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Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate some uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a pedagogical aid for supporting students with difficulties in reaching the curricular goals in the school subject English. Special focus is on students with reading and writing difficulties and on students with a foreign background in the ninth grade of the compulsory school and in upper secondary school. The method of investigation consisted of two parts: (a) interviews with eleven regular English teachers and with four remedial teachers about their experiences of using ICT as a pedagogical aid, and (b) an action study in which ICT-based activities were tested in a group of six students with difficulties in English. The results of the interviews showed that in the remedial classes ICT-based support was rather limited. The exceptions were students with severe reading and writing difficulties and other grave learning disabilities. These students were offered greater access to various technical aids and systematic support. For dyslexic students various ICT tools often proved to be an effective and indispensable support in their learning. In non-remedial English lessons, the use of ICT was somewhat greater. Here teachers used ICT as a pedagogical aid for the benefit of all students. The computer was considered to be a good support for project writing as it provided the students with a huge database, with online dictionaries and with a spell checker. The results of the action research showed that students were positive about communicating in English via ICT and they showed great interest in other activities facilitated by technology, such as training grammar, vocabulary, and reading. In conclusion, these surveys generated results similar to those of other studies, showing that although ICT can be an effective pedagogical aid in supporting students with difficulties learning English, it is not presently being used to its full potential.

Vår avsikt med denna uppsats var att undersöka huruvida det finns skillnader i tankar kring och arbete med läs- och skrivsvårigheter, om utbildade lärare även har kunskaper i neurovetenskap utifrån vidare utbildning. För att undersöka detta har vi valt att använda oss av ett frågeformulär bestående av kvalitativa intervjufrågor som metod för insamlig av data. Sex lärare deltar i undersökningen varav hälften av dessa även har en utbildning inom funktionsinriktad musikterapi, vilken har sin grund i neurovetenskap. Forskningsbakgrunden visar på vad forskare anser inom området neurovetenskap kopplat till pedagogik och läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Vi har även redogjort för den funktionsinriktade musikterapin som metod. Resultatet visar att det finns en skillnad mellan lärarna i definitionen av läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Lärare med neurovetenskapliga kunskaper ser till bakomliggande orsaker till barns läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Resultatet visar även på skillnader i hur lärare med olika bakgrund möter barns behov i arbetet med läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Lärare med kunskaper inom neurovetenskap ser barnets utveckling ur ett helhetsperspektiv, vilket ligger till grund för deras arbete med läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Det handlar om att skapa förutsättningar för barnets utveckling snarare än att träna själva svårigheten. För detta ser vi lärarkompetens som viktigaste resurs. Därför bör lärare redan under utbildningen få kunskaper i neurovetenskap och dess betydelse i arbetet med läs- och skrivsvårigheter.

<p><strong>Abstract </strong></p><p>The aim of this study is to investigate some uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a pedagogical aid for supporting students with difficulties in reaching the curricular goals in the school subject English. Special focus is on students with reading and writing difficulties and on students with a foreign background in the ninth grade of the compulsory school and in upper secondary school. The method of investigation consisted of two parts: (a) interviews with eleven regular English teachers and with four remedial teachers about their experiences of using ICT as a pedagogical aid, and (b) an action study in which ICT-based activities were tested in a group of six students with difficulties in English. The results of the interviews showed that in the remedial classes ICT-based support was rather limited. The exceptions were students with severe reading and writing difficulties and other grave learning disabilities. These students were offered greater access to various technical aids and systematic support. For dyslexic students various ICT tools often proved to be an effective and indispensable support in their learning. In non-remedial English lessons, the use of ICT was somewhat greater. Here teachers used ICT as a pedagogical aid for the benefit of all students. The computer was considered to be a good support for project writing as it provided the students with a huge database, with online dictionaries and with a spell checker. The results of the action research showed that students were positive about communicating in English via ICT and they showed great interest in other activities facilitated by technology, such as training grammar, vocabulary, and reading. In conclusion, these surveys generated results similar to those of other studies, showing that although ICT can be an effective pedagogical aid in supporting students with difficulties learning English, it is not presently being used to its full potential.</p>

