This essay deals with the issue how to obtain a wider understanding regarding the value of critical thinking and dialogue in philosophy teaching at upper secondary school? This main question has been investigated with the guidance of Hannah Arendt. The conclusion is: Critical thinking and dialogue is a prerequisite for knowledge and knowing. The essay also deals with reasons why critical thinking and dialog no longer can be carried out in everyday schooling. The answer is that schools in Sweden slowly have been transformed into a commercial market, where customer satisfaction and the loyalty to the powers- that- be, and in many cases profitability are driving values. During the corresponding period, the teacher's practical professional skills have been degraded

This study aims to explore and investigate students’ attitudes towards reading aloud in English in an upper secondary school in Sweden and whether the students’ previous experiences in reading aloud in L2 (English as a second language), as well as their language backgrounds have an impact on their attitudes towards reading aloud in L2. Additionally, the study will investigate which factors that might affect students’ attitudes towards reading aloud in L2. The data collection method which has been utilized in this study is a questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions about students’ attitudes towards reading aloud in L1 and L2, students’ previous experiences in reading aloud in L2, along with the factors that they bear in mind when they read aloud in L2. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyse data, involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The participants in this study comprised 90 students in an upper secondary school in Sweden, aged between 16-20. The results of the study show that the students contributing to this study show a reluctance to read aloud in L2. Moreover, prior experiences in reading aloud in L2 from an early age and students’ language backgrounds might have a correlation with students’ attitudes towards reading aloud in L2. The study also reveals that confidence, concerns about mispronunciation and the impact of reading aloud on comprehension are factors that may influence the students’ attitudes towards reading aloud in English.

This thesis investigates a practice at an upper secondary school in Sweden. The starting point is the teachers’ questions concerning the possibilities of supporting the development of the students’ reading abilities through texts that are long, alphabetical and printed, and in this study, non-fictional. The thesis suggests that by applying a multimodal and multiliteral approach the possibilities are widened. The purpose of the study is to investigate how teachers handle the challenge of teaching using lengthy alphabetical printed texts in the text realities of today, and to describe such teaching through a multimodal framework. Data was collected through ethnographical methods and includes information gathered in interviews with three teachers, observations of lessons, and group discussions on texts. The data also include the texts used in the history and social science classes. Three analyses were made. Firstly, the practical theory of the teachers was analysed using the discourse analytical tool suggested by Roz Ivanic. She presents two dynamic models, one showing four layers of language and one providing a framework of six discourses for understanding the layer in focus. The models were used in this study to examine each of the teachers’ approaches to reading, reading development, and learning as a whole. In the first analysis the teachers are shown to be focusing on different discourses but they all result in explicit, structured teaching. In the second analysis, the texts used in the history and social science classes are categorised and discussed from a multimodal point of view, and the questions used to influence the students’ reading strategies are examined in terms of what kind of meaning-making they promote. The third analysis focuses on the students’ group discussions, with and without the teacher. The discussions are described through a didactic designing model as a learning sequence. The results show that the teachers’ approach offers possibilities for working with lengthy alphabetical printed texts: in applying a multimodal view of text the teachers try to incorporate the text worlds of today. Through structured teaching they aim to develop the students’ skills in meaning-making processes in a multimodal world, which includes designing through texts that are alphabetical and printed. By using modelling in text conversations the teacher is pointing out reading paths to the students, guiding them through the questions. By using the field of multimodality in describing what is taking place in the study the thesis points to possibilities when the fields of didactics and multimodal research come closer together. It is suggested that by putting reading into a multimodal perspective it is possible to empower the students’ design authority and by using a didactic approach to other texts multimodal meaning-making is put in a broader perspective.

In a world where gamification is increasingly prevalent, Dungeons & Dragons is a vast, seemingly untapped arena into which students in an EFL classroom could potentially venture. By exploring the various applications of the hugely popular tabletop role-playing game, there are several aspects in which students and teachers can explore in order to find practical as well as theoretical uses for a role-playing game of this size and scope. This study has discussed and analyzed the benefits and drawbacks of implementing Dungeons & Dragons in the EFL classroom through mental imagery and immersion as an effective teaching tool. The implementation of D&D in an EFL classroom is achievable through scaffolding and preparation. This study has also discussed the gamification aspects of the EFL classroom and the game specific areas of game-based pedagogy.

