According to the Swedish curriculum the teaching in school must proceed from the pupils’ earlier experiences, language and knowledge (Skolverket, 2016b). The aim with this study is to examine how teachers in grade 1-3 work to make use of multilingual pupils’ linguistic and cultural experiences in a classroom where several languages and cultures are represented. In fulfilling the aim of this study, following questions where given: How do teachers describe that they are working to give the pupils’ linguistic and cultural experiences space in their teaching and in the physical classroom environment?  Which approach is expressed about how much space the pupils’ linguistic and cultural experiences should be offered in the teaching?

This study is a qualitative study where four teachers have been interviewed, classroom environments have been photographed and educational planning has been reviewed. The material has been analysed by an intercultural and post-structural perspective. The result shows that to gain knowledge about the pupils’ earlier experiences teachers must build relationships with the pupils, which often happens outside the classroom environment. Digital tools and mother tongue tutors are important in the work in making use of the pupils´ different languages in the classroom. The teachers in the study see multilingual and multiculturalism as a resource and they mean that several cultures and languages in a class enrich the teaching. Lastly the result shows that the teachers experience difficulties when it comes to making use of pupils’ earlier experiences in mathematics

Syftet med denna studie är att granska vad samtida forskning säger om användningen av skönlitteratur i undervisning i engelska som främmande språk i mellanstadiet. Forskningsfrågorna fokuserar på för- och nackdelar med användningen av skönlitteratur, samt hur dessa förhåller sig till kunskapskraven i engelska i mellanstadiet. Bakgrunden berör olika begrepp viktiga för förståelse av detta ämne, skönlitteraturens betydelse allmänt och i skolans värld samt de delarna i styrdokumentet Lgr 11 som pekar på behov av ett komplext undervisningsmaterial i engelska som främmande språk. Resultatdelen lyfter fram olika forskningsresultat som rör användningen av skönlitteratur i de yngre och äldre årskurserna. Här berörs för- och nackdelar när det gäller inlärning av nya ord, grammatik samt utveckling av andra aspekter såsom empati, kritiskt tänkande och interkulturell kompetens. Det lyfts även fram olika aspekter av arbetet med skönlitteratur som till exempel att förberedelse, genomförande och uppföljning av lektioner kräver mer tid av en lärare, än undervisning som endast följer en kursbok. Granskningen är baserad på forskningsartiklar, samt böcker som behandlar temat skönlitteraturens betydelse allmänt samt skönlitteraturens betydelse för inlärning av främmande- och andraspråk. Eftersom denna granskning är inriktad mot grundskolans mellanstadium, och i avsaknad av ytterligare material som behandlar mellanstadieålder, har jag även använt mig av undersökningar som omfattar äldre elever. Genom en noga granskning av forskningsmaterialen återger studien en bild av skönlitterära texters för- och nackdelar för språkundervisning i engelska som främmande språk i mellanstadiet.

The aim of this essay is to highlight tendencies of postmodernism in Harry Martinson’s Aniara (1956), a work that has traditionally been placed in a modernist context. The analysis centers around two aspects in the text with the aim of finding traces of a postmodern world view.

First the “mima”, an enigmatic machine that consoles the passengers in the first six years of the journey, is reasoned to be a mass cultural phenomenon rather than an elitist poetic device, as pre­vious studies have suggested. The cultural production of the machine is then analyzed in the light of the theories of hyper reality and simulacrum, as conceived by Jean Baudrillard. The analysis renders two possible implications, one where the machine can be viewed as a precursor to a post­modern positive attitude of mass culture, and one more modernistic where the machine in its role as mass culture numbs the passengers and prevents them from acting on their situation in time.

The second part of the analysis focuses on the view of metanarratives, as expressed within the fiction and in the wok as a whole. Jean-François Lyotard and his explanation of postmodernism’s incredulity towards metanarratives is used as a theoretical standpoint. The analysis shows that metanarratives are considered impossible within the fiction of Aniara as during the course of the journey, they are replaced with more local methods of creating meaning. On the whole, the book could be seen to replace the metanarrative of human progress by one telling of the inadequacy and inert destructibility of humanity. However, the analysis shows that metanarratives are rejected all together. The construction of a new metanarrative is made impossible by (1) the fictitious accounts clearly being a local event, (2) the text openly stating the impossibility of deeper interpretation and finally (3) the work employing a narrator too unreliable to be able to convey the unarguable truths necessary to create a new metanarrative.

In this essay i examine the adaption process of the book Robinson Crusoe (1719) and the movie Robinson Crusoe from 1997. From my findings i will discuss the didactic potential of working with classic literature in a widened textual sense. I aim to answer the following questions:

1. What could be found in the adaption process between text and movie?

2. How can film be used as didactical tool in teaching classical literature in upper secondary school?

The methods i have used in this essay are narrative method which means that you study the story as a whole and it´s parts. In specific I have studied the plot, use of time and the characters. I have found that the characters have been modernized in order to fit in a changed society. Which is also shown is the polarization of the characters´ religion. A women is added to the story which change the cultural context in comparison to the original story. I found several potential didactic dimensions; for example the use of a female character in the movie which can engage a larger audience, different living conditions and the questions of different religions.

Interdisciplinary interaction between the areas of language acquisition and language policy can be considered as a process and analysed from the methodological meta-perspective of how it interrelates with institutional practices. Mother tongue tutoring in Sweden is used to illustrate impacts when concepts travel across disciplinary and institutional contexts.

The seminal work of Engestrom (1987) has given rise to a vast body of literature looking at how tensions and dilemmas can generate creativity and ultimately lead to so-called expansive learning. Expansive learning can typically take place when different value systems come in contact, since members of the concerned communities of practice are then exposed to conflicting norms by which to evaluate and direct their work. This type of situation is common in cases of collaboration within or across professional groups. In her theorisation of intercultural school development, Lahdenperä (2008) further argues that it is productive to creat a climate of trust where differences can be explicitly discussed rather than avoided.   