Hur policyförändringar, som fler nationella prov och tidigare betyg, kan komma till uttryck i verksamheten utforskas i denna studie. Syftet är att undersöka hur några elever i läs- och skrivsvårigheter/dyslexi beskriver sina erfarenheter av att göra nationella läsprov i svenska i årskurs 6. Det empiriska materialet har inhämtats genom halvstrukturerade intervjuer med fyra elever i årskurs 6, som nyligen har genomfört proven. Resultatet, som har analyserats ur ett policy enactment perspektiv, visar att eleverna beskriver proven som mycket viktiga, då de tror att proven har en stor betydelse för deras betyg i svenska. Eleverna har förberetts inför proven i skolan genom undervisning i läsförståelsestrategier, genom att öva på gamla prov och genom att titta på bedömningsexempel. De har också förberett sig själva inför provsituationen på olika sätt. Eleverna har olika erfarenheter av anpassningar vid proven och de som har haft anpassningar ställer sig positiva till det. Eleverna upplevde stress och nervositet i varierande grad, främst innan proven. Skilda specialpedagogiska perspektiv framträder i hur skolor hanterar frågor om förberedelser och anpassningar av de nationella proven. Hur lärare och elever tolkar policy får betydelse för eleverna i samband proven. / How changes in policy, as more national tests and earlier grades, can be expressed in school settings are explored in this study. The aim is to examine how some students in reading and writing difficulties/dyslexia describe their experiences of doing national reading tests in Swedish in Grade 6. The empirical material has been collected through semi-structured interviews with four students in Grade 6, who recently have conducted the tests. The results have been analyzed from a policy enactment perspective and show that students describe the tests as very important, since they believe that the tests have a significant impact on their grades in Swedish. Students have been prepared for the tests in school by teaching of reading comprehension strategies, by practicing on old tests and by looking at assessment examples. Students have also prepared themselves for the test situation in different ways. They have different experiences regarding adjustments during the tests and the students who have had adjustments express positive feelings about them. The students experienced stress and anxiety in varying degrees, mostly before the tests. Separate perspectives of special education emerge in how schools deal with issues as preparation and adjustments of the national tests. How teachers and students interpret policy seems to be an important factor in students’ situations associated to the tests.

The aim of this study is to examine some secondary school pupils´ and teachers´ opinions about good support when having reading and writing difficulties and if there is a difference between their point of view in this issue. The study is based upon semi-structured interviews with both pupils and teachers. The result shows both similarities and differences in what they consider as good support. To read texts aloud to pupils is something that the teachers in the study use as a way of support and it is much appreciated by the pupils too. The possibility to get the teacher´s notes is another thing that both pupils and teachers think are useful and further on to have an opportunity to do oral tests. Sometimes it can even be a crucial reason for the pupil to get higher scores. This does not happen as a daily routine, but the pupils have to ask for both oral tests and teachers´ notes. Several of the informants among the pupils say they would prefer one-to-one tuition or to be taught in small groups. None of the teachers mention this as a good way of supporting pupils with special needs. Instead they want to spend more time with each pupil and also they would like the opportunity of an extra teacher in the classroom. / Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka några högstadieelevers och lärares uppfattningar om bra stöd vid läs- och skrivsvårigheter samt se om det finns en skillnad i deras uppfattning kring denna fråga. Studien är baserad på semi-strukturerade intervjuer med både elever och lärare. Resultatet visar på både likheter och skillnader i deras uppfattningar om bra stöd. Att få text uppläst av en lärare uppskattas mycket av eleverna och är också något som lärarna i studien använder sig av. Likaså ses anteckningar och muntliga prov gemensamt som underlättande och ibland högst avgörande på hur pass väl man som elev kan lyckas. Detta sker inte alltid på rutin, utan eleverna får själva be om den hjälpen. Flera informanter bland eleverna önskar en-till-en undervisning eller undervisning i liten grupp. Ingen av lärarna nämner detta som ett önskemål på hur de vill att stöd ska ges. Istället önskar de sig mera tid med varje elev och en extra lärare på sina lektioner.

