This thesis examines the relationship between recognition of prior learning and the aim to increase social and ethnical diversity in higher education. Recognition of prior learning is a result of educational politics aiming to broaden social and ethnical recruitment to higher education. By examining if recognition of prior learning rather can, and shall, be seen as part of what Pierre Bourdieu calls educational social reproduction I try to question whether it fulfils education policy goals or not. My results show that persons responsible for recognition of prior learning rather recognise knowledge from prior educational institutions than knowledge gained outside the educational system. Considering this, recognition of prior learning does not quite live up to the aims.

The main focus of this study is to describe how, and for what reasons teachers use literature and fiction as a pedagogic tool. A qualitative study was made by interviewing four teachers about their language teaching. Working with fiction as a teaching-aid in school can in many ways be favorable to both teachers and pupils. In terms of children?s language development, research shows that using fiction as An educational tool can stimulate pupils? well-being as well as their linguistic improvement.

In the previous curriculum for the preschool Lpfö 98, the educational responsibility was documented belonging to all the team members. On the 1st of July 2011 a new curriculum was introduced to the preschool, Lpfö 98/10, where it is documented that the educational responsibility now belongs to the preschool teachers. According to curriculum experts at the Swedish school board this educational responsibility is not new, just a clarification of the preschool teacher?s educational responsibility.This study is a qualitative study and the purpose was to interview the preschool teachers about their thoughts concerning their educational responsibility. The purpose was also to examine if their educational responsibility has affected their role in the team at the preschool and if they believe that this has any significance for their profession.My result of the study shows that the educational responsibility of the preschool teachers now has been clarified and that they should take a leading role in the team towards the goals that are set for the preschool.

Background: Pedagogical documentation is currently used as a natural part of the educational activities under the revised curriculum for preschool.Aim: The purpose of this study is to see how preschool teachers perceive and define educational documentation in preschool. The aim is also to see what opportunities and obstacles that may arise over the pedagogical documentation.Method: The study was conducted along a qualitative approach with questionnaires in order to reach more preschool teachers and thus obtain a broader picture of the subject content. From a phenomenological approach I have taken account of the preschool teachers' experience and perception of educational documentation and designed it to my own interpretation.Results: The results show that pedagogical documentation is an important tool in preschool teachers work not only found to contain a product, but seems more like a collection of a lot of products to be brought together into a whole..

The debate in the media on a new Swedish sex education movie sparked our interest in this study. The twenty-eight minutes long movie ?Sex on the map? is the first of it?s kind in twenty-five years. It is also part of a bigger sex educational project that contains, apart from the movie, a book about sex education, a documentary and a teachers guide. The project is a co-production between the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (UR) and the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU).We were interested in how teachers received information about the project, and what their attitudes were towards it.

In the previous curriculum for the preschool Lpfö 98, the educational responsibility was documented belonging to all the team members. On the 1st of July 2011 a new curriculum was introduced to the preschool, Lpfö 98/10, where it is documented that the educational responsibility now belongs to the preschool teachers. According to curriculum experts at the Swedish school board this educational responsibility is not new, just a clarification of the preschool teacher?s educational responsibility.This study is a qualitative study and the purpose was to interview the preschool teachers about their thoughts concerning their educational responsibility. The purpose was also to examine if their educational responsibility has affected their role in the team at the preschool and if they believe that this has any significance for their profession.My result of the study shows that the educational responsibility of the preschool teachers now has been clarified and that they should take a leading role in the team towards the goals that are set for the preschool.

E.ON Elnät has in their project Operational Performance developed a priority tool forconstruction and operation. The tool will help the users to increase the capability to prioritybetween new development projects and removal of faults. The tool can be seen as a measuringfor different bay?s reliability, size and the community usefulness. The result of the priority isdirectly connected to which calibration that is chosen in the tool.The priority tool is still under development and there is therefore an uncertainty about howsensitive the tool is for changes in the calibration.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how high school students felt that the computer helped or hindered participation and self-esteem in the learning situation and if the students experienced any differences between when they had been relatively alone in using a computer compared to when everyone had their own computer. The starting point was the national one-to-one projects made to give every student access to a personal computer and how it affected students in special educational needs and previous research. The theoretical approach was based on socioculture/activity theory and theories of self-esteem. Ten high school students in grade one at a senior high school that previously had started up a one-to-one project was interviewed. The results showed that the students primarily used the computer to write and to search the Internet, but even as a alternative or compensatory tool.

