The aim of this study is to observe Swedish preschool children in their natural habitat and without any intervention. Four different observations are made and thereafter analyzed. Throughout the whole study the subject of interest is the children's communication in their play. Children can communicate with each other in various ways, for instance with speech and without speech, i.e. with their physical language, aesthetic and multi language.

The study focuses on the use of poetry in language teaching in the lower grades in the Swedish school. Poetry has a reputation of being an art form with such specific rules and structures that children and teachers think that it is something that they do not have the ability to work with.  The purpose of this study is to get an understanding of how poetry is used in educating children. My research is based on the following questions. To which extent is poetry being used in schools and how is it being used?Can you as a teacher see any effects on childrens language development by using poetry?As a part of my study I have met with and interviewed four different people, who in one way or another is involved in teaching children. Two working teachers in the lower grades, one pedagogical resource and one artist that work with teachers in reaching different goals through the help of aesthetic processes.

In this report, a case study of conditions for Swedish language development in children of immigrant origin is presented, and its results explored. The boundaries of the case study are defined as preschool pedagogues? facilitation of Swedish language development through co-learning, in children of immigrant origin in an ethnically segregated urban area. Concepts central to the report include dialogue, second language learning and perspectives on language difficulties. For the theoretical background of the report, a basic sociocultural theorem is used, which links language as well as other areas of development to verbal interaction in a social context.

In 2009 transgendered persons were included in the Swedish law against discrimination. Prior to the inclusion a commission made an investigation of the necessity of such change in the law and how it could be designed. This essay focuses on the discourses regarding gender that appear in the law and the report written by the commission. Using theories by Judith Butler and discourse analysis inspired by Norman Fairclough it identifies two main discourses regarding gender: a two gender discourse and a queer discourse. The two discourses meet in the studied material in an antagonistic way, a conflict that is solved by separating the two and making one part of the law focus on gender and one on transgender.

In Sweden today, more women are still going on parental leave than men. The number of men and women going on parental leave is more equalized than ever before. At the same time the inequalities are still big and more women than men choose to work part time up till the child is eight years old.The aim of the study is through a gender perspective, to investigate the preschool teacher?s thoughts about the daily meetings with parents and the contact during induction. The study is based on the theoretical concepts: gender, norms and gender equality as well as three questions.

The aim has been to investigate and describe how gender-neutral design, concerning typefaces and colours, can be created. Based on my results I?ve designed a cover for a recipe-book to make it appealing to both women and men. I have been doing my research based on questions such as; Does feminine and masculine design, concerning typefaces and colours exist? And if so what characterizes it? Does gender-neutral design, concerning typefaces and colours exist? And if so what characterizes it? Is it possible to design a cover for a recipe-book in a gender-neutral way, concerning typefaces and colours? The first part of my research consists of a literature study based on keywords such as gender, graphic design, gender theory, typeface, androgynous, visual communication, colour, shape, feminine, masculine, and book design.

This study aims to investigate how a number of students who are at the end of a teachers? educations program in social studies, geography, religion and history interpret that the national curriculums states that every teacher is responsible for students language development and should be supportive of language backgrounds. In the light of the curriculums the study explores how the teacher education students feel that the education has prepared them for teaching children with Swedish as a second language. The study also examines how the teacher education students think that the teacher education could improve in matters like preparing future teachers to teach social studies, geography, religion and history to second language children.The study is based on interviews with seven university students and shows that they feel a responsibility to develop their future students? language.

This study has the purpose to reveal whether gender stereotypes are manifested or challenged in the children comic Bamse - världens starkaste björn based on six different stories widespread over 40 years. The results will be studied in the light of the contemporary gender development in society and emanate from theories about power, discourse, representation, queer and gender. An eclectic analysis based on semiotics and critical discourse analysis will be the method to reveal the underlying gender perspective in Bamse. The conclusion of the study shows an ambiguous perspective in the comic where both men and women occasionally are represented in a manifested as well as a challenged stereotypical role. In some of the stories the gender is erased and all characters are represented based on their individual attributes instead, meanwhile in some stories men are represented as active heroes while women are portrayed as passive nurturer.

The purpose of this study was to create an environment that stimulates children?s communication via language in a preschool called ?The Flower?. The environment should encourage and challenge the children to interact and communicate more with each other. That in turn will further the children?s language acquisition.

The purpose of this study was to create an environment that stimulates children?s communication via language in a preschool called ?The Flower?. The environment should encourage and challenge the children to interact and communicate more with each other. That in turn will further the children?s language acquisition.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and analyse the debate of ideas on gender equality policy during 1998 - 2011. The questions raised in this thesis are; which gender equality policy ideology has prevailed during 1998 - 2011, and which ideological orientation have the different ministers of gender equality expressed during the same period of time? I have conducted the study by analysing government publications and debate articles against a ideological framework consisting of different types of feminist theory. In order to get a result as representative as possible, I have only used the material from each of the ministers during their time in office. The research method that I have used when analyzing the material is qualitative text analysis.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how power structures concerning gender and sexuality emerge through the use of language in the Swedish reality show Paradise Hotel. Of particular interest is the representation of heterosexual relations in the show. Because of its interest in the relationship between power, gender and sexuality, the thesis is based on theories from gender and discourse studies. The specific theories referred to are Michel Foucault?s understanding of power, stereotypes according to Stuart Hall, Yvonne Hirdman?s gender system and contract theory, Judith Butler?s heterosexual matrix and R.W.

The main purpose of this study was to collect norm data for thegrammatical receptive language test Test for Reception of Grammar - Version 2(TROG-2), from 144 Swedish children, aged 8:0-9:11 years. Another aim was toinvestigate whether a change in the order of the blocks was needed in the Swedishversion of TROG-2 to keep an increasing level of difficulty. Other aims included toinvestigate the relationship between receptive grammar and word decoding, andbetween parents ratings of their children?s language comprehension and readingabilities and the children?s results on the TROG-2 and a word decoding test. Theresults showed that the order of the blocks needs to be changed and that there wasno significant relationship between language comprehension and word decoding.Parents were better at rating their children?s reading than language comprehension..

Gender awareness is considered of absolute importance to Swedish school?s and preschool?s main mission ? equal opportunities for all children. Gender portrayal in childrens literature is now one subject of vast study, since literature often carry underlying messages of the perception of male and female. With this in mind, the purpose of this thesis was to analyse, mainly through Maria Nikolajeva?s scheme of gender ideal types, how the Swedish writer Per Gustavsson portrayed girls in four of his so called Prince- and princess books.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out how gender roles are described in musical lyrics written for children. I used gender theories that describe how stereotypical gender roles are displayed in music and these theories were later compared with the songbooks I studied. The thesis is a qualitative study to detect masculine and feminine related differences in the texts. After having read, analyzed and compared over 200 songs I found that the stereotype notions of masculinity and femininity is reflected in songs. Society has transferred in this way normative values on to the children through the songs that teachers choose to sing in schools..