The study deals with young people with visual impairment and their choices of upper secondary school, what is behind and how they are affected by other aspects and other people around them. It also describes how these students experience the career counseling they received for the election. This has been the purpose of the study and was examined through qualitative method and interviews with five young people aged 15 to 21 years with severe visual impairment or blindness. The results and conclusion is that these young people are greatly affected by their parents in choice of upper secondary school and that the school’s attitude to the pupil has a major impact on whether the pupil chooses the school. Most students report that they are satisfied with the career counselling they received in elementary school, but it also occur shortcomings. The basis of the work was Careership theory thanks to its concepts about turning points and routines, mainly in young people's lives such as the transition from elementary to upper secondary school.

Det finns en problematik i övergången för svenska studenter mellan gymnasiet och högskolan. En faktor i den problematiken är att bevis och bevisföring hanteras på olika sätt på de olika utbildningsnivåerna. Dessutom är forskning kring hur läroböcker hanterar bevis och bevisföring begränsad. I denna studie undersöks två vanliga läroböcker på gymnasiet med avseende på bevis och bevisföring. Utifrån de i ämnesplanen befintliga ämnesområdena granskas teoriavsnitten i läroböckerna med fokus på bevis och bevisföring. Dessutom undersöks bevisföringsuppgifter med utgångspunkt i G. Stylianides (2009) ramverk. Resultaten visar att läroböckerna är inkonsekventa i sitt hanterande av bevis och att bevis ofta osynliggörs i teoriavsnitten. Ett annat resultat är att den matematiska strukturen är svår att följa. Läroböckerna innehåller 6,7 % respektive 13,7 % bevisföringsuppgifter och vi har funnit 19 olika typer av bevisföringsuppgifter varav två typer är väldigt dominerande. Vi argumenterar att didaktiskt värdefulla syften kan uppnås genom att synliggöra bevis bättre i läroböcker. / There exists a problem in Swedish students’ transition between high school and college. One factor of this problem stems from the fact that proofs and proving are handled in different ways at these different levels of education. In addition, research on how textbooks deal with proofs and proving is limited. This study examines proofs and proving in two common math textbooks intended for upper secondary high school students in Sweden. Based on the contents of the curriculum, the theoretical sections in the textbooks are examined with an added focus on proofs and proving. Also, the textbooks’ tasks are examined with the help of a modified framework based on G. Stylianides (2009) framework. The results show that the textbooks are inconsistent in their handling of proofs and that proofs are often made invisible in the theoretical sections. Another result is that the mathematical structure is difficult to follow. The textbooks contain 6.7% and 13.7% proving tasks respectively and we have found 19 different types of proving tasks among which two types are very dominant. We argue that didactically valuable objectives can be achieved by making proofs more visible in textbooks.

The aim of this study is to present teacher and student views on, and usage of, digital learning tools in the Swedish upper secondary English language classroom, as well their views on a comparison between digital and traditional learning tools. Digital learning tools have seen an increase in both usage and development, something that began as early as the 1990’s, and has become a more common sight in Swedish upper secondary schools. Previous research conducted about digital learning tools and their application in both the general and the English language classroom is presented and used to both analyze and discuss empirical data; said data has been received through a qualitative methodology comprised of two focus group interviews with students and teachers. The empirical data is categorized according to each research question, with direct and translated quotes from the focus group interviews. The results of the study show that while digital learning tools viewed in a positive light and their usage is appreciated by some students, both groups primarily advocate variety in the English language classroom rather than relying exclusively on just one set of tools to create a learning environment that caters to all students rather than a select few.