This study intends to examine teacher´s thoughts and perception of esthetic activities at preschools. I have chosen to restrict the esthetic area to the significance and function of clay to the teachers and children. On the basis of the belief that children can, and need access to a variety of ways to express themselves, we used the interviews to take part of teachers work and thoughts concerning clay, and the esthetic work. I have in this qualitative study addressed four questions: How do the teachers use clay in preschool activities? What do the teachers think about clay as a tool in the educational work at the preschool? Are the teachers working from the perception of children?s rights to express themselves in different ways and with the help of different tools? What function does clay fill for the children?I have interviewed eight teachers and taken part of both older and more recent theories around children and the creativity in esthetic contexts.

This thesis describes a tool for data mining used to optimize ambulance preparedness. The goal with the tool was that it should be able to retract the information necessary to be able to analyze and calibrate the preparedness model used in the software ResQMap. ResQMap is used by SOS Alarm, who are responsible for the Swedish emergency number 112, as a decision support tool for ambulance operators. It is developed by Carmenta AB, who are the supervisors of the thesis work. Also, a minor study of the preparedness models variables has been performed in order to be able to evaluate the function of the tool.

The purpose of this study is to examine two educational materials from different decades, to see if they have a conscious gender and equality perspective, and to see if they have followed the development society made regarding gender and equality. Even the curricula have a part in my study as I will relate them to the educational materials. Equality as a concept means briefly that women and men should have the same conditions, and gender depicts our notions of femininity and masculinity.I have chosen to do textual analyses, focusing on multimodal discourse because I analyze both text and image. I also use both quantitative and qualitative methods.My questions are: In which way do the curricula and the educational materials express equality?; In which way do the curricula and the educational materials express gender?; Do the educational materials express the fundamental values written about equality and gender in the curricula? And, if this is the case, does it mean that educational materials have followed the development of the Swedish society?The conclusion of this work is that equality and gender are presented as goals in both curricula, but the new curricula have developed that section more.

The point of the study is to investigate educational and vocational counselors' strategies on drop in calls. In order to answer the purpose, the issues concerning the educational and vocational counselors' strategies and guidance models/methods at drop-in calls investigated.Qualitative interviews were conducted with six educational and vocational counselors'.In the study it appears that the educational and vocational counselors' are unable to have any strategies for drop-in conversation because the applicant will come spontaneously and the educational and vocational counselors' lack information about the individual and its purpose of the interview. Guidance models/methods designed to facilitate for the applicant and give them a sense of understanding about them selves there environment and results in a clarification of the election, not often used during the drop-in calls.These are not often used due to the lack of time because the intention of the call is to provide with information to the applicant in as little time as possible. In an educational and vocational counselors? perspective the guidance that is offered at drop-in calls defective..

The aim of this study was to, from a special educational approach, describe and analyse nine teachers and headmasters experiences and perceptions of the use of laptos, ?1-1?, as a tool for working with 13-16 year old pupils born outside of Sweden and with special educational needs (SEN). Interviews were used for data collection. The interview material was analysed with the phenomenografic analysis method and with meaning condensation method. The result was analysed through three perspectives on special education and the concept of inclusion as the study?s frame of reference.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate, and thereby highlight, the new role of special needs teachers in conducting educational development in the fields of linguistics and literacy. The thesis defines how educational development, as described by special needs teachers, can be conducted and what conditions they perceive for such development. Factors which, according to special needs teachers, promote or hinder the development are discussed.The study uses a qualitative method involving knowledge-creating dialogues, analyzed hermeneutically, with two special needs teachers. Results are then discussed in light of relevant research and sociocultural theory. The study indicates that special needs teachers? main tool, to support teachers, is diverse use of dialogue.

In today?s constantly changing market place most organizations need to reorganize. Reorganization carries risks that could jeopardize the organization's well-being and profitability. To minimize these risks, companies need a tool to help them analyze how the reorganization will affect the business before they make major changes. Such tool has now been developed by researchers at KTH.