Books and reading are important elements in cultural policy. On 1 January 2002 VAT on books and magazines was reduced from 25 per cent to 6 per cent. The purpose was to increase reading in all sections of the population. A special Book Price Commission was appointed to follow and examine price trends and to work for an enhancement of reading in all groups of the Swedish population. But what form of reading are the BPC talking about? With a theoretical point of departure in the theory of power and discourse by Michel Foucault the aim of this thesis is to explore if there is an existing discourse about reading and, if so, how this discourse is operating in the BPC reports.

The purpose of this master thesis is to examine if booktalk is a good method for stimulating reading based on interviews and observations with two classes of pupils in the intermediate level of the Swedish nine-year compulsory school. Our aim is also to study the reading environment regarding of Aidan Chambers' factors about what is indispensable for a good environment for the children. The factors are: Time for reading, time for reading aloud, the stock of books and conversations about books. The study is based on interviews with 38 pupils, two booktalkers and two teachers in two different cities. It also contains two observations of booktalk.

The current curriculum requires a well functioning school library and an active use of it. In junior school grades 1-3 the children primarily learn basic skills. Knowledge about libraries and how to use them and different media is part of these skills. Therefore my intention was to investigate how school libraries in junior schools look, how they are used in the training and how they could be used in junior school education. I focus on the pedagogic role of the school library and the library as information center.I begin by going through what the school law and the curriculum say - or do not say - about the use of the school library.

The purpose of this study is to present a comparative analysis of seven literature anthologies for the Upper Secondary School, from 1968-2004, to investigate how much space Esaias Tegnér is getting and how many and which of his works that is presented in these anthologies.The study is set against the hypothesis that Tegnér is getting a reduced space in the anthologies because of his connection to Romantic nationalism, which after World War II has been associated to the themes and ideology of the National Socialism. In view of this I have asked myself if Tegnér is getting a reduced space in the literature anthologies for the Upper Secondary School. My study shows that this is the case.One can also see clear trends in a subjective approach towards the author. In the anthologies where Tegnér have had a strong prominent role, he is retaining his position even in later editions. Over the entire period of 1968-2004 he is getting a less prominent role, although he is generally presented as the greatest poet of his time.I have also examined the discussion of Tegnér during that period to see if you can find any connection between the discussion about Tegnér and the change his work gets in the literature anthologies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how teachers choose to work with the teaching of reading and writing skills, how teachers justify their choice of teaching method and how the documentation of student development is being used. This paper also discusses the definition of reading and writing, phonological awareness and how different reading- and writing educational methods can be combined. The gathering of information has been done through a literature review in which I have looked at past research on reading and writing. I have also conducted qualitative interviews with teachers involved in literacy learning. The result of my research shows that it is not possible to determine which literacy learning methods that are most effective.

This Masters thesis is a study in library and information science, that examines literature as a tool for young people in their identity creation. Both scientists and teachers have found that teenagers like to identify themselves, when reading literature. The purpose of this Masters thesis is to examine how youths construct their identity through reading in relation to the purpose that libraries and cultural politics have in youth novels. The starting point of this study is the sociologist Thomas Ziehe and his idea about identity try-out identitetsutprovning and Erving Goffmans dramaturgy perspective. The main question is: what is the relation between young peoples identity creation in youth novels and in their reality in proportion to the young peoples reading of youth literature and the science about their reading? The question is answered in three parts.

The poor results of 15 year old Swedish students in the 2012 PISA-investigation serve as the main inspiration for this essay. Though aware that PISA measures a range of skills, including math-, science- and reading abilities, a deliberate focus has been placed on the latter. Unsatisfactory math- and science results are sure to bare consequences ahead, but poor reading skills affect the comprehension of all other subjects combined and is therefore of utmost importance.This essay explores the roles of teachers and school librarians in the promotion of reading, as well as their ways of cooperating in strengthening students' reading abilities. Questions of particular interest are:? In what ways do teachers' and school librarians' views of ongoing reading promoting activities differ?? How does the school and school library contribute to reading promotion and reading comprehension among students?? What factors unite teachers and school librarians in their attempts to promote reading, as far as pedagogical roles are concerned?Working on this essay, a total of seven qualitative interviews were conducted.

