Teacher education today is expected to strongly focus on pedagogical content knowledge. This means, among other things, increased attention to practice. However, how practice is to be analyzed and for what purpose practice is analyzed is still up for debate. In this article we turn to the growing field of civics didactics to shed light on these questions. The analysis is based on a qualitative content analysis of twelve Swedish dissertations in civics didactics. Our findings suggest that the field of civics didactics has contributed with important suggestions on how practice and academic knowledge may enrich each other. However, we also find that the ways that practice has been analyzed are characterized by methodological challenges. To overcome these, and to contribute to the civics didactics research and future independent research projects within the teacher education, we call for a broader research agenda. This means a stronger focus on methodological questions, on other kinds of research projects and on developing the practice of teaching, rather than solely describing it.

Pedagogical content knowledge is generally understood as a "bridge" between content and pedagogy, and therefore assumed to be theoretically informed by theories on both the content knowledge in question, and on general pedagogical knowledge. In this article we analyze whether this bridge exists in eleven Swedish civic didactics dissertations. This is done by developing a typology of how theory is used in relation to research problems and analytical frameworks. Our findings suggest that theories on content knowledge are downplayed in favor of pedagogical theories. We argue the need for strengthening the pillar of content knowledge, benefitting both research and teaching.

Research on conceptual change has paid relatively less attention to the social than to the physical science domain. In particular, research on conceptual change in economic understanding has been fairly sparse and loosely connected. Given the potential significance of citizen’s economic understanding in delimiting government responses to globalisation (Davies, 2006 P. Davies, Educating citizens for changing economies. Journal of Curriculum Studies,  38  (2006), pp. 15–30. Davies, 2006) this topic is worthy of further study. This study paper investigates conceptions about the provision of free goods and services, drawing on evidence from students in different age groups. In contrast to previous work we focus on the question ‘Should this product or service be made available for free?’ We compare the reasoning of students at different ages across a range of products and services and we explore the ways that they attempt to resolve conflicts within their reasoning.

This paper discusses conceptual change in the Social sciences, addressing in particular issues of values and implications for teaching. The paper is a product of a symposium organised in September 2011 in Stockholm where researchers in the disciplines of economics, politics and sociology presented and discussed empirical studies on conceptual change in these domains. The current paper is a theoretical discussion which draws on the empirical evidence presented in the symposium. We concentrate on evidence from two studies. First, a study by César López examined conceptions of ‘Nation’ held by students in Spain. A second study by Thomas Philip examined the willingness of pre-service teachers in California to change their conception of the relationship between education and employability. In both cases, students’ sense of belonging and purpose appeared to be an important barrier to conceptual change.

Our main focus is on the way in which both these examples may be understood as challenges to ‘Master Narratives’ in Social Science. These narratives combine sets of descriptions, explanations and judgements to provide a coherent ways of seeing the social world. Descriptive categories (such as ‘nation’ or ‘education’) carry within them implicit judgements about the worth of the category (for instance whether nationhood or education should be seen as intrinsically good/bad, problematic/unproblematic) as well as implicit explanations of how the social world operates. The challenge for conceptual change in these circumstances is a need for simultaneous change in description, explanation and judgement. We discuss this challenge in the light of evidence provided by these two studies and we conclude with some implications for teaching in social science. 

Teachers’ content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) are considerably related to students’ learning. As previous research has stressed the importance of learning opportunities in teacher education programs as foundations for the development of PCK, it is important to investigate which learning opportunities within teacher education programs can support the development of these competencies. This paper presents an explorative intervention study investigating the effects of a newly developed alternative teaching strategy for a subject matter course in the civics teacher program that is assumed to lead to increasing motivation and knowledge gains in CK and PCK. This alternative teaching strategy involves different learning opportunities (e.g., group discussion) and learning activities (e.g., identifying frequent misconceptions concerning ideologies). The research question was whether involvement in different learning activities leads to increased motivation and to knowledge gains in CK and PCK. In this intervention study with a quasi-experimental design, a total of 34 participants (19 in the experimental group; 15 in the control group) took part. To evaluate the effects of the alternative teaching strategy on motivation, CK, and PCK, different outcome measures of student teachers’ motivation, CK, and PCK were used (e.g., written take-home exams and focus group interviews). The results indicate that the experimental group showed better performance in PCK than the control group. The results also revealed that the alternative strategy had a positive effect on motivation. These results will be critically discussed with regard to their meaning for the development of appropriate learning opportunities in teacher education. 

