Secondary schools have for decades debated whether they promote social reproduction which is considered to generate the homogeneous student compositions. The gap between the academic programs and vocational education programs is considered to increase. What in recent years has appeared in research is that the gap is increasing most tend to be in the specific academic program, particularly in science. This paper's intention is to describe the science program at a local level and the pupils who were admitted to the science program autumn 2009 on the basis of an educational sociological perspective. The survey consisted of a census in which all students were given the opportunity to answer a questionnaire.

The purpose of this study was to illustrate a parental perspective of children´s participation and quality of live through personal assistance. Important aspects of parents' experiences were highlighted based on how they experienced participation and quality of life for their children. We chose to use a qualitative approach in the form of four individual interviews with parents from different municipalities in central Sweden. The study was conducted with a narrative approach in which we used a holistic perspective. Parents' experiences were highlighted over time to create a complete picture.

AbstractThe school today has an assignment to offset traditional gender patterns as well as to create opportunities for all pupils to achieve the same good results in school regardless of sex, ethnicity and conditions. The educator?s assignment is determined by governing documents, and the educator plays a role in helping the pupil find their equal role in society. This means that the educator needs to work in a way that offsets traditional gender patterns and require approaches that would benefit equal opportunities for both boys and girls to achieve good results.The purpose of the study was, through interviews, to get an idea of how primary school teachers from a gender equal perspective perceive how they see them relate to boys and girls in their teachings. The study is based on the presumptions that the pupils have but focusing on the relationship between school achievements and equality.The study brings up concepts like gender theories, equality, the biological sexes, the history of the schools development and changes in acceptance of boys and girls and the role of the governing documents to reach acceptable achievements.

A large number of genocides have taken place in our history. The purpose of this essay is to examine how genocide is treated in five high school history textbooks. I have studied a large number of issues. I have examined which genocides are discussed in the textbooks and which genocides the textbooks don?t discuss.

This degree project aims to evaluate alternative methods to the unanaesthetized castration of piglets. Castration of piglets is performed to prevent the development of boar taint. Boar taint can cause great financial losses for the pig manufacturer. Unanaesthetized castration of piglets is not regarded to be satisfactory from an animal welfare perspective and the procedure will for that reason be outlawed in the near future.Several alternative methods are used in countries all over the world with promising result. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if this methods could be applied in Swedish pig production.A literature study has been combined with interviews; field studies, questionnaires and a small study on male pig production.To be applicable to and applied in Swedish pig production the alternative method must be financially accepted by the manufacturers but also accepted from an animal welfare perspective.Castration is the only way to guarantee a meat free of boar taint.

Mathematics is a central topic in today?s society. There are many different approaches each teacher has their own way. In this essay, I compare four teachers? mathematics teaching in two different countries with regard to ways of learning, particularly in the four operations.

This report describes a comparative study of the change in grading system in the year of 1995 and the coming year of 2012. The objective is to analyze and compare the political debate from two Swedish parties, the Social democrats and the Moderates, from a number of the parties political periodicals. Futher the objective is to show, from the periodicals debate, what approach to knowledge the parties are presenting. The theoretical base of this study is rooted in the political background of grading system and in literature defining different theories about knowledge and approach to knowledge. The investigation is qualitative and the main research method is text analysis.The conclusions is that the parties overall stood their ground and kept their opinions throughout the two debates and the change in grade systems.

AbstractThe aim of the study was to examine how a school team works with formative assessment in compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities. The study had a particular focus on formative assessment in relation to pupils with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. Since there is a lack of research within the field of formative assessment and pupils with moderate and severe disabilities this study may contribute to new knowledge in this field. A sociocultural perspective has been used as a theoretical framework. A central concept in the sociocultural perspective is that people develop knowledge in interaction with other people and that communication and language is important.  The methodical framework was inspired by an ethnographic approach and the empirical material was concocted by participatory observations and by interviews.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the conflict of interest between shareholders, life insurance companies and insurers in stock life insurance companies operated on a mutual basis from an agency-theoretic perspective. Further, this thesis aims to explore from an ownership-theoretical perspective, why this conflict of interest exist. A qualitative research has been performed and the empirical data is foremost based on interviews with persons from the life insurance industry and public prints. The study concludes that the stock life insurance company operated on a mutual basis has two principals whose interests are in conflict. History has shown that stockowners? interests have been prioritized on the expense of the insurers.

