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Performing the populist media critic: Contestations of journalistic authority in right-wing alternative media
Get PDFSwedish legacy news media has for decades enjoyed a high and stable level of trust among citizens. However, the level of trust is not even across all groups in society, with primarily right-wing sympathizers becoming increasingly skeptical. At the same time, newspapers struggle with declining revenues and readership, creating a very competitive market that is also characterized by increasing media ownership concentration. In contrast, a plethora of options exist for news consumers online. In what has indeed developed into a high-choice media environment, several alternative news sites have emerged. These sites often display strong ideological profiles and produce content that counter that of legacy media, which is seen as disconnected from ordinary people.
This context of greater news production diversity that simultaneously facilitates very partisan news reporting distrustful towards legacy media poses questions regarding the effects of contesting views on whose news reporting should be seen as legitimate, authentic, and true. Through the lens of populism and performativity, the present paper analyzes how a right-wing Swedish alternative news channel manifests a sense of journalistic authority as a critic of legacy media. The analysis explores two aspects of the intermedial relations between alternative media and legacy media: a content analysis of news clips critical towards Swedish news media as well as a mapping of how these clips connect to other news media content, both alternative and not as well as how media performativity plays a role. The paper adds to the research on possible implications of contestation of journalistic authority in alternative media for overall trust and relations across different media contexts and types
Word definition skills in the early school years
Get PDFAim(s): The presentation will cover two studies related to word definitions skills in the early school years, and its relationshipwith linguistic and cognitive factors, as well as the effect of formal schooling and a teacher Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program.Study 1: Investigate monolingual and bilingual students’ word definitions (WD) of 10 cross-curricular words.Study 2: Evaluate the effect of a teacher CPD program on their students’ WD skills.
Theoretical framework/area of investigation: Well-developed WD skills are important for academic success. The use of clear and concise word definitions is required in many academic tasks, such as taking tests and writing expository texts. Teachers play a crucial role in developing children’s WD skills. However, vocabulary instruction in the classrooms is generally not in line with current research base, and teachers often report being unsure of how to support their students’ vocabulary development.
Methodological design:
Study 1: 208 children (range 6:8–9:0 years) were assessed with a 10-item WD task.Study 2: 25 elementary school teachers, teaching grade 1 and 2, took part in a CPD program targeting language andcommunication supporting techniques in the classroom, for example evidence-based strategies for vocabularyinstruction. The effect of the CPD was evaluated on WD skills of 209 of the participating teachers’ students.
Findings and conclusionStudy 1: Many students gave superficial, or incorrect, WDs of the words included in the task. On average, monolingual students outperformed the bilingual students. However, bilingualism alone cannot explain poor results, and other factors must be taken into account when analyzing poor WD skills.
Study 2: Different developmental trajectories between intervention and control condition indicated some positive effect on students WD skills, following a teacher CPD. However, more research is needed on how teachers best develop students’ WD skills.
The results will be discussed in relation to an upcoming research project investigating the interaction between linguistic, cognitive, and social variables shaping variability in WD skills
Enhancing language students’ agency in the “wild”
Get PDFPresent-day language learners operate in complex contexts characterized by globalization, the mobility of people and resources, and technology. There is a need to enhance students’ agency, meaning how they use the resources of their environment in navigating it (see, e.g., Biesta & Tedder, 2007), by incorporating students’ everyday interactions in the wild in language classrooms (Wagner, 2015).
This presentation draws on the dissertation project I conducted as a teacher-researcher to examine US university-level Finnish students’ learning in the wild. As a methodological approach, I drew on Scollon and Scollon’s (2004) nexus analysis which allowed me to focus on changing classroom practices. I traced the different cycles of discourse (interaction order, historical body, discourses in place) that intersect the students’ social actions in the wild, and their subsequent reflections. The data comes from an Independent Use Portfolio task and the central question was: How can classroom practices be changed to support student agency in their learning in the wild?
