It is widely recognized that the town of Södertälje, a small Swedish town of 85 000 inhabitants, has alone received more war refugees from Iraq than the US and Canada have put together. Whilst writing this thesis had nearly 6000 Iraqi refugees sought their way to Södertälje since the US invasion in Iraq 2003.Nevertheless, life is not what the media and the government retail. Six of these Iraqi refugees who resided in Södertälje share their life stories in the following thesis. They discuss their escape from Iraq and the difficulties of living in the segregated parts of Södertälje where they solely speak Arabic and Assyrian, whilst learning Swedish at sfi (Svenska för invandrare, Swedish for immigrants). Another distress is related to the unsecure future in Sweden waiting ahead.      The aim of this thesis is to engage in, and highlight the studies of six sfi-students in their endeavor to learn Swedish, whilst struggling through Swedish bureaucracy and experiencing despair due to their situation and uncertain future.       .

This study concerns art education, and the importance of creativity in learning. The objective is to examine the use of art education in practice, and the school teacher?s position on this practice.The theoretical basis of the study is rooted in a socio-cultural perspective, and concerns the relationships between theoretical concepts as learning, knowledge and art education.The investigation is qualitative and the main research methods are participant observations and structured interviews.The group studied in this investigation consisted of five active educators, who work at different schools and make use of art-based methods in their daily work.My results show that teachers believe that art education can be used by schools as a gateway to the other subjects. Art is regarded as a form of understanding through which pupils explore their surroundings, challenge their ideas and build skills through interaction with others..

Syftet med denna studie har varit att hitta de kritiska aspekterna för eleverna att lära sig särskilja fyrhörningarna, kvadrat, rektangel, romb och parallellogram. Vidare har vi undersökt hur undervisningen kan genomföras för att eleverna ska ha möjlighet att känna igen och korrekt namnge fyrhörningarna samt hur läraren kan ge eleverna möjlighet att erfara variation av vårt valda lärandeobjekt. För att besvara ovanstående frågor har vi använt oss av learning study som forskningsmetod. De 3 momenten som har ingått i vår studie är förtest, lektion och eftertest. Studien har genomförts i årskurs 2 i 3 relativt kunskapshomogena elevgrupper som vi i studien kallar grupp 1, 2 och 3.

Abstract Abstract The aim of this essay was to investigate the level of the organizational state of readiness for receiving students with learning disabilities in classes specialized in working with students recently arrived in Sweden, called förberedelseklasser, which could be translated as preparational classes. I tried to do so by answering two questions: *What routines do principals believe that the particular School has for dealing with cases in which a student in a preparational class is suspected to have some form of learning disability? *What perception do teachers have in regards to whether or not the system at their School is well prepared for discovering and aiding students in preparational classes suspected to have learning disabilities? The first question was directed to principals currently working in schools where a large part of the students are bilingual, and many of those recently arrived in Sweden. The second question was aimed at teachers that work in preparational classes. By interviewing two principals and three teachers I came to the conclusion that the teachers believe that their students are often misplaced in preparational classes when in deed they should be placed in a special educations group. My essay also shows that both principals and teachers are dissatisfied with the amount of time the process of discovering, investigating and diagnosing a student with learning disabilities takes.

The purpose of this study is to gain understanding of how self employed entrepreneurs (hereafter referred to as ?entrepreneurs?) develop their competence based on their perceived learning space. The main question is: How do these entrepreneurs develop their competence based on their perceived learning space? Other questions relevant for the study are: How important is the social environment for these entrepreneurs and how do they interact with their social environment in order to develop their competence. The study has a qualitative approach.

The students participating in my development work will work with a process book for handicraft studies. In the beginning of their studies, the students need practical knowledge about the development of the profession itself, but they also need to be challenged and learn how to solve problems on their own which will help them gain a deeper knowledge of the subject.    I focus on open questions to create a process with the students. This process is created when working with Solution-Focused-Education. Through ?assessment for learning? we can help the students to improve their self-assessment and understanding of the learning process.

