The main purpose of this study is to examine differences and similarities concerning teamwork and interactive skills among preschool children while they interact with an Ipad respective a number of selected traditional artifacts. The traditional artifacts chosen for this study are small Lego blocks, JovoToys (click and construct system) and large puzzles. The study takes its starting point on the basis of both a social- and a learning perspective when different groups of preschool children in the ages from three to five years interact in fellowship groups with respective artifact. Primarily the main focus is to examine differences and similarities that appear from without the social perspective.The overall objective is to identify what eventual differences and similarities can be found purposely on both what is happening in the social interaction between the preschool children themselves but also what is taking place in the interaction between the children and each artifact. This study will also via theoretical frameworks create an understanding why eventual differences and similarities exist.The results are based on both a literature review and a field study.

The purpose of this essay is to illustrate how and why teachers in New Zealand use portfoliosas a part of their teaching. The purpose is also to investigate if, and in that case how, a sociocultural perspective on learning can be shown through the work with portfolios. Toinvestigate this we have made a case study in New Zealand where we interviewed sixteachers. The result of the investigation shows that our teachers use portfolios in both asummative and a formative way. In a summative way to gather what the children have done inschool, and in a formative way to help the students to assess what they have done, how theyhave done it and what they are going to do next.

In many of the disputes concerning custody, residence and visitation determined by the court, some form of violence has been performed. The consequence of a child who has witnessed violence in their homes is a problem that is sometimes overlooked. It is not unusual that the violence will continue even after a separation. The law shows that the child´s need of both parents is to be met. This has according to previous studies resulted in the fact that courts do not always see visitation with a violent parent as a risk for the child.

ABSTRACT Poverty, and in particular child poverty, is a serious social problem. Statistics show that the number of children living in poverty has increased over the last ten years. Earlier research shows that there are huge gaps in our knowledge of how the actors in civil society handle child poverty. With this study we hope to help fill this gap. The aim of our study is to look at how four different organisations working in the civil society in Uppsala perceive and handle child poverty.

The purpose of this master's thesis is to examine how the public library communicates with young users through the library web sites. Four Swedish public library web pages for children are analysed. In the analysis the web pages are treated as a combination of semiotic resources that, communicating as a whole, hold a meaning potential. In order to identify the underlying meaning of the whole I have applied the tools of Kress' & van Leeuwen's visual social semiotics to the chosen web pages.The information value, the framing and the salience of each composition is examined and analysed, as is the size of frame, the perspective and the vertical angle of a selection of images from each web page. The results of the semiotic analysis are then discussed and related to Jochumsen et al:s four space-model and the notion of ?child perspective? and ?empowerment?.The results show that the child perspective is strongest on the web pages that represent the performative space as dominating and that empowerment is mainly represented as ?doing?, ?participating? and the ?free choice?.

Aim & Questions at issueThe aim of our study is to study how special teachers/special educationalists in schools of Stockholm look at the phenomenon ADHD/DAMP. We have looked into their view on the diagnose, compared to the two different kinds of research visions about the diagnosis who are known in Sweden today. How do the special teacher/special educationalist work with the diagnosed children?This is our questions at issue:? Is there any optimal learning situation for children with ADHD/DAMP?? Is there something that distinguish all children with ADHD/DAMP?? What is positive and negative about giving the diagnose ADHD/DAMP to children?? Is there any external factors that influence that there is so many more children today who has been given a diagnose?? How does special teachers/special educationalists look on amfetamin-treatment?MethodWe have done qualitative interviews with special teachers/special educationalists in the city area of Stockholm. These have been worked up one by one and then been compared and evaluated together.ResultAll special teachers/special educationalists mentioned that when you educate children with ADHD/DAMP, a structured life underlies the possibility for the children to provide knowledge.

