The purpose of this study is to compare different ways to teach mathematics in the school's lower age groups, and to examine whether certain practices increase students' desire and motivation to learn the subject. The questions used to determine the purpose is the following: What vision has the students in the class at maths? How does the teaching of mathematics in the class look like?What vision has the students in the class at working with different approaches in education?Does the traditional approach  and the options that I am examining meet the steering documents requirements?  The essay is organized as a qualitative study. The study was conducted in an elementary school in Sweden, third grade. The methods used included interviews with students and observations in the classroom.

National and international studies, such as PISA and TIMSS, which are part of the national evaluation system, are carried out continuosly. Skolverket, in collaboration with researchers, are responsible for the implementation, evaluation, and analysis of the studies. National results show an increasing percentage of pupils who do not reach the goals in mathematics. The last completed international studies PISA 2009 and TIMSS 2007 show an impaired trend of knowledge, in international comparison. Moreover, studies also show that the differences between schools and also within the same school in Sweden have increased.

In today?s society climate change has grown to one of the largest global issues. To reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, large changes of the energy system are required. An increasingly popular solution is investments in local production of renewable energy resources like wind, solar or geothermal power. The following report examines the possibility for implementing a solar power plant on the new hospital Nya Karolinska Solna. Two different technologies for extraction of solar energy has been studied, solar thermal collectors  to meet the need of heating and solar cells to satisfy the need for electricity linked to operating the hospital building.

International research has shown that through the involvement of the school library and the school librarian in the daily school work with the pupils, the pupil´s learning can be increased and reading comprehensions significantly improved.One purpose of this master`s thesis is to study the school librarian as a brand, representing the school library as well as the school librarian and whether there is a correlation between different comprehensions of the professional role of the school librarian. This is done by examining whether there is a difference between a specific librarian´s own perception of their professional role, compared to the image of the school librarian among teachers and principals working in the same school district and by comparing the profile the school librarian expresses with the image that is conveyed through communications via webpage, written and oral information given on services and competences provided by the school librarian and work carried out by her.A difference of comprehension of the school librarian´s competence and work, could be part of an explanation as to why the correlation between the involvement of school librarians in the school work and the improved learning achievements of the pupils has not resulted in the expected measures, regardless of the investments in school librarians and school libraries. The school librarians´ school identity could be difficult to establish. Whether or not the profiles and images of the professional role are consistent with each other is a much more manageable purpose which could go a long way of explaining the circumstances of the school libraries.That is the reason why we have examined whether the comprehension the school librarians have of themselves corresponds with the idea/ conception/ image conveyed to their surroundings, and with the idea/conception/image encompassed by people in their immediate surroundings..

Bakgrund: Vår självskattade fysiska självkänsla är av betydelse för vår motivation att vilja vara fysiskt aktiv. Det har även visat sig i tidigare forskning att högre fysisk självkänsla påverkar elevers resultat i skolan positivt. Syftet med arbetet var att se vilka samband det fanns mellan fysisk självkänsla och elevers närvaro i idrott och hälsa. Metod: Två klasser på en skola i sydöstra Sverige deltog i undersökningen, HT -12. Studien bygger på en kvantitativ undersökning i form av en redan framtagen enkät: ?Sådan är jag! ? barn?, även kallad CY-PSPP (Children and Youth ? Physical Self Perception Profile).

During the past twenty years, the Swedish school systems have slowly changed to becomemore and more performance-driven. Private schools have been growing in general and, likeindependent schools and schools managed by municipalities, they profile themselves. Schoolsare becoming more performance and result-oriented, which has changed the roles of teachersin a dramatic way and is in general, still changing.By profiling students based on theirindividual performance, schools are able to help students identify themselves and their owngoals. The process of profiling is a slow one in which some teachers adapt more quickly thanothers, and one that is critical for other teachers to learn in order to keep up with the demandsof society.Schools, like ordinary businesses, are in constant competition with each other to keep up withthe newest and greatest models of teaching and to rank among the best in high achievements.Perhaps the downside of this modern school structure is that it is often difficult to have aschool where both school management and teachers see eye to eye. School management must heavily focus on the school?s results as a whole.

ABSTRAKT Eklund, Christine & Irehjelm, Jan-Olof (2010). När matematikresultaten sjunker. En fallstudie om en skolas arbete för att öka måluppfyllelsen (When the results in mathematic are decreasing. A case study about a team´s work to increase the goal attainment). Skolutveckling och ledarskap, Specialpedagogik, Lärarutbildningen, Malmö högskola. Vårt syfte har varit att undersöka effekterna av ett arbetslags arbete kring ökad målupp-fyllelse i matematik.