Denna studie har syftat till att undersöka hur arbetet med läs- och skrivsvårigheter ser ut inom utbildningen sfi, svenska för invandrare. Studien beskriver pedagogernas arbete för att identifierar olika typer av läs- och skrivsvårigheter hos elever. Studien beskriver också de hinder som finns i arbetet med eleverna i behov av specialpedagogiskt stöd på både individ- och organisationsnivå. Det framkommer att en stor utmaning för lärarna är att utreda om orsaken till dessa svårigheter beror på läs- och skrivsvårigheter eller är en konsekvens av att lära ett nytt språk som vuxen. Därutöver beskriver studien vad pedagogerna själva ser som möjliga lösningar för att förbättra arbetet med dessa frågor. Kvalitativa intervjuer med fem pedagoger verksamma på sfi genomfördes – fyra lärare med specialpedagogisk kompetens och en andraspråkslärare. Både kommunal verksamhet och utbildningsföretag finns representerade i undersökningen. Analysen av det empiriskt insamlade materialet grundar sig i ett specialpedagogiskt perspektiv. Resultaten visar att det råder osäkerhet hos pedagogerna hur man går tillväga för att utreda läs- och skrivsvårigheter och dyslexi hos elever på sfi. Pedagogerna uppger att de saknar både kunskap och relevant testmaterial för denna grupp av elever. Det saknas en övergripande plan från Skolverket för hur man arbetar med dessa frågor. Studien visar också att möjligheten att få specialpedagogiskt stöd ser olika ut beroende på utbildningsanordnande huvudmans prioriteringar. Det innebär att elever riskerar att inte få det stöd de har rätt till. Detta delvis beroende på att skrivningar gällande särskilt stöd i viss mån är otydliga och lämnar utrymme för tolkning. / The aim of this study is to explore and describe work with immigrants with reading and writing difficulties in sfi, Swedish for immigrants. The study describes teachers work to identify different types of reading and writing difficulties among their pupils. The study also describes obstacles working with these individuals in need of special education on both a personal and organizational level. It becomes clear that a big challenge for the teachers is to define if the cause of their difficulties lies in reading and writing problems or merely is a consequence of learning a new language as an adult. Furthermore it is also described what the educators themselves see as possible solutions to improve the work on these issues.   The study is based on qualitative interviews with five teachers working in sfi – four with special education training and one second language teacher. Both municipal and private schools are represented in the study. Empirical analysis of the collected material is based on a special education perspective.   The results show that there is uncertainty among the teachers on how to assess reading and writing difficulties and dyslexia in individuals in sfi. Teachers report that they lack both knowledge and relevant test materials for this group of pupils. There is no comprehensive plan or guide line from Skolverket on how to deal with this.   The study also shows that the possibility of getting special education support is unequal between schools depending on economic priorities. This means that some pupils may not get the support they are entitled to. In part due to the fact that the curriculum is unclear regarding how special assistance can be done which leaves room for interpretation.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka några lärares uppfattningar, strategier och förutsättningar för att arbeta med STL- metoden för elever i läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Frågeställningarna som står i fokus är hur lärarna i studien uppfattar att metoden påverkar lärandet för elever i läs- och skrivsvårigheter, strategier och förutsättningar som krävs för att arbeta med metoden och anpassningar som behövs för att eleverna i läs- och skrivsvårigheter ska få ut det mesta av metoden. Studien bygger på fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med verksamma lärare i STL- metoden, skriva sig till lärande, med olika erfarenheter av läs- och skrivlärande samt olika många år inom yrket. Vid intervjuerna användes en intervjuguide och under samtalets gång ställdes följdfrågor. Intervjuerna transkriberades för att sedan blir analyserade med hermeneutiken utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. Resultat visar på några faktorer som är viktiga vad det gäller STL som arbetssätt för elever i läs- och skrivsvårigheter som till exempel anpassa uppgifter, anpassa responsarbete, organisera grupp eller pararbete, uppdatera kompensatoriska hjälpmedel och arbeta med klimatet i klassen så att elever i svårigheter känner sig inkluderade, som en i gemenskapen och motiverade till sitt arbete. / The purpose of the study is to investigate some teachers' perceptions, strategies and conditions for working with the WTL (Writing to Learn) method for students in reading and writing difficulties in earlier years. The issues that are in focus is how the teachers in the study perceive that the method affects the learning of students in reading and writing difficulties such as, strategies and conditions required for working with the method and adjustments necessary for students in reading and writing difficulties, how they will get the most out of the method. The study is based on five semi-structured interviews with experienced teachers practising the WTL method, with different experiences of literacy teaching and different many years in the profession. The interviewer used an interview guide and follow-up questions were asked during the interview. The interviews were transcribed and then analyzed with hermeneutic from a sociocultural perspective. Results indicated some factors that are important in terms of the WTL method for students in reading and writing difficulties, such as adapting tasks, customize response work, organizing group or pair work, update compensatory aids and work with the climate in the class so that students in reading and writing difficulties feel themselves included as one in the community and motivated in their work.

