This article sheds light on criticism of the increasing degree of formalisation in collating and synthesising research findings in the systematic review format in education. A textual analysis of two systematic reviews produced by the Swedish Institute for Educational Research unpacks the significance of interaction between formalisation and…

The design research programme learning by imitative and creative reasoning (LICR) studies whether, how and why tasks and teaching that enhance creative reasoning lead to a more productive struggle and more efficient learning than the common but inefficient task designs based on imitating given solution procedures. The purpose of this paper is to…

This article addresses the conceptual question "what is lesson study?" as an issue that arises in the context of the globalisation of lesson study as a method for improving teaching and learning beyond its presumed origins in the Japanese education system. To what extent can adaptations of the method in different national settings be…

In the multilingual mathematics classroom, the assignment for teachers to scaffold students by means of instruction and guidance in order to facilitate language progress and learning for all is often emphasized. In Sweden, where mathematics education is characterized by a low level of teacher responsibility for students' performance, this…

The primary purpose of the study was to examine methodological issues in investigations of the relative effects of schooling and age on school performance. One means of separating these 2 effects involves the use of a between-grade regression discontinuity approach. However, amongst other things, this approach is based on assumptions concerning…

Children of foreign origin are increasingly failing in mathematics in Swedish compulsory schools. This article analyses the didactics at a school proven very successful in teaching mathematics to all children including the 70% of children of foreign origin. The situation at the studied school is compared to research of the Swedish school system…

Transition problems from secondary to tertiary level in mathematics have been a recurrent issue in Sweden. This paper summarises the development during the last decades. Results from two recent research studies that illuminate the transition problem are presented. The first one, based on empirical data from a major Swedish technical university,…

This study explores the reported level of test-taking motivation and the relation between test-taking motivation and mathematics achievement in a sample of Swedish eighth-grade students (n = 343) participating in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003. A majority of students reported that they were motivated to do their…

Experimental schemes of concentrated studies have been in progress for some years at a number of upper secondary schools in Sweden. Concentrated studies involve concentrating the number of periods devoted during an upper secondary school course to the teaching of one subject within a shorter period of time than is laid down by the regular time…

Explores profiles of mathematical competencies in upper secondary students within six countries: (1) Austria; (2) France; (3) Germany; (4) Sweden; (5) Switzerland; and (6) the United States. Explains that results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test were in line with expectations about cultural and instructional…

Mathematics questions from the General Certificate of Secondary Education, taken in England at the end of compulsory education, were incorporated into a similar Swedish national test. Significant national differences were found in scores of the lowest 40% of the cohort. Results are discussed in relation to high dropout and failure rates in English…

This paper reports the results of an investigation into the relationship between school size and achievement. The study examined the impact of school size on mathematics achievement in Dutch, Swedish, and American secondary education and on science achievement in the Netherlands. The following research questions were explored: (1) Is school size…