Purpose: The purpose of this work is to investigate teachers' professional attitude to homework as a method. The study will also provide answers to the purpose for which the homeworks are used in teaching and if the individual circumstances and needs are met by this method.Method: Qualitative research was conducted through interviews with four teachers from three different schools. In addition, published surveys were used in support of reasoning.Results: Neither the curriculum or the syllabus mentions homework. There are no directives for how much time should be dispensed with and the extent of a homework should be. In teacher training literature the homework is not discussed.

Abstrakt Fredrik Höglund och Lotta Wemmert Lundin (2010) Samtalets förutsättning och funktion mellan specialpedagog och rektor (The condition and function of the conversation between special pedagogue and headmaster) Skolutveckling och ledarskap, Malmö högskola Syftet med denna studie har varit att ta reda på vilken förutsättning och funktion samtalet mellan specialpedagog och rektor har. Detta har vi gjort genom att använda tre delfrågor; vad samtalar specialpedagog och rektor om? När uppfattar specialpedagog/rektor att samtalen varit bra? Samt vad efterfrågar specialpedagog/rektor för att göra samtalet bättre? Undersökningen var utpräglat kvalitativ och vi använde oss av intervjuer med såväl specialpedagoger som rektorer. Inom ramen för detta tar vi upp en fenomenologisk metodteori vilken framförallt får fungera som organiserande princip. Från början var vår avsikt inte att belysa specialpedagogens yrkesroll utan enbart ha fokus på samtalet och dess innehåll.

The aim of this study was to reach a better understanding of voluntary work and its possible influence on the work role. Based on a phenomenological approach, five voluntary workers from the leisure field were interviewed. The interpretation of the empirical data was based on the Humanistic psychology and its theories about personality, self-realization, motivation and emotion. The results show that the motive behind the voluntary engagement varied amongst the participants and all of them stated more than one motive. However, social motives, wanting to learn more and develop their skills and also wanting to help others, were the most frequent motives among the participants. In the light of the theoretical background for this study, these motives can be understood as being due to the need of self-realization and appreciation from others, and also a wish to reach an ideal self.

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of the work of school librarians with pupils with dyslexia. In addition, the study investigates the cooperation between school librarians and pedagogues concerning the pupils with dyslexia. The two theoretical points of departure are: theory of profession and a model of cooperation built upon Louise Limberg?s and Lena Folkesson?s three categories of librarians? experiences of cooperation with teachers. Qualitative semi- structured interviews with eight qualified librarians constitute the empirical material.

Through this project -?Projekt Pedadoggen?- I have tested dog training as a pedagogical resource at Daily activities. The study was made together with a group of persons with intellectual and neuropsychiatric disabilities, whose daily activities consist of running a day-care centre for dogs. Each participator of the project trained a dog towards a specific goal. This goal was individually formulated by each participator from his or her specific interest.

This study focuses on young adults with mild mental retardation and how their early adult life is a few years after leaving high school. They have grown up in a society where the view on mentally disabled has undergone big changes. Political decisions regarding handicapped, laws, official principles and social reforms have been dominated by the prinziple of normalization.The purpose has been to describe how the young adults themselves experience their life. The questions were: How is the every day life for young adults with mild mental retardation? Do they have asset to community support in order to reach as normal life as possible? How satisfied are they with their life?The investigation is a quality study through interviews with four young adults and their parents.

Den ha?r C-uppsatsen handlar om na?gra erfarna pedagogers syn pa? fo?rskolebarnets spra?kutveckling genom musik. Syftet med underso?kningen a?r att se om sa?ng och musik kan fra?mja barnets spra?kutveckling. De huvudsakliga fra?gesta?llningarna a?r: Kan/Hur kan musik sto?dja spra?kutvecklingen? Hur kan detta fungera i praktiken? Har ro?relsen till musiken na?gon betydelse? I litteraturgenomga?ngen tas Vygotsky, Gardner, Steiner och Arnqvist upp, och deras olika syn pa? barnets spra?kutveckling.

We studied the initial process of reading, with a focus on typography, whether it ispossible to increase childrens lust to read in the age six to seven years old, byadjusting the typography and graphic design. We conduct this study through qualitative and quantitative studies, mainlyinterviews with a main focus on children in this particular age were used. In additionto the interviews a questioniare were sent out to a selection of students. The studyalso contained an interview with a pedagogue as well as studies of the current andexisting textbooks and teaching aids that is used on the school we are looking into.During the study we consulted educated pedagogues to get an understanding of thechildren and their learning and to be able to approach them in a suitable way.The theories we have been using were mainly from a typographic point of view.Other areas we explored were theories about reading processes. This study showedthat every child needs a method that is suitable for them and that the materialprovided today is typographically inconsistent. The childrens and teachers needs andwishes in typography did not correspond with the current teaching aids design. From this study the followning points were made about how to design a textbook forchildren in the first grade:? The typeface should be a sans serif.? The point size should be bigger than 12 points.? Text should be aligned to the left.? Sentences should be short without becoming abstract.? To maintain focus on the text the layout should be simple and unbarked.? The format should be designed after the pourpose of the publication, forexample when it is a complement to the textbook, the format should be of suchcharacter that it is easy for the children to bring home.? There should be a typographical consistency through all of the materialsprovided to the children..

