Studiens syfte är att analysera lärares reflektioner kring design av skrivundervisning under tidiga skolår, med fokus på stödjande multimodal och meningsskapande interaktion. I studien genomfördes fokusgruppsamtal med lärare som undervisar i förskoleklass, lågstadium och med specialpedagogiska insatser vid fyra skolor i två svenska kommuner. Designorienterade teorier har använts för att analysera lärares berättelser om skrivlärande i relation till de förutsättningar som skapas. Designorienterade teorier fokuserar på formgivning av undervisnings- och lärandeprocesser. Med utgångspunkt i designteoretiska resonemang visar resultaten fyra resultatområden när det gäller skrivundervisning och skrivlärande: 1) lärarna menar att de använder multimodala arbetssätt, vilket de särskilt tycker stimulerar pojkars skrivande, 2) de både utgår ifrån och tror på ett kollaborativt skrivlärande som främst syns i det stödjande arbetet, där 3) lärares didaktiska flexibilitet framträder som särskilt viktig. Slutligen synliggörs 4) lärarnas implicita uppfattning om att skrivande är lättare att börja med än läsande. Mer explicit syns detta i lärarnas entusiasm över elevernas skrivande och speciellt pojkarnas. De uttrycker också att skrivandet fungerar stimulerande och upplevs lustfyllt. I studien synliggörs hur kreativt skrivande där eleverna har agentskap kan främja elevernas positiva självbild. Sammanfattningsvis kan man säga att lärarna berättar om en praktik som utgår inte bara från texten eller samtalet som de primära uttrycksformerna för lärande och meningsskapande, utan även från en social literacypraktik där olika resurser används med hög grad av flexibilitet.

Design for multimodal and creative writing lessons in early school years – Teacher reflects in focus group discussions 

This article reports on a study aiming to analyse teachers’ reflections on the design of teaching writing in the early school years with focus on supportive multimodal and meaning-making interaction. The study is based on focus group interviews with teachers in preschool classes, first years in primary school and special needs teachers at four schools in two municipalities. The theoretical reference frame draws on design-oriented theories to analyse teachers’ stories about learning to write in relation to the existing conditions for learning. Design-oriented theories focus on the planning of the teaching and learning processes. The analysis resulted in four themes concerning teaching and learning writing: 1) teachers express they use multimodal design, which seems to stimulate especially the boys’ writing, 2) teachers’ belief in a collaborative teaching, which is visible in the supportive work, in which 3) teachers’ didactic flexibility appears especially important. Finally, findings suggest 4) preferences for writing over reading as the easier start. More explicitly, this is visible in teachers’ enthusiasm about the pupils’ and especially the boys’ writing activities. In addition, the teachers express that writing is perceived as pleasurable and stimulating. The study thus highlights that creative writing in which pupils have agency can promote their positive self-image. In conclusion the teachers’ stories tell us about a teaching practice that not only deals with texts or conversations as the primary forms of expression of learning and meaning-making, but about a social literacy practice in which different resources are used with a high degree of flexibility.

Videobaserade forskningsmetoder utvecklas i snabb takt, inte minst beroende på den tekniska utvecklingen inom videoområdet som medger nya och lättillggängliga lösning- ar för att i för forskningsändamål dokumentera olika visuella aspekter av människors sociala interaktion. I takt med samhällets digitalisering har dock formerna för social interaktion förändrats till att allt mer sker genom olika slags digitala medier – män- niskors socialitet blir i allt högre grad uppkopplad. Här presenteras först en bakgrund till videogra som metod och teori, följt av två exempel på hur video används i ett par aktuella studier idag samt en avslutande diskussion kring några utvecklingsområden. 

Theoretical framework, objectives and research questions

Inclusive education is advocated in school legislation in Sweden, Finland and England, and support for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is generally provided within the mainstream classroom. As ASD prevalence has risen markedly worldwide, and currently stands at approximately 1 in 100 (Autism Europe, 2016), it is likely that student teachers will encounter pupils with ASD during their practical placement, and subsequently, in the profession.

