Ambassadors of the Swedish nation: national images in the teaching of the Swedish lecturers in Germany 1918–1945

This article analyses the teaching of Swedish language lecturers active in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century. It shows the centrality of literature and literary constructions and analyses images of Swedishness and the Swedish nation present in the teaching material of that time in relation to the national image present in Swedish schoolbooks. The importance of language teaching to the transfer of knowledge regarding foreign countries is also discussed, in this case the knowledge and images of Sweden that were transferred to German students via their lecturers.     

The Folk High School: A Contemporary Educational Pathway for Swedish Parliamentarians?

The aim of this study is to explore the contemporary role of the folk high school as an educational pathway for Swedish MPs. Statistics from the folk high school register at Statistics Sweden are analysed. In summary, there are still quite a large number of former folk high school participants in the Swedish parliament (27%, 2014). The MPs’ folk high school participation mainly took the form of short courses. Over time, the folk high schools have increasingly come to be used by members of parties on the left of the political spectrum. The folk high schools are commonly used as meeting places during the MPs’ political career, and thus not only as an educational pathway to power, as emphasised in earlier research.     

School‐based teacher collaboration in Sweden and Greece: formal cooperation,deprivatized practices and personalized interaction in primary and lower secondary schools

During recent years, educational restructuring efforts have commonly regarded schools as both learning communities and sites for teachers’ professional development. A plethora of attributes influence prerequisites as well as outcomes of the efforts, while teachers’ local cultures constitute a cornerstone. More specifically, enhanced school‐based teacher collaboration is associated with upgraded school effectiveness and enhanced professional growth. However, the comparative study of school‐based teacher collaboration remains a subjective research area. The overall aim of this study is to highlight teacher collaboration in Sweden and Greece utilizing nationwide surveys with physical education teachers in both countries. The final sample consisted of 707 Swedish and 451 Greek professionals. The high response rate combined with restricted internal dropout forms the basis of the generalization of the findings. The presentation of the results is connected with issues of formal cooperation, deprivatized practices and personalized interaction in four teachers groups: primary and lower secondary schools in Sweden and in Greece. According to the data, formal cooperation and deprivatized practices occur more frequently in Sweden than in Greece. However, personalized interaction is rather high in Greek lower secondary schools. Despite differences between the four contexts, a second order model represents obtained information adequately with very good fit indexes. It seems that school‐based teacher collaboration in authentic settings can be connected to complex processes with multifaceted characteristics in different national contexts as well as in educational stages within one country as well. Manipulating distinct aspects of schooling may consequently jeopardize expected outcomes, as development ambitions should be targeting several interdependent dimensions. Swedish schools generally and lower secondary schools specifically constitute original examples of enhanced school‐based teacher collaboration, while an intensification of combined endeavours is needed in Greece. The comparative mapping of interconnected collaboration characteristics might contribute to more holistic restructuring struggles towards schools as learning communities and sites for teachers’ professional development.     

List of Reviewers 2014

Postlethwaite, T. N. (1971). Item Scores as Feedback to Curriculum Planners. Scand. J. educ. Res. 15, 3, 123‐136. Data for Sweden from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) mathematics study are analysed in terms of the shift in level of performance from seventh grade to ninth grade on twenty mathematics items. In turn, the level of performance for Swedish seventh and ninth graders is compared with the average level of performance for all 13‐year‐olds in the IEA study. Relative gains and losses from seventh to ninth grade are related to the Swedish Länplan. Another more general approach is used whereby each Swedish ninth grade item performance is predicted from the average 13‐year‐old performance of all countries, taking into account the Swedish lag at age 13. In this way, it can be seen if Swedish children catch up. It is assumed that such information can and will be used by curriculum planners in reforming curricula.     

Opportunities for a democratic pedagogy: a comparative study of South African and Swedish teachers' attitudes to inclusive education

This paper is based upon the collaboration between two research groups from Stockholm University and the University of South Africa. The main objective is to compare attitudes between South African (SA) and Swedish teachers regarding inclusive education (IE). IE in this paper is examined as a distinct part of the Swedish welfare system. The method used can be characterised as a combined, quantitative and qualitative research design with a purposive sampling. A similar adapted questionnaire was distributed in the two countries. The Swedish teachers in our data are more pro‐inclusion and more hesitating to accommodate learners with barriers in special schools. However, both the Swedish and the SA teachers in the study are hesitating towards the feasibility to implement IE practically. A team approach is concluded to be an adequate pedagogy for supporting IE both in South Africa and Sweden.     

A proposed typology for science lecturers in colleges of further education in England

The study is based on the ratings of over 400 students on 26 aspects of their interactions with and the teaching qualities of 16 science lecturers in colleges of further education in England. These ratings yielded a six factor solution and a typology for lecturers in terms of the high or low ranks of the factor scores on the three orthogonal factors: friendly cheerful enthusiasm, confidence/competence and attention to detail. These seem to be related to three aspects of the lecturers’ personalities: relaxed‐anxious, extraversion‐introversion and lax‐conscientious.     