Abstract The aim of the study is to investigate how three pedagogues with different orientations work with reading and writing difficulties in the same school. A qualitative method with interviews and observations of the teachers was applied to investigate the methods used by a special education teacher, a class pedagogue and a special education pedagogue, and the needs for support in the teaching of pupils with reading and writing difficulties. In the design of interview questions and observation protocols and the processing of the collected data, the research method has been deductive, which means that themes based on the aim of the study and previous research were the starting point for the categorization of the data. The results of the study show that the group of pupils with reading and writing difficulties is problematic because the needs for support vary greatly and because, according to the pedagogues, the iPad was the device that contained the alternative tools that were able to give the pupils the best support. It is important to have variation in the teaching, and different apps can offer this. The theoretical premise of the study is the socio-cultural perspective which revealed itself in the way that, no matter what difficulty the pupil has, support from the pedagogues is needed to advance in the learning process, and this should take place in social interaction between pedagogue and pupil.

Due sono le constatazioni di base che guidano questo elaborato: la complessità che caratterizza le odierne classi richiede agli insegnanti di differenziare la proposta didattica; spetta al docente saper individuare eventuali difficoltà di apprendimento e/o disturbi specifici (DSA) al fine di favorire un percorso scolastico rispettoso delle peculiarità di ciascuno. Cosa succede, però, quando lo studente con DSA è di origine migratoria ed è bilingue? Il disturbo ha reali basi neurobiologiche o è piuttosto correlato alle fatiche di veicolare l’apprendimento attraverso una lingua diversa da quella parlata in ambito familiare? Il dato da cui partire è quello rilevato in letteratura in merito alla scarsità, in ambito nazionale, di test clinici per DSA strutturati e standardizzati su chi parla più di una lingua. Da ciò consegue la necessità di implementare un’azione a monte, al fine di migliorare l’appropriatezza degli invii ai Servizi Sanitari o agli Enti accreditati: un percorso da attuare con il personale docente. A questo scopo l’indagine intende favorire tra gli insegnanti una corretta informazione circa la distinzione tra disturbo specifico dell’apprendimento e difficoltà di letto-scrittura in alunni bilingui figli di migranti. Inoltre, l’insegnante è chiamato ad appropriarsi di una forma mentis capace di cogliere in maniera attenta e rispettosa le peculiarità di ciascun allievo, unico nella sua arricchente diversità: un insegnante flessibile, disposto a sperimentare una didattica di tipo differenziato. / This thesis is based on two fundamental observations: nowadays classes are becoming ever more complex and diverse. Therefore, teachers must diversify the didactic proposal. It’s up to the educator to identify any learning difficulties and / or learning disabilities (LD), in order to favor a scholastic path that respects the peculiarities of each pupil. What happens, however, when the students with LD come from an immigrant family and they are bilingual? Does the disorder really have a neurobiological bases? Or is it rather related to the effort of learning through a language that is not the native language for the children? The starting point is the one found in literature regarding the national scarcity of clinical tests for LD structured and standardized on those who speaks more than one language. For these reasons it is needed an upstream action, in order to make the advice of teachers more specific towards those children with difficulties who have to undertake a diagnostic assessment process. That is why it is important to encourage greater awareness among teachers and correct information about the difference between specific learning disabilities and reading-writing difficulties in bilingual learners with a migrant background. Furthermore, the inclusive teacher must have a mindset aimed at knowing in a careful and respectful way the peculiarities of each student. Every child is unique in its enriching diversity: we need a flexible teacher, motivated to implement the differentiated instruction.