Representations of ASD, such as difficulties in social interaction and communication, can entail challenges for the pupil in the mainstream context and for adults in the community (Shereen & Geuts, 2015). For the teacher, ensuring the pupil’s inclusion requires knowledge about ASD and adequate support and intervention methods to meet the individual’s needs. Previous research has mainly examined teachers’ and student teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with ASD (e.g.,McGregor & Campbell, 2001; Ross-Hill, 2009) and the accuracy of their knowledge and beliefs about ASD (e.g., Talib & Paulson, 2015).

Less attention has been paid to teachers’ attitudes towards ASD in general. Two recent studies have however examined student teachers’ (Park, Chitiyo, & Choi, 2010) and teacher’s attitudes (Park & Chitiyo, 2011) towards pupils with ASD. The studies found that both groups held positive attitudes towards children with ASD, yet women reported more positive attitudes than men. Further, in the student teacher group participants’ exposure to ASD and their academic major influenced their attitudes so that the students majoring in special education had more positive attitudes than students majoring in general education (Park et al., 2010). These studies have not however examined the mechanisms of attitude change (e.g., why does exposure lead to more positive attitudes), which the current study aims to explore.

Given that the majority of previous research has taken place in the USA, (e.g. Talib and Paulson, 2015);  there is an urgent  need to investigate student teachers’ attitudes towards ASD, particularly pupils with ASD,  in Europe, in order to ensure the continuing provision of high quality inclusive education in this context. Moreover, to our knowledge there are no previous studies clarifying whether differences exist in student teachers’ attitudes towards ASD across different European countries. This study aims to fill these gaps. The project represents a collaboration between psychology and special education faculty members at three European universities across Sweden, Finland and England. The purpose of this presentation is to present results of this ongoing interdisciplinary research project and obtain feedback and comments from the scientific community.

The research questions are:

1. What are the attitudes of student teachers towards pupils with ASD?

2. Are there differences in student teachers’ attitudes between Sweden, Finland, and England?

3.  Is there any relationship between the student teachers’ gender, course of study, knowledge of ASD, exposure to ASD and their attitudes?

Methodology

The project utilizes a mixed method approach consisting of two stages. This paper will disseminate the results of the first stage, a cross-sectional survey investigating student teachers’ attitudes toward ASD, their hypothesized predictors (e.g., knowledge of ASD, level of contact with people who have ASD), and potential mediators (e.g., anxiety).

Participants will be students who are completing a teacher training course at each of the three universities conducting the research. These participants will complete the survey as part of a lecture on a closely related topic. Power analysis suggests that approximately 250 student teachers need to be recruited in each country to adequately test hypotheses (see below).  

Measures are derived from extant research on disability attitudes (e.g., Krahé & Altwasser, 2006) and utilise nine point Likert scales. In addition to closed measures, the survey also includes open-ended questions designed to elicit deeper responses from participants and gain rich insight into the thoughts, feelings and concerns that student teachers hold when educating pupils with ASD in the classroom.

The survey was designed in English, and subsequently translated into Swedish and Finnish by native speakers of each language. It has already been piloted in all three countries, with positive feedback about its intuitiveness and ease of comprehension for participants. In addition to addressing the research questions (above), the results of the survey will also be used to inform the second stage of the project, comprising in-depth interviews with student teachers about their experiences of educating pupils with ASD.

Expected outcomes

As this is an on-going research project with data being gathered between January and May 2016, the findings and literature-relevant discussion will be presented at the conference.  Data is currently being collected in all three countries. However, drawing on the findings of previous research (e.g., Park & Chitiyo, 2011), the following hypotheses can be made:

1. Student teacher attitudes toward ASD will be positive overall.

2. Female student teachers will hold more positive attitudes than males.

3. Student teachers completing a special education focused teaching training course will hold more positive attitudes than those completing a general education focused one.

4. Higher levels of prior contact with people who have ASD will be associated with more positive attitudes towards them.

In light of the paucity of research investigating student teacher attitudes in the European context, we make no specific hypotheses regarding potential differences between our samples.

Our pilot data suggest that the collective findings from this research project will encourage all student teachers to reflect on their attitudes towards all pupils with a special need or disability, as this was a general trend.  It is hoped that through this self-reflection attitudes towards all pupils with ASD or another disability or special educational need will positively impact on practice in the classroom. By investigating student teachers’ attitudes towards educating pupils diagnosed with ASD, and what may influence them, new knowledge can be generated. We aspire to promote improvement and influence teacher education policies in Sweden, Finland and England.