Students’ Expectations of Teaching in Undergraduate Physics

This article reports on a phenomenographic‐based study of the expectations of teaching among undergraduate physics students. Data are drawn from a range of course‐contexts at each of two quite different universities — one South African and one Swedish — and five qualitatively different expectations of physics teaching are identified and exemplified. These range from presenting knowledge to facilitating personal development and agency. Implications of possible mismatches between students’ and lecturers’ expectations of physics teaching are discussed in relation to students’ learning experiences.     

Integration of sustainable development in sanitary engineering education in Sweden

In the Swedish Act for higher education, as well as in the policies of technical universities, it is stated that sustainable development (SD) should be integrated into engineering education. Researchers argue that SD needs to be integrated into the overall course content rather than added as a specific course. In this paper, six engineering lecturers have been interviewed to give their views on how SD can be integrated into teaching water and sanitation engineers. Engineering lecturers seem unsure how to interpret SD in relation to their own specific courses. Students are said to request technical knowledge rather than fuzzy ideas of SD and lecturers struggle to open up the teaching to more problem-based perspectives. Sanitary professionals in work practice relate to SD as a core in water treatment processes and regret that responsibility for SD issues fall between traditional departmental structures in society.     

Inclusive education in Sweden? A critical analysis

When it comes to pupils in need of special support and pupils with disabilities, Sweden’s compulsory school system is sometimes considered a one‐track system. This article analyses and critically discusses current policy and practices at various levels of Sweden’s compulsory school system for these pupils. The analysis traces three themes at the national and municipal levels: (1) values and goals; (2) organisation and placement of pupils; and (3) importance of categories in obtaining support. A rather complex picture emerges from this analysis. Several conclusions are made: (1) state policies leave a lot of room for interpretation at the municipal and school levels, and this results in an extensive variation; (2) Swedish state policy is not as inclusive as is often stated; (3) celebration of difference seems to be hard to achieve; (4) learning goals can be a double‐edged sword with regard to inclusion; and (5) most pupils appear to enjoy participation in school, and in an international perspective, Swedish classrooms seem to be largely democratic.     

Compulsory Higher Education Teacher Training in Sweden: Development of a national standards framework based on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Today visible proofs of excellence in teaching and learning are increasingly important aspects of institutional branding in higher education (HE). Teaching competence is brought forward as a central aspect of the quality of programmes. Still, the induction of new university teachers is managed in many different ways. Approaches may vary according to how teaching competence is perceived; as growing from practice only, requiring formal courses or, for instance, outlined in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement. In Sweden, the HE Ordinance from 2002 states that to get permanent positions, lecturers should have completed Compulsory HE Teacher Training (CHETT). The size and organisation of the courses were not regulated in the Ordinance and institutional practices varied. In a three‐year project intended learning outcomes for CHETT was suggested. These outcomes are based on SoTL and linked to an estimated work‐load of 10 weeks. Based on a national survey in 2006, institutional responses to the proposals are analysed.     

Comenius and Sweden,and Bengt Skytte's Sophopolis

In 1642 the Swedish government persuaded Comenius to come to Sweden in order to improve its educational system and, especially, to produce textbooks for the teaching of Latin. Comenius worked as an educational advisor to Sweden for six years. This paper describes his influence on and contact with the Swedish government and learned world and how his ideas of international cooperation and tolerance inspired men such as Bengt Skytte, who developed the idea of a 'Sophopolis', a centre or city of the learned and wise men drawn from many countries.     

Practitioner-centred research and the Ph.D.

This paper is about Ph.Ds, practitioner-centred research and action learning. The aim of this paper is to help develop a framework for those completing doctorates based on action learning. The paper explores relationships between the personal learning of action learning participants and the public knowledge associated with conventional research. It concludes that the new professional doctorates based on action learning offer a way of integrating evidence-based practice with practice-based evidence.     

Putting doctoral education to work: challenges to academic practice

Professional doctorates designed to meet the needs of particular groups (education, nursing, business, law, etc.) have been established, and the PhD now encompasses a wide range of academic pursuits. However, the combination of the PhD and designated professional doctorates does not exhaust the range of doctoral‐level education. Is there a particular role for a doctoral‐level qualification for those who do not wish to follow the academic path of the PhD, or the designated path of existing professional doctorates? This paper argues that there is such a need, and identifies and explores some of the issues to be faced in addressing such a need. The paper focuses on three challenges for academic practice in doctoral education arising from this. First, the impetus for new forms of doctoral education is considered and what this implies for the diversity of current provision. Second, the target population for new professionally orientated doctorates is examined, namely ‘new knowledge workers’, those who operate in areas not covered by specialized doctorates and those who wish to negotiate transdisciplinary programs. Finally, the paper examines issues universities face in meeting the needs of new populations of doctoral candidates, particularly the need to develop new academic cultural practices.     

