I Sverige er læreruddannelsen forskningsbaseret og udgør almenpædagogikken grundelementet i uddannelsen, dog således at pædagogikken og det dertil knyttede eksamensarbejde er fælles for flere af læreruddannelserne, eksempelvis arbejder kommende gymnasielærere og folkeskolelærere sammen i eksamensprojekterne. Göran Brante ,universitetsadjunkt i pedagogik ved Högskolan i Kristianstad beskriver indgående de svenske diskussioner om forholdet mellem professionalisme og forskning i de reformer af læreruddannelsen, der er blevet gennemført de sidste 2 år. Den svenske læreruddannelsen indeholder tre hoveddele: En AU-del (allmän utbildningsområde) er samfundsvidenskabeligt funderet og tværfaglig og vedrører problemstillinger, der gælder på tværs af fag i skolen, i uddannelsen og i samfundets syn på skolen og på opdragelse. Desuden en ’Inriktningsspecifik utbildningsområde’ der nærmest svarer til en linjefaglig baggrundsviden. Endelig et specialområde, hvor den studerende kan ’profilere’ sin professionskompetence ved studier, der går ind i særlige områder, som den studerende har fattet særlig interesse for gennem uddannelsen.

In recent years, there has been a lively debate on the state of schools. Two aspects have so far been discussed separately: the problematic status of the teaching profession, and interaction problems between teachers and students. These aspects have been considered in an inquiry involving 110 upper secondary school students. The analysis revealed severe criticism of teachers' actions and attitudes towards their students. Using this study as a basis, several theories are put forward - starting point for understanding the causes of the problems that have provoked students' criticism. These theories cover the following factors: interaction, the generation gap, relations between Human Service Organization Workers and their clients, and dissonance in the interaction between teachers and students. One particular implication is that teachers' inadequate professionalism may limit their possibilities to counteract the tendencies noted in the theoretical approaches mentioned above.

Education is a complex and difficult work. It is an immense responsibility to take care of the society’s young members and help them develop the necessary knowledge and required abilities essential for life in society. During the last centuries different theories and methods have been developed to help teachers to be prepared for the educational activity. Simultaneously we have seen that one problem for education and teachers is the gap between theory and practice, which perhaps has always been an issue. Two models to test and discuss teaching, learning and to accomplish a way to help learners are lesson and learning study. Lesson study is a method mostly used by experienced teachers to develop teaching regarding certain topics, to meet curriculum goals to help learners take initiative or develop certain learning prerequisites. Lesson studies are accomplished through research lessons in different forms, but all these build on teacher collaboration, self-critical reflection, and are in certain ways connected to demands from curriculum. Learning study, based on variation theory, is inspired from lesson study and design experiments. In learning studies researchers and teachers collaborate concerning targeted objects of learning and how to best help students to discern these. The theoretical base of variation theory guides teaching and learning, which focuses on the object of learning and how it should be varied, instead of focusing on the method or the context. Both models have shown positive results in practice. They definitely enhance teachers’, researchers’, and students’ knowledge as well as develop learning and teaching. But in what way can they enhance pre-service teachers in their knowledge about their upcoming practice? If you have tools helping you to understand or handle the somewhat difficult and complicated situation at school, your ability to do this in a more powerful way increases. This has been shown in the results of several studies of lesson and learning study, but what aspects are critical to such an increase and in what way can these models or this theory also be used in teacher education?

Teacher work is described as increasing in complexity and intensity. Reasons for this include societal changes, reformed and increased work tasks, and the changed moral and normative character of teacher work, but also teachers' experiences of doing more than one thing at the same time, and of thinking about one's work at all times. The concept of multitasking is discussed as it relates to teachers' activities. The study is based on data collected with an organizational sampling method (OSM). The concept of synchronous work is developed and discussed as it relates to structural influences, involving concepts that conflict in some respects. It is concluded that the confrontation between teacher engagement and structural and social constraints can lead to work satisfaction, frustration, indifference or ignorance.

Göran Brante beskriver problem med handledningsrelationen inom några områden som frekvent tas upp i diskussioner till exempel distinktionen personlig och professionell, genderrelationer och olika handledningsstilar. Han formulerar handledningsrelationen i pedagogiskt didaktiska termer och argumenterar för att det trots allt finns några viktiga faktorer som är gemensamma för allt lärande och som bör prägla relationen. En god handledningsrelation präglas av att handledaren har kunskap om det som skall läras och vad som krävs för att detta skall kunna läras. Handledningsrelationen måste vara tillåtande och ge utrymme för att doktoranden att kunna fungera självständigt genomtänkt och kritiskt. Den måste ta hänsyn till temporala aspekter, till exempel till att handledning är en process där relationens förutsättningar ständigt förändras.

The aim of the project is to analyse variation in how the concept of quality is conceived. A review of earlier research and of evaluation reports will be made, together with a study of conceptions of quality criteria and of quality in education and learning among different interest groups. A group of newly qualified upper secondary school teachers will be followed, with the aim of describing their experiences regarding aspects of quality, and how these experiences develop. Teachers’ answers to the quesstion »Why do you want to teach?« will be analysed.

