This study investigates prominent themes about newly arrived immigrant students’ situation in life and at school as reflected in interviews with four teachers in a vocational upper secondary school located in a Swedish city suburb dominated by residents with immigrant background. Foucault’s concept of power and counter-power as well as Riessman’s narrative analysis are used to discuss and analyse the interviewed teachers’ descriptions. The results highlight the power and counter-power mechanisms involved in the discrepancy between well-behaved and ambitious immigrant students and the media representations of the students' housing area as criminal. The study also points to the power and counter-power relations between certain immi-grant student groups with strong solidarity and other non-belonging students. There is also a power and counter-power dynamic between authorities making decisions affecting the immi-grant students' life situation and resistance to these decisions. The study contributes valuable information of the mechanisms involved in the lives of newly arrived immigrant young students in Sweden, with possible relevance to similar contexts in other Nordic and European countries.

Course materials in teacher education programmes are one of the means to support student teachers to learn content knowledge and pedagogical theories. The materials are chosen to support their learning in a range of areas, and this article presents the findings of a study that explored how Swedish preschool student teachers perceived their course materials in relation to internationalisation and intercultural practice. Questionnaires were administered to students in a preschool teacher education at a Swedish university through the Survey and Report tool, and 94 students responded. Findings indicate that the responding student teachers valued content and materials for three key reasons: (i) materials that were localised, (ii) practice-oriented, and (iii) prepared them for working specifically in Swedish preschools. Identity as a Swedish preschool teacher (Swedish context and preschool teaching focus) appeared to be of greater influence in determining the responding students’ value of content than the higher education goals of globalisation and internationalisation.

Denna artikel beskriver hur fakultetsopponenter motiverar avhandlingars kvalitet i populärvetenskapliga sammanfattningar som publicerats i tidskriften Pedagogisk forskning i Sverige under perioden 2000-2015. I artikeln fokuseras granskningskriterier som gäller relevans, förståelse av forskningsfältet, presentation av texten och dess kommunicerbarhet, originalitet och bidrag samt självständighet, vilka alla kompletterar de grundläggande gransknings­kriterierna.  I artikel fokuseras hur dessa granskningskriterier kommer till uttryck och används när fakultetsopponenter beskriver en avhandling som de har granskat. Syftet är att tydliggöra hur dessa granskningskriterier framställs när fakultetsopponenter lyfter fram vad som är betydelsefullt i avhandlingarna. Studien omfattar 59 sammanfattande texter från 60 olika disputationstillfällen. Avsikten är att bidra till en djupare förståelse av dessa gransknings­kriterier och hur de kommer till uttryck, till nytta för doktorander, handledare och fakultets­opponenter. 

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss about precolonial and colonial education and the development of the education systems in the postcolonial Africa. The paper will deal with the questions whether there were any education systems in precolonial Africa and motives for introducing the colonial education systems. Further the relation of the colonial education systems with the needs of the local society, the postcolonial education systems and their future will be analysed. 

Methodology: Postcolonial perspective is a theoretical frame for the study. A desk-research was conducted to identify and select the relevant literature. Content analysis was used as a method to understand, analyse and interpret the literature. 

Findings: The results of the literature review show that there were socialization mechanisms before colonialism in African societies. Education introduced in its modern form by missionaries was supposed to serve mainly religious purposes and to train low level functionaries by colonial states. Instead of focusing on local realities education was used to teach the glories of the colonial countries, spread their language and culture as well as introduce a new way of life by condemning all that was native. After independence the inherited colonial education systems continued isolating the masses who had no access to the colonial languages. 

Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Findings of this study shows some limitations in African education systems. It is necessary that education policy makers and other concerned stakeholders´ to increase the use of local languages to reach the society at large, to focus on contents relevant to their contexts, to provide both theoretical and skill-based education useful for development of society and to aim towards educating productive, conscious, critical and democratic citizens.

This study explores the question, how do Karlstad University (KAU) preschool teacher education students perceive their course materials in relation to internationalisation and intercultural practice? Questionnaires were administered through the Survey and Report tool to all students in the program. Out of 648 students who received the questionnaire, 94 (14.5%) replied. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is used as theoretical perspective for the study, with analysis exploring the CHAT elements of: tools; subjects; rules; community; division of labour; objects; and outcomes. Results of the study show that students recognized the availability of internationalization and intercultural perspective in their courses, and particularly valued opportunities to meet and discuss with practicing preschool teachers working in multicultural and multilingual areas. Results also note challenges with creating opportunity for students to meet students from other countries, either in Sweden or online. Some students also indicated they found it difficult to engage with English language texts that used critical theory or which differed from Nordic contexts. Our research suggests that Swedish student teachers value content which prepares them for working in Sweden with culturally diverse students, but place less value on higher education goals of internationalisation when these are not closely connected to practice. 

