The purpose of this study is to chart and describe which content and different models that teachers use when teaching English as a foreign language at upper secondary school in Sweden. The study was performed through a phenomenonographic point of view, where the aim is to present and compare different understandings within a certain area. Our study emanates in Lars-Göran Malmberg?s theories about different teaching models used when teaching Swedish, which have been transferred and modified by Bo Lundahl into teaching English as foreign language. On the basis of this theory, six individual interviews with different teachers at upper secondary school were carried out with concern of discussing the content and aim of English teaching.

The setting of pupils' final grades in the Swedish upper secondary school system is the responsibility of their teachers and once grades are set, they are not open to appeal. This can be compared with the British system where an external, central examination board sets the final grades based on the result of externally marked examinations (A-levels). These grades are then open to appeal if it is felt that an injustice has been made.This research paper has been an investigation into how pupils in one Swedish upper secondary school attempt to influence their teachers in the grade-setting process and how these teachers are affected by these different methods. Five teachers in total were interviewed in a qualitative case study. The study has also taken up the controversial issue of how grades, which are set individually by thousands of teachers across the country, can be deemed to be fair and equivalent.The study revealed that pupils employ many different methods when trying to influence their teachers in the grade-setting process e.g.

The activity of interest groups in the political process of the European Union has given rise to a broad debate concerning the effect on European democracy these groups have. As relatively powerful political actors, the question of these groups? views on the EU and how the union should be is an important one. The status of these groups owns democratic representation also affects the democratic status of the EU. Being based on a number of theories, this study adopts an ideology analysis for the purpose of testing these theories on two cases ? the Swedish environmental organizations World Wide Fund for Nature and The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

The study focuses on the use of poetry in language teaching in the lower grades in the Swedish school. Poetry has a reputation of being an art form with such specific rules and structures that children and teachers think that it is something that they do not have the ability to work with.  The purpose of this study is to get an understanding of how poetry is used in educating children. My research is based on the following questions. To which extent is poetry being used in schools and how is it being used?Can you as a teacher see any effects on childrens language development by using poetry?As a part of my study I have met with and interviewed four different people, who in one way or another is involved in teaching children. Two working teachers in the lower grades, one pedagogical resource and one artist that work with teachers in reaching different goals through the help of aesthetic processes.

This essay focus on the European Union and its democracy both from a national perspec­tive and from an international perspective. Furthermore, the essay center on the con­cept of democratic deficit, this in order to study the European Union´s status regarding the democratic legitimacy. This study intends to nuance the problems that previous research and previous researchers have de­fined as democratic deficits in the European Union and ends up in conducting a textual anal­ysis of the latest European Union treaty, the Lisbon Treaty.The aim is that by using previous research on the democratic deficit in the European Union examine whether the Lisbon Treaty has enhanced the EU's position regarding democratic legitimacy. In other words, my study aims to identify what the deficit is and if it exists.The results show that the Lisbon Treaty has been trying to improve the democratic legitimacy and that some practical adjustments have been made, but it also show that there is much that still can be improved before citizens have full democratic rights..

AbstractThe overarching goal of this study is to investigate whether teachers of Swedish at upper secondary schools in Sweden feel that they know how to teach critical literacy, especially on the Internet, and also if they know how it is taught. It also investigates the difficulties teachers experience in teaching critical literacy. A secondary goal is to investigate the knowledge of critical literacy among students at upper secondary schools in Sweden. The study is based on quantitative and qualitative research. The research consists of two parts.

The Swedish state and educational system are secular, so to say they do not depend on the former protestant state church anymore. Many people in Sweden are also secular. Even so, in school teachers meet students with a religious faith. The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers without a religious belonging experience the encounter with religious students. The method used was semistructured interviews with five teachers in a upper secondary school in a multicultural suburb of Stockholm.

The objective of this essay has been to show how the image of the Soviet Union in ?Alla tiders historia? differs in the 1989 and 2004 editions of the book. To explain these differences I have used a discourse analytic perspective, mainly inspired by Michel Foucault and his philosophical theories of the constructions of objects, and also Faircloughs critical discourse analysis inspired by Gramsci.In this paper the two editions of ?Alla tiders historia? are presented with quotes which are then analysed from using my theoretical framework. In the 1989 edition three themes emerged: continuity, undecidability and ambivalence, which together present an image of a Soviet Union which is not clearly defined within the political discourse.In the 2004 edition this struggle over the discourse has been settled and the Soviet Union?s position as a dictatorship has been determined, at the same time as the Soviet Union is put in a negative relationship with Czar Russia and is connected with Nazi Germany.

