This paper focuses on school situations students experienced as meaningful and how these experiences can guide educational improvement. Participants included 15 students in grade 3 from a Swedish school. In this qualitative study, the data consisted of drawings, multimodal productions, interviews, and field notes. The analysis resulted in four…

Storytelling has been shown to play a key role in transferring work experience from more experienced towards novices in a number of vocational educational practices, however previous studies have not to the same extent dealt with the role of students' own storytelling practices for sensemaking of work experience. This study set out to examine…

The aim of this article is to analyse the ways in which migration plays out in adult students' narratives about their occupational choice and future, focusing on three individual narratives of adult students with various experiences of migration to Sweden. Drawing on Sara Ahmed's conception of orientation, our results show how the adult students'…

The aim of the article is to deepen the knowledge of progressivism and how it was manifested in practice in Swedish secondary schools from a teacher perspective before it was prescribed in policy during the reforms of the 1950s. In the current educational debate, progressivism is blamed by some for being the root of a permissive style of education…

Observational learning is a successful method for improving writing skills in various genres. We explore effects of a five lesson intervention series based on peer observation. Fifty-five Swedish 5th-grade students aged 10-12 years followed this intervention programme. The students watched short film clips with peers working with texts. Each…

This article explores how constructions of identity, race and difference permeate and are challenged in a Swedish preschool class. The study is informed by theories of phenomenology and critical whiteness. Data are drawn from a larger ethnographic study conducted in an ethnically diverse preschool. The purpose of the study was to explore how…

As new stories from asylum seekers and refugees permeate the reality of European societies today, a whole new set of challenges and opportunities arise for building a common sense of belonging. Spaces for intercultural dialogue become crucial in connecting us all in a way that allows us to discover "the other" through our own process of…

The general aim of this paper is to present some insights into Polish senior immigrants in Sweden. In particular, it seeks to identify and illustrate the important contribution of previous generations of Polish senior immigrants in building on the diverse culture, traditions and values of the Polish community (Polonia) in Sweden. The paper…

This study aims to construct knowledge about how teachers in Swedish school-age educare centres build on their professional identity by listening to their narratives about their work, their interpretations of their mission and how they apply their intentions. The study takes its point of departure from sociocultural (Vygotsky, 1978) and dialogical…

This article investigates what happens to institutional narratives of care in Swedish preschool when a policy on increased documentation is introduced. Questions deal with preschool teachers' professionalism as expressed through the teachers' talk about documentation. The analysis is based on theories in education policy, teacher professionalism…

This paper explores the concept of instructional leadership and principals' perceptions of the practices of instructional leadership. Despite the emphasis on the effects of school leadership regarding teaching practices and learning outcomes, research on direct instructional leadership is scarce. It is focused either on identifying overall…

Responding to calls about the need to "give voice" to groups previously marginalized in research and to challenge meta-narratives about men in sports, this paper explores the use of a narrative approach to illuminate men's experiences--and the doing of gender--within equestrian sports, a sport dominated by women in Sweden. Adopting the…

The aim of this article is to examine non-traditional graduates' life transitions before, during, and after higher education (HE) in Sweden. The article builds on a theory called biographical work, which is used for understanding non-traditional graduates' identity formation and transformation. The article is based on the narratives of two…

Drawing from a survey and focus group interviews, this study explores how Swedish upper secondary students reason about the usage of their personal mobile phones in school. As a contribution to the debate around the mobile phone's role in school, we present the students' own voices relative to the question of regulating mobile phone use. We use…

Many challenges exist to conducting participatory research and consultation with young people, especially with those considered vulnerable or at risk. Beyond respecting the safety and wellbeing of young research participants, researchers must be aware of barriers to youth engagement and be attuned to the many forms of youth resistance. As young…