This paper addresses a systemic approach for the study of fishers’ ecological knowledge in order to describe fishers’ ways of knowing and dealing with com- plexity in ecosystems, and discusses how knowledge is generated through, e.g. apprenticeship, experiential knowledge, and testing of hypotheses. The descrip- tion and analysis of fishers’ ecological knowledge has been done using the Structure–Dynamics–Functions conceptual framework. Fishers identify 5–50 feeding interactions (Structure), recognize populations’ dynamics over time, and, the impact of external factors (climate change, water quality and overfishing) (Dynamics) and finally, acknowledge different values or services (Functions) of the ecosystem (drinking water and fishing). Knowing about these three main aspects seems to be core knowledge embedded in fishers’ ecological knowledge, which comprises systems thinking. Systems thinking is arguably part of fishers’ professional skills and significant for sustainable natural resource management yet understanding ecosystem complexity is also a cognitive challenge.

This study explores relationships between upper secondary school students. understanding of prices and environmental impacts. The study uses responses from 110 students to problems in which they were asked to explain differences in prices and also to express and justify opinions on what should be the difference in prices. Very few students expressed an environmental dimension in their understanding of price. A few students suggested that environmental impact influenced price by raising demand for Environmentally friendly products. A few students suggested that, environmentally friendly products. had higher prices because they were more costly to produce. We found no examples of students combining both lines of explanation. However, nearly half of the students believed that prices should reflect environmental effects, and this reasoning was divided between cases where the point was justified by a broad environmental motivation and cases where the point was justified in relation to incentives-to get consumers to act in a more environmentally friendly way.

This paper investigates changes in upper secondary students´ conceptions of relationships between prices charged to consumers and the environmental implications of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. The research identifies the fragmentary nature of students´ every-day reasoning in relation to productivity, consumers´ preferences and externalities, here defined as harmful side effects. It also identifies characteristics of partial conceptions, which we interpret as showing students´ conceptions in a process of change towards a more scientific understanding of relationships between price and environmental impacts.

A key question concerning the use of visual illustrations in teaching is whether teaching should be diversified and adapted according to students’ preferred learning style (visualiser-verbaliser), whether focus should be on strategies that work well in general (multimedia learning), independent of preference, or whether it is worthwhile to combine the two to further improve learning. Upper secondary students were given a psychology lecture presented only verbally or with the aid of visual illustration. Results from a learning test were analysed in relation to the students’ self-rated learning style. Visouverbal presentation resulted in better learning than verbal presentation only, independently of learning style. Support was not found for the learning styles hypothesis, since there was no crossover interaction. However, students with mixed or visual learning styles performed generally better on the learning test than students with a verbal learning style. Since the use of visual illustrations seems to have a beneficial effect on learning for all students, this mode of instruction ought to be used in teaching. Rather than being a tool for teachers to adapt their teaching, learning styles diagnoses may be used in order to identify students who need to develop their study strategies towards a more visual preference.

A key question concerning the use of visual illustrations in teaching is whether teaching should be adapted according to students’ preferred learning style (visualiser-verbaliser), whether focus should be on strategies that work well in general (multimedia learning), independent of preference, or whether it is worthwhile to combine the two to further improve learning. Upper secondary school students were given a lecture presented only verbally or with the aid of a visual illustration. Results from a learning test were analysed in relation to the students’ self rated learning style. Visouverbal presentation resulted in better learning than verbal presentation only, independently of learning style. Support was not found for the learning styles hypothesis, since there was no crossover interaction. However, students with mixed or visual learning styles performed generally better on the learning test than students with a verbal learning style. Since the use of visual illustrations seems to have a beneficial effect on learning for all students, this mode of instruction ought to be used in teaching. Rather than being a tool for teachers to adapt their teaching, learning styles diagnoses may be used in order to identify students who need to develop their study strategies towards a more visual preference.

This paper summarises findings from a research project funded by the Swedish Research Council entitled Ecological knowledge and sustainable resource management conducted 2008-2013. The following questions were investigated:

i) What kind of ecological knowledge is developed by professional fishers, and how? What is the outcome of co-managed fisheries and stakeholder dialogues, and, how do dialogues and participation effect outcomes? ii) How are differing views negotiated in co-management settings where different interests are represented? iii) Is shared understanding created, and if so, how?

The findings have been presented in detail in the following papers; Garavito-Bermúdez, Lundholm and Crona (2014) (question one), Stöhr, Lundholm, Crona and Chabay (2014) (question two), and Lundholm and Stöhr (2014) (question three).

