The purpose of this study is to describe some primary school teachers understanding of language development and approach of first and second language speakers with Arne Tragetons Writing to reading, for pupils in early ages.By using a qualitative method with interviews and participant observations and informal conversations, the basis for the survey was collected. Four teachers in three schools participated. The proportion of second-language pupils at each school was 35%, 17% and 0%. My theoretical starting point in the study was the hermeneutic research tradition, which has been used to interpret and understand the collected material. Theories of behaviorism, constructivism and socio-cultural perspective has been used in the analysis part of this study.

The aim of this thesis is to critically analyse the subject heading list in the database KVINNSAM at Kvinnohistoriska samlingarna. This list is intended for the retrieval of gender specific information and the subject heading women is implied. The main question is: which woman is represented in the list? The thesis analyses specifically the representation of disability, ethnicity and other sexualities than heterosexuality. Kvinnohistoriska samlingarna, the concept of gender studies and KVINNSAM is presented.

 This study aims to deepen the understanding of which opinions and perceptions the teachers in the study have about the national goals, as well as local, when they plan their lessons in science studies for the younger ages. We wish to illustrate which goals these teachers find most important, their opinions on how they use these and how the different goals affect their design of teaching. The study also aims to examine which syllabuses, national or local, the teachers believe have an effect on their planning. Data were collected by interviews with four teachers, combined with questionnaires sent to 25 teachers teaching in science studies in forms 1-6. To analyse the data, key terms from Vygotsky and a sociocultural theory was used, such as situated learning, artifacts, the zone of proximal development, thinking in group and mediation. The data was also interpreted and examined by recent studies regarding this subject. The results show that the teachers find their own knowledge, the national syllabus and their colleagues as most important for their planning.

This master's thesis examines information literacy and students in secondary education. The study is framed within a Sociocultural perspective of learning and the method used is questionnaires. The major question posed is how and where students seek information. Other questions are if the students critically evaluate and analyse in­formation sources and if teachers and school librarians cooperate with each other in order to help the students with their assignments.The findings indicate that most students regard information seeking as fact-finding or finding the right an­swers to the question. Only one third of students experienced information seeking as seeking and using informa­tion for understanding a topic.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how twelve middle school teachers use educational tools and what influences their choice of educational tools in Swedish language writing instruction. To answer this purpose, three research questions were formulated: What does writing instruction look like for middle school students according to the teachers in the study? What influences teachers' choice and use of educational tools in writing instruction? What opportunities and challenges do teachers experience in Swedish language writing instruction when using different educational tools? Twelve teachers from variously sized municipalities and with different experiences participated in the study through purposive sampling and convenience sampling. The chosen method is qualitative semi-structured teacher interviews. To analyse the results, this study employs analytical tools from the Sociocultural perspective, using concepts such as mediation, appropriation, the zone of proximal development, and scaffolding. The results show that both analogue and digital tools are used in the teachers' writing instruction. The choice of tools should be based on pedagogical considerations, with an emphasis on social interaction and collaboration during the learning process.

Syftet med den här studien syftar till att synliggöra möjliga samband mellan barns umgänge med djur och barnets lärande i ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. Genom litteraturstudier analyserades vilka faktorer som påverkar barns utveckling och lärande. Vidare genomfördes en enkätundersökning i 2 klasser i år 6, vilket visade enskilda elevers kontakt med djur. Detta jämfördes med bedömningar av varje elevs lärande, gjorda av en lärare i teoretiska ämnen och en lärare i sociala och motoriska ämnen. Resultaten diskuterades utifrån teorier om lärande, barns umgänge med djur samt barns behov att utvecklas psykologiskt, kognitivt och socialt.

The purpose of this study has been to examine reading habits and the use of the library by pre­school teachers in a mainly multicultural community, and also explore to what extent activities in the local library are aimed at preschoolers.The study used a sociocultural approach based on Vygotsky?s theories of learning and development and Söderbergh?s theory of early childhood language development, and was carried out during the summer 2009. The methodology used was both quantitative and qualitative, with a combination of questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were sent out to each section of the municipal pre­schools within the catchments area of the local public library in a multicultural suburb of Uppsala. Three short interviews were carried out with staff at the local and main library branches, as well as library staff at the County Council.The results show that, although preschool teachers find reading important in their work, many teachers read spontaneously and/or sporadically.