Nevertheless, in practice the benefits of conflicting input on work processes are not always obvious in the context of educational collaboration. The paper will present a reflection on the elements that may obstruct or facilitate expansive learning in collaboration, based on two case studies of intercultural educational work: a study of a library network and a study of study support for newly arrived students. It will be argued that alongside power relationships, specifics in the configuration of the collaborative arrangement can determine the outcome.

The European Community has a clear policy in favour of multilingualism and diversity. For instance, Figel (2006), responsible for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, has stressed that:

"Respect for diversity is a key element of creativity and innovation, and is central for solidarity and mutual understanding."

In the Commission’s consultation on multilingualism 57 different languages were included. Ten per cent of the respondents declared their mother tongue to be other than one of the 23 official languages of the EU (European Commission 2007, p. 6). With changing and volatile global conditions, this diversity steadily increases, posing practical problems in terms of how to organise multilingual and inclusive education. Also, despite formal policies at the European level, in practice native-like competence in the language of instruction is assumed to function as a basis to develop knowledge and competencies at school. While some localities may comprise a small number of languages, others are highly diverse, posing a particular challenge in terms of providing mother tongue support as well as for accommodating cultural diversity.

 The situation in European urban environments can today be compared to traditionally highly diverse countries, such as Bolivia. In Bolivia, where bilingual intercultural education has been practiced for many years, EIB programmes appeared successful in rural localities with relatively homogenous  populations, while they encountered less success among the mixed populations of urban conglomerations (Arrueta & Avery, 2012). High diversity thus poses a different type of educational challenge than environments that comprise a limited number of linguistic minorities.  Identifying promising approaches to inclusive intercultural forms of education that are well adapted to highly diverse communities is therefore an urgent issue.

In a recent literature review by Pihl (2012), it appeared that the role of the library in intercultural education has been very little researched to date. Libraries further occupy a priviliged position allowing them to bridge formal and informal learning contexts. Finally, they are not bound by the constraints of school curricula, and can therefore to a higher extent base their activities on the learner’s own interests and intrinsic motivation (Fink & Samuels, 2008), which also are important factors in developing creativity (Hennessey, 2004).

The present study investigates the practices of the school library network of a multiethnic neighbourhood in the outskirts of Lund, Sweden. The network was awarded for best librarians in 2009 and received the national prize as the best school library in 2011, motivated by the exemplary practices in integrating library and school activites. The library in question is an integrated network of school libraries and public library, working in very close collaboration with the local schools, special needs resource centres, activity centres and various NGOs. The study proposes to look closer at which aspects in the library’s practices may be particularly significant for its success.  

Method

The study is a case study based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted 2012 with librarians and staff at activity centres. Interviews focused on their short and long term aims, relationships with local residents and organisations, as well as striving to obtain a detailed description of both organisation and practices. Steering documents and locally formulated action plans were analysed. The analysis aims to capture how library practices and collaboration impacted the collective dynamics in the neighbourhood, rather than focusing correlations between isolated practices and individual library users. The present situation has also been interpreted against the background of how the neighbourhood and its institutions have evolved over the past decades. The neighbourhood has a very diverse population, and nineteen main languages are spoken, as well as a number of less common languages. Inhabitants include recent refugees, a large proportion of first and second generation immigrants, foreign students and university staff, as well as several Roma groups. Educational backgrounds are highly diverse, and social and cultural cohesion therefore pose an additional challenge. The lower secondary school in the neighbourhood has a cultural profile and works with an inquiry-based and collaborative approach inspired by Vygotskyian pedagogics. The pre-schools largely work with Freirian pedagogics.

Expected Outcomes

Preliminary results indicate a number of factors that contribute to successful practices. Multiple complementary approaches mutually support each other in developing creative competences: - The library actively supports mother tongue literacy irrespective of whether the language is large or small. - Multi-modal literacy is supported, as well as multiple forms of cultural expression. - Active participation is encouraged, learning to produce culture rather than only consume. - There is close collaboration between school library and activity centres for extra-curricular activities. - Librarians work both with specific individual interests and peer-group dynamics. - An exploring attitude is encouraged and initiatives are welcomed, rather than focusing on steering, evaluating or assessing academic achievement. - Multiple opportunities are provided to express ideas concretely in the local community – becoming visible and assuming an active role in the public space. The study hopes to describe practices and interaction with sufficient detail to be of use for professionals working with both school and public libraries, as well as administrators and decision-makers, particularly in the fields of educational planning and coordination at neighbourhood and local community levels. It additionally presents a contribution to research on intercultural education, with respect to strategies that support plurilingual literacy and develop creative competences in highly diverse environments.

References

Arrueta, J. A. & Avery, H. (2012) Education Reform in Bolivia: transitions towards which future?, Research in Comparative and International Education, 7(4), 419-433. Ball, J. (2011). Enhancing learning of children from diverse language backgrounds: mother tongue-based bilingual or multilingual education in the early years. Analytical review commissioned by the Unesco Education sector. Cheesman, E. & De Pry, R. (2010) A Critical review of culturally responsive literacy instruction. Journal of Praxis in Multicultural Education. 5 (1), 83-99. Cohen, L, Manion, L & Morrison, K. (2000). Research Methods in Education. London and New York: Routledge. European Commission (2007). Outcomes of the European Commission’s public consultation on multilingualism 14 September – 15 November 2007. Figel, J. (2006). Multilingualism: a key component of the European Union’s strategy. Speech given at Bridge Forum Dialogue, Luxemburg, June 15. Fink, R. & Samuels, S. J. (2008) Inspiring reading success: Interest and motivation in an age of high-stakes teaching. International Reading Association. Florida, R & Tinagli, I. (2004). Europe in the Creative Age. London : Demos. Garcia, O. & Fishman J.A. (2012). Power sharing and cultural autonomy: some sociolinguistic principles. International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 213, 143-147. Hennessey, B.A. (2004). The Social Psychology of Creativity: The Beginnings of a Multi-Cultural Perspective. In S. Lau (Ed.), Creativity: When East Meets West (pp. 201-226). Hong Kong: World Scientific Publishing. Parlement européen (2010) Résolution du Parlement européen du 18 mai 2010 sur les compétences clés dans un monde en mutation. Pihl, J. (2012) Can library use enhance intercultural education? Issues in Educational Research. 22, 1, 79-90. Street, B.V. (2001). The New Literacy Studies. In E. Cushman, E.R. Kintgen, B.M. Kroll, & M. Rose (Eds.), Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook. Boston: Bedford St Martin’s. Yin, R. K. (1984). Case study research: Design and methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

The paper presents a case study of an integrated public and school library network in a highly diverse multiethnic urban neighbourhood, where intercultural practices and long-term competence building strategies have successfully been developed. These practices are outlined, and some of the conditions needed to develop a strongly integrated library network of this kind are considered.