The results and foci of this project contributes in various ways to research on (ecological) knowledge, participation and natural resource management from a cognitive and educational perspective: i) it demonstrates the understanding of complex ecosystems among fishers, developed through multiple sources (previous generations, neighbours, scientific reports), and experience (learning-by-doing in the context of fisheries); ii) it supports earlier research on the importance of stakeholder dialogues between various groups to ensure a better understanding of the eco system and thus provides a stronger basis for decision-making and compliance, and, iii) it concludes on the importance of shared understanding in the context of resource management, yet acknowledges the challenges this entails.

These findings are of relevance to policy and practice of natural resource management and fisheries in particular. With regard to theoretical advances, the project’s contribution lies in the development of analytical frameworks for analysing fishers’ systemic understanding as well as analysing and comparing co-management projects. Finally, by widening the cognitive perspective in the analysis of shared understanding and acknowledging economical, emotional and social components in the learning contexts, the study contributes to recent discussions on how to research shared understanding from various theoretical perspectives (see Akkerman, 2007, p. 56).

The research evidence base for conceptual change in social science is thin compared to the evidence base in science and mathematics education. Murphy and Alexander (2008, p. 597) suggest that this is because it is “easier to identify misconceptions of or naïve theories in biology or physics, in comparison to history or reading where ‘correct’ or ‘scientifically-valid’ positions are elusive.” We accept this explanation and the implication that contesting theories within a discipline increase the difficulties in making judgments between “better” and “worse” conceptions. Disagreements over theory within a discipline draw attention to alternative value positions, and relationships between conceptual structure, values, and identity play an important role in our understanding of conceptual change in social science. To make our task manageable we restrict our attention to conceptual change in economics and environmental studies. Of course, the ideas and evidence discussed in this chapter may apply weakly, if at all, to other disciplines in social science.

There is growing interest in communication, participation and learning in multiple fields, such as governance and policy research, natural resource management research and educational research. This paper reports a study on stakeholder dialogues and shared understanding in the context of co-managed fisheries aiming at participation and learning to increase aspects of efficiency, legitimacy and accuracy. The research investigates differing views held by participants on resource decline and how these could be affected through stakeholder dialogues. The results show that diverging views remained after four years of meetings and dialogues, but also that shared understanding in relation to certain topics developed. Participants highlighted that shared understanding was important for the feasibility of co-management, while also addressing issues of invisibility of the resource (fish living under water), uncertainty due to the complexity of the eco systems, and the epistemological difficulties of bringing scientific results into decision-making, which makes shared understanding in this case challenging and even impossible at times.

More inclusive forms of governance are increasingly advocated that allow for stakeholder participation and joint capacity building. Platforms for dialogue and the exchange of knowledge are seen as one tool to integrate different knowledge systems such as science and local knowledge. In this study, we examine a Swedish Co-management Initiative of fisheries using an integrated version of Plummer and Fitzgibbon’s ‘Adaptive Co-Management’ (2004) and Senecah’s ‘Trinity of Voice’ (2004) frameworks in analysing the participation process, communication, and learning outcomes. The results show that participating actors were successful in developing trust and enhancing learning, starting with a conflict situation and diverging interests. Attention to ‘access’ and ‘standing’ as part of participation, and skilled facilitation, were key issues in achieving these results. The article provides insights with regard to the use of established frameworks, here applied to an empirical case, enhance our understanding of learning in conflicted contexts, and helps practitioners in designing and institutionalizing learning processes and platforms in other contexts.

In this paper we apply multiple perspectives in order to investigate a co- management initiative of fisheries in Sweden, using the frameworks of Adaptive Co-Management and the Trinity of Voice along with a cognitive and social perspective. The analysis and evaluation of participation in environmental governance, here fisheries, focuses on the context, pre-conditions and outcomes, as well as the participatory and communicative process of the initiative, identifying critical factors supporting and hindering the success of the exercise in relation to expected outcomes. We conclude that the project generated positive outcomes and discuss the supporting factors of this result. The discussion also focuses on the need to bring a cognitive and social perspective in to the analysis as it explains the pre-conditions - in terms of the differing ways that participants view and understand ecological problems and changes - and that these views are crucial aspects of the communicative process and need to be addressed and attended to.

The tensions between environmental protection and economic growth are critical to future well-being, and it is therefore important to understand how young people conceptualize these tensions. The aim of the present study is to explore students’ solutions to the dilemma of economic development and mitigating climate change, with regard to societal responses to the challenge of climate change. The study was conducted in China’s Green Schools. Green School is an international long-term programme with the aim of increasing students’ knowledge of environmental issues, and transferring this knowledge into positive actions to affect the wider community. The data were obtained through semi-structured pre- and post-interviews with 15–16-year-old students in three groups (12 students) from Green Schools in the Beijing area. The results show that students’ discussions focused exclusively on economic growth and social welfare. Students seem to believe that environmental problems are inevitable, nature is a ‘box’ of resources, and economic development is necessary in order to sustain and even improve nature. Therefore, there is no dilemma between economic development and environmental protection. The paper ends with a discussion on research and implications for teaching climate change.