This two years master?s thesis is a review and exploration of the Swedish debate concerning children?s literature from the 19th century to the present, as well as the evaluation and analysis of four adaptations of the tale Red Riding Hood. The aims are to identify how ideas and values regarding the role of children?s literature in society have developed over time and to contribute with a knowledge base for continued reflection and discussion on the subject of children?s reading and mediation of children?s literature in public libraries.The theory and method used in the thesis, is primarily based on the discourse analysis of Michel Foucault. I have identified four main discourses: the educational discourse, the liberation discourse, the politicized dis- course and the popular discourse.

The aim of this essay is to study how parents to children with learning disability experences the support they get from society. My main question has been: what kind of support offer does society offer this parents? What is good and what is less satisfactory in this support? The study is based on a qualitative method. Five parents with children who has learning disabilities has been used as base. The material has been analysed with a narrative, hernmeneutic perspective.The study concludes that the parents, use in this case, find that society does not offer the necessary understanding for their problem of their family.

The purpose of this study is to examine the view of Swedish language teachers on the role of fiction and of school libraries within the compulsory school?s teaching of Swedish of form 6-9. The questions to be answered are:? What part do Swedish language teachers (hereafter called teachers) think fiction is playing regarding the pupils inclination to read and reading promotion?? What is the attitude of teachers regarding the function of fiction in the Swedish subject?? What do teachers consider being the role of the school library in education, and can this be related to the local school library resources?To answer the questions a questionnaire was sent out to thirty-five teachers. Four qualitative interviews were also carried out among the fourteen teachers that answered the questionnaire.

A study around some fourteen and fifteen year old boys, who are interested in reading. It is about their reading and library habits, what has created their interest and where they acquire access to literature. A certain amount deals with the habits of the boys? school-friends in this subject. The result compares with earlier made reports.

The purpose of this study has been to investigate how four 3rd grade pedagogues allow communication in the teaching of mathematics and how these pedagogues allow their students to use and expand their language of mathematics. It has also been an aim to investigate these four pedagogues? opinions about the significance of communication and of the language of mathematics for students? mathematical learning.The study is based on a sociocultural perspective of Vygotskij?s. The theory implies the importance of using the language and communication for students? learning.

This essay was written in order to elucidate how the priests-to-be and working priests experience the preparation for preaching during their training and if their identity as preachers depends on their preaching; how they refer to rhetoric and what the preparation training looks like.There is no Swedish research within this field, and even the existing international studies concentrate mostly on writing preparation within other occupations, e.g. economics, health care and public sectors. These studies also show that there are several discrepancies between the university preparation for professional writing and speaking and the professional discourse.In order to carry out the investigation the author has interviewed priests-to-be and working priests and examined the syllabi for homiletics and rhetoric. The result of this analysis offers a better insight into the nature of the training in preparing sermons that Swedish priests obtain during their professional education. The author refers to the results of other scientific investigations concerning preparation for professional writing and speaking and concludes that there are similar difficulties within the priest training, e.g.

This Master?s Thesis aims to examine the attitudes concerning gender issues among children?s librarians. The main purpose is to examine what their views on the subject are, and if they consider gender issues when acquiring and mediating books. We are also interested in their opinions about gender stereotyping in children?s books.

The purpose of this essay is to find an answer to whether the methodology used by the Naturskolan conduces to learning and also if the Naturskolan, as a method of its own, leads to an increased interest in natural science for the pupils participating in the classes at the Naturskolan.The method which has been used to reach the results of the study is a quantitative opinion poll. The results reached through the study has been compared to previous research in the subject. Deeper studies were made to examine however the interest of the pupils was influenced by their visit at the Naturskolan.The results of the study show an increase of interest in natural science after visiting the Naturskolan. It also shows that the teachers? interest in natural science and outdoor pedagogy has increased by the visit at the Naturskolan.Through this study we came to the conclusion that the Naturskolan is a good method to learning..

By reading three 21st century books am I trying to see how the female friendship is described in literature of our days. The books are Rebell med frusna fötter by Johanna Nilsson, Lutherska badet by Unni Drougge and I närheten av solen by Hanna Wallsten. They are all written by Swedish authors and taking place in Stockholm in the early years of 2000. I am doing a critical reading against the roles of ?heteronormativitet? as the word is described by Tiina Rosenberg and Fanny Ambjörnsson trying to see how the characters are following or breaking these roles.