Abstrakt Teater har varit ett ämne på gymnasieskolans estetiska program sedan 30 år tillbaka. I det centrala innehållet för kursen scenisk gestaltning läggs vikt vid förmågan att tolka och analysera sceniska gestaltningar (Skolverket, 2011). Det finns därför ett behov av att formulera och artikulera dessa förmågor. Ett teaterkunnande inbegriper såväl teoretisk och praktisk kunskap och det är den tysta kunskapen som den här studien omfattar.  Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur teaterlärare verksamma på estetiska programmet med inriktning teater ser på tyst kunskap i kursen i gestaltning i ämnet teater. Studiens empiri är inhämtad från fem enskilda intervjuer med verksamma teaterlärare.  Följande frågeställningar har formulerats för studien: Hur kommunicerar teaterläraren för att stimulera elevernas utveckling i scenisk gestaltning? Hur ser teaterlärare på tyst kunskap i sitt arbete och hur de kan synliggöra den i relation till sitt arbete? Tre olika teoretiska perspektiv har varit utgångspunkt för analysen: Polanyis (2013) tankar om tyst kunskap, Carlgrens (2015) praktiska kunskapsfilosofi och Ahlstrands (2014) begrepp bodybildung. Intervjumaterialet har analyserats genom en fenomenografisk ansats och redovisats med olika kategorier i tre olika utfallsrum.  Studiens resultat visar på utmaningar för teaterlärare att verbalisera ett praktiskt kunnande, i undervisning med eleverna, och ett behov av kompetenshöjning i området. I utfallsrummen ges förslag på olika strategier som exempelvis: att ställa djuplodade frågor till eleverna om hur de ser och uppfattar gestaltning eller att erfarandet av tyst kunskap sker i stunden och är situationsbundet eller att exempelvis använda sig av liknelser för att kommunicera tyst kunskap. Studien kan ses som ett bidrag till det behov som teaterlärare har av att prata och reflektera uppfattningar av ett tyst kunnande.

The study investigates how grammar is taught in Swedish upper secondary schools and how educational methods have changed since 1996. The essay intends to explain what kind of grammar exercises are used in the subject of Swedish and how teachers describe their educational methods. The research method is qualitative interviews with six teachers of Swedish in upper secondary schools. In addition to the interviews some grammar exercises from the teachers are analysed. The theoretical framework is the functional perspective on grammar. The results show that one of the six teachers integrates grammar with other tasks, whereas the other teachers mainly use the isolated grammar method. Some of them combine grammar integrated with other tasks and also teach grammar as an isolated element. The majority of the teachers report that terminology is the major problem for students learning grammar. Teachers find it difficult to motivate the students to learn grammar, since the students want to see the immediate need of the knowledge. The study also shows that students are more motivated to learn grammar when the grammar is integrated with other tasks than when it is taught as an isolated element. Likewise, the results indicate, in accordance with other research results, that students are more inclined to find grammar important if it is taught with a functional perspective and integrated with other tasks. Despite that, the educational methods used are mainly described as isolated. The analysis of the grammar exercises signals the same result: one out of five exercises integrates grammar with other language proficiencies, whereas the other four exercises consist of practising traditional, isolated grammar.

This study aims to explore the English 5 syllabus in relation to what aspects of English are covered and what changes were introduced in the new 2022 version of the upper-secondary-school English 5 course in Sweden. Another aim is to compare and contrast the new English syllabus with the attitudes, practical implementation and priorities and non-priorities of Swedish upper secondary school teachers of English towards the new English 5 syllabus. The method used in this study was a semi-structured interview and the data analysis method was qualitative content analysis. The study found that only very few meaningful changes were made to the English syllabus and it further found that none of the interviewed teachers felt that the changes to the syllabus had affected their teaching. Teachers perceived the reformed English 5 syllabus to be much about the same things that are stated therein and stated different priorities depending on their teaching situation and the student groups they taught. Three out of the four participants stated having both particular priorities and non-priorities in their teaching. The findings of this study were in accordance with the theoretical background and previous research in the field. The findings of this study are relevant as they provide a clear description of the reformed syllabus and its educational consequences for teachers to utilise in order to better understand how to implement the changes to their teaching. Additionally, it may encourage state agencies to take teachers' perceptions and experiences into account when making policy decisions.

In recent years, research has been done on formative assessment and its connection to student motivation and development, showing both benefits and disadvantages of using the practice. This study investigates further how formative assessment affects students’ motivation and language development in an EFL (English as a foreign language) context, and the possibilities of implementing formative assessment in Swedish upper secondary classrooms. The study was conducted using thematic analysis with nine empirical studies as the basis. The studies contain different forms of formative assessments conducted on upper secondary- and university students, aiming to examine their effects on motivation and development. The results showed that formative assessment is beneficial in motivating students in their language learning as well as aiding students in their language learning development. Teacher feedback, peer review, multiple drafting, and portfolios all positively impact students. Based on the studies’ findings and previous research, it is evident that formative assessment can be used in EFL classrooms with benefits. However, teachers need to be mindful of the way in which they deliver feedback since it can affect students’ motivation. The findings also correlate with the Swedish curriculum for upper secondary school and could therefore be implemented in Swedish schools. Lastly, this study showed that there is a need for further research on the effects of formative assessment conducted on upper secondary school students.