Adaptive comanagement (ACM) has been suggested as the way to successfully achieve sustainable environmental governance. Despite excellent research, the field still suffers from underdeveloped frameworks of causality. To address this issue, we suggest a framework that integrates the structural frame of Plummer and Fitzgibbons’ “adaptive comanagement” with the specific process characteristics of Senecah’s “Trinity of Voice.” The resulting conceptual hybrid is used to guide the comparison of two cases of stakeholder participation in fisheries management—the Swedish Co-management Initiative and the Polish Fisheries Roundtable. We examine how different components of preconditions and the process led to the observed outcomes. The analysis shows that despite the different cultural and ecological contexts, the cases developed similar results. Triggered by a crisis, the participating stakeholders were successful in developing trust and better communication and enhanced learning. This can be traced back to a combination of respected leadership, skilled mediation, and a strong focus on deliberative approaches and the creation of respectful dialogue. We also discuss the difficulties of integrating outcomes of the work of such initiatives into the actual decision-making process. Finally, we specify the lessons learned for the cases and the benefits of applying our integrated framework.

The present article presents results obtained from a survey focusing on attitudes to solidarity among upper secondary school students. A relation between positive attitudes to solidarity and future-orientation was evident. The survey results were reinforced by a second study, exploring how students in the Swedish upper secondary school perceived the value solidarity, and whether the future-dimension was reflected in teaching. Twenty-two third-year students attending theoretical and vocational programmes at five upper secondary schools were interviewed. After coding and transcribing, a thematic analysis was performed, categorizing the interview responses into sub-themes, representing different aspects of solidarity and future-orientation. The analysis revealed that these students were not acquainted with solidarity as a concept. In the cases solidarity had been brought up at all in class, the students primarily contemplated it in a historical context. Notwithstanding, several students expressed a definite ambition and readiness to act in a solidary manner in order to contribute to improved social and ecological justice, also in relation to future generations. The interviews furthermore disclosed that teaching rarely had included the future-dimension; the students considered the future to be an individual rather than a shared challenge. In terms of resolving future challenges, such as the climate threat, their confidence in natural scientists and technologists was high, but few students conveyed trust in politicians, or believed that school, teachers, and students would take on an active role. Conclusively, activating the future-dimension in the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) might be a means to ameliorate the preconditions for youths’ environmental moral learning.

The language children use when they talk about the environment opens a window into the societal norms and values that affect human – environmental relationship. To adapt environmental education to a specific cultural context thus requires knowledge about how the environment is defined within that context. This study investigates children´s perceptions of the environment in Sweden. In a geographical context it focuses our attention on children’s sense of place, that is, how people inhabit spaces. In an educational context the objective of the study is to examine the different discourse(s) that emerges in children`s drawings, texts and talks about the environment.  Specifically, we ask: what does the environment mean to children and what attachments, if any, do children have with the environment through their discourse about the environment? The research questions are focusing how the children visualize the present and the future environment in drawings and how they explain their drawings. Specifically, we ask: what does the environment mean to children and what attachments, if any, do children have with the environment? Drawings and interviews are used to elicit children’s responses to these questions. Study participants consist of 35 children in year 6 drawn from a school in Stockholm. After establishing inter-rater reliability, we conduct content and thematic analysis of drawings as well as open coding of interviews to generate interpretive findings. Visual methodology and social constructivism are lenses that frame this study and validate children’s sense of place. Implications for equity in geography and environmental education are discussed.

This study investigates how cultural factors shape children views of the environment in Sweden. In a geographical context it focuses our attention on children’s sense of place, that is, how people inhabit spaces. This deepens our understanding of society and sustainability to create an inclusive education. Specifically, we ask: what does the environment mean to children and what attachments, if any, do children have with the environment? Drawings and interviews are used to elicit children’s responses to these questions. Study participants consist of 150 children in year 6 drawn from two schools in Stockholm and Sodertalje, each reflecting different communities. After establishing inter-rater reliability, we conduct content and thematic analysis of drawings as well as open coding of interviews to generate interpretive findings. Visual methodology and social constructivism are lenses that frame this study and validate children’s sense of place. Implications for equity in geography and education are discussed.