This article contributes to knowledge about mentoring in preschool, which is important as research on mentoring of preschool teachers is limited. The study examines how in-service preschool teachers perceive their assignment as a mentor. The aim is to develop the understanding of mentoring as support among pre-school teacher mentors in Swedish preschools (children’s age 1–5). The data consists of 75 in-service preschool teachers’ self-reflective texts from a university mentoring course. A phenomenographic approach was adopted and three qualitatively different categories were identified. Mentoring as support was experienced as: mentoring as personal, professional and team support. Apart from the finding that the mentor’s role is complex, the preschool settings present other challenges and place different demands on the mentor because they comprise a team including preschool teachers, childcare attendants and parents, when compared to their counterparts in compulsory school settings. The paper has implications for how to reflect on and problematize concepts of mentoring, and it could also have an impact on mentoring in school, on mentoring education, and on induction programmes internationally. Mentor support for professional practices directed at team building should influence early childhood teacher preparation for pre-and in-service teachers.

The aim of this article is to examine Swedish principals’ conception of their leadership role when realising research-based teaching in relation to research traditions. The study is based on ten principals’ conceptions of research-based teaching, analysed phenomenographically. The results indicate that application of research results is in several respects the most dominant notion of what teaching on a scientific basis entails. The conceptions of the principals’ derive from traditionally accepted beliefs and expectations, which is in line with how national reforms are implemented. Instructional and transformational leadership models are represented when leading schools toward research-based teaching

With the latest upper-secondary school regulations, all students must complete a diploma project. The diploma project in the university preparatory programs has been given a more prominent role than the previous project work and should be seen as a preparation for higher studies. The article presents results from a sub-study within a major collaborative project on the diploma project. The purpose of the sub-study was to increase the knowledge of what is perceived as quality in the diploma project school work within the framework of the social science program through focus group discussions with secondary school teachers. Based on a phenomenographic analysis, four qualitatively different categories were identified: academic quality is perceived as that structure is followed, knowledge is obtained, language is mastered and that research awareness is shown. The results showed that the upper secondary school teachers' perceptions were primarily dominated by a skills discourse.

Abstract: This study explores teacher candidates’ experiences of grading in higher education. Aphenomenographic approach was adopted and four qualitatively different categories were identified.Grading was experienced as: self-identification, motivation, personal interpretation and academicenculturation. The results indicate that teacher candidates accept existing grading systems but havedifficulty interpreting and explaining them, illustrating areas of importance in teacher educationand argues that if teacher candidates do not perceive genuine differences in the performance ofassessing by grade descriptors, there is a risk that they may develop an insufficient understanding ofgrading practices.Keywords: grading; grade descriptors; phenomenography; teacher education

Boken handlar om forskning med och av lärare för hållbar utveckling av undervisning. Kapitlen bidrar med att lyfta fram didaktiska utmaningar och lösningar för att utveckla vetenskapliga förhållningssätt för undervisningsutvecklande forskning baserade på exempel och analyser som representerar olika skolämnen, skolformer och lärarutbildningen. Boken skiljer sig från övriga inom området genom bredden i hur detta kan göras och i relation till att flera nivåer i utbildningssystemet och ämnen är representerade.

Tretton av bokens sjutton kapitel är skrivna av forskare (nuvarande eller pensionerade) från SU och de representerar fem institutioner: IPD, HSD, MND, Matematiska och SpecPed. Övriga kapitel representerar ett urval av de nätverk som byggts kring den här typen av forskningsintressen över tid.

Sedan 2011 ska undervisningen i skolan enligt skollagen vila på vetenskaplig grund och beprövad erfarenhet. Under lång tid handlade lärarnas uppdrag om att undervisa ett givet, det vill säga i läroplanen, utpekat stoff. För dagens lärare gäller att de både ”måste veta mer om kunskapande praktiker såväl som om ämnesspecifika förmågor och olika ämnesspecifika sätt att kunna” (Carlgren, 2015, s. 31). Ett sådant arbete ställer nya krav på lärarna, men även på övriga involverade.

Diskussionen om praktiknära forskningsbaserad utveckling av undervisningen adresseras ofta i relation till specifika ansatser, exempelvis aktionsforskning, design- eller utvecklingsforskning, lesson respektive learning studies. Även om en ofta använd gemensam benämning för ansatserna är praxisnära forskning finns det ändå skillnader. Främst handlar de om vems frågor som adresseras och vem som ansvarar för designen, genomförandet, analysen och rapportering av studierna, det vill säga om arbetsfördelningen mellan forskare och lärare i relation till projektets olika delar. Mångfalden av svar visar att den klassrumsverksamhet – undervisning – som lärarna ska hantera är komplex, men också att det finns olika alternativ. 

Kapitlet inleds med förutsättningar på olika nivåer för praxisnära forskning och ställningstaganden som styr olika modeller för denna typ av forskning och avslutas med en introduktion till bokens övriga kapitel.

This article explores Swedish students’ perspectives on being new to teacher education and what challenges they meet. Nineteen students were interviewed in three focus groups. The analytical framework draws on the theory of situated learning and the concept of enculturation, and the empirical data have been categorized through a thematic content analysis, which revealed two qualitatively different categories of challenges: as academic student, and as trainee teacher. Conclusively, the study shows how the education can support or obstruct the enculturation into the educational practices. Conceiving such hinders can facilitate the students’ understanding of both the studies and their future profession.