The Swedish educational system has taken a step toward change in hopes of a better education by presenting a new national curriculum: Curriculum for the compulsory school, preschool class and the leisure-time centre 2011 (Lgr 11). I have therefore chosen to analyze the textbooks Champion 4 and Portfolio based on the objectives and areas of knowledge for grades 4-6 found in the syllabus for English in Lgr 11 in order to find out whether or not the textbooks are in harmony with the syllabus and if the textbooks can be used to help students meet the requirements found in the syllabus for the English subject.The purpose of this study is to analyze selected textbooks for the English subject for students in fourth grade to find out which of the curriculum?s requirements are met for grades 4-6, that is, goals and areas of knowledge and if they can be used in the compulsory school.The results of this study show that the analyzed books can be used in an education that today follows a new curriculum. However the education should not only be based on the textbooks. The teacher must take responsibility for designing an education that suits the intended student group, but also provides students with different learning styles an opportunity to develop in their individual ways.

The purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the various factors that influence the balancebetween the working lives and family lives of social workers. The research questions posedwere: Do social workers consider there is a conflict between their working lives and familylives? Which factors make maintaining a balance between working life and family life moredifficult and which make it easier to do so? How do social workers describe equality betweenthe sexes in their own family? Regarding methodology, the selection method is strategic andcombines data sources with quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The material collectedand via online survey, targeted to 120 municipal employees social workers in a district councilin a big city, and through interviews with four social workers in a rural community. The studywas performed using gender theory and the demand-support-control model.

The Squares Family is a game developed as a learning aid in mathematics. With its graphical representation of the decimal system, the four basic arithmetic operations and positive and negative numbers together with a learning agent as pedagogical approach, the game?s primary purpose is to motivate students in their learning of mathematics. Although the game is strictly based on mathematical rules it attempts to encourage students to play and work with math without experiencing it as mathematics as this is initially not obvious. The game being internationally tested on normal performing students, this project introduced the game to six Swedish students who experience low motivation for and/or difficulties in mathematics.

The purpose of this study was to examine and illustrate how people look at themselves and their happiness in relation to their economic situation. This study was based on interviews with eight adults divided in two groups, four were big-income earners and four were unemployed/sick-listed. I identified factors that affected the feeling of happiness such as family, friends and economy. During the process four themes were identified, happiness, work, economic strain and the importence of money versus happiness. The analysis was based on the concept of aspiration levels and an economic perspective.The conclusion of the analysis was a surprise to me, showing that economic strain could be detected in both groups but by different means.

Young councillors are currently under-represented in Sweden's municipalities. Young councillors are also stepping down in greater numbers than older members. This paper explores the reasons why young councillors choose to resign from their mission, so to identify possible remedies to the problematic trend of underrepresentation of younger people in local authorities in Sweden.This qualitative essay intends, through interviewing politically-active young people who has left their assignment, to study the reasons for resignations from elected posts. To see what could be the reason I have looked at previous studies and theories about opting out but also tried to remain open to identifying new and emerging trends previously undetected in existing surveys.The results showed that the political assignment proved to be too time-consuming, with young people choosing to spend their time on career and leisure. Those who resign from political life often express criticism towards the Municipal Council; they consider it tedious and many complain of having little influence.

It has been shown in various research contexts that action programs do not always work as they should, even though there are clear guidelines on how the action programs should be designed and used. The aim of this study is to illustrate which processes that occur before an action program as well as how these processes lead to action that will give the student the support he or she needs. Through qualitative interviews with eight teachers, I have tried to answer the questions that I created. I have tried to answer my research questions that I have made based on the purpose. The questions are; What type of inquiry will be done if a student risk to not reach the knowledge goals? How will the inquiry support the action program? In what way does the action program support pupils in special needs? The result of my survey show that the survey being done for an action program is very individual-focused and that the mapping rarely shows on the teachers role or school environment to students who fall into special needs.

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to investigate the library needs of fourteen-to-fifteen-year-olds. We have limited the investigation to the significance of libraries for the teenagers in their leisure time. Our focus is the public library with a particular reference to the plans for a new local public library with a youth profile in Malmö. With a departure point in the idea that young people?s use and view of libraries is to a large extent depending on factors such as social and cultural background and lifestyle, we chose to do a qualitative interview study with eight teenagers.