The aim of this study was to explore what arithmetical understanding is needed when students with mild intellectual disabilities use recipes during practical cooking lessons in Home Economics. The settings were compulsory schools in Sweden attended by students with intellectual disabilities. Sixteen lessons in Home Economics during which cooking took place were observed. In total, 37 students and three teachers participated. All students had a mild intellectual disability. Their ages varied, but most were between 13 and 14 years old. The sociocultural perspective on learning, combined with a literacy framework, was used as a theoretical foundation for the study. Main findings are that students need an arithmetical understanding of (i) how to interpret numbers, (ii) how to interpret and use units, and (iii) how to compute when using recipes. The knowledge and skills needed to be able to use a recipe are featured in the concept recipe literacy, capturing both theoretical, declarative knowledge and the more practical, procedural knowledge. Recipe literacy can be used to theorize the use of recipes when learning to cook, as in Home Economics.

The point of departure in this study is to describe pre-school children´s learning during a learning study and the expectations the teachers have on each child´s learning. The learning study model (Holmqvist & Mattisson, 2008) is used based on variation theory. Three micro-cycles (lessons) form a macro-Learning study cycle (including three lessons). One Learnign study was implemented during three weeks (one lesson each week). The participants in teh study were three pre-school teachers, their 36 children and researchers. The study consits of discussions with teachers on their focus when planning lessons, classroom observations during learning studies carried out in pre-school and interviews with pre-school teachers´about the expectations they have concerning the children´s learning. The results show 1) an increased learning outcome when the object of learning is presented using variation theory and 2) a discrepancy between what the children actually learned and the teachers' expectations. The expectation the teachers´have on their children´s learning differs from what they actually learned indicates that there is a risk that teachers too high or low expectations affect children´s learning ability. By the use of learning study the teachers became aware of this risk.

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to describe pre-school children’s learning during a Learning Study, and their teachers’ awareness of each child’s learning possibilities in relation to what they actually learned. The aims of the study are twofold; firstly we focus on how to design Learning Study in pre-school settings, and secondly we study young children’s (aged 4-5) learning.

Design/methodology/approach - The data consists of three videotaped interviews with each participating child (n=39), three videotaped interventions and one videotaped interview each with three pre-school teachers.

Findings - The results show 1) an increased learning outcome in all three groups, 2) there is a discrepancy between what the children actually learned and the teachers’ awareness about the children’s possibilities. The teachers’ awareness of the children’s learning possibilities differ from what the children actually learned.

Originality/value - Learning study is usually used in school settings, but this paper shows its potential also in pre-school settings. Beside this, the results indicates that there is a risk that if teachers’ expectations are too high or too low, they will affect children’s abilities to learn in either a positive or a negative way by not offering the children sufficiently challenging tasks. By the use of Learning Study the teachers became aware of this discrepancy and were able to reassess their expectations for each child according to their abilities.

The aim of this study is to describe in what ways the object of learning changes shape during its way from the intended (planned), enacted (offered) and lived (discerned) object of learning. The study is based on variation theory, and learning study is used as a model. A total of three preschool teachers, 39 children aged 4-5 years and three researchers participated in the study. Three interventions were carried out in three different groups of children (A, B and C) by three preschool teachers. The data consist of video-dcumented meetings with the preschool teachers and researchers, interviews with the children in the form of pre-, post- and delayed post-tests and video-documented interventions (3). The results show (a) how the teachers' focus on aspects concerning the object of learning and aspects not concerning the object of learning affects learning possibilities. The results also show (b) a discrepancy between the children's possibilities to learn adn what the preschool teachers intend to offer them to learn. Finally, the results show (c) how the preschool teachers' understanding of childrens learning sometimes makes them use other words than the appropriate ones to make the intervention funnier or more interesting.

The aim of this study is to describe in what ways the objectof learning changes shape during its way from the intended(planned), enacted (offered) and lived (discerned) object oflearning. The study is based on variation theory, andlearning study is used as a model. A total of three preschoolteachers, 39 children aged 4-5 years and three researchersparticipated in the study. Three interventions were carriedout in three different groups of children (A, B and C) bythree preschool teachers. The data consist of videodocumentedmeetings with the preschool teachers andresearchers, interviews with the children in the form of pre-,post- and delayed post-tests and video-documentedinterventions (3). The results show (a) how the teachers’focus on aspects concerning the object of learning andaspects not concerning the object of learning affectslearning possibilities. The results also show (b) adiscrepancy between the children’s possibilities to learn andwhat the preschool teachers intend to offer them to learn.Finally, the results show (c) how the preschool teachers’understanding of children’s learning sometime make themuse other words than the appropriate ones to make theintervention funnier or more interesting.

Preschool children's learning is the subject of this study. Three children aged 4, 5 and 6 participated. The data consists of individual interviews with the children before and after the intervention and a videotaped intervention. Our results show that children seem to see a whole as something that is not cut into pieces, no matter what i looks like. They do not necessarily refer to the whole when they see a half, nor do they imagine the halves or quarters in a whole that is not cut into pieces. On the other hand, if they see halves they do not have any difficulty putting them together into a whole, but this happens when they can see the material in front of them. The results reveal some interesting findings, pointing at the natural flexibility small children have in discerning a half in relation to a whole insteac of in relation to a representation (like a full circle). On the other hand - the children show difficulties in seeing what parts a whole can be divided into. This is the other way around, as children in higher grades with a view of the circle as the correct representation of a whole, which sometimes makes it hard to manage problem solving at higher grades where flexibility in how to understand proportions is needed.