Recent studies indicate that teaching the theory of evolution in Swedish secondary schools is not as uncontroversial as expected considering that Sweden is often described as one of the World?s most secularzied countries. A recent study indicates that Swedish teachers have a varity of tactics to avoid coming in conflict with their students or even parents of students that believe they have a rightto dictate how evolution should be taught. This study had fourmain aims; the first being to analyse both the previous curriculum and the new to see how the teaching of evolution is adressed, and if any changes have been made in the curriculum. The second being to look into how teachers interpret the curriculumand if they have noticed any changes in the new curriculum which have had an affect on their teachingmethods? The third being if teachers have met resistance when they teach evolution and the origins of life, and if so, how do they deal with these conflicts? The fourth and final aim of this study was to see if instances of conflict are on the rise as indicatedin the literature.The results of this study indicate that there has been no siginificant changes made in the curriculum with the exceptionthat the new curriculum is more clear and precise as to what teachers are expected to teach and that pseudoscience, such as intelligent design, has no place in science classroomsexcept when teachingthe philosophy of science.

The purpose of this master thesis is to show how a chosen actor in form of the Swedish union organization IF Metall (the Swedish union for metal- and industrial workers) works with pro-reading activities. The project being scrutinized is the Read to me dad-project which aims at fathers who are not used to reading activities within the LO-group (the Swedish Trade Union Confederation). The methods used are interviews and literary studies. The theoretical background of my discussion is based on three education ideals. The neo-humanist ideal emphasizes the personal improvement through literature.

Finnish student have for several years proved to be successful in reading in international studies. This interview based study aims to describe how teachers in Finnish schools for Swedish speaking children are relating to reading and reading education during the first two years of schooling. The result shows that reading, reading training and reading comprehension are natural elements in all teaching during the first two years in school and that teaching is based on students? ability and interest. The teachers claim that they provide the students with varying opportunities to practice different kinds of reading.

In 2005 we made a research in a Swedish community board about their view on the political and ideological intentions of ?a school for all?. The results from that study were the background to this research.The aim with this research was to find out how principles in the same community were thinking about ? a school for all? and if they were leading a development towards ?a school for all?. In that context they were given the opportunity to explain their definition and reasoning about ?inclusion? and ?integration?.

This study investigates whether teachers working with children ages 6 ? 9 are including an LGBTQ perspective in their teaching methods. The purpose is to critically examine sexuality and gender as part of the teaching methods in Swedish schools; whether teachers are working with LGBTQ questions in their classes, and if so, how. The following research questions are answered: Are the teachers incorporating an LGBTQ perspective in their classes, and if so, in what sense?Are LGBTQ questions relevant and of interest in the education?Do teachers feel like they have gained the right tools in their pedagogical education and/or in their workplace to work with LGBTQ questions in their class room? And if so, in what way? The method used is qualitative research in the form of interviews and observations.

Over the past twenty years, the cooperation within the European Union (EU) has strengthened and expanded with both more number of Member States and stronger influence on international politics. The unique character of the Union and its ability to enforce peace and humanitarian intervention has attracted attention in political science. This prominent position of the Union is perceived by many scholars who often hold this derived from the Union's influence in international relations. Various terms have been used to define the powers of the Union. The British researcher Ian Manners states that the unique identity of the Union in the international arena is formed by its normative power.  An important policy area within the Union is the environmental cooperation.

The Swedish curriculum points out mathematical communication as one of the importantabilities that students need to develop. Previous studies show that students have not been given the right conditions to develop this ability sufficiently. The purpose of this study is to investigate how some Swedish teachers interpret mathematical communication and how the work with this takes place in their classrooms.The investigation consists of qualitative interviews with six teachers in the grades of Fk-3. The interviews have been focused around the teacher's interpretation regarding mathematical communication, how this is reflected in their work in the classroom and also if they see any advantages or difficulties in working with mathematical communication with their pupils.The result of the study shows that the teachers are well aware of the importance of communication and they have a will and an intention to let the pupils communicate mathematically. Mathematical communication is emphasized mainly as important for the pupil's learning and understanding.