Studien grundar sig i att undersöka varför vissa elever ”nöjer sig med godkänt”. Varför väljer vissa elever att sträva mot betyget E och andra mot A i samband med teoretiska prov? Fyra elever på ett yrkesförberedande gymnasieprogram har intervjuats i denna kvalitativa studie för att förstå vilka motivationsaspekter som kan påverka elever i sina studier. Resultatet visar bland annat att elever värderar betyg olika, någon elev tvivlar på sin förmåga att kunna prestera ett A, samt att eleverna påverkas av sina klasskamraters studiemotivation. I diskussionen påpekas värdet av feedback och att eleverna hellre bör berömmas för sina prestationer än för sina personliga egenskaper. / This study is based on examining why some students “settle for E”. Why do some students choose to strive for the grade E and others for A in the context of theoretical exams? Four students at a vocational upper secondary school program have been interviewed in this qualitative study to understand which motivational aspects that can influence students in their studies. The results show that students value the ratings differently, one student has doubts about the ability to perform an A, and students are influenced by their classmates’ motivation to study. The discussion pointed out the value of feedback and that students rather should be encouraged for their efforts rather than for their personal characteristics.

This study examines how upper secondary school teachers in Västerbotten and Österbotten plan to teach about the Finnish War 1808-09. The study includes written interviews with nine teachers in Västerbotten and eight teachers in Österbotten, who have answered questions concerning school policy documents, content and didactic methods. The purpose has been to examine whether there is a difference in historical culture in how the war is treated in the two regions. Historical culture is here meant within the prospective history lesson, where the pupils encounter history within certain boundaries.The result of the interview study shows that there are differences in structure concerning the school policy documents, but that these differences on the whole are compensated by the widespread interest in the Finnish War by the teachers in both regions. The differences in historical culture can be found within the construction of the content when it comes to the aftermaths of the war as well as the purpose of the teaching. A distinct common feature is that the perspective on local history has a strong position in education.Concerning the didactic methods there are differences working with source criticism as well as the forms of examination. Everything included, structurally, there are two different historical cultures. However, if we take into account the answers given by the teachers it is more reasonable to look at it as two nuances of one historical culture. Key words: Historical culture, history didactics, the Finnish War 1808-09, upper secondary school, Västerbotten and Österbotten.

This thesis explores two aspects of mathematical reasoning: affect and gender. I started by looking at the reasoning of upper secondary students when solving tasks. This work revealed that when not guided by an interviewer, algorithmic reasoning, based on memorising algorithms which may or may not be appropriate for the task, was predominant in the students reasoning. Given this lack of mathematical grounding in students reasoning I looked in a second study at what grounds they had for different strategy choices and conclusions. This qualitative study suggested that beliefs about safety, expectation and motivation were important in the central decisions made during task solving.  But are reasoning and beliefs gendered? The third study explored upper secondary school teachers conceptions about gender and students mathematical reasoning. In this study I found that upper secondary school teachers attributed gender symbols including insecurity, use of standard methods and imitative reasoning to girls and symbols such as multiple strategies especially on the calculator, guessing and chance-taking were assigned to boys. In the fourth and final study I found that students, both male and female, shared their teachers view of rather traditional feminities and masculinities. Remarkably however, this result did not repeat itself when students were asked to reflect on their own behaviour: there were some discrepancies between the traits the students ascribed as gender different and the traits they ascribed to themselves. Taken together the thesis suggests that, contrary to conceptions, girls and boys share many of the same core beliefs about mathematics, but much work is still needed if we should create learning environments that provide better opportunities for students to develop beliefs that guide them towards well-grounded mathematical reasoning.

This paper aims to study upper secondary school seniors’ relationship to poetry. The researchers seek to discover the students’ conceptualization of the subject of poetry. Fur-thermore, this paper will present a case study, in which sixteen students participate. The chosen research approach is Glaserian Grounded Theory, which in itself has a con-siderably comprehensive methodology. However, working with Grounded Theory enables an objective approach to the field of study, requested by the researchers. In course of this study, the researchers found that the lack of experi-ence in working with poetry was the students’ main con-cern. The theory, which was generated, therefore evolved from the previously mentioned main concern.