The library’s collaborative networks are discussed as Communities of practice (Lave & Wenger1991; Wenger, 1998), and the case methodology draws on Stake (1995). The study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with librarians and staff at activity centres conducted in 2012.

The school libraries in the network are managed and partly staffed by a core team of public librarians. Librarians and teachers have developed effective forms of collaboration (cf Pihl 2009, 2011, 2012) and the librarians are an integrated part of the teaching teams.The public library also works in close cooperation with activity centres, the local community and associations. The pedagogical approaches of the public library draw on the Scandinavian popular education tradition (Klasson, 1997). Multimodal literacies in all languages spoken in the neighbourhood are supported. This engages the student as a member of society, not limited to the role of learner at school. The approach is empowering, and conducive to engagement in local or global sustainability projects. Pooling resources in the network has provided the means for establishing continuous professional and interprofessional development processes, as well as mechanisms for disseminating know-how, where the librarians function as knowledge brokers.

The network has worked through long-term processes (cf Lundholm, 2011) with boundary-crossing intercultural pedagogies (Pihl 2012) based on critical reflection (Fabos, 2008; Vare & Scott, 2007), cooperation and active participation. Embracing diversity and opening spaces where people of multiple cultures meet contributes to justice oriented citizenship (Westheimer & Kahne 2004) and action competence (Almers, 2009; Mogensen & Schnack, 2010).

Exchanging experiences of such practice based models for school / library collaboration is particularly interesting since the Nordic countries share fundamental aims of inclusive education (Egeland, Haug & Persson, 2006) with similar popular education traditions, while the institutional and legal basis for collaboration differs.

This thesis is a case study of a primary school in a highly diverse urban neighbourhood in Sweden. Basic pre-conditions for intercultural school development are studied by examining the overall organisation of teaching, learning and opportunities for collaboration in the investigated case. The study focuses on the targeted support measures to enhance learning for students with an immigrant background: Mother tongue instruction, Swedish as a Second Language, and tutoring in the mother tongue, as well as looking at pedagogical support provided by the school library. The latter has a mission to promote learning and inclusion, where non-native speakers of Swedish are a prioritised group.

Communities of practice linked to the work organisation at a meso-level are investigated, and the collaborative relationships between professional groups at the school involved in the various support measures. Teacher relationships and categorisations implied by support measures impact the learning spaces that are shaped for students and the teaching spaces within which teachers work. Collaborative opportunities and convergence of concerns in the teaching spaces combine to shape the overall space for intercultural development.

The raw data for the case study consists of interviews, national policy documents and additional information on local work organisation gained through documents and observations. Four articles resulted from the case study, each focusing a specific support measure. An overarching analysis is then made of findings from these articles and the other dimensions of the investigation. The analysis describes the organisation in terms of monocultural or intercultural school cultures, pointing to significant characteristics of the landscapes of practice, with respect to their overall implications for the spaces of school development. In the discussion, findings are considered in relation to research on professional development in education, collaboration, democracy and inclusive schooling.

The relative positioning of languages and cultures is given particular attention, to ascertain if the school culture is monocultural or intercultural in the sense given by Lahdenperä (2008), and to what extent it could enable intercultural development. Such positioning plays a role interms of affordances for identity, participation and engagement discussed by Wenger (1998).

This case study should be understood against the wider background of recent social developments in Europe linked to globalisation and technological changes. It is argued that looking at the concrete specifics which facilitate or obstruct school development, and simultaneously reflecting on how the different forms of teaching interrelate in the overall organisation and in policy may provide a useful vantage point from which structural changes can be contemplated.The discussion underlines the importance of the physical localisation of activities, continuity in personal contacts and time available for joint pedagogical reflection, as basic conditions for effective intercultural dialogue in the organisation. Finally, the impact of policy is considered, looking at connections between levels of policy, expressed in official steering documents, and conditions for teaching and learning at the level of an individual school.

Mother Tongue Studies is an optional school subject offered in Swedish schools to students who speak additional languages at home. For reasons linked to organisational issues, school cultures and the curriculum, the subject receives a position that is both inside and outside regular teaching provisions.

The special status of the subject affects positioning of students and teachers, but also both limits and shapes opportunities for exchange and communication with other teacher groups. Through the voices of three school principals and twelve teachers, a picture of mother tongue teacher itineraries emerges. The diverse paths shape diverse perspectives on students and content, as well as modulating understandings of other teachers. Positions are additionally represented and exchanges mediated through employment forms, scheduling practices, attribution of rooms or facilities and through student assessments.

The presentation outlines some of the multiple learning and teaching spaces mother tongue teachers move between in their daily work, the continuities and ruptures in exchanges that are formed, and perceptions of these nomadic practices

The paper reports on teacher and pupil interviews from a case study of a primary school in a highly diverse Swedish urban neighbourhood. It discusses some of the consequences of dividing the school subject Swedish into two separate syllabi (Swedish and Swedish as a Second Language, respectively), both with respect to inclusion and language development opportunities. Implications for teacher training programmes are considered.