Introduction: In this investigation I have illustrated, teacher treatment in a mono-cultural pre-school class and in a multicultural pre-school.Purpose: The purpose of the study was to illustrate how educators go about it when they face bilingual children to see how they work in a comparative perspective. The purpose was answered, based on four questions relating to how teachers relate to the meeting with bilingual children, the approach teachers use, which operation mode the use, if the take advantage of children's traditions, and if there is any different in the teachers? treatment of bilingual children in the mono-cultural pre-school class and in the multicultural pre-school.Theories: The theory is linked to the concepts like operation mode, inter-cultural approaches and communications.Methodology: The used methods are qualitative interviews with four pre-school, teachers where an interview guide with formulated questions and observations were used. The purpose of the working methods was to highlight teacher treatment of bilingual children to discover different approaches to meet the bilingual children.Conclusion: The study has shown that the multicultural pre-school working inter-culturally, they are taking advantage of children's home language that is lifted in the nursery and the children's background, while in the mono-cultural pre-school class, they meet bilingual children foremost to develop the Swedish language and they also show interest to the children's traditions. Teachers? treatment leads to a growing confidence in the children and knowledge for the cultural background..

AbstractThe aim of the research presented in this thesis is to study how interactional strategies are used by children and what these strategies mean or imply in the preschool cultural context. The theoretical point of departure in the study is the socio-cultural perspective (William Corsaro, Roger Säljö, Jim Wertsch). The study is a contribution to the field of research that focuses upon contextual issues and an overall way of seeing the child. This is in opposition to the strong traditional psychological perspective in the development of the child, where a focus upon the individual dominates in special education. This ethnographic study aims to answer the following research questions; What interactional strategies are co-constructed by the children in preschool play? How do the interactional strategies influence the creation of culture in preschool play? The children, 3-5 years olds, and their play situation were in focus.

The aim of this paper is to examine the actualities of Information Practicefor single women whose parentage has been made possible through assistedreproduction, which places these parents in a norm-breaking position.Study issues related to parents? perceptions of information needs areinvestigated, as is the process of information retrieval and library usageas well as the obstacles and opportunities facing parents in search ofinformation related to their own family constellation. To this end, theoriesby Tom Wilson, Reijo Savolainen and Elfreda A. Chatman have been usedas a model of selection. Empirical data have been gathered from interviewswith eight single women, whose parentage has been made possible throughartificial insemination or IVF with sperm from an open or anonymousdonor.

The purpose of this study was to investigate what competence social workers have, don´t have and ask for in the work with unaccompanied children, how a lack of competence and guidelines has been compensated in the practical work and how the social workers view the future work with unaccompanied children. This has been done through eight semi-structured interviews with social workers who work with unaccompanied children. The result has been analyzed with help of the theoretical perspective globalization connected to social work and showed that none of the social workers felt not having the competence to work with the children. However, everyone mention one or more areas where they ask for competence development. The study showed that lack of education has been compensated through practical experiences, knowledge exchange with others and that guidelines now have been formed.

The aim of this study is to examine present forms of interaction between Child Welfare Clinics (Barnavårdscentraler, BVC), and libraries. The study departs from the user?s perspective, i.e. how the parents evaluate the information they are given about the library and its resources to provide information they want in their present and new situation. In two local communities the survey looks into how parents of babies are informed about the library in meetings arranged as part of the information and support program provided by BVC.

The aim of my thesis was to examine if educators need to be critical of what they read to the children from a gender perspective. I examined how picture books depict gender and if the books enhances or breaks perception of gender roles. I also examined educator?s perception of gender and if they think picture books can affect children?s perceptions of gender, but also what educators think about gender equality through picture books. The study is based on analysis of five picture books and interview with five educators.The results of analyzes showed that picture books are stereotyped and enhances perceptions of gender roles.

In 2007 a project began in the Uppsala region, which aimed to help municipalities implement BBIC (Barns behov i centrum). BBIC is a system that helps social workers increase children?s participation in investigations relating to social work. This study follows up on BBIC?s implementation process in Enköping, a municipality in the Uppsala region.

The objective of this thesis was to study how parents of adult drug addicts experience their contact with the social welfare office, what elements affected the parents degree of satisfaction with the contact with the social welfare office, and whether the contact meant any help for them. Six parents of adult drug addicts were interviewed..

The aim of this paper is to define and analyze how the teacher and parents communicate during a parent conference, to acquire knowledge about how the professional conversation can be used during a parent conference. Our study has focused on the teacher?s professional skills during the parent conference. Parent conference has traditional been a time for teachers to inform the parents about the classroom work. It has always been a one- way communication (Alfakir, 2004), but the curriculum stats that parents should have more influence and be a part of the school.