The findings indicate that student agency can be supported by incorporating the digital wilds into the classroom (Sauro & Zourou, 2019). Teachers can promote new classroom interaction orders that center on student initiative, decision-making, and expertise. Through incorporating reflection in classroom practices, students can be encouraged to recognize the impact of their historical bodies on their agency. Considering discourses in place, new practices could be developed to help students tame the wild, strengthen their social connections, and make them reimagine familiar spaces as language learning spaces
Employing EVT perspectives in blended TBLT among ESL learners
Get PDFAim and Research Questions: This study aims to investigate the motivational dynamics influencing student engagement in blended Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) environments within the context of ESL education post-COVID-19. Specifically, the research seeks to address the following questions: How do expectancy and value beliefs shape ESL learners' motivation in blended TBLT settings? What are the key motivational determinants influencing students' willingness to communicate and overall learning experience?
Theoretical Framework/Area of Investigation: The research adopts the Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT) as the theoretical framework, emphasizing the significance of expectancy belief, attainment value, intrinsic value, utility value, and cost effort in shaping student motivation (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020; Galla et al., 2018). EVT provides a comprehensive lens to examine the complex interplay of motivational factors influencing ESL learners' engagement in blended TBLT environments.
Methodological Design: A quantitative methodology uses structured motivational surveys to collect data on EVT constructs. These surveys are meticulously designed and adapted to ensure conceptual integrity and relevance to English language learning. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is conducted to validate the applicability of EVT to the study context, with rigorous assessments of reliability and validity measures.
(Expected) Findings and Conclusions: The analysis is anticipated to reveal insights into the motivational determinants of ESL learners' engagement and educational outcomes in blended TBLT environments. Expectancy beliefs are expected to emerge as critical factors, influencing students' willingness to embrace communicative tasks. Additionally, intrinsic and utility values are predicted to impact student engagement and learning experiences significantly. The findings will inform educators and practitioners of the importance of aligning TBLT approaches with learners' motivational profiles to optimize ESL education in blended learning contexts
Den praktiknära forskningens bidrag till läraryrkets kunskapsbas : en analys av kunskapsprodukter från kollaborativ didaktisk forskning
No full textBy examining what kind of knowledge products that are generated in researcher and teacher collaborative didactic research projects, this study presents and discusses examples of how close-to-practice research can contribute to the knowledge base of the teacher profession. The empirical data consists of published research articles from the research environment Stockholm Teaching & Learning Studies (STLS). Through a content analysis, four (i-iv) categories of knowledge products have been identified: (i) Learning objects, (ii) Teaching design, (iii) Didactic examples and (iv) Methodological tools for didactic research. Learning objects describes what characterizes a specific content knowledge in a specific context. Teaching design specifies relationships between the teaching and consequences for students' learning. Didactic examples include rich descriptions of teaching and students' learning as a basis for didactic reflection. Methodological tools for didactic research focus on combining and testing methods for planning and analysis of teaching. The result can be seen as a typology of the different types of knowledge that close-to-practice research can contribute to the teacher profession.Denna studie fokuserar hur praktiknära forskning kan bidra till att utveckla lärarprofessionens kunskapsbas; genom att undersöka vilka slags kunskapsprodukter som genereras i didaktisk undervisningsutvecklande forskning där lärare och forskare arbetar tillsammans. Datamaterialet består av vetenskapligt publicerade artiklar från forskningsmiljön Stockholm Teaching & Learning Studies (STLS). Genom en innehållsanalys har fyra (i-iv) kategorier av kunskapsprodukter identifierats: (i) Beskrivningar av kunnanden, (ii) Undervisningsdesign, (iii) Didaktiska exempel och (iv) Metodologiska redskap. Beskrivningar av kunnanden synliggör vad som kännetecknar kunnanden inom olika ämnesområden. Undervisningsdesign preciserar relationer mellan undervisningens utformning och elevers lärande. Didaktiska exempel innefattar rika beskrivningar av undervisning och elevers lärande som grund för didaktisk reflektion. Metodologiska redskap fokuserar på att kombinera och pröva metoder för planering och analys av undervisning. Resultatet kan ses som en typologi över vilka olika slags kunskaper som praktiknära forskning kan bidra med
