Gränsöverskridare i f¨¨orskoleklassen - konstruktioner av k¨¨on i barns vardag

Barns vardag är på många sätt mångfasetterad, inte minst när det gäller konstruktioner av kön. I denna artikel studeras konstruktioner av kön i termer av hur barns gränsöverskridande agerande framträder i en förskoleklass i Sverige. Studien baseras på etnografiskt fältarbete och mer specifikt är det så kallade episoder av en pojkes och en flickas agerande som närmare studerats. Resultatet peker på at pojkens agerande får mer uppmuntran från pedagogernas sida, medan förhållningssättet rörande flickans agerande är mer ambivalent i sin karaktär

Klassmärkt barndom

Att som barn växa upp under ekonomiskt svåra förhållanden innebär ökade risker för sämre hälsa, sämre utbildningsmöjligheter och begränsade möjligheter till att skapa sociala relationer med andra barn. Emellertid vet vi idag väldigt lite om hur aspekter kring social ojämlikhet konstrueras och reproduceras i pedagogiska verksamheter riktade till yngre barn. Föreliggande studie baseras på ett etnografiskt fältarbete i en förskoleklass belägen på landsbygden i södra delen av Sverige. Studiens resultat pekar på att sociala skillnader konstrueras i såväl den dagliga verksamhetens rutiner som i barnens interaktion med varandra. Analyserna pekar också på en nästintill omedvetenhet hos den pedagogiska personalen när det handlar om frågor som rör barns olika sociala uppväxtvillkor. Artikelförfattarna understryker betydelsen av att kritiskt studera aspekter rörande social ojämlikhet, detta inte minst för att förbättra förutsättningarna för en mer likvärdig utbildning för yngre barn

A Gendered View of Servant Leadership

No significant differences existed in the number of years of supervision or the participants’ perception of organizational change or stability. there were, however, significant differences between age groups and different work sectors with regard to servant leadership attitudes and behaviors. the results not only contribute to the literature concerning gender and servant leadership but also suggest that future research concerning servant leadership with respect to age and workplace sectors may be warranted

I småstadens marginal. Berättelser om en skolas integrationsarbete i en socialt utsatt stadsdel

I denna artikel studeras hur skolpersonal och elever i en skola i en socialt utsatt stadsdel i en småstad beskriver och erfar skolans integrationsarbete. Resultaten pekar på en rådande professionell kultur som präglas av ett starkt socialt och pedagogiskt engagemang. En viktig aspekt i detta arbete är det samarbete som sker mellan ämnes- och modersmålslärare. Även elevernas flerspråkiga kompetens lyfts fram som en viktig resurs för att skapa en framgångsrik lärandemiljö. Resultaten pekar också på betydelsen av skolans kompensatoriska uppdrag när det handlar om att stötta de mest socialt utsatta eleverna i deras skolarbete

HBTQI-elev, skolkultur och minoritetsstress

Lesbians, gay, bisexuals, transgender, queer, and intersex persons (LGBTQI) have more mental health problems compared to the majority population in Sweden. This article addresses LGBTQI-students’ vulnerability and minority stress in Swedish lower secondary schools. The article draws from interviews with nine grade students conducted in two separate research projects. The existing school culture is vital for students’ sense of safety and security in school. School cultures characterized by threats, harassment, and homophobia cause minority stress among exposed students, whereas schools with an inclusive school culture is described as safe by the students. Professional support from school personnel is stressed as vital for students’ wellbeing and sense of safety. This article highlights that knowledge, professional leadership and judgement are the organizational corner stones for an inclusive school culture.Homosexuella, bisexuella, transpersoner, queera personer och intersexpersoner (HBTQI) har sämre hälsa jämfört med övriga befolkningen i Sverige. I denna artikel riktas intresset mot HBTQI-elevers utsatthet och minoritetsstress i den svenska skolan. Artikeln baseras på intervjuer med elever i årskurs nio genomförda i två separata forskningsprojekt. Resultaten visar att rådande skolkultur är av stor betydelse för elevers upplevelse av trygghet i skolvardagen. Skolkulturer präglade av hot, trakasserier och homofobi resulterar i minoritetsstress bland utsatta elever. I sammanhang där rådande skolkultur däremot framställs som inkluderande av eleverna, beskrivs skolmiljön som trygg. Professionellt stöd från skolpersonalen lyfter eleverna fram som väsentligt för deras välmående och trygghet i skolan. Huvudpoängen som görs i artikeln är att själva grundförutsättningen för en inkluderande skolkultur är en organisation som genomsyras av kunskap, professionellt ledarskap och omdöme

Emmaboken, den jämställda familjen och förskolan - En historisk och samhällskritisk studie