The purpose of this study is to present a critical analysis of how certain themes of the Norse pagan religion are portrayed in ten selected textbooks used for Religious Science education in grades one through nine. The themes included in the analysis are; the description of the transition from the Norse Pagan religion to Christianity; Adam of Bremen?s portrayal of human sacrifice, and lastly Ibn Fadhlan?s characterization of widow burning. By using a critical knowledge text analysis, and applying a theoretical starting point that pedagogical material analyses and interprets events from a specific perspective; in this case from a Christian perspective, I have from the study concluded that the chapters covering the Norse pagan religion in these textbooks have a distinguished Christian bias seen as the norm. The themes analysed in this study all describe different phenomena in a similar way and make use of the same sources, even though these are often questioned.

Syftet med denna studie är att göra en jämförelse mellan pojkarnas och flickornas tal- och språksvårigheter/språkstörningar i elva förskoleklasser..

AbstractEmma Hjalmarsson, teacher studentMaria Talevska, teacher studentTitle: So different yet so alike â A comparative study focusing on the pedagogical leadership in two different cultures.Växjö University, Fall Semester 2005, Department of the HumanitiesGIX 192, Degree project/Religious Studies in Secondary EducationThis paper compares the pedagogical leadership in Thailand and Sweden. By performing interviews, handing out questionnaires and observing class rooms we wanted to compare the relationship between pupils and teachers from one school in Sweden and one school in Thailand.From the pupils we wanted information about their view on teachers; what characterizes the best teacher, what the worst teacher is like and how they would like a teacher to be.From the teachers on the other hand we wanted to know what kind of relationship they would like to have with their pupils and how they work to accomplish that purpose. We also wanted to find out if they put more emphasis on upbringing or knowledge and if there are any religious influences in the education.Finally, we also wanted to see if there was something from the pedagogical view in the Thai school that we could use in education in Sweden..

I detta examensarbete på kandidatnivå är huvudsyftet att undersöka psykologiska testers praktiska användning och vilken roll de har vid urvalet i chefsrekryteringsprocesser. Som delsyfte undersöks även de olika stegen i dessa processer. En kvalitativ undersökning med en abduktiv ansats har genomförts, där åtta rekryterare från olika rekryteringsföretag har intervjuats med fokus på dessa syften. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade, och samtliga intervjuer spelades in och transkriberades, för att sedan analyseras med Constant Comparative Method. Resultatet visade att rekryterarna har en relativt samstämmig bild av den praktiska användningen av psykologiska tester, samt den roll dessa spelar i en chefsrekryteringsprocess.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to examine in what way the introducing of library plans in three municipalities have affected the work in library organizations. We base our study on a new institutionalist perspective, which focuses on changes in organizations from a social and interpretative perspective. By using this theoretical framework, it is possible to study how interpersonal relations affect the development in library organizations. Through qualitative interviews with ten librarians, we investigate how the establishing of library plans has influenced, and been influenced by, the library field and by the environment, i.e.

Who runs the development? A comparative study of the construction of residential buildings in Nacka and Södertälje.The aim of this study is to identify actors involved in the initiation and implementation of residential house construction in two Swedish municipalities. This means who is taking initiative for new residential buildings, who affects the planning process, who finances these new buildings and who builds them. By exploring empiric material from the municipalities of Nacka and Södertälje, the above questions will be answered and by referring to pluralism, growth machine theory and regime theory a link to general theories of political science is made. The results found show that the analysed municipalities have quite different possibilities for acting and that these backgrounds are also important for which actors will take initiative for new residential buildings and which actors will be allowed to state their opinion during the planning process.