BAKGRUND: Psykisk ohälsa bland unga kvinnor är ett folkhälsoproblem. Anorexia nervosa kategoriseras in som en psykisk sjukdom. Anorexia nervosa drabbar främst unga kvinnor, vilket exempelvis kan bero på tidigare händelser i livet som gett upphov till psykisk obalans i deras vardag. SYFTE: Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka sociokulturella orsaker som bidrar till utvecklingen av Anorexia nervosa bland flickor och unga kvinnor i åldrarna 12-25 år. METOD: En literaturstudie utfördes, som baseras på 21 olika vetenskapliga artiklar. Databaserna som användes var pubmed och psycinfo. Temaanalys användes och artiklarna kategoriserades in i huvudteman och underteman. RESULTAT: Resultatet i studien delades in i två huvudkategorier, med två underkategorier vardera.

This master thesis investigates attitudes toward electronic publishing of fiction among the key participants authors and publishers in Sweden with the overall purpose of analysing the nature of these attitudes and what sort of tensions that exist between the two groups. The major areas of concern were formulated as: what sort of attitudes do authors and publishers display toward electronic publishing of fiction?, how do these attitudes affect the way the two groups relate to electronic publishing and to each other? and how do they perceive the future of this practice?. Everett Rogers diffusion of innovations theory was applied to characterise electronic publishing as an innovation cluster, and to investigate innovation attributes in form of relative advantages and disadvantages, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability. Data was gathered using quantitative questionnaires, but respondents were also given the opportunity to elaborate freely on some of the questions.

Issues related to knowledge assessment and its consequences for both the individual and the entire school system are topical in today's school debate. The mere fact that didactic issues that focus on assessment are discussed actively not only in scholastic environments but even in media and other communities is further proof that knowledge assessment is an important and complex phenomenon in our lives.The subject that I have chosen to look into is about how the work with assessment issues is handled in Swedish as well as Russian elementary school's early years. The goal with this study is to see how my studies have been conducted with a qualitative approach by which I collected qualitative information in the form of documents, papers and interviews. To make the approach even more appropriate for my area of research, I have chosen to merge two qualitative research methods. The first is a qualitative content analysis which analyses the governing documents.

AbstractThis essay aims to problematize and illuminate the connection between special-education and nature-based activities. With a theoretical ground that is based upon a Sociocultural perspective I consider the information from the field. Through a qualitative and critical perspective I performed individual interviews with five pupils from the sixth school-year in the Swedish elementary-school. I also performed Focus-group interviews with two educators and three teachers in the same school-form. By a Hermeneutical working-method I have found out that the informants in my survey have a common experience that activities performed in nature has a positive effect on learning.

The aim of this thesis was to find out how the teachers I have interviewed, felt that they worked with and looked at conflict management. The aim was also to find similarities and differences in teachers' ways of working with conflict. With the help of my questions, I got answers to what I wanted to explore in my essay. I used these questions: What strategies do the teachers I interviewed for managing conflicts in preschool? What tools do the teachers I interviewed see as most effective in the process of conflict management? Are there differences and similarities in the way that the teachers I interviewed work with current conflict? What factors, according to the informants starts a conflict? What is the teachers? definition of a conflict and how does their definition affect their approach when working with conflicts?In my study, I have used a qualitative approach in the form of structured interview, to get material for my thesis.

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.

Policy documents in the public library field, such as the library legislation, local political goals and intra-library plan documents, often include ambitious but ambiguous formulations. This two years master?s thesis examines the relationship between four policy documents and library practice in a local context. The theoretical framework is inspired by a sociocultural theory developed by the Swedish professor of pedagogical psychology Roger Säljö. The theory emphasizes the importance of context to learning and development.The thesis? method is a case study.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att fördjupa vår förståelse kring matematikspråk och kommunikation som verktyg i matematikundervisningen. Detta har sökts svar på genom att observera och intervjua tre stycken matematiklärare i grundskolans lägre åldrar. Vi har undersökt hur dessa lärare använder och ser på muntlig kommunikation samt infor-mellt och formellt matematikspråk. Vi redogör för tidigare forskning kring språk och kommunikation i matematikundervis-ningen. Studiens utgångspunkt är Vygotskijs syn på språk och kommunikation i ett so-ciokulturellt perspektiv.