This study deals with religious independent schools and its impact on society. The purpose of this essay has been to examine what various teachers from both religious independent schools and public schools have for perception of religious independent schools. The questions highlighted in the study is the teachers´ general view to religious independent schools, teachers´ perception of the Education Act " a denominational education, but a non- denominational teaching", and what teachers believe to be segregated or inclusive.The study has consisted of five qualitative interviews with different teachers, where three of them work at religious independent schools, while the other two teachers work in public schools.The study shows that there are prominent differences of approach to religious independent schools. Teachers who work at religious independent schools avert criticism of religious independent schools and argue that teaching in religious independent schools do not differ appreciably from the public schools. Instead can religious independent schools serve as a good alternative to the public school.

This report describes a comparative study about reading- and writing development in ?A-towns school? in The Gambia and in ?Villaskolan? in Sweden.The purpose of this study is to compare two teachers in Sweden with two teachers and two volunteers from the school in Gambia, with focus on their thoughts and methods on teaching reading and writing at each school and in their social context. The aim is also to observe and describe how classroom environment at both schools can encourage students to read and write.The theoretical base of this study is rooted in a sociocultural perspective but I have also chosen to illuminate behaviorism and cognitivism. The study is qualitative and the main research methods are interviews and observations of the classrooms.My conclusions are, even though considerable differences in approach and conditions, teachers in both schools work hard and show dedication towards their students.Another finding is that teachers use different techniques and working methods to achieve the same goal -to teach their students to read and write based on what is required of them in their cultural and social context. The different ways of teaching have been caused by the existence of different perceived needs based on culture and tradition.One conclusion is also that read and write requirements for students in the Gambia and Sweden are different from each other.

The purpose of this essay is to find out how two schools work with newly arrived children and to see how they differ. There is a lack of national directives for those who work with newly arrived children and teenagers; this makes the introduction very different between schools.The study is qualitative, based on interviews with four teachers in two different compulsory schools. One school is situated in a suburb of Stockholm and the other one is situated in a minor community in Dalarna. One schools got a preparatory class for newly immigrated pupils and the other school doesn?t.The theoretical frame that I have chosen to analyse these interviews are literature and research on Bilingualism, Children with PTSD, Intercultural Pedagogy and Special PedagogyMy results also show that these schools work very differently, and that there is very little co-operation within the school and with the units around the school, regarding these children.

The purpose of this essay is to present research-based literature and in that find basic practics that benefit the process of reading comprehension in the further reading. To get a broader perspective and a practical school related, we also held a small empirical study in the form of interviews with six active teachers. We discussed among other things, what reading means, the use of textbooks, how the reading process is conducted and so on. The results were correlated against the reported literature and the curriculum. It revealed a gap between theory and practice.

The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers and pupils experience the use of fictional literature as a tool for language development in the teaching of English as a foreign language. Through surveys and interviews and with Vygotsky?s theory on development in a social environment as a theoretical base, I examine which methods are used to promote language development and also which functions pupils and teachers consider fictional literature to have in the teaching of English. Results show that teachers consider fiction to be among the top methods to get pupils to learn English. Teachers and pupils both favour the use of fun and stimulating reading activities as well as group activities where learning is social to go along with the reading of fiction.

I wanted to look at school-children's perspective of prehistory. I also wanted to look at the literature at their disposal, provided by the schools.In this essay I am looking at a school-class in the fourth grade from a school in Malmö and a fifth grade-class at a school in Klågerup just outside Malmö. I am trying to determine the student's view of what prehistory is all about, as well as how their own school-literature is connected to that knowledge. Six books in all were examined. The essay is concentrated on prehistory and only at those two schools.

 The aim of this thesis is to examine men's attitudes towards literature, and how social norms affect their book reading, in order to contribute to the knowledge of why men's book reading is decreasing. This is realized through a discourse analysis of literature recommendations in men's lifestyle magazines.Two magazines, King of Sweden and Magazine Café, are examined through critical discourse analysis. Theories of discourse are combined with theories of gender to explore how gender stereotypes affect men's reading habits.The analysis shows that ideals of masculinity have a great influence on the book recommendations. Social norms, associated with gender, also seem to have significance to whether or not a book is considered suitable for men to read. These are, inter alia, norms of heterosexuality and violence.

The purpose of this thesis is to form an idea about the qualitative value and meaning of reading fiction in a psychological perspective and over a lifetime. Seven women, 68-79 years old, were interviewed about their reading habits of fiction in their lifetime. The material is presented as life stories. I use an inter-nordic research project called the SKRIN project which looks upon reading habits from an individualistic and psychological perspective. I also refer to an American study which focus on reading development with roles readers take in different ages of life written by J A Appleyard.