This pilot study examined the utility of a practice-based coaching (PBC) intervention in Swedish elementary schools designed to support the classroom climate and benefit students. The intervention involved activities, self-assessment, observation, and coaching to the teachers, with the aim of improving the classroom climate and students’ self-concept, prosocial behavior, well-being, and academic achievement. The design was a cluster randomized trial with the school as the assignment unit. Participants in the intervention were 66 students in four classes, and in the control, four classes with 77 students. The duration of the intervention was five months. An autoregressive structural equation model was estimated. The correlations between the latent variables at pre-test ranged from low to high. There were significant standardized path coefficients concerning all the latent variables pre- and post-test. The estimates of the intervention at the post-test were non-significant. The results suggested a longer duration of the intervention with more frequent coaching sessions, which may enhance its effect.

The Evaluation Through Follow-up (UGU) is a large cohort-sequential research study which is used for evaluation and research about schools and education in Sweden (Härnqvist, 2000). The aim of this poster is to investigate academic achievement, attitudes toward school and learning among the share of students who demonstrate the highest cognitive abilities from cohort 10, one of these nationally representative cohorts. The sample of cohort 10 was divided into two subpopulations (i.e., students with high cognitive abilities, other students), where the division of the two groups was based on the 10 percent highest achieving on the aptitude test consisting of two verbal parts (i.e., synonyms, antonyms), one spatial, and one inductive part, carried out in Grade 6 for the UGU data collection. 523 of the students from cohort 10 were identified as students with high cognitive abilities. The students also participated in a student questionnaire about the perceptions of teacher practices, motivation, and attitudes toward school. The questionnaire items were answered on a 4- or 5-point Likert scale with different answer alternatives. The answers to a selection of questions were analyzed with descriptive statistics in IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29 and visualized. The main results indicate that students with high cognitive ability in the current sample, demonstrate a strong academic performance, are motivated to learn, and that they have a strong belief in their own academic ability. 

Härnqvist, K. (2000). Evaluation through follow-up. A longitudinal program for studying education and career development. In C.-G. Janson (Ed.), Seven Swedish longitudinal studies in behavioral science (pp. 76–114). Forskningsrådsnämnden. https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/26970

This study aimed to investigate the perceived collective teacher efficacy, teacher attitudes to inclusion of students with special educational needs, and the relationship between the constructs in a sample of Swedish teachers. The participants were 930 teachers involved in the Inclusive Behavioural Support in Schools implementation programme. The teachers answered the two questionnaires: The Teacher Attitudes to Inclusion Scale Swedish version (TAIS-Sw) and the Collective Teacher Efficacy Scale (CTES). The questionnaires were analysed and adapted to fit the sample adequately. This exploration identified a three-factor model for TAIS-Sw that is suitable for the data. The three latent variables related to classroom management, perception of the positive effects of inclusion for all students, and objections towards segregated special education. For CTES, a two-factor model showed a good fit for the data. The latent variables were related to aspects of teachers’ competence, including belief in competency and skills to teach all students. The questionnaires identified positive expressions of collective teacher efficacy but more hesitant attitudes to inclusion. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relationship between the constructs of collective teacher efficacy and attitudes to inclusion, revealing a small positive relationship. Further investigations could help identify factors supporting successful inclusive practices.

Additional language learners are at risk of presenting lower language skills in the majority language compared to peers. These differences in language skills have been observed at an early stage of education and may impact academic achievement later on. A randomized trial with a switching replications design was performed in Swedish preschools to examine the effectiveness of small group dialogic reading, aiming to promote oral language skills. The sample comprised 85 children with diverse language, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds attending nine preschools in three school districts. Dialogic reading was conducted by ten teachers, trained in dialogic reading and coached by three special education teachers. The dialogic reading intervention was feasible in preschool context and children progressed in their oral language skills during the intervention.

The aim is to identify protective factors, measures and interventions to adopt in order to prevent students’ dropout, non-completion of education and unemployment among young people, in particular regarding young people with disabilities, as they are overrepresented among NEET. Despite resources and good intentions, the equity of the education system in Sweden has decreased over time, and stakeholders are looking for ways to improve the educational system and reduce school failure.