The study examines how primary school teachers teaching Swedish as a Second Language (SSL) and/or Swedish differentiate between these subjects. It looks at how they express their understanding of differences or similarities between aims, methods and teaching approaches, with respect to the needs of their pupils. Tensions and paradoxes are considered, between the ambition to provide equally valid instruction to all pupils, on the one hand, and the segregating mechanisms of distinct subject tracks, on the other. The discussion is placed in the wider theoretical framework of inclusive education (Persson, 2012), and intercultural school development (Lahdenperä, 1998, 2008), as well as drawing on research on Swedish language teaching for immigrants (Fridlund, 2011; Torpsten, 2008; Stroud, 2004).

In a European perspective, improving education provisions for students with a migrant background is a central concern, aiming to support integration and ensure social cohesion (OECD, 2010; Sirius Literature Review). Migrants are far from being a homogenous group, however. Immigrant communities comprise second or third generation immigrants as well as newly arrived families and refugees, with a very wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and educational needs.

Several European studies stress that language support is a strategic aspect which impacts migrants’ access to education and the effects of language proficiency on school performance are often underlined. Sweden has been mentioned as a positive example with respect to language support, for providing SSL classes (Sirius Literature Review). Other language-oriented support measures in Sweden include mother tongue instruction and study guidance in the mother tongue (OECD, 2009; Bunar, 2010).

SSL is taught to newly arrived immigrant students, but also offered as a school subject in mainstream school. The intention of placing newly arrived students in mainstream classes at a relatively early stage is to allow them to benefit from contact with native speakers of Swedish. At same time it is thought that Swedish classes adapted for second language learners will better support their language development.

In practice, there are numerous problems connected to SSL teaching in mainstream classes (Fridlund, 2011; Skolverket, 2008; Torpsten, 2008). Parents and students are reluctant to choose this option, since it is perceived to provide inferior teaching and is felt to not be equally valuable as a qualification. Officially, the two subjects are supposed to be equivalent, and there are only minimal differences the learning objectives and assessment criteria for exams.

Not just new arrivals, but all students with some form of migrant background and/or all ’multilingual’ students (speaking other home languages besides Swedish) are categorised as non-native speakers of Swedish. Consequently, such students are often directed to SSL. The final decision of whether a student takes Swedish or SSL rests with the school, not the parents.

Since December 2013, year 1-6 teachers teachers are required to have at least some qualification in Swedish or Swedish as a Second Language in order to teach SSL (www.andrasprak.su.se). Nevertheless, these requirements are minimal (half a term’s training for years 1-3 and one term for years 3-6) and hardly provide an adequate base, considering the challenges involved.

Higher education in Sweden has experienced increasing competitive pressure, while adopting paradigms borrowed from market philosophies (Beach, 2013). As in other European ountries, macro steering, incitaments and criteria for endorsing specific programmes operate through aggregated quality indicators, and tend to be more concerned with international ranking (Hazelkorn, 2008) than with meeting domestic needs. Additionally, deep-running tensions exist between what is seen as academic ’excellence’ and vocational relevance (Slantcheva-Durst, 2010). Despite a supposed increase in autonomy, forward looking strategic planning at university level is narrowly constrained (Bleiklie & Michelsen, 2013). While the nation-wide lack of qualified teachers has been amply documented, no concerted efforts are made to remedy the situation. Recruitment difficulties are exasperated by poor working conditions (cf. the situation in Norway, Valenta, 2009). Assuming comprehensive training in the more than 130 languages taught as mother tongue in Sweden would be daunting to manage alone for any single institution. On the other hand, the administrative burden of initiating cooperation across institutions is prohibitive, as well as the cost of managing coordination between a large number of partner institutions – within and outside Sweden. Competition between universities further reduces chances for effective cooperation. The ambition of equivalent standards and symmetrical structures in terms of credit requirements, progression or definition of levels ignores the substantial differences in actual conditions pertaining to different languages, student groups or locations. Finally, in a markets-driven higher education landscape, costly specialisations become dependent on direct targeted external financing. Without private or public sponsorship, the ratio between the number of highly specialised teacher trainers needed to establish credible programmes and the potential number of students per course is not financially viable for the course provider, particularly concerning smaller languages. Sweden has formerly held a vantaged position with respect to life-long learning (Boström, Boudard & Siminou, 2001), allowing continuous and flexible refinement of competences for active professionals. Today, the combined forces of marketisation and the Bologna process appear instead to have created relatively rigid structures that tend to favour a broad massified mid-section of the educational market, but make it difficult to maintain more specialised or rapidly changing disciplines.

To promote attainment and inclusion, Sweden offers tuition in migrant pupils’ mother tongues as a regular school subject. However, the formulation of learning aims is problematic, and resources allocated to the subject do not correspond to ambitions expressed in steering documents. This case study presents an analysis of the organization of Mother Tongue Studies at a highly diverse urban primary school, based on interviews with teachers and head teachers. The practical organization of Mother Tongue Tuition affects how mother tongue teachers and pupils are perceived, but also potentially provides opportunities for empowerment and educational development. Results indicate that in the investigated case, such opportunities are not exploited, placing mother tongue teachers in a state of continuous structural stress, while limiting the forms their teaching relationships can take. Additionally, scheduling the school subject Mother Tongue Studies at the ‘edgelands' of the school day contributed to further marginalizing languages taught as mother tongue and minimized interaction with class teachers.                  

Libraries are critical learning spaces and may play a significant role in intercultural education initiatives, particularly in Sweden where the national curriculum ascribes central functions to libraries for learning activities. Unfortunately, the ways in which teachers and librarians may collaborate to leverage mutual resources is not fully understood. This article uses Pirjo Lahdenperä’s model of intercultural education development to consider the case of a small school library in a highly diverse urban neighbourhood. Although public libraries in Scandinavia can support intercultural educational values by addressing individual needs and complementing curriculum-based teaching, the development of new teaching practices requires additional guidance as well as institutional support.

Refugee education: 2015 witnessed a rapid surge in the number of Middle Eastern refugees coming to neighbouring countries and to Europe. This presentation summarises some of the main challenges of refugee education, from the perspective of national policies, local classrooms and the refugees themselves. Based on experiences in raising teacher competences in both countries, situations in Lebanon and Sweden are compared, pointing to pitfalls as well as best practices observed. Finally, possible directions for reforming curricula and pedagogical strategies are envisaged, to prepare young people to make positive contributions to host countries, as well as building foundations for reconstruction and return.

