗試從「家的外部圖像與內部邊界」、「家庭成員與家人關係」與「親職角色」三部份進行提問。研究者藉由回顧相關法律制定與修訂記錄、官方統計資料、政府出版品、當時報章雜誌、學術研究期刊論文的文獻討論等，對照政治、法律、經濟、教育與社會政策制定與家庭型態的變遷，並以內容分析法依據10次修改課程編修內容長時段地考察國小一年級國語教科書。一方面藉此瞭解不同社會時期，勾勒出教科書中家庭圖像的動態變遷；另一方面，預期可作為未來教師教學與國小教科書編輯的參考。 本研究發現國小一年級國語教科書理想家庭圖像在戰後重建的1950年代、加強民族教育並強調「反共復國」的1960年代、經濟起飛的1970-1980年代、社會改革百花齊放的1990年代，以及2000年以後多元價值並存等五個階段有所不同。隨著政治、經濟、教育與社會變遷、人口轉型、性別平權意識抬頭、個體化發展，以及後現代、多元、異質家庭變遷，突顯出教科書理想家庭圖像更新速度並非完全反映台灣婚姻與家庭變遷，而是執政者政策制定與知識生產的機制在不同時期國家階段性任務。即從農村到都市，從家族集體經驗到個體化，從單一到多元，呈現出有所「變」、有所「不變」的變遷基調。最後研究者進一步對於教科書編輯、家庭教育與後續研究提出幾點建議 / This study explored the elementary textbooks from the following three aspects, “the outer portraits and the inner boundary of family”, “the relationships between family members”, and “parenting role”. By means of reviewing the records and processes of law making; officially statistics data, government publications, newspapers and magazines; and academic journals, researches and literatures, researchers compared different aspects of politics, law, economy, education, social policies and family changes. The content analysis, based on the previous process of compilation, was adopted to analyze the first-grade textbooks in the elementary school. By doing so, I illustrated different changes of ideal family portraits during different social periods of time; on the other hand, I aimed to present the analytical result as a reference for the compilation of the elementary school textbooks in the future. This research found that ideal family portraits shift over time. In different periods of time, government has different foci: during 1950s, after World War II, it focused on reconstruction; in 1960s, it emphasized national education and Anti-China Policy; from 1970s to 1980s, it focused on the acceleration of economy; in 1990s, it reflected the springing up of social evolution; and in 2000s, it revealed the existence of multi-values. Owing to the social changes of politics, economy, and education systems, concerning the demographic transition and the awareness of gender equity, reflecting the characteristics of post-modernization: individualization, multi-values and heterogeneous of family structure, the ideal family portraits from textbooks failed to represent the current family and marriage situations in Taiwan. They are compiled with neither the reality of Taiwan’s marriage nor family. They are compiled with the mechanism which the ruling authority legitimatized their periodical policies. In other words, from rural to urban, from family collective experience to individualization, and from singularity to pluralism, the base between changing and unchanging was indicated. Then, the researcher further offered some suggestions for textbook compilation, family education, and future studies.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka förekomsten av icke-västerländska författarskap i läroböcker för svenska på gymnasiet. Undersökningens grund är en pedagogisk textanalys, vilket är en form av innehållsanalys. Fyra läroböcker avsedda för svenskämnet på gymnasiet har analyserats genom en pedagogisk textanalys med såväl kvantitativa som kvalitativa inslag. Uppsatsens teoretiska utgångspunkt har främst varit Edward Saids postkoloniala teori och Mekkonen Tesfahuneys tankar om ett eurocentriskt utbildningssystem. Vikten av ett etnografiskt förhållningssätt i skolan är också en del av teorin. Resultatet visar att icke-västerländska författarskap ges skiftande utrymme i de olika läroböckerna. I den lärobok med störst andel icke-västerländska författare utgör dessa 22 procent av den totala andelen författarskap, medan motsvarande andel för läroboken med minst representation är 2,5 procent. De didaktiska utgångspunkterna för hur de icke-västerländska författarskapen enligt läroböckerna ska behandlas i undervisningen skiljer sig också åt. Eftersom det finns stora skillnader både vad gäller innehåll och didaktiska utgångspunkter i olika läroböcker riskerar undervisningen i skolan att inte bli likvärdig, beroende på i hur hög utsträckning lärarna använder sig av läroböckerna i undervisningen. / The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of non-Western authorships in textbooks for Swedish at upper secondary school. The study is an educational text analysis, which is a form of content analysis. Four textbooks intended for the Swedish subject in upper secondary school have been analyzed by an educational text analysis of both quantitative and qualitative elements. Thesis theoretical base has been primarily Edward Said´s postcolonial theory and Mekkonen Tesfahuneys thoughts about a Eurocentric education system. The importance of an ethnographic approach in schools is also part of the theory. The result shows that non-Western authorships are given diverse space in the different textbooks. In the textbook with the highest proportion of non-Western writers, these are 22 percent of the total proportion authorship, while the corresponding proportion of the textbook with the least representation is 2,5 percent. The didactic starting points for how non-Western writers should be treated in teaching according to the textbooks also differ. Because of the big differences in terms of both content and didactic starting points in the various textbooks, the education in schools risk to not be equal, depending on the extent to which teachers using the textbooks in teaching.