Theoretical frameworks employed are: bio-ecological development theory; Heckman’s theory; theories on developmental cascades and resilience. These theories explain how early interventions can promote positive development and prevent later difficulties.

Method. A broad scoping review was carried out, including systematic literature searches of peer-reviewed articles in SCOPUS, EBSCO, and ProQuest databases; relevant reports from authorities; and other sources.  The results builds on analyses of a selection of reviews and meta-analyses, and empirical studies, of which 18 from Sweden were reviewed in details.

Results. There is support for initiatives and reforms at different levels: education system, school organisation, teaching, professional development and individual level. More young people would be expected to complete their studies by reforming the education system and introducing adaptations in curriculum and in school organisation. Early evidence-based interventions for families and in preschool can be effective in preventing difficulties, reducing the negative effects of socio-economic factors and disabilities, and promoting good school outcomes later on. There is strong evidence from long-term follow-ups that a preschool of good educational quality has positive outcomes in adult life in terms of education, employment and health. Other follow-ups show positive effects on school-age outcomes, including reduced costs for special education provisions. However, early universal interventions, in term of extended preschool attendance, must have high educational quality and adopt methods supported by the science on child’s development. The literature overview finds support for: 1) reforms in the education system: for example, educational pathways that do not exclude young people; continuity of support for transitions, vocational training with more practical elements; support measures that facilitate the transition to work for students with disabilities. 2) Investments in early universal interventions, as early educational environments of high quality have a compensatory effect and should be introduced and evaluated in Sweden. 3) Evidence-based and multi-component systems for support throughout schooling, primarily in inclusive school settings. 4) Targeted and indicated interventions and alternative forms of support can fulfil a function for young people with the greatest support needs.  The study has relevance to the Nordic educational research field for various reasons:  it includes a comparison of types of peer-reviewed publications on this topic from the Nordic countries. The comparison shows that studies on prevention of NEET and promotion of students’ success are more common in Norway than in other Nordic countries.

The presentation describes background and results of a project applying practice-embedded educational research, building on collaboration between academics and practitioners when implementing a shared reading intervention in early childhood education.

The project adopted a technical-eclectic theoretical framework which is suitable in early childhood special education, evidence-based interventions and professional development: theories on child development through proximal processes, the role of vocabulary in language development, implementation science, and practice-based coaching. 

The intervention was based on the needs identified by practitioners that wanted to support effectively language development, and on knowledge from previous research. The method of dialogic book reading was selected, examined and piloted during a training period, over the course of several months. Then a cluster randomized controlled trial was carried out in nine preschools with 10 teachers and 85 children, of which 68 % were additional language learners. The trial was supported by interventionist preschool teachers with coaching by special educators. Reading session in small groups were carried out every day for five weeks. 

The results showed that systematic reading practices aiming to interactive engagement with each child positively impacted language development. Dialogic reading promoted vocabulary growth. Children from non-Swedish-speaking backgrounds demonstrated progress comparable to their peers. Special educators, teachers and principals regarded the method as effective in stimulating language development, relations between teachers and children, and between children. The project’s developed a three-step model, which has been implemented to strengthen practices within local organizations. The children’s progress, evidenced by increased vocabulary and storytelling abilities, underscores that a strong alliance between theory and practice may drive research to remain curious and attuned to practitioners’ relevant questions, leverage research outcomes, address methodological challenges, and collaboratively deliver culturally adapted interventions. Based on the positive evaluations from research, practice, and families, the method of dialogic book reading has been introduced in majority of units within the respective organizations, where expert teachers are mentoring unexperienced colleagues. Not only the children made progresses, but the teachers have been empowered in this process, becoming champions of rewarding pedagogical practices in their organizations. This project provides a model of how internationally established evidence-based practices may be tested in research, adapted and introduced in early childhood education in Nordic countries, in partnership with educational professionals. It is also a call for embracing intervention designs in early childhood education research. Previous research from the field of early intervention may offer knowledge to the field of practice in our context, which contributes to give answers to present societal challenges and may be a step towards more equitable educational systems.  

