The purpose of this study was to investigate into the praxis based sociocultural tools that are utilized to enhance language development in early childhood education. Four pre-school teachers were involved in this study. Two were recruited from an independent pre-school "Maria Montessori", practicing the pedagogical philosophy developed by Maria Montessori. Two were from a public pre-school herein named "Kvasten", which has no official philosophy but where the teachers (like in many Swedish pre-schools) work in a general alignment with the principles of Reggio Emilia pedagogics. The theoretical fundament of the study lies in the general theories of language development and education of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotskij, and the comparative element mainly concerns the variations in pedagogical praxis between the two pre-schools, and the way the teachers reason about language development.

The purpose of this qualitative research study is to examine if and how the teachers from a multicultural International School work with intercultural pedagogy. The school in question isprofiled and consists of both Swedish- and English classes. The study examines if and how the teachers related to the great variety of cultures and created opportunities for integration between the students and handling with values at school. It is important to be aware as a teacher to be able to take an active part in working towards a school that gives possibilities for different cultures to meet. If this is neglected, it may increase the risk of problems and cultural clashes between the students.

The purpose of this master's thesis is to examine children's communication and interaction during story time at the public library. The aim is also to examine how to develop the story time ? in terms of participation and equality ? at a specific library.Action research was used as a research strategy and participant observation, log, tutoring and interviews as methods to collect data. Since action research is done on the basis of practice, a significant collaboration with the librarian and the participant children is taking place within this study.Research from the fields of Library and Information Science, Education and Childhood Sociology form the interdisciplinary research area to which this study links. The theoretical framework consists of theory and concepts from the Socio-cultural Perspective, Poststrucuralist Feminism and Childhood Sociology.

In the essay, the balance between being an educator and a mother of a child with autism is explored in respect to how the roles might influence the actions of a pre-school teacher. Writing is used as a method of reflection, it gives the teacher a chance to take a step back and view her practical experiences from a novel perspective; conclusions are recounted throughout the teachers narrative. The essay is based on the following questions; which problems might arise in the meeting with parents such as Adams where there is a suspicion of autism for the child? Which advantages/disadvantages might the teacher?s personal experience of autism have for the role as educator? How would the dual roles as educator and mother of an autistic child best be balanced in the future?The essay highlights special educational and parent perspectives on the matter of autism. Professor of pedagogy Claes Nilholm, specializes in special needs education.

Borderlands. A study of the aesthetic-practical environment, its pedagogical and therapeutical properties based on the outline of two practices/institutions: the workshops at Hagastiftelsen and the bookbindery at the Kristofferschool. The perspective on education, pedagogy and therapy taken is an existential one where the main aims of an educational-therapeutic intervention is to support biographical development and integrity. In the process action research in my own bookbinding workshop as well as hermeneutic research at the workshops at Hagastiftelsen where adults with autism and other neuropsychological disorders work have been the sources of primary empirical data. Secondary sources are patient-histories written by Oliver Sacks as well as autobiographical narratives of some adults with autism.

Författarnas namn: Christina Stenberg Lovisa LindbergTitel: Förskoleklassen ? i gränslandet mellan förskola och skola.          En studie om omgivningens förväntningar och påverkan på förskoleklassens              pedagogik.Engelsk titel: Pre-school class ? at the intersection of pre-school and school                         A study of the expectations and its impact on the pre-school class                           pedagogy.                                                                                      Sidantal: 41_____________________________________________________________________Syftet med studien är att undersöka och problematisera omgivningens förväntningar på förskoleklassens uppdrag samt undersöka om och i så fall hur dessa förväntningar påverkar förskoleklassens verksamhet. Undersökningsmetod som används är kvalitativ samtalsintervju (intervjuer där respondenter och intervjuare sitter tillsammans och samtalar om frågorna) utifrån ett fast frågeschema med öppna frågor.

In recent years there has been an upsurge in products and activities designed for infants, what is known as baby culture. The essay is a discourse analysis covering the part of baby culture which is concerned with infants and books. The essay studies texts from libraries and children?s bookclubs in order to understand what it is they communicate, to whom and the conceivable consequences of the communicated message. One of the main purposes of the study is to determine what view of infants as social and cultural beings it  is that arises from the texts.

This is a qualitative analysis that, based on systemic functional linguistics, or SFL, and genre theory, has aimed to study the genre pedagogical implications on written language as they occur in narrative stories and expositions whilst the model is introduced. Systemic functional linguistics is a linguistic theory that views the organisation of language as functional options for meaning; language is a set of resources to channel meaning through realisation. Genre theory elucidates the pragmatic and educational uses of SFL in the categorizing of language in configurations of meanings as they are set and understood in different cultures.  The purpose of the survey is to do so with focus on successful and less successful writers by attempting to answer two primal issues:How is development of written language in reference to the introduction of the genre pedagogical model visible in the studied texts?How does genre pedagogical teaching influence successful and less successful writers as visible in their writing with a certain purpose?To answer these issues the survey is based on narratives and expositions written by high school students who have been divided into two groups according to the purpose of the survey. One text in each genre has been written by the students before and after lessons based on the genre pedagogical learning wheel explaining the relevant genres.