Intent of publication

It is intended that findings from the project contribute to at least one peer-reviewed article, to be disseminated in a high quality journal covering this area of interest, e.g., Autism, European Journal of Special Needs Education, International Journal of Inclusive Education, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, and The Teacher Educator.

References

Autism Europe. Prevalence rate of autism. (2016). Available from: http://www.autismeurope.org/about-autism/prevalence-rate-of-autism/

Krahé, B., & Altwasser, C. (2006). Changing negative attitudes towards persons with physicaldisabilities: An

     experimental intervention. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 16, 59-69.

 McGregor, E. & Campbell, E. (2001). The attitudes of teachers in Scotland to the integration of children with autism into mainstream schools. Autism : The International Journal of Research and Practice, 5(2), 189–207.

Park, M. & Chitiyo, M. (2011). An Examination of Teacher Attitudes towards Children with Autism. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 11(1), 70–78.

Park, M., Chitiyo, M., & Choi, Y. S. (2010). Examining pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards children with autism in the USA. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 10(2), 107–114.

Ross-Hill, R. (2009). Teacher attitude towards inclusion practices and special needs students. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 9(3), 188–198.

Scheeren, A.M., & Geuts, H.M. (2015). Research on community intergration in autism spectrum disorder: Recommendations from research on psychosis.  Research in Autims Spectrum Disorders, 17, 1-12.

Talib.T.L., & Paulson, S. (2015). Differences in competence and beliefs about autism among teacher education students. The Teacher Educator (50)4, 240-256.                             

Elever som är döva eller har en hörselnedsättning riskerar att få bristande läs- och skrivkunskaper i svenska vilket i sin tur försvårar lärandet i flera andra ämnen. Specialpedagogiska skolmyndigheten (SPSM) ska arbeta med att bland annat sammanställa forskningsresultat och verka för en ökad måluppfyllelse i specialskolan. Det forsknings- och utvecklingsprojekt som har resulterat i denna bok är ett led i det arbetet. Projektet och boken fokuserar på framgångsfaktorer. Boken är en systematisk litteraturstudie där 175 forskningsartiklar och ett stort antal andra källor publicerade under 2010-2015 granskats och sammanställts. Resultatet av den systematiska litteraturgranskningen visar att det finns två övergripande områden som framgångsfaktorerna kan kategoriseras i; interaktionen som grund för allt lärande och fördelen av en visuellt orienterad läs- och skrivpraktik.

Projektet har initierats och finansierats av SPSM och boken ges ut i samarbete med Karlstads universitet. Projektet har genomförts av Carin Roos, docent vid Karlstads universitet tillika projektledare samt Karin Allard, lektor vid Örebro universitet. Dessutom har några medarbetare från SPSMs specialskolor gjort sina självständiga arbeten i speciallärarprogrammet inom projektet.

In this article, we present a study of teachers’ experiences, specifically their own perception of their work over time with deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) pupils, in both Finland and Sweden. Teachers of DHH pupils are a minority amongst teachers in general, and also amongst special education teachers, because the number of DHH pupils is small. There seems to be a lack of research on experienced teachers’ own perspectives on their practice, their role and experience over time in teaching DHH pupils. The aim of our research is thus to shed light on the work career of experienced educators of DHH pupils and on the main changes in it. In order to understand the current situation of DHH education which is realised mainly in mainstream education today, we need to know its history as well. The research questions are formed as following: 1) What are the main issues that teachers bring up? 2) What elements are there in the teachers’ stories from different decades? A third minor interest is to determine whether the Finnish and Swedish teachers’ stories about their work differ. The narrative approach was chosen here to illustrate teachers’ experiences. 