The research school towards early interventions is a multidisciplinary and multisite programme that received funding from the Swedish Research Council with the aim to develop courses and supervise students working on early interventions projects in early childhood education. It was the first time that the discipline of Special Education received a grant of this type in Sweden; early intervention in early childhood education was underdeveloped and the grant was a great opportunity to make the field grow. Eleven PhD students have been enrolled in the programme and several other have been involved in the courses.  The aim of the poster is to describe the implementation of the PhD programme, the curriculum developed, and to report quantitative and qualitative analyses of achievements in terms of theses, published articles, and some preliminary evaluations of the impact of the school  both in research and professional training. Based on these experiences recommendations for future efforts are provided. 

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) programme PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills. Data from PISA 2022 allows looking at Swedish students that are top performers in Reading, Mathematics and Science. The participants consist of a nationally representative sample of Swedish students (N= 6072). Besides the tests on Reading, Mathematics and Science, PISA collects information about the students’ attitudes and experiences, as well as on the characteristics of the school environment. It is possible to investigate trends over time concerning the students’ performances comparing with results from previous rounds. PISA collect backgrounds data which allows to investigate the prevalence of academically resilient students (ARS). ARS are academically successful, despite coming from socioeconomically less advantaged backgrounds, which typically are associated with poorer educational outcomes. Individual and contextual factors associated with academic resilience have been described by Erberber et al. (2015), Cheung et al. (2024), while Jacobs & Wolbers (2018) have looked at system factors and resilience. The research questions are: Which are the percent of Swedish students that are top performers students in Reading, Math andScience (level 5 and 6 in PISA)?  Are there changes compared to previous PISA data for these variables? Which is the proportion of students that are academically resilient inSwedish PISA 2022? Which are the characteristics of the learning environments of top performers in Sweden?

The percentage of top performers in Math and Reading was lower in 2022 compared to 2009. In Science the percentage is slightly higher. The percentage of all-rounders, who are top performers in all three subject is quite stable over time. It is worth to consider the group of all-rounder students even if it is a small group. They may have the potential to excel in more than one area of knowledge. The student counselling services may also play a role for these students in helping identify strengths and making career choices based on various considerations and deeper motivation. The knowledge on this group of learners seems limited in educational research. Another consideration is about the larger percentage of students that perform below level 2 in PISA 2022, which is a minimum level of knowledge. About one fourth of students across the subjects do not reach the minimum level, which is a substantial worsening. The percentage of the academically resilient students (ARS) who are top performers in PISA 2022 and have a Medium-Low socio-economical background measured with ESCS index, ranges between 5.3 and 6.3 and it can be considered rather low, compared to previous cross-national studies. This can be interpreted as an indication that the Swedish educational system could do more in term of compensating students for their less advantaged socio-economic background and developing their potentials. The equity of the educational system lays also in efforts in closing not only the achievement gap, but also the excellence gap.

Aim: To determine whether a strength-based home-visiting program enhances parent–child interaction during the first year at home for children born extremely preterm (gestational age < 28).

Methods: A randomised controlled trial of 130 infants born extremely preterm 2018–2021 in Stockholm, allocated to either the Stockholm preterm interaction-based intervention (SPIBI) (n = 66) or an extended follow-up program (n = 64). The intervention group received ten home visits during the first year by a trained interventionist following SPIBI guidelines: an interaction-based intervention supporting sensitive parental responses to infants' signals. The primary outcome of emotional availability was assessed at 12 months corrected age (CA) using the emotional availability scales (EAS).

Results: At 1-year CA, data were collected from 115/130 (89%) of the included children. There were no significant group differences in emotional availability at 12 months CA. A secondary analysis showed an effect modifier in families with mothers self-rated as depressed at discharge, with the outcome favouring intervention in the EAS dimension of child involvement.

Conclusion: The SPIBI had no significant main effect on emotional availability at 12 months CA. Children of self-reported depressed mothers displayed superior involvement behaviour in the intervention group, prompting further research on risk groups and potential modifications of post-discharge interventions.