Choice paths in the Swedish upper secondary education – a critical discourse analysis of recent reforms

Decentralisation policy in Sweden emphasises school capitation allowance, the local upper secondary schools’ decision‐making and pupils’ choices in contrast to previous bureaucratic governing. The aim of this article is to discuss how pupils’ educational choice paths are a part of the different kinds of integration and differentiation processes within upper secondary education. By doing so, the intention is to make a theoretical contribution to the ongoing discussion in this research field. In the light of Habermas’s theory of communicative action combined with Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, educational choice paths have been studied as a process within three educational practices in a local quasi‐market in Sweden: (1) choice of upper secondary school, (2) choice of upper secondary programme, and (3) choice of courses and subjects within a programme. Some of the results demonstrate that pupils’ choice paths can be vocation‐oriented, career‐oriented and consumption‐oriented. It is argued that these different types of choice paths are related to a market discourse. Other results demonstrate that pupils’ group‐oriented, interest‐oriented and tradition‐oriented choice paths are built upon an active citizenship discourse, which is about creating meaning in terms of seeking knowledge and establishing social relations in upper secondary education. The analysis of these two paramount discourses indicates that pupils’ integration and differentiation processes are ambiguous.     

Pupils in upper secondary school sports: choices based on what?

In the fields of both education and sport, the possession of capital and habitus influences an individual’s lifestyles and choices, which in turn affects the social selection within these fields. In this article, we will study the Swedish system of school sports as an overlap between the fields of education and sport, and thus viewed as a double dominated field. From a cultural sociological perspective, the purpose of this article is to analyse and explain how the organisational conditions and pupils’ social characteristics interact with upper secondary pupils’ choices of different school sports programmes in Sweden. Based on registry data on secondary school sports pupils, the results show that the supply of school sports requires specific forms of social dispositions that have an impact on which categories of pupils choose to participate. Among the students participating in school sports, there is a higher proportion of pupils who: are of Swedish origin (p?p?p?p?相似文献   

University-to-industry advanced technology transfer: A case study

This case study examines the events in the transfer of an advanced technology (a text-to-speech reading machine) from the university group that developed the technology to an industrial firm seeking to exploit the innovation. After a brief history of the six-year project, the paper discusses the roles of the participants, markets, and time and cost considerations. A model of technology transfer is presented and policy implications derived from the case are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the need for matching technical competence between donor and recipient, and on the function of a transfer agent in facilitating the social process of technology transfer.     

Children’s Voices on Bullying in Kindergarten

Research suggests that bullying does occur in kindergarten. The extent of bullying in Norway and other Scandinavian countries is estimated to be about 12 %. The purpose of this study is to investigate children’s understanding and experiences of bullying. We use a qualitative approach and have conducted individual interviews and focus group interviews with a total of 31 children, 5 year-olds, in 4 different kindergartens. Additionally, observations were made of 4–5 year-olds in the same kindergartens, 142 children in total. The results show that the children describe bullying as doing or saying “something mean”. Exclusion from play is what all the children fear the most. This study shows that 1–2 children in each kindergarten are systematically excluded from play, and these children are overlooked by both other children and the adults in kindergarten.     

Announcement Information Provided by United States’ Public Libraries during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

This study synthesizes timely information about the COVID-19 virus and examines how public libraries have responded to the pandemic in real-time through their online announcements to the public. A content analysis of library announcements relating to the COVID-19 pandemic posted during the period of March 14–April 12, 2020, was performed. Over 90 percent of libraries announced a closure due to the pandemic and 98 percent libraries indicated programs were suspended. Over half of libraries posted about COVID-19 and general hygiene practices. Many announcements changed in terms of content from March 14 to April 12, demonstrating the rapidly evolving nature of the pandemic. This study suggests that libraries can and do play an important role in providing reliable information about pandemics like COVID-19 for patrons.     

Staging gender: the articulation of tacit gender dimensions in drama classes in a Swedish context

This article engages with gender, performance and embodiment in drama classes in a Swedish context. It presents a case study of how instructors at an academy of dramatic arts integrate theoretical knowledge on gender into their students’ creative and pedagogical practice, as well as an analysis of why this approach works. Visualisation of how the body is used on a concrete level offers a departure from traditional uses of theory as a way to challenge reality; instead the research describes how theory can be used in concrete didactic bodily movements, thus bringing the body, which is often overlooked in studies of pedagogy, into a discussion on knowledge acquisition.     

Differences in impact characteristics,joint kinetics and measurement reliability between forehand and backhand forward badminton lunges

ABSTRACT

This study identified the effect of badminton lunging directions on impact characteristics, joint kinetics and measurement reliability. A total of 14 badminton players performed 20 lunges in both forehand and backhand sides. Ground reaction force (GRF) and three-dimensional joint moment variables were determined for further analyses. Paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to determine any differences between the two lunge directions and intra-class correlation (ICC) and sequential averaging analysis (SAA) were used to estimate the minimum number of trials. Compared to the forehand side, participants experienced significantly larger total GRF impulse (+ 3.8%, p = 0.021) and transverse moment (hip + 63.5%, p < 0.001; knee + 80.7%, p = 0.011), but smaller hip (?7.7%), knee (?18.7%) and ankle frontal moments (?58.0%, p < 0.05) in backhand lunges. The minimum number of trials was similar for both lunge directions, as the averaged absolute differences was less than one in both ICC and SAA. Furthermore, smaller minimal number of trials was determined by the ICC (7.9–8.0), compared with the SAA approach (9.5–10.3). Lunge direction would influence GRF and joint loading, but not on the measurement reliability. These results give important insights to establish performance or equipment evaluation protocols during badminton lunges.