This study is part of a larger longitudinal project with the aim of focusing early social interaction and development of mentalizing ability in 12 deaf infants, including the interaction between the infants and their deaf parents. The aim of the present paper is to describe early social interaction and moments of intersubjectivity between the deaf infants and their deaf parents during the first 18 months of the infant's life. The study is focused on the dyadic interaction rather than on the behaviors of the infant and the caregiver separately. In the analysis, the Intersubjective Developmental Theory Model (Loots, Devis,, & Sermijn, 2003) and the definitions of moments of intersubjectivity (Loots, Devis,, & Jacquet, 2005) were used. The findings show that the participating infants follow a typical developmental trajectory of intersubjectivity, both with regard to developmental stages and age. This development is supported by a visual, simultaneous way of communicating by gaze rather than having constant eye contact. Parents use complex visual communication skills in maintaining joint attention and also expect the infant to grasp the meaning of the interaction by use of gaze contact.

Detta nummer av KAPET inleds med artikeln Att göras till "riktig" pojke – Maskulinitetsskapanden i skolans praktik. Tomas Saar och Marie Nordberg presenterar alternativa berättelser från ett längre etnografiskt projekt. I artikeln Förändrade dokumentationspraktier – förändrade stödinsatser? diskuterar Marie Tanner och Héctor Pérez Prieto hur specialpedagoger översätter och hanterar en nyligen införd reform. Reformen gäller skolors stödinsatser. Vi följer upp detta genom artikeln History of change in education of pupils with severe hearing loss – Teachers’ narratives from Finland and Sweden där Marjatta Takala och Carin Roos uppmärksammar oss på att det saknas forskning om undervisning av döva elever och elever med hörselnedsättning. De belyser lärares egna perspektiv på sin praktik. Vidare har Anna-Lena Göransson och Annica Ådefors skrivit en resumé där de presenterar läslyftsmodulen Språk i yrkesämnen som tagits fram på uppdrag av Skolverket. Konsten att fånga kommunikation beskrivs i en metodartikel Kameraanvändning i videoobservation. Anna Öhman beskriver sina erfarenheter av att använda sig av både hand- och huvudkamera vid videoobservationer. Handledning står i fokus i Annelie Andersén och Hamid Asgharis artikel Identitetsframträdande och positionering i handledares berättelser. Avslutningsvis zoomar vi ut med En nyfiken betraktelse av de ökade kraven på skolans vetenskaplighet. Anette Forssten Seiser kopplar ihop diskursen ökade krav på vetenskaplighet med diskursen utbildningsprestation som konkurrensmedel. 

Social justice, equality and solidarity in education are the founding principles of inclusive education. Yet barriers to inclusion remain within many classrooms across Northern Europe. In Sweden, Finland and England, the ideology is to provide special needs education primarily in mainstream education. Thus, the support for children with ASD is generally provided in conjunction with mainstream education whenever possible. However, although teachers play a crucial role in the inclusion of children with special needs in regular education, there persists a paucity of empirical research surrounding teacher attitudes toward children with ASD and their experiences of educating these pupils in the classroom. This is particularly the case in regard to student teachers, with whom there has been no studies on this topic. Such data are important because, given that the prevalence of ASD has increased sharply worldwide, it is vital that student teachers are adequately prepared to meet the needs and secure the equal treatment of pupils diagnosed with ASD in the classroom.

The current project seeks to address this gap by accessing student teacher attitudes and experiences of children with ASD in Sweden, Finland and England. Student teachers will be recruited from higher education courses at one university in each country. The project will utilize a mixed method approach comprising three stages. Firstly, participants will be asked to complete a cross-sectional survey investigating attitudes to children with ASD and their hypothesized predictors (e.g., knowledge, contact), derived from extant research on disability attitudes. This will shed light on the structure of student teacher attitudes in addition to what may influence them. Secondly, semi-structured interviews will be used to explore student teachers’ classroom interactions with children who have ASD. This will give rich insight into how student teachers think and feel about educating pupils with ASD and identify any barriers to their inclusion in a mainstream setting. In the final stage, cross-national comparisons will be made between the three countries. This will highlight which aspects of teacher education programmes facilitate positive attitudes to children with ASD. These data will be helpful in influencing the teacher education policies in Sweden, Finland and England in directions that will promote equality and inclusion in mainstream education. 

This project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between psychology and special education faculty members at three European universities.  The purpose of this presentation is to outline the scope of the project, discuss its methodology and obtain feedback from the scientific community.