https://www.mdu.se/

This study is interested in teachers’ use of digital technology for differentiation of teaching in early school years, focusing in particular on teaching reading and writing. The study is qualitative in nature and is based on field studies in grade 2 (aged eight), along with focus groups involving teachers who work with and around pupils. Two research questions have served as a guideline for the study:  1. What characterises teachers’ experiences and didactic usage of digital technology when teaching children (to read and write), and 2. How is digital technology used to promote different dimensions of reading and writing processes? The results show that teachers use digital technology to differentiate teaching in various ways; by illustrating, motivating, individualising and making the didactic content accessible, for example. Digital technology is used when teaching children to read and write in order to promote both individual skills and activities promoting communication and creating meaning. Digital technology appears to provide opportunities for teachers to offer particular support within the classroom framework and offer pupils tasks at custom levels, thereby helping to provide a more inclusive didactic space. This study highlights teachers’ somewhat ambivalent approach and balancing of different didactic choices in relation to digital technology.

The aim of this article is, in a chronological perspective, to identify, discuss and problematise concepts for children’s ‘problems’ in compulsory school and the contexts in which they have been categorised and used. To clarify the categorisation in context, the article is based on a previous study on categorisation in Swedish youth education from a historical perspective. School health reports from the 1940s to the 1980s in this document study constituted the empirical data material on which the discussion in this article is based. An ecological model of analysis was used with the main analytical tools: concept use, curricula, documentation routines, experts and educational support measures. The various tools elucidate the context to which the categorisation may be related, and show that social, cultural, medical and psychological influences contributed to what were identified, observed and documented as children’s ‘problems’ at school from the school health services’ point of view. On the basis of the empirical study and the components pinpointed by the analytical tool, present-day terminology of children’s ‘problems’ in Swedish schools today is discussed and problematised. © 2020, © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The aim of this article is to discuss and problematise issues related to conceptual approaches to differences among children in the world of school education. The article is based on results from a Swedish study on categorisation of schoolchildren’s ‘problems’ from a historical perspective. Its central questions are: ‘What concepts are used to formulate children’s various educational needs, and how can these concepts be understood?’ Supported by an ecological analysis model, complex situations in the categorisation and problem-solving process are clarified. Using terminology to refer to pupils’ diverse abilities and needs involves aspects of categorising. An understanding of how this works may bring more profound knowledge of obstacles to children’s learning. The categorisation process illustrates effects both at individual level and more generally. Categorisation may be regarded as a useful practice for understanding children’s differences better, and thereby finding the best ways of responding to them. However, categorisation based on abilities and needs also adds a challenge to the important idea of inclusion. The article discusses categorisation as a basis for educational problem-solving and the implications of categorising children’s varying abilities and experience of school education. The theoretical premises enhance understanding of the dynamic nature of terminology usage, and thus future prospects of meeting challenges that may arise, in schools.

I detta kapitel presenteras och diskuteras resultat från den studie om barns tidiga pedagogiska övergångar som ligger till grund för kapitlet. Syftet i den studien var att fördjupa kunskapen om hur barn med olika förutsättningar kan uppfattas och förstås vid pedagogiska övergångar, särskilt avseende hinder och utmaningar. Data insamlades genom fokuserade gruppintervjuer med lärare från förskola, förskoleklass och första klass i grundskolan. En kvalitativ ansats valdes och det teoretiska ramverket i studien var influerat av ett ekologiskt synsätt på barns lärande och utveckling. Lärarna såg hinder och utmaningar som är ett resultat av interaktioner mellan barnets egenskaper och miljöförhållanden. Resultatet visar även att den ekologiska utgångspunkten var användbar för att synliggöra faktorer och förhållanden som medverkade till hinder och utmaningar på olika sätt.

This chapter presents issues regarding diversity and inclusion from different perspectives, involving various aspects of children and young people’s learning and development related to educational transitions and practices. Several factors and conditions are highlighted as part of the explanation of how diversity can be understood and addressed pedagogically in different educational transitions. The chapter takes into account important issues on meeting diversity from an inclusive perspective with regard to the variety of cultural, socio-economic and individual conditions relating to young children’s learning and development.

Children all around the world pass through a number of transitions in educational systems. These transitions are organised in different ways in different countries. In Sweden, children pass through three school forms in early childhood education: preschool, preschool class and primary school. In a research project funded by the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish POET group conducted case studies in three municipalities, using participant observations, semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews. The aim has been to deepen the understanding of children’s learning journeys from preschool into school. A second aim has been to examine the long-term implications of educational practices across the transitions for children’s learning and participation. In this chapter, some findings from the research project are presented. The results show how the complex structure of Swedish early childhood education creates challenges for children and their learning journeys.

Syftet med kapitlet är att diskutera och problematisera frågor som rör kategoriseringsprocesser i pedagogiska praktiker med utgångspunkt från två ekologiska analysmodeller. Med exempel från empiriska studier där dessa modeller används, diskuteras begreppsanvändning i pedagogiska verksamheter samt de utmaningar som kan uppstå i samband med barns lärande och sociala utveckling. Det handlar om en interaktivitet mellan olika komponenter i en kategoriseringsprocess och analysmodellerna synliggör detta. 

In this chapter we explore teachers’ perceptions of children’s diversity in different educational settings. Using interviews with teachers from Swedish preschools, preschool classes and the first grade in primary school, we aim to study transitions in school from the perspectives of several actors. The theoretical framework we employ is influenced by an ecological approach to understanding children’s needs in educational transitions. The teachers’ reflections on these three transitions emphasised the importance of context when responding to children’s needs. The teachers also described transitions as dynamic processes in which factors and conditions at different levels interact.

Swedish compulsory school for students with intellectual disability (ID) has been criticized for focusing on care and not presenting the students with enough knowledge-related challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate how a conceptually-based mathematics curriculum can be interpreted and constructed for students with ID. A total of 18 mathematics lessons in 6 classes forstudents with ID were filmed, and the teachers were interviewed in connection with the lessons. Aqualitative content analysis approach was used to identify aspects of mathematical competency content and to analyze the teaching. Three major groups of teaching strategies are identified: pedagogical mathematics activities, focusing on students’ perceptions of mathematical content, and encouraging dialogue between students.