The purpose of this study is to inquire into the perceptions of the influence which Massive Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) have on the English language skills of those who play them. This study, like other studies in the same field, departs from a sociocultural perspec-tive. This qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews with participants aged be-tween 12 and 13. The study asked the following questions: How do participants perceive the influence MMOs have on their own and others’ English? How do participants describe the experience of learning English through MMOs? How do participants regard the idea of using MMOs as a tool for English language teaching in a formal educational setting?The interviews were analysed with a fenomenographically inspired model to find a result. The results indicate that participants are aware of the impact MMOs have on their English language skills. This awareness encompassed not only the improvement of English lan-guage skills, but also an awareness of their gaming habits and how they also improve English language skills. Furthermore, participants perceived that it is the social aspect of MMOs which improves English skills, as opposed to the game play mechanics. The majority of the participants are, however, skeptical of the use of MMOs in formal English education.

Läroplanen i engelska beskriver hur undervisningen ska anknyta till elevnära och vardagliga situationer. Studien utgår därför ifrån de vardagliga situationer där eleverna möter engelska. Flertalet av dagens elever är bekanta med och har deltagit i online-spel, det är därför intressant att undersöka användandet av online-spels inverkan på elevernas engelska språkutveckling. Målgruppen för undersökningen är elever som studerar engelska som andraspråk. Syftet med studien är att undersöka ‘Massive Multiplayer Online’-spels påverkan på elevers språkutveckling i engelska som andraspråk och är en litteraturöversikt på forskning inom området. Materialet består av vetenskapliga artiklar samt en forskningsrapport. Kommunikationsmiljöerna i spelen ses som mer autentiska än de i klassrummet, vilket i sin tur anses leda till ökad språkinlärning och ett stort intresse för att kommunicera hos eleverna. Elever som aktivt spelar ‘Massive Multiplayer Online’-spel på fritiden visar även enligt studierna en högre kommunikativ och vokabulär förmåga inom engelska som andraspråk. Användandet av spelen lämpar sig inte för elever med begränsade engelskkunskaper och används främst av pojkar. Slutsatsen av studien är att MMO-spel i sin nuvarande form inte bör föras in i klassrummet som en allmängiltig undervisningsmetod, utan att spelen ska ses som ett komplement till engelsk språkutveckling.

Rhetoric is once again a part of the syllabus for the Swedish subject in high school. The aim of this essay is therefore to highlight the place of the rhetoric in the teaching, to investigate the teachers approach and implementation of teaching in oral performances. The essay is further built on the following questions: Which approach do teachers in the  Swedish subject in high school show, according to relevance for the student’s grade and  knowledge, and its relevance in relationship to other moments in the course? How does  teachers in the Swedish subject in high school look at the organization of the lessons  around oral performances? To be able to answer these questions three semi structured  deep interviews has been done, and two of the informants has handled a list of terms they use in their education. According to previous research and the study of the essay  there is differences in the approach to oral performances in the Swedish subject, and also varying organization of the teaching. No uniformed result is achieved, instead the essay shows a lack of consensus in this matter.

The purpose of this essay is to study how the attitude to the male and female spoken language has developed during the 20^th century and if this development is reflected in school. The essay is built on the following questions: How do researchers of the 21^th century describe and explain the spoken language of male and females’? How do researchers of the 21^th century describe and explain the spoken language of boys’ and girls’ in school? Can the general theories on male and female spoken language relate to the spoken language of boys and girls in school? To be able to answer these questions a literary study has been carried through. The research that has been processed in the study occurred in the 21^th century and represents both the relationship between language and gender as well as the relationship between language, gender and school. The main result shows a general change in attitude on the male and female spoken language, where the female features are more valuable than before. The differences between male and female spoken language can also occur in boys’ and girls’ spoken behavior in school, but the changes in attitude in school haven’t come as far as the changes in attitude in society. 

This study is about teachers’ read-aloud and the processing of the read-aloud texts in the classroom. The purpose of the study is to investigate how teachers in grades 1-3 describe reading-aloud activities that they use in their classroom practice. Following questions have been the starting points for this study: How do the teachers describe the use of reading aloud in the classroom? What do teachers want to achieve with processing of read aloud texts? What texts do the teachers use while reading aloud and on what grounds do they choose the texts they use? The study is based on a theory that pupils' learning develops in social activities where they get support, and this is based on a sociocultural theory. Five teachers have participated in the study. Qualitative method has been used where both interviews and observations have been conducted to gain an in-depth and broad understanding of the area. The material has been analyzed and discussed. The result of this study shows that teachers believe that reading aloud is an important part of the teaching that contributes to pupils' language development. Teachers use texts that interest pupils and texts that the pupils can relate to.

Nativelike expression in L2 speech is investigated by comparing quantity and distribution of different types of multiword structures (MWSs) in the speech of very advanced L2 speakers with native speakers. Swedish speakers of L2 English, L2 French and L2 Spanish (average LOR in the UK, France and Chile 7–10 years) performing two oral tasks, a role play, and an online retelling task, are compared with matching native speakers, totalling 140,000 words. The L2 groups were nativelike in their use of MWSs as social routines in the role play. Collocations, the dominant category in the retelling task, were underrepresented in all three L2 groups compared to the native groups. Furthermore, the English NNSs were nativelike on more measurements of MWSs than the French and Spanish NNSs.

Background: Clinical practice is a pivotal part of nursing education. It provides students with the opportunity to put the knowledge and skills they have acquired from lectures into practice with real patients, under the guidance of registered nurses. Clinical experience is also essential for shaping the nursing students' identity as future professional nurses. There is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the ways in which students learn practical skills and apply knowledge within and across different contexts, i.e. how they apply clinical skills, learnt in the laboratory in university settings, in the clinical setting. The aim of this study was therefore to explore how nursing students describe, and use, their prior experiences related to practical skills during their clinical practice.