Undersökningen behandlar huruvida elever känner att de var förberedda för matematikstudierna på gymnasiets naturvetenskapsprogram eller inte.  Undersökningen utförs genom en fokusgruppintervju och tematisk analys används för dataanalys.  Undersökningen visar att majoriteten av elevgruppen vid vilken undersökningen genomfördes kände sig förberedda rent kunskapsmässigt. Undervisningen bedrivs i huvudsak likartat på högstadiet och gymnasiet, en genomgång följt av problemlösning.  Det högre tempot i undervisningen var något man kanske hört talas om tidigare men man överraskades ändå, tempot upplevdes som markant högre. / The survey deals with whether stufents feel that they were prepared for the mathematics studies at upper secondary school's science program.  The survey is conducted through a focus group interview and thematic analysis is used for data analysis.  The survey shows that the majority of the students participating in the survey felt prepared in terms of mathematical knowledge. There was a great similarity in the way the teaching was performed, a presentation on the blackboard followed by individual problem solving.  The higher tempo was heard of but still, it was higher than expected.

The Swedish society has quite rapidly undergone a change from a more homogenic population to a more multicultural one. This leads to questions about how teachers handle the recent change. This study aims to investigate if upper-secondary school teachers in biology experience challenges when teaching about the evolutionary theory in a multicultural society, and if biology teachers consider teachers resources to be supportive enough to conduct evolutionary education according to the national curriculum. This study uses interviews as the data collection method and the respondents are situated in different contexts in the Swedish school to provide a width to the sample even though few respondents are included. The results of the study show that biology teachers experience challenges connected to multiculturality and evolution teaching. The teachers mentioned three prominent categories where the challenges were most noticeable: misunderstandings, resistance, and lack of previous knowledge. The multicultural aspect occurred in all the categories. The results also showed that teachers believed that the teacher resources covered the needs for planning the content of evolutionary teaching but not how to face the value conflicts that emerge due to a collision between students’ faith and the evolutionary theory. The conclusion of the study is that all respondents experience challenges connected to their teaching of the evolutionary theory in the context of multiculturality, but the occurrence and severity of the problems are unique. The problems are mostly connected to the emotional disruptions that students´s experience when their beliefs and the evolutionary theory collides. The challenges result in a request for more resources for teachers to be able to face the students’ internal conflicts and to make the school more welcoming to students with different believes. Examples of resources that teachers might find helpful could be informative seminars and the development of simulations. / Sverige har under en relativt kort tidsperiod gått från ett land med en mer homogen befolkning till en mer multikulturell. Frågor uppstår då hur lärare hanterar denna förändring. Denna studie ämnar undersöka om gymnasielärare i biologi upplever utmaningar i samband med evolutionsundervisning i ett mångkulturellt samhälle samt om biologilärarna upplever att det finns nog med lärarresurser till stöd för att genomföra en evolutionsundervisning enligt de nationella läroplanerna. Studien använder sig av intervju som metod och alla respondenter kommer från olika geografiska platser samt skolsituationer inom den svenska skolan för att bidra med en bredd till urvalet trots ett lågt deltagarantal. Resultatet av studien visar att biologilärare på gymnasiet upplever utmaningar kring mångkulturalitet och undervisning av evolutionsteorin med varierande utsträckning och allvarlighetsgrad. Lärarna i studien nämnde tre kategorier som mest utmanande inom evolutionsundervisningen: missförstånd, motstånd och förkunskaper, där den mångkulturella aspekten förekom inom alla tre kategorier. Resultatet visade också att lärare upplever att de lärarresurser som finns idag är tillräckliga för behovet av upplevt stöd för innehållsplanering av evolutionsteoriundervisning men att det saknas resurser för hur lärare ska inkludera alla elever och möta värdekonflikter som uppstår till följd av en krock mellan elevers tro och evolutionsteorin. Studiens slutsats är att alla lärare upplever utmaningar inom evolutionsundervisning kopplat till mångkulturalitet men i olika utsträckning och komplexitet. Utmaningarna grundar sig främst i det emotionella dilemmat som elever upplever när tro och evolutionsteori krockar. I och med detta efterfrågas fler resurser för att kunna möta elevers inre konflikter och för att göra skolan mer välkomnande för elever med olika trosuppfattningar. Resurser som efterfrågas kan innebära allt från informativa seminarium till utveckling av simuleringsverktyg.