Children and God in the multicultural society 1

What kind of perceptions of God do children have? Do they believe in God? Does change take place over time and is there a connection with changes in society? These questions are answered on the basis of texts and surveys involving children between 8 and 12 years of age in Sweden during 2002 and similar material from the years 1969, 1979 and 1987–90. Results show that children who do not know what to believe make up the largest group throughout the period. Perceptions of God are relatively stable over time but belief in Allah as well as personal relationships with God seem to be more common. The proportion of children who believe was visibly greater than the proportion of non‐believers in 2002, which disrupts the tendency running up to 1990 where the proportion of non‐believing children was on the increase and is greater than the proportion of believers. Issues about God also get a higher ranking order in 2002. A careful interpretation shows that a change has taken place. The number of children with foreign backgrounds has increased. While the tendency in ethnically Swedish schools remains the same, believers constitute the majority in multi‐ethnic areas, and also among Swedish children. This suggests an increasing interest and dialogue among all children in multi‐ethnic schools about religious matters. Great demands are placed on the teaching of religion and ethics in order to capture this increase in interest.     

Intercultural education and teacher education in Sweden

The Swedish school is a meeting place for different cultures. Gender and class variations have been recognized for many years. More recently, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity has also entered Swedish classrooms. This article examines these new educational circumstances in three parts. The first section defines some multicultural terms in Swedish context and briefly describes Sweden as a multicultural society. The second section discusses different pedagogical strategies in Swedish multicultural classrooms where cultural diversity problematizes traditional education. The final section addresses the need for an intercultural perspective in teacher education.     

Reading Achievement and Social Selection in Independent Schools in Sweden: Results from IEA PIRLS 2001

The study investigates the mean difference in reading achievement between third‐graders in public and independent schools in Sweden. The data come from the Swedish participation in PIRLS 2001 conducted by IEA. Variables from the home questionnaire mainly indicating possession of cultural capital are used as independent variables. A total IRT score of reading achievement is used as outcome variable. It is shown that students in independent schools have on average better reading results and also a more advantageous socio‐economic background than have students in public schools. Social selection hence characterises independent schools. In addition, indicators of students' cultural capital account for the major part of the mean difference between school types.     

瑞典学能测验初探

瑞典位于北欧斯堪的纳维亚半岛东半部,是世界经济发达国家之一,以全民高福利著称。实施全民免费教育,对国际学生也不收费。国民人均受教育年限很高。统合高中教育和高等教育都很有自己的特色。而作为进入瑞典大学接受高等教育的三种方式之一的瑞典学能测验(Swedish Scholastic AssessmentTest,SweSAT)已有30多年的历史,为学生选择适合自己的大学,大学选择适合自己专业领域的学生,提供了重要的参考依据。本文首先对瑞典学能测验的历史、测验的组成、实施过程等方面做一个概要性的阐述。然后介绍了瑞典学能测验面临的问题及其对中国考试的几点启示。     

A Comparative Analysis of Higher Education Ranking Systems in Europe

Abstract

During the last few years, a national quality assessment system for evaluation of the core activities of universities has been established in Sweden. Beyond participating in these national efforts, Lund University has also participated in the European benchmarking programme managed by ESMU (European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities). This report concentrates upon two issues. Firstly, the role of international benchmarking is discussed in comparison with the established Swedish national quality assessment system. Secondly, a number of methodological problems encountered during these activities are discussed in the light of Lund University's three‐year experience of the ESMU benchmarking exercises.     

FOLLOW‐UP STUDIES TO THE REFORM OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN

The National Swedish Board of Universities and Colleges (UKA) has initiated a programme of follow‐up studies into the reform of higher education being implemented in Sweden. We give below information on the basic elements of this programme.     

Literature for Swedish Lutherans in Colonial America, 1696–1730

In bis dissertation on the Augustana Synod and its significance for the construction of nineteenth‐century Swedish—American identity, DagBlanck examined the literature issued by the Augustana Book Concern. ^{1 1} Dag Blanck, Becoming Swedish‐American. The Construction of an Ethnic Identity in the Augustana Synod, 1860‐1917(Uppsala, 1997). One of the most important types of literature was the textbooks, intended for use in the Swedish—American schools. Blanck's analysis of their contents provides evidence that these textbooks served the purpose of constructing and implanting a certain Swedish—American identity by providing space not only for the Swedish cultural heritage, but also the American immigrant experience. Applying a similar perspective, this article discusses the significance of Swedish literature to the descendants of the New Sweden colonists at the turn of the seventeenth century. From the early 1690s and through the 1720s, the book supply comprised a major line of communication between Sweden and America. While previous research has emphasized the religious point of view and the missionary efforts conducted by Swedish authorities, the article analyses the book supply from the perspective of Swedish—American ethnic formation. Defending their rights to religious freedom and land possession, the old settlers mobilized along ethnic lines. In order to discuss what purpose this literature might have served in promoting Swedishness, the article presents an assessment of the extent and composition of the five major book deliveries to America prior to 1720. Particular attention will be paid to the construction of a special Swedish‐American literature.