Methods: An ethnographic case study design was used. Fieldwork included participant observations (82 h), informal conversations, and interviews (n = 7) that were conducted during nursing students' (n = 17) clinical practice at an emergency department at a university hospital in Sweden.

Results: The overarching theme identified was "Learning about professional identities with respect to situated power". This encompasses tensions in students' learning when they are socialized into practical skills in the nursing profession. This overarching theme consists of three sub-themes: "Embodied knowledge", "Divergent ways of assessing and evaluating knowledge" and "Balancing approaches".

Conclusions: Nursing students do not automatically possess the ability to transfer knowledge from one setting to another; rather, their development is shaped by their experiences and interactions with others when they meet real patients. The study revealed different ways in which students navigated tensions related to power differentials. Reflecting on actions is a prerequisite for developing and learning practical skills and professional identities. This highlights the importance of both educators' and the preceptors' roles for socializing students in this process.

Reflecting on the political nature of literature and its relation to modern democracy, the essay begins by problematizing any notion of commitment in literature. However, irresponsibility found in literature, far from undermining the political process, is what animates the political field seen as an endless contestability of our social practice. The way our notion of modern democracy informs our understanding of literary practice is explored through a selection of Derrida’s writings where democracy emerges as the possibility of imagining alternatives to the world and “of thinking life otherwise,” as Derrida (2004) says, which is to say that democracy cannot be thought without the possibility of literature. Democracy implies not political stability but a continuous call for unrest that prevents its atrophy, and literature, in its unconditional right to call everything to account, is its rearguard work as it were, keeping democracy forever open, for better or for worse.

The incursion of style upon our ability to read, indeed of stylus, of a pointed object that “might be used in a vicious attack against what philosophy appeals to in the name of matter,” as Derrida writes in Spurs, will here take the form of specific tropological concerns that will be given in terms of Paul de Man’s understanding of allegory and reading. Style, inescapably tied to rhetoric and figurativity as a mode of expression, would be a syncope of cognition present in every text. A disruptive possibility of the text that outmatches its potential to be read. Style, seen in these terms, is a certain excess/lack of text that opens to a jouissance of reading, the pain of having read always too much or too little, of always having read otherwise. What the rhetorical structure of reading points to, as we shall see in de Man’s reading of Proust, is the radical impossibility of its closure.

The humanity of man, Levinas argues in Humanism of the Other, is not defined by rationality or subjectivism of freedom, it is found instead in absolute humility and subjection of my freedom to the vulnerability of others. Indeed, for Levinas, the subject itself is constituted as singular or unique by an assignation of responsibility it cannot escape. The fact that no one can respond to the distress of others in my stead is what so imperially consigns me to my idenitity.

The critique of humanism that is implicit in Levinas does not testify so much to its failure as to the hypocrisy of the humanist projects based on reason, integrity, autonomy and the dignity of the subject, its naive rights of freedom and self-assertion often appropriated by the discourses of exploitation and used as a shameless pretext for virile imperialism and colonial aggression. Instead, for Levians, humanism has not risen to the true height of its ideals, of what it means to be human. It is the status and the menaing of this ideal that this paper will question. For to be human is to be called to goodness such that the other counts more than myself. Freedom of the subject, ‘is not the source of all right and meaning,’ as Levians writes in Ethics and Infinity. It is rather the possibility of self-sacrifice and being for the other. Being called to goodness is being sobered up to a responsibility that for Levians is manifested as the-one-for-the-other, even as ‘substitution unto death.’ To be human is to call into question the prejudice of my freedom and my self-righteousness. It is to discover onself in passivity. The other person’s vulnerability, his mortality, comes as the effraction of my being, of my rights, and exposes the injustice of my selfish will. True humanness seems, in fact, to demand more than my capacity. I am thus never responsible enough, I am never human enough. The presence of the other person, the unabated pathos of his need and vulnerability, revelas me to my own shame, to a kind of self-effacement and absolute discretion of my own presence. There is a supplication to a freedom that precedes mine and to respond to it is to be human.

This paper will point towards a certain insufficiency of humanism and the inheritance of its concept in the context of Levinas’s writing as an expression a post-Enlightenment critique both of the notions of freedom and autonomy that are put in question in the responsibility for the other but also in terms of its pre-critical naivité about ‘the human nature’ and the metaphysics of the unified subject. Self-relation is broken in Levinas by infinite incumbent responsibilities that devolve on the subject like an insolvent debt one can never settle in good conscience. The self with all its resources is in a permanent deficit.

All technological revolutions have created a hope for a new pedagogy. So was the case with the VCR, that created the dream of the perfect distance education. So was the case with the research on Artificial Intelligence – this time the dream was about creating the perfect teacher by aid of software. Now, there is fuzz about the new emerging web, web 2.0, that is supposed to be social and interactive. This time, the dream is that the ‘digital generation’ will be its own best teacher.

The article aims to illuminate the character of web 2.0 as a learning phenomenon out of a reading of Martin Heidegger, primarily his earlier work. It applies the ontological grounds on which Heidegger described being-in-world and the worldliness, out from the phenomenon of web 2.0. The article states that web 2.0 could both be considered to be a thing (in Heideggerian terms), and not, a fact that could have massive impact upon learning. A thing, according to the character of equipment, to the feature of self-sameness and by the fact that it is organized in equipmental nexus which makes it recognizable as a thing from different perspectives. This is properties that education has been built upon forever. However, it does also seem to have unthingly features because of its lack of spatio-temporal fixation, the fact that there is no original and no copies of it, and that it lacks timely orientation. This insight could have huge impact upon building strategies for learning within a formal educational system.

It further discusses the way the world reveals itself while using web 2.0, and is proposing a new term for this kind of revelation: a stretched world, with both similarities with and differences from a simulated world. The conditions for learning in this stretched world seem to be changed in a number of ways that are elaborated in the article. It finally discusses web 2.0 as a place for dwelling, and the epistemological consequences of these features of web 2.0 as a learning phenomenon.