1970-talet var ett decennium då barnlitteratur av mer radikal karaktär kom att få genombrott. Gamla hierarkier mellan vuxna och barn ifrågasattes och nya institutioner kom att porträtteras i litteraturen. Under detta decennium var Gunilla Wolde en av de mest framträdande barnlitteraturförfattarna i Sverige. Hennes Emma böcker är fortfarande bland de mest populära barnböckerna i Sverige. Föreliggande artikel baseras på en kritisk analys av hur den jämställda familjen och förskolan porträtteras i Emma böckerna. Trots att böckerna på många sätt präglas av 70-talets ideologiska strömningar visar analyserna att familjen, förskolläraren och förskolebarnet porträtteras på ett normativt sätt. The seventies was an era where non-normative children’s literature became a new trend. Old hierarchies between adults and children were questioned and new institutions were portrayed in literature. In Sweden, Gunilla Wolde, was one of the most predominant authors during this decade. Her Emma books are still among the most popular children’s books in Sweden. Taking this as a point of departure this article is based on a critical analysis of how the gender-equal family and preschool are portrayed in the Emma books. Despite Wolde’s radical approach the analysis shows that the author is trapped in stereotypical understandings of the family, the preschool teacher and the preschool child

Strong boys and supergirls? School professionals’ perceptions of students’ mental health and gender in secondary school

During the first decades of the twenty-first century, adolescents’ perceived stress has been reported to be an important factor in explaining the health problems among students in Swedish schools. Based on interviews with key professionals working in the student welfare team in three secondary schools, the present article aims to contribute new knowledge concerning how the school professionals describe and explain students’ mental health with regard to gender and the kind of support the schools offer to vulnerable students. Norms connected to the “supergirl” and respectable girl framed the explanations for girls’ health-related problems, whereas the explanations for boys’ health-related problems tied to a theme of marginalised masculinities. The findings lead to recommendations concerning the need to recognise and problematise students’ mental health, as well as the need for more preventive work on student welfare issues, in schools and in other societal institutions

Hugs, Categorisations and Sub-Teachers. Gender Constructions in Interaction in Preschool, Preschool Class and the First Grade.

In the present study, gender constructions are analysed, as they appear in a preschool, two preschool classes and one class in the first grade. The analysis is based on observations of the interaction that takes place physically and verbally between children and between children and adults in various contexts. Theoretically, this dissertation takes its starting-point in the as¬sumption that gender relations vary with the context, which enables multiple forms of femininities and masculinities. This dissertation consists of two studies based on different empirical data. In the first study, video recordings from the FISK project [The Preschool and School in Collaboration Project] are analysed and takes its starting-point in conversation analysis (CA). The second study consists of data produced from a separate fieldwork carried out in one preschool class, for which I am personally responsible. The fieldwork has an ethnographic approach, as I studied the daily activities of the preschool class for a lengthy period of time. Since the study aims to study constructions of gender in educational institutions, I found Connell particularly applicable as he refers to gender patterns as the gender regime of an institution. In the present study, the analysis is focused on constructions of gender as they occur in school interaction, using Connell for discussion at the global and institutional levels. To further understand these processes at an institutional level, Thorne’s work on borderwork and crossing was applied to the study. Conversation analytical theories were used on the first study to analyse the gender structures as they emerge in interaction at the micro level. As shown both in previous research and in the results of the present study, order and discipline are important parts of the daily routines in preschools, preschool classes and primary schools. One way of maintain order and discipline in preschools, preschool-classes and primary schools are by using sub-teachers. In the present study, I argue that what in pre¬vious research is defined as a sub-teacher consists of different functions where gender constructions emerge in different ways. In the present study, I also analyse and discuss the importance of non-verbal actions. The analysis shows that these actions are important recourses of how gender is expressed. What differs from previous research is that boys hug each other and talk about love. Overall, there are few studies that discuss the importance of bodily interaction, which is why the results of this dissertation ought to be considered as new. In the children’s conversations, body, intimacy and love are topics that occur quite often in their conversations. When talking about love, the children refer to persons of the other sex, so by strictly referring to other sex the children are part of constructing the heterosexual hegemony. Gender boundaries are also strengthened by the teachers’ categorisations of the children. On the whole, the analysis shows that the teachers’ use of gendered categorisations lead to constructions of social hierarchies based on gender. Also, the children are part of this in their use of categorisations in child-to-child interactions as a way of positioning themselves

Compensating for unequal childhoods : practitioners’ reflections on social injustice in leisure-time centres

In Sweden and other countries, children's everyday lives and educational opportunities depend on their living conditions and class backgrounds. The current study examined the manifestation of issues of social injustice and unequal childhoods in the daily practices of leisure-time centres in Sweden. The empirical data were derived from the written reflections of practitioners enrolled in a continuing education course. The results indicate that leisure-time centres play an important role by compensating for unequal childhoods and other inequalities in the society. The practitioners discussed the importance of the centres’ maintaining supplies of clothing and equipment for children who lack these essentials for participation in outdoor activities. This compensation for unequal childhoods was also expressed through the provision of a free snack every afternoon and free meals during excursions