Sweden's preservice teacher education programs for preschool, elementary, and secondary educators all require practical teaching experience. University preservice programs differ due to decentralization of regulation as of 1993. At Uppsala University 50 "practice areas" work with the university teacher education program. Each practice…

Evaluated an innovative cluster of seven college/school partnership projects between teachers, schools, researchers, and teacher educators at a Swedish university. Interviews with project directors and leaders, teachers, headteachers, students, and student teachers indicated that differentiated strategic partnerships are necessary in order to meet…

Biographical research and life stories have contributed to highlighting individual women's lives. While it is always difficult to measure their impact on societal development and to isolate the contribution of their education to this effect, this may more easily be done when women are in the forefront of developments, acting as pioneers for new…

This paper discusses the contribution of international studies on educational effectiveness in the light of 4 papers presented at the new ICSEI Methodology of Research and Effectiveness (MORE) Network in Barcelona in January 2005 and published in this issue of the journal. A brief historical overview is used to provide a context for these papers…

This report describes presentations and discussions at a seminar to bring together research initiatives in the area of functional literacy and to explore appropriate ways of developing policy-driven research in all countries. Opening remarks by representatives of the European Community, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,…

About 50 percent of Sweden's adult population pursues studies in one form or another. A specifically Scandinavian form of adult education is the folk high school. By far the largest number of adult learners attend the study circles organized by the local branches of Sweden's educational associations. Formal adult education and vocational training…

The Leda Study, a research project, examined Sweden's team teaching system. The working conditions of teacher teams in different types of school organizations are described, with a focus on group decision-making and problem-solving processes. Methodology involved observations of teacher teams in four schools; interviews with teachers, team…

A World Health Organization report concerning strategies for promoting communication and collaboration between and within the health and educational systems is presented. Changes that are needed to increase communication and collaboration are identified separately for the health services system and the health manpower training system. In addition…

This descriptive study investigated ethical conflicts within teaching, examining Swedish teachers' writings about their personal ethical conflicts in teaching. The study uncovered an ambiguity about ethical practice, noting that teachers sometimes seemed ready to abandon the value of caring for children out of respect for other adults. (SM)

The focus of this issue is to provide an international perspective on the status of school health in 16 different countries as well as issues and trends in different international settings. The articles describe health care delivery and education systems, and instructional, environmental, and health service activities. (SM)

This article is an analysis of the social and political implications of changes in school assessment practices. It is based on two interview surveys carried out by the Swedish National Agency for Schools. These surveys, commissioned by the Swedish government, sought answers to questions raised about the consequences of a criterion-referenced…

This is a report of the "European Educational Research Journal" (EERJ) Roundtable that sought to describe what national educational research programmes are doing, how they are working together, and how they might contribute to the developing European Educational Research Space. The Roundtable was an opportunity for one large consortium…

This project dealt with the quality of the child's life in day care centers and aimed at a better understanding of the concept of quality. The project was based on a synthesis of knowledge from various research traditions, as well as theories of education and developmental psychology (such as Bruner, Davydov, Leontiev, Piaget, and Vygotsky). The…

A model for courses in which media are used has been designed by a research group at the Royel Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The model suggests that instruction be planned for in weekly packages. These should include a limited number of instructional aids, should begin with a motivating section, and should offer training in the solving of…

Describes the Barkestorp Project that investigated the teaching and learning process for Swedish elementary school children after libraries had been introduced into the curriculum. Highlights include planning by principals, teachers, and librarians; the librarian's role; cooperation between teachers and librarians; student behavior; library…