The thesis deals with the introduction of computers to each student and teacher in school, called one-to-one. The aim is to contribute with knowledge about how one-to-one affects learning. Particular focus is on the quality and character of knowledge formation in the Swedish school. A further aim is to bring reflections and create knowledge about how one-to-one, as a product of the knowledge society, affect the conditions for learning. In addition, in the light of the special conditions of the knowledge society, the goal is to bring insights on the developmental possibilities for the term knowledge in relation to one-to-one.

The basis for the thesis is the knowledge society and the conditions of knowledge production, and in how Sweden has chosen to focus on the need to provide students with digital skills. The theoretical approach is in phenomenology as ontological stance, and in phenomenography in terms of perspective on learning. The thesis is based on four studies: a narrative research review focusing on what research tells us about pupils respective teachers in one-to-one projects. Further included is a theoretical article with a focus on developing an alternative understanding of the conditions for the formation of knowledge on the social web, based on Martin Heideggers’ phenomenology. An interview study about the students’ perceptions of their learning in one-to-one is also included as well as a phenomenographic analysis of a knowledge task focusing on critical dimensions and knowledge depth. The results are discussing whether the strong focus on digital skills arising from the knowledge formation in one-to-one is consistent with the performative knowledge that is assumed to be of importance in the knowledge society. The thesis also discusses how one-to-one affects students’ ways of experiencing their learning in a one-to-one setting, and the effects upon quality and character of knowledge. Finally the thesis also discusses a possible way to develop the concept of knowledge in the light of the results presented in the four studies by formulating the concept of “stretched knowledge.”

One-to-one computer projects are getting more and more common in European schools, for example in Italy, Portugal, France, Spain, Turkey and Germany (European Schoolnet, 2011; The Worldbank Group, 2011), as following the trend of education in USA (Maine Learning Technology Initiative, 2010). A recently published systematic research review (Fleischer, in press) on one-to-one (one computer per pupil and teacher) projects shows that pupils do spend much time on computers in one-to-one projects (Grimes & Warschauer, 2008), and that computers are highly appriciated. Previous research do also show that the computers are mostly used to explore information, to produce material by using word processors and powerpoint, and to communicate electronically (Fleischer, in press; Penuel, 2006). Previous research also indicates that the pupils sense of self-regulation in studies are increasing, as well as their motivation for studying (Maninger & Holden, 2009).

However, the mentioned research review (Fleischer, in press) indicates that there is a lack of knowledge on how one-to-one affect the way pupils interpret knowledge tasks in school, how they approach knowledge tasks and how one-to-one computer projects affect qualities in formed knowledge.  

The proposed study will therefor research qualities in formed knowledge in one-to-one settings. The research questions for the study are:

• Which are the variations of quality in formed knowledge that takes place due to the one-to-one setting?
• How is interpretation of the knowledge task conducted in one-to-one classrooms?
• What strategies do the pupils use to solve knowledge tasks in one-to-one classrooms?

Methodology

The study is using a phenomenographical approach (Marton & Booth, 1997). The study takes place within one class of 16-years old pupils in Sweden, studying a theoretical topic, where the knowledge task will be to write an essay. An interview is made with the teacher, parallel with investigating the formal curriculum of the course, to establish the pedagogical norm. The content of the essays are investigating in relation to this pedagogical norm, in order to find the students critical varations on the topic. These variations are then hierarchical ordered due to the depth of knowledge represented, and presented critical aspects of the topic. After this, retrospective interviews with the pupils are conducted, to find out the way they tried to solve their knowledge task.

Expected results

The studies will bring further clarity on how one-to-one computing affects qualities in knowledge formation, and how those qualities are related to strategies that are chosen when the pupils are in a one-to-one  computer setting. The strategies will be discussed in terms of the interpretation of the task, the information seeking aspect of solving the task, and the writing process. The results of the study will be discussed from Gurwitsch’s three layers of awareness (Gurwitsch, Zaner, & Embree, 2010), in order to cast light over which aspects of one-to-one projects that affect the process of knowledge formation, and in what ways. Further, the results will also be discussed from a specific phenomenological framework, namely the one discussing the stretched world (Fleischer, 2011), taking into account what the strategies in forming knowledge mean for the lived experience of studying.

The study will further discuss how to engage deeper into the question of affection on knowledge qualities and knowledge formation processes within one-to-one projects.

Intent of publication

The study is conducted within the framework of a doctoral thesis. The study is conducted during spring 2012, and the results will be presented at the ECER conference in September 2012. The study is also intended to be published in international peer reviewed journals during 2012.

References

European Schoolnet. (2011). Educational Netbook Pilot  Retrieved 2011-11-14, 2011, from http://www.netbooks.eun.org/web/acer/about

Fleischer, H. (2011). Towards  a  Phenomenological  Understanding  of  Web  2.0  and  Knowledge  Formation. Education Inquiry, 2(3), 535-549.

Fleischer, H. (in press). What is our current understanding of one-to-one computer projects: A systematic narrative research review. Educational Research Review. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2011.11.004

Grimes, D., & Warschauer, M. (2008). Learning with Laptops: A Multi-Method Case Study. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 38(3), 305-332.

Gurwitsch, A., Zaner, R. M., & Embree, L. E. (2010). The field of consciousness : phenomenology of theme, thematic field, and marginal consciousness. Dordrecht ; New York: Springer.

Maine Learning Technology Initiative. (2010). About MLTI  Retrieved 2011-06-09, 2011, from http://www.maine.gov/mlti/about/index.shtml

Maninger, R. M., & Holden, M. E. (2009). Put the Textbooks Away: Preparation and Support for a Middle School One-to-One Laptop Initiative. American Secondary Education, 38(1), 5-33.

Marton, F., & Booth, S. (1997). Learning and awareness. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.

Penuel, W. R. (2006). Implementation and Effects of One-to-One Computing Initiatives: A Research Synthesis. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(3), 329-348.

