Föreställningar om läsande och läsundervisning hos lärare i svenska som andraspråk

Pipils in the Language Introduction programmes in upper secondary schools in Sweden are required to develop reading skills to be admitted to national programmes. This study focuses on perceptions of reading and reading instruction among teachers in Swedish as a second language. The empirical material consists of interviews with five teachers. The interviews were analyzed thematically to illuminate the teachers’ perceptions of reading practices and their underlying understanding of reading and reading instruction. Freebody and Luke’s resource model and Ivanič’s multilayered discourse model served as the theoretical frame for the study. The teachers’ narrow view of reading and reading education was revealed in the analysis, with emphasis on practices of coding and meaning making, and on discourses of skills and processes. A picture emerged of the reading education as lacking richness and without necessary conditions to focus on issues of identity, power and ideologies, something that is important for students in this age and situation. We argue that a prerequisite for development of reading education that includes not only cognitive and psychological perspectives but also sociocultural and sociopolitical is that teachers turn their focus from individual students to the social and cultural contexts. Such education could support reading education to develop these pupils’ interpretation and critical skills necessary for future life

Teachers of Swedish as a Second Language

In this article, the professional role of teachers in Swedish as a second language (SSL) is explored. The study builds on interviews with six highly qualified SSL teachers. The content analysis of data focuses on what SSL teachers say about their professional identity; what opportunities there are for them to develop agency; and what changes they believe would give SSL teachers stronger voice. Findings show that the assignment of these teachers is difficult due to the everyday reality of the school environment in which they teach. In a situation where principals and subject teachers lack sufficient knowledge about L2 students, it is unrealistic to assume SSL teachers can lead the type of school development and organisational change that is required. That would necessitate a new type of role for SSL teachers, one in which the teacher is not only an expert on L2 students’ learning and educational needs, but also has training in issues of leadership

Att se med egna ögon – kritisk litteracitet på svenska för invandrare, sfi

I denna artikel undersöks möjligheter och utmaningar vad gäller att utveckla kritisk litteracitet för vuxna som deltar i sfi, studieväg 1. Artikeln bygger på intervjuer av fyra sfi-lärare och observationer av deras undervisning, inom ramen för ett aktionsforskningsprojekt där fokus var på kritisk litteracitet. Luke och Freebodys skriftspråkliga praktiker och Janks ramverk för dimensioner av kritisk litteracitet användes för analys. Studien visar både på möjligheter och utmaningar. Även om de fyra olika praktikerna pågick samtidigt är det tydligt att den kritiska uppfattas som mer utmanande för lärarna. Samtidigt framträdde en spänning mellan skolans demokratiuppdrag och lärarnas beredvillighet att låta elever ha direkt inflytande över exempelvis vilka frågor som väljs ut för kritisk analys. Ur ett maktperspektiv befinner sig eleverna på studieväg 1 i ett läge av underordning, såväl vad gäller möjligheter att utöva sina medborgerliga rättigheter som möjligheter att påverka rådande diskurser. Vi konstaterar att lärarnas villighet att inkludera kontroversiella frågor även behöver balanseras mot aspekter som klassrumsklimat och skydd av enskilda elevers välbefinnande. ENGLISH: To see with your own eyes: Critical literacy in Swedish for immmigrants In this article, possibilities and challenges regarding the development of critical literacy for adults participating in the education of Swedish for immigrants, study path 1, is investigated. The article builds on interviews with four teachers and observations of their teaching, as part of an action research project with focus on critical literacy. Luke and Freebody’s literacy resources and Jank’s framework for dimensions of critical literacy were used for the analysis. The study reveals both possibilities and challenges. Although the different resources were going on at the same time, the critical was perceived as more challenging for the teachers. At the same time a tension appeared between the school’s democracy mission and the teachers’ readiness to give students direct influence on for example which questions that were chosen for critical analysis. From a power perspective, the students in study path 1 are in a position of subordination, both regarding their possibilities to exercise their civil rights and to have influence on prevailing discourses. We conclude that the teachers’ willingness to include controversial issues also needs to balance against aspects of classroom climate and protection of individual students’ well-being. Keywords: Critical Literacy, Swedish for Immigrants, Studypath 1, Basic literac

Non-Challenging Education and Teacher Control as Factors for Marginalization of Students in Diverse Settings

This article discusses teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant students in poor settings and the effect these attitudes have on organization of education on classroom level. It draws on results from two ethnographic studies where some primary school classes in Sweden were followed with participant observation and interviews as main research methods. The article focuses on classroom activities and teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant students and students with low socio-economic status. In the article is argued for the importance of presenting students in poor settings with demanding tasks and challenging education. In these cases, intellectually undemanding tasks in combination with little room for students’ own initiatives resulted in low enthusiasm among students regarding schoolwork and accordingly low learning, while classroom work that demanded active involvement by students in combination with high level of students’ influence on what took place in classrooms resulted in high level of students’ engagement and high outcome

Klassrumsinteraktion i de tidiga skolåren : flerspråkiga elever i skolans språkliga vardag

Classroom interaction is particularly important for those students who learn school knowledge in a second language. In this article two episodes of whole class teaching in pre-school and standard one are analyzed. The analysis shows the importance of making teachers aware of interactional patterns in classrooms. Although knowledge was presented clearly and concretely and teachers used routines that made norms explicit, inconsistencies in interactional patterns made the role of the teacher stand out as unclear. Whole class teaching of this type does not provide students with such linguistic and intellectual demands that are necessary for their language development

Etnografisk lingvistik i utbildningsforskning

I denna artikel argumenterar jag för att etnografisk lingvistik erbjuder ett perspektiv att studera undervisning i sitt sociala och kulturella sammanhang. Med exempel från min skolforskning i Karagwe, Tanzania, visar jag hur ett fenomen i klassrumsinteraktionen har negativ effekt på elevernas inlärande genom att dölja deras verkliga kunskap, eller brist på kunskap, för både lärarna och dem själva. Samtidigt kan jag visa, tack vare det holistiska perspektivet, att detta interaktionsmönster utgör en positiv utvecklingspotential eftersom det också kan ha funktioner som är relevanta för skolan, som att hjälpa eleverna att fokusera på det läraren säger och att aktivera dem. Utifrån detta argumenterar jag för att västerländska forskare bör inta en ödmjuk inställning och ha en beredskap att se traditionella undervisningsmetoder som tillgångar och inte som problem. Det som ur västerländskt perspektiv kan förefalla ha negativ effekt på undervisningen, kan visa sig ha relevans i sitt sammanhang. Jag visar också på frågor inom andraspråksundervisningen i Norden som skulle kunna besvaras med hjälp av etnografi

Klassrumsinteraktion i de tidiga skolåren : flerspråkiga elever i skolans språkliga vardag

Classroom interaction is particularly important for those students who learn school knowledge in a second language. In this article two episodes of whole class teaching in pre-school and standard one are analyzed. The analysis shows the importance of making teachers aware of interactional patterns in classrooms. Although knowledge was presented clearly and concretely and teachers used routines that made norms explicit, inconsistencies in interactional patterns made the role of the teacher stand out as unclear. Whole class teaching of this type does not provide students with such linguistic and intellectual demands that are necessary for their language development.På spaning efter det kunskapsrelaterade språke