This paper will investigate the aims of internationalisation and international practicum, with the focus on the later. It is important to consider whether both partners in the exchange receive benefits, and if not to reconsider the practicum arrangements to ensure greater equity of benefit. Review of literature in the field and my own experiences as a Swedish university lecturer involved in student teacher practica will be the base for this paper. Some preliminary results of my literature review show that practicum in the South mainly focuses on giving the teacher students from the North the possibility of intercultural understanding with specific goal of dealing with demographic change taking place in the student teacher´s home country. This demographic change has typically resulted in an increased cultural diversity of students in classrooms (Abraham & von Brömssen, 2018; Bosire & Brigham, 2009;  Marx & Moss, 2011; Wiken & Klein, 2017). Experiences show that in the movement of students from the North to the South, economically and politically dominant countries are more likely to dictate the terms of relationships (Bosire & Brigham, 2009;  Yang, 2002). Viewed from another perspective, countries considered in the center due to their economic and political influence gain more advantages than countries considered in the periphery (Barnet & Reggie, 1995).

Abstract: Freire’s concepts and theories as a strategy to reduce poverty

Getahun Yacob Abraham, Senior Lecturer in Education, Karlstad University, Sweden 

Ane Bergersen, Associate Professor Sociology, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

The UN Sustainable Development Goals puts as its first goal, “End Extreme Poverty In All Forms By 2030” (UNDP, 2016). This shows poverty is one of the gravest problem in our planet. Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are reported as countries with low development index and extreme poverty (UNDP 2018, FAO 2017 & World Bank 2017). This paper will use Paulo Freire´s (1970) concepts “generative themes”, dialogue and transformation to be able to discuss how themes can be raised, discussed and possible actions for change will be proposed. Some preliminary review of literature shows the relevance of universities considering themselves as public goods, including in their policies, their commitment to the development of their societies, giving sufficient attention to local and regional problems and devotion to educating a generation of students with critical thinking and devotion to transform their society. This paper will explore how universities in Southern/Africa could include Freire’s concepts and theories in their research agenda in their search of causes of poverty and possible ways of reducing/eradicating it in their local and regional contexts.

This study investigates how teacher education prepares student teachers to gain knowledge and experiences required to meet the needs of Swedish preschools with children with linguistic, religious and cultural diversities. The theoretical point of departure is Paulo Freire´s concepts of “generative themes”, dialogue and transformation, through examination of articles, policy documents and other materials available in intercultural/multicultural education. Findings indicate: importance of preschool teachers understanding of diversity among colleagues, children and parents; listening to children; giving closer attention to parents’ perspectives; helping children to understand and respect diversity; engaging with disadvantaged children’s diverse experiences; using good examples that illustrate unity in diversity; considering conflicts relating to children´s rights; and dealing with curriculum and preschool practice. Exposing students to realities outside university may include inviting experienced preschool teachers, giving cases for discussion, showing films to be analysed, etc. Materials should show both opportunities and difficulties of working in intercultural/multicultural environments. 

The purpose of this study is to explore the status of intercultural perspective in education in Sweden. The study is guided by three questions of what are the official views of intercultural perspective in education, why intercultural perspective is relevant for education and what are the possible ways of implementing it. Bennett´s definition of intercultural learning is considered as theoretical starting point for the study, ‘Acquiring increased awareness of subjective cultural context (world view), including one’s own, and developing greater ability to interact sensitively and competently across cultural contexts...’ (Bennett, 2009, S.3). A general literature on intercultural perspective and a literature on the subject with specific focus on Sweden are referred for this study. The result of the reviews show the concept of intercultural education was introduced as a policy documents in Sweden as early as the 1980s; a serious definition of what intercultural was not considered; there is a general recognition of diversity based on language, religion, ethnicity, gender, etc; while recognizing diversity, the focus is on understanding differences; on helping the “immigrant” to integrate to the society; on stating laws and policies for protection against discrimination of different groups. There is a common understanding among the authors of the reviewed texts, that more should be done to develop intercultural perspective in the different levels in the education system.