The Worldbank Group. (2011). 1-to-1 educational computing initiatives around the world, from http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/node/558

The article aims to illuminate the character of web 2.0 out of a reading of Martin Heidegger in order to provoke new epistemological questions about web 2.0 and knowledge formation. The article applies the ontological grounds on which Heidegger described being-in-world and worldliness, out from the phenomenon of web 2.0. The article states that web 2.0 could both be considered to be a thing (in Heideggerian terms), but also as not being a thing. A thing, according to the character of equipment, the feature of self-sameness and by the fact that it is organized in equipmental nexus which makes it recognizable as a thing from different perspectives. However, it does seem to have unthingly features because of its lack of spatio-temporal fixation, the fact that there is no original and no copies of it, and that it lacks timely orientation. The article further discusses the way the world reveals itself while using web 2.0, and is proposing a new term for this kind of revelation, namely a stretched world. It finally discusses web 2.0 as a place for dwelling, and the epistemological consequences of these features of web 2.0 for knowledge formation. It proposes that research questions should be asked from the perspective that web 2.0 used for knowledge formation is something to act upon while stepping into it.

The aim of this article is to review cross-disciplinary accumulated empirical research on one-to-one computer projects in school settings as published in peer-reviewed journals between 2005 to 2010, particularly the results of teacher- and pupil-oriented studies. Six hundred five research articles were screened at the abstract and title level, 36 were full-text mapped, and 18 of those were further analysed. The final analysis revealed two main themes of narration, which guided the further descriptions. The first theme, Pupil-Related Results, deals with classroom activities and learning experiences and the outcomes of one-to-one projects. The second theme, Teacher-Related Results, deals with how teachers comprehend and relate to one-to-one computer projects. The results show that the research field has not developed substantially since the previously published reviews. This paper discusses the reasons for this lack of development, as well as the need for political, scholarly and epistemological awareness when researching questions of one-to-one computer projects.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between the use of MMO games and increased English language development among pupils in Swedish schools from a teacher perspective. To answer the research questions of this study, a qualitative method was used. Five teachers who teach or have taught English to grade 4-6 pupils were interviewed about their experiences. The study has been inspired by phenomenography and is focused on how teachers experience the phenomenon of MMO playing pupils and their English language development. The result of the study show that teachers hold the following perceptions: pupils have an increased English verbal ability, more access to the English language, and that the MMO games give a natural context for the English language. At the same time, MMO games may have a negative impact on pupils English language development. These disadvantages consist of negative language, lack of abstraction ability, and difficulties in distinguishing between formal and informal English language use.

Syftet med denna undersökning är att hjälpa lärare undervisa sina elever så att de når förmågan att ”söka information från olika källor och värdera dessa” (Skolverket, 2011, s. 223). För att uppfylla syftet har jag valt att arbeta utifrån följande frågeställningar:

-       Vilka fördelar finns det med informationssökning på Internet utifrån det sociokulturella perspektivet?

-       Vad bör lärare tänka på när de undervisar i informationssökning på Internet?

-       Hur kan lärare undervisa i källkritik på Internet?

Den metod jag använt är att göra en litteraturstudie i det aktuella ämnesområdet för att söka svar på mina frågeställningar. Jag har använt mig av söktjänsten PRIMO, Skolverkets databas och kedjesökning. Materialet består av åtta forskningsrapporter och en doktorsavhandling.

Fördelarna med informationssökning på Internet utifrån det sociokulturella perspektivet är att det utgår från elevens intresse, lärstil och förkunskaper. Lärare bör veta att det tar tid för eleven att lära sig informationssökning på internet, att de bör vara aktiva handledare samt att de bör ta reda på var eleven befinner sig kunskapsmässigt. För att utveckla det källkritiska tänkandet hos eleven ska eleven ha ett intresse/ en inre motivation men också att undervisningen bland annat ska bestå av diskussion, individuella samtal och handledning.

This paper investigates five teachers work and teaching about literature and reading strategies based on fiction. Fiction turned out to be an important tool in teaching, especially in reading strategies and reading comprehension. Literature is considered tradition bearer of culture, history and intellectual fellowship and human development. The Swedish curriculum and syllabus has clarified the importance of reading and reading strategies in teaching. Students need access to reading strategies so they can read different types of texts in an effective and efficient manner. Despite schools' awareness of the importance of reading, reports and surveys from government investigate reading comprehension in students’ ability to comprehend reading have worsened.  The paper investigates how teachers work with fiction and what reading strategies mean for the participants and how they work with the strategies. Our method is a qualitative survey and the participants are all Swedish teachers from the same school. Our results showed that teachers 'skills and reading strategies varied and so even work with fiction and how they work with students' reading skills. Our conclusions are that reading is more than an activity between readers and the text they have read. Reading can enrich people's lives and contribute to an understanding of both themselves and other individuals. Reading of literature is a tool and a teaching tool which can create participation in society, because students evolve skills such as critical thinking and an analytical approach which can arise when they take part of conversions of books and other types of literary discussions.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how four teachers of the Swedish language apply their written feedback on their students’ assignments, what different effects it has on students’ writing process and how they describe their experiences of receiving the feedback. A qualitative method has been used by interviewing four teachers at a senior level school, thereafter interviewing their pupils by dividing them into four groups of four. Furthermore, the interviews were analyzed and data was categorized with the purpose of answering the question formulations of the study, which are:

• According to the teachers’ descriptions, what is their main focus of the written feedback they apply on their students’ assignments, in which way and why?

• What effects do the teachers describe that their written feedback has on the students writing process?

• How do the students describe their experiences of receiving feedback on their written assignments?

The results show that the teachers work with three types of feedback: final comments, templates and marks in the text. The latter is considered disturbing according to the students. The teachers mainly give feedback based on the content and how well the student has interpreted a certain genre. The conclusion is that the teachers do not have the proper awareness of the effects of their feedback on their students writing processes. Furthermore, the students clearly state they appreciate compliments on their assignments. However they find them difficult to understand due to the challenging language in the feedback. They also state the final grade to be more valued than the teachers’ final comments, resulting in the feedback losing its value. Also to be stated is that the students find that the response of their teachers does not develop their writing skills. This is due to the fact that the feedback lacks information on how to further improve and develop their skills, and also since there is no system for saving the different types of feedback.