In schools today, we expect student performances and achievements to be exceptional. Having good reading and writing skills are essential if students want to excel at their school assignments. Students with reading and writing difficulties have to work much harder than their other classmates. Their having to work harder coupled with being teenagers and facing all the uncertainties which are present at that age, these students face the difficult task of trying to find out who they are and who they want to be. In other words, they try to create their own individual identities.

This paper relates a debate on a book Vetenskapen och förnuftet (1986) written by the Scandinavian philosopher Georg Henrik von Wright (1916 - 2003). The book brings up fate of mankind, raising the question if human rational thinking and scientific achievements are threatening our very existence on earth. Shortly after the book was published, it was intensively debated in a leading Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. Some 20 leading politicians and scientists contributed with their criticism during spring 1987. The paper highlights this debate by writing reception history, describing how the book with its serious message was received by leading scientists of the time.

Gender balance within the business administration field at university level is an area that has gained increased attention in the last decade. As gender balance contributes positively to the scientific and educational achievements within all disciplines, many studies have tried to understand the decision-making processes of students when selecting a business specialisation. However, little attention has been devoted to the finance discipline although there is a remaining gender imbalance within the field at higher-level economic studies. This thesis was performed as a qualitative case study and is based on interviews with second-year bachelor students facing their choice of specialisation at the Stockholm School of Economics. Through an application of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), this study aims to examine factors that influence female business students' intentions to choose a specialisation.

Denna studie är genomfört som ett undervisningsförsök, där formativ bedömning har imple­menterats i matematikundervisning. Syftet med studien var att studera om det var möjligt att förändra undervisningen på denna korta tid samt om eleverna blev mer motiverade och om de upplevde mer lust till ämnet genom denna undervisningsstrategi. Ett särskilt fokus riktades på elever i matematiksvårigheter. Studien genomfördes i en årskurs 7:a, under höstterminen 2009, med inspiration Wiliam, (2007) Five ?Key Strategies? for Effective Assessmentutifrån och Black et al. (2003), Assess­ment for Learning ? Putting it into practice.

This project has aim to examine how students experience their concentration ability during mathematics lessons in the mornings and afternoons, and how students? learning can be in-fluenced by the concentration ability during mathematics lesson in the morning and after-noons respectively? Which role do the methods of learning play in mathematic depending on which time it is carried out during mornings or afternoons with regard to student concentra-tion ability? In order to find out those issues, I used two methods; (interview and observa-tion).Interview with 4 students and 3 teachers and observations of 4 mathematics lessons based on a qualitative method. In order to measure students' concentration ability during ma-thematics education on various times, I distributed questions to 23 students and repeated it during each lesson that I have observed from a quantitative approach in two classes in a sec-ondary school. In the literature I discuss the definition of concentration, and factors affecting the concentration negatively and positively. What is the relationship between concentration, learning and type of activity and how individuals can improve their learning and attention? In addition I studied two earlier studies on the concentration.

The aim of this study is to describe the variation in two teachers perceptions of their work with individual developments. The study begins with a review of the Swedish National Agency for Education?s guidelines for working with individual developments. With this I want to give the reader an insight into the teachers working conditions and the responsibilities the school authorities have against their students. Using phenomenography, I have examined the differences between two mathematic teacher?s perceptions in working with individual developments for student?s in need of special education.   My questions are: How do mathemathic teachers perceive their work with individual developments? What support and what information do the teacher?s feel that they have been given in order to use individual developments as a tool? How do the teachers perceive that their work situation has influenced their work with individual developments? The two teachers I have interviewed showed different perceptions both in how they understood the guidelines for working with individual developments and how they chose to work with them.

The purpose of this essay is to analyze three works that are regarded as fictional biographies. In all three selected works the protagonists are historical Swedish women who are known for being a part of the cultural sphere of their time. Two of them are also recognized as important and somewhat pivotal characters in the struggle for women?s rights at the turn of the 19th century. The analyzed works, however, accentuate the women?s private life.

I denna studie undersöks vad som sker i intensivundervisning där en SUM-elev, elev med särskilda utbildningsbehov i matematik, erbjuds multisensorisk undervisning. Vilken utveckling som sker vad gäller elevens taluppfattning, samt olika uttryck för lärande i undervisningsprocessen är också något som studeras.Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och har genomförts som en fallstudie med en SUM-elev i årskurs ett. Fallstudien innehåller en intervention med matematiktester vilka genomförts före och efter en intensivundervisning i grundläggande taluppfattning. Deltagande observationer av undervisningssekvensen har genomförts, vilka också har filmats. Till analysen används Bruners teori om representationer tillsammans med Vygotskijs teori om lärande ur ett sociokulturellt perspektiv.