The aim of this thesis is to look for signs of students’ understanding of algebra by studying how they make the transition from arithmetic to algebra. Students in an Upper Secondary class on the Natural Science program and Science and Technology program were given a questionnaire with a number of algebraic problems of different levels of difficulty. Especially important for the study was that students leave comments and explanations of how they solved the problems. According to earlier research, transitions are the most critical steps in problem solving. The Algebraic Cycle is a theoretical tool that can be used to make different phases in problem solving visible. To formulate and communicate how the solution was made may lead to students becoming more aware of their thought processes. This may contribute to students gaining more understanding of the different phases involved in mathematical problem solving, and to students becoming more successful in mathematics in general.The study showed that the students could solve mathematical problems correctly, but that they in just over 50% of the cases, did not give any explanations to their solutions. / Uppsatsens syfte är att söka indikationer på elevers förståelse i algebra genom att studera hur de gör övergången från aritmetik till algebra. Elever i en gymnasieklass, på naturvetenskapliga och tekniska programmen, fick en enkät med ett antal algebraiska uppgifter av skiftande karaktär och svårighetsgrad. Speciellt viktigt för studien var elevernas kommentarer och förklaringar till hur de löst dessa uppgifter. Enligt tidigare forskning är övergångarna mellan olika faser i problemlösning de mest kritiska stegen. Den algebraiska cykeln är ett teoretiskt verktyg som kan användas för att synliggöra de olika faserna vid lösandet av algebraiska problem. Att formulera och kommunicera hur lösningen går till, kan leda till att eleven blir medveten om sina egna tankegångar. Detta kan bidra till att elever får mer förståelse för olika moment som ingår i lösandet av matematiska uppgifter och bidra till att de blir mer framgångsrika i ämnet matematik. Studien visade att eleverna kunde lösa matematiska uppgifter korrekt, men att eleverna i drygt 50% av fallen inte lämnade någon förklarande text till sina lösningar.

This quantitative study aims to contribute to the understanding of how increasing educational costs on the Swedish market for upper secondary schools can be explained. With insights from previous research, a multiple regression analysis is performed to answer if competition implicates economic efficiency, why are upper secondary school costs for municipalities increasing along with increasing competition on the Swedish school market? Data on municipality-level was collected for the period of 2000-2011 and the results show that increasing educational costs are explained by increasing competition. In addition, increasing pupils’ change of school and/or program, and increasing overcapacity are statistically significant predictors of increasing educational costs. Furthermore, this study contributes to previous research as it takes an extended view of competition and demonstrates that is well founded when evaluating the effect of competition on educational costs. In addition, the results indicates that there are additional aspects to address namely, that competition affects costs indirectly by creating more complex competitive conditions with regards to education providers’ possibility to plan and set dimensions of their operations.

The following study examines the conflicting discourses between the swedish school system andthe Christian denomination of Jehovah’s witnesses on the swedish upper secondary schoolcurriculum and its subject content. The purpose has been to identify if the discourses present avalue conflict with school interests and discuss both how these are different and why they constitutea conflict. This has been achieved by examining the religious body’s recent publications on thesubject through a discourse analysis method.The study shows that there are several themes in the swedish upper secondary schoolcurriculum and subject content in which Jehovah’s witnesses have discourses conflicting with theschool’s own, possibly constituting practical issues in the day to day education of students. Themain conflicts lies within the areas of social integration of students, the non-denominationalcharacter of the school system, sex education, the stance of religious pluralism taken in the subjectof religious studies, historical method and the subject content of natural science primarilyconcerning evolutionary biology. The study also concludes that there is a wide gap and lack ofinformation surrounding these conflicts and how teachers and other school staff should approach oravoid them. This ultimately derives from a lack of research around the subject and deficientguidelines from the Swedish National Agency for Education surrounding not only how to approachstudents that are Jehovah’s witnesses but religious discourses surrounding the curriculum andschool subjects in general.