The purpose of this master's thesis is to examine children's communication and interaction during story time at the public library. The aim is also to examine how to develop the story time ? in terms of participation and equality ? at a specific library.Action research was used as a research strategy and participant observation, log, tutoring and interviews as methods to collect data. Since action research is done on the basis of practice, a significant collaboration with the librarian and the participant children is taking place within this study.Research from the fields of Library and Information Science, Education and Childhood Sociology form the interdisciplinary research area to which this study links. The theoretical framework consists of theory and concepts from the Socio-cultural Perspective, Poststrucuralist Feminism and Childhood Sociology.

This is an ethnographically inspired study focusing on multilingualism in a Swedish preschool setting. The purpose of the study was to find out how the children perceived their multilingualism and how it was expressed by the children in the interaction with teachers and peers. The research questions were as follows: How is the multilingualism expressed in the day to day interaction in preschool? What significance does the daily interaction with peers and educators have for the children?s perceptions of their multilingualism? How do the children perceive their multilingualism and the value in their multilingual abilities?  To answer these question methods inspired by ethnographical studies were used, namely participant observation and semi-structured interviews with the children.   Theory was used from two areas; childhood sociology as theorized by Corsaro with the ideas of peer cultures and interpretive reproduction, and the sociology of language with the theory of collaborative empowerment as introduced and developed by Cummins. The children in the study were seen as social actors who are important here and now and who contribute to the development of society.   The study showed that the multiple languages were visible in the preschool, but that the Swedish language was upheld as the norm and the language of communication; no children were recorded playing in their ?home language? during interaction with other children.

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.

In the essay, the balance between being an educator and a mother of a child with autism is explored in respect to how the roles might influence the actions of a pre-school teacher. Writing is used as a method of reflection, it gives the teacher a chance to take a step back and view her practical experiences from a novel perspective; conclusions are recounted throughout the teachers narrative. The essay is based on the following questions; which problems might arise in the meeting with parents such as Adams where there is a suspicion of autism for the child? Which advantages/disadvantages might the teacher?s personal experience of autism have for the role as educator? How would the dual roles as educator and mother of an autistic child best be balanced in the future?The essay highlights special educational and parent perspectives on the matter of autism. Professor of pedagogy Claes Nilholm, specializes in special needs education.

By means of text creation I approach, reflect upon and try a number of aspects of my own professional existence as a joker in forum theatre and as a forum play pedagogue.This essay is structured like the days of a week and it specifically relates three problematic situations: first, a Monday containing a case of discrimination during the performance, then, a glimpse from a Wednesday when I failed to use the time with enough consideration of our common work and, finally, a Thursday when I was professionally questioned.These three situations are described thoroughly and then they are tried by me. This is carried out partly by reasoning, partly by using for example sociological, pedagogical and above all philosophical texts in order to widen my understanding of my existence as joker and forum play pedagogue. When writing this essay I really realized the importance of taking the reactions of the spec-tators into consideration. I have had the opportunity to develop thoughts about the way in which reflection is created and thoughts about different layers of reflection. I have also pondered over the way in which I distinguish between forum play and therapy as a forum play pedagogue.

?Livsfrågor är något man måste äga in i märgen?- en kvalitativ studie av två olika skolor om pedagogers syn på sitt bemötande och arbete med barns livsfrågorStudiens syfte var att undersöka pedagogers syn på sitt bemötande och arbete med barns livsfrågor. Även att undersöka vilken roll pedagogerna anser sig ha i arbetet med barns livsfrågor och vilket förhållningssätt pedagogerna anser sig ha då barns bakgrunder ser olika ut. Den kvalitativa intervjumetoden har använts, då målet var att få en nyanserad bild av pedagogers olika arbeten med barns livsfrågor. Intervjuerna har skett på två olika skolor där den ena skolan har en majoritet med elever med svensk bakgrund medan den andra skolan har en majoritet med elever från skilda kulturer.

ÖREBRO UNIVERSITYDepartment of Behavioural, Social and Legal Sciences Programme in social care oriented towards social pedagogy C-essay, Social Work, 41-60 pAutumn term 2005 Social Work in School A qualitative study influenced by youths experiences and needs.Authors: Pernilla Abrahamsson & Sandra LiljemarkTutor: Marianne Freyne-LindhagenAbstractThe aim with this study is to investigate young adult´s experiences and need of social work in school, and a qualitative method was used to take part of their experiences. Groupquestionnaires with open questions was formed and three year one classes in uppersecondary school participated. In the process of making the questions a testquestionnaire was tested with one of the three classes as particpants. Information has also been collected throug an interview over the phone with the school´s welfare officer, and the school´s policy dokuments have been read. Social work in schools is mentioned in the study as preventive measures with youths when it comes to bullying, alcohol, drugs, sex and coexistance and tobacco.