Child welfare workers´ asessments of suspected violence in the context of family law disputes
Get PDFWhen child welfare services (CW) deal with information about violence against a child while the child’s parents are simultaneously involved in a family law dispute, it can be challenging for CW workers to assess the violence. The aim of this study is to analyze how assessments of suspected violence are described in CW investigations in Sweden when the child’s parents are involved in a family law dispute. Text analysis of 32 CW investigations from six different municipalities in Sweden was conducted using a version of a multiple case study. Our analysis revealed that the CW workers more or less explicitly made individual violence assessments. They assessed either that the child had been exposed to violence, that the presence of violence could not be definitively established, or that the child had not been exposed to violence. However, alongside the analysis of violence, aspects of the family law dispute were also a part of the discussion about the child’s situation. Our analysis showed that the inclusion of the family law dispute had an impact on the risk assessment and the final determination of the child’s primary needs. In many assessments, the violence may therefore lose its significance in favor of the conflict.When child welfare services (CW) deal with information about violence against a child while the child’s parents are simultaneously involved in a family law dispute, it can be challenging for CW workers to assess the violence. The aim of this study is to analyze how assessments of suspected violence are described in CW investigations in Sweden when the child’s parents are involved in a family law dispute. Text analysis of 32 CW investigations from six different municipalities in Sweden was conducted using a version of a multiple case study. Our analysis revealed that the CW workers more or less explicitly made individual violence assessments. They assessed either that the child had been exposed to violence, that the presence of violence could not be definitively established, or that the child had not been exposed to violence. However, alongside the analysis of violence, aspects of the family law dispute were also a part of the discussion about the child’s situation. Our analysis showed that the inclusion of the family law dispute had an impact on the risk assessment and the final determination of the child’s primary needs. In many assessments, the violence may therefore lose its significance in favor of the conflict
Aktualiseringar till den sociala barnavården: Högre synlighet eller mer behov hos individen, kompisgruppen och skolan?
Get PDFSannolikheten för att bli aktualiserad till den sociala barnavården kan påverkas av riskfaktorer hos individen, i kompiskretsen och i skolorna. Samtidigt saknas kunskap i Sverige om detta är en följd av större behov hos vissa barn eller om det beror på att vissa förhållanden gör att barnen blir mer synliga för vanliga aktualiseringskällor. I andra länder har den här frågan undersökts och debatterats kraftigt under lång tid. Syftet med den här presentationen är att delge fynd från en studie som undersökt hur socioekonomiska och familjerelaterade förhållanden hos individen, kompisumgänge och att gå i skolor med en högre andel elever från socialt marginaliserade förhållanden än andra skolor i samma kommuner påverkar sannolikheten att bli aktualiserad till den sociala barnavården under högstadietiden. Analyserna är kontrollerade för självskattade erfarenheter av övergrepp, försummelse och beteendeproblem. Fynden visar att erfarenheter av övergrepp, försummelse och beteendeproblem inte är de förhållanden som främst bidrar till att förstå vilka barn som blir aktualiserade till den sociala barnavården. Istället utmärker sig förhållanden som handlar om att barnet lever i fattigdom eller att barnet lever med en ensamstående förälder. Umgänge med kompisar som deltar i synligt negativa beteenden ökar sannolikhet för aktualisering, men nyckeln verkar vara att beteendena främst behöver vara synliga. En viss förhöjd sannolikhet finns för att barn i mer socialt marginaliserade skolor blir aktualiserade, men det går varken dra slutsatsen att det beror på större behov hos barn i dessa skolor eller att det beror på att dessa barn är mer synliga. Sammantaget verkar det finnas en benägenhet att överproblematisera, och därmed överaktualisera, barn som lever i fattigdom och barn som lever med en ensamstående förälder, åtminstone i termer av risken för att dessa barn också ska fara illa så som det avses i svensk lagstiftning. Detta riskerar att få följder för systemet för att upptäcka barn som far illa, dels i form av att barn som lever med sammanboende föräldrar med stabila ekonomiska förhållanden riskerar att gå under radarn när de far illa, dels i form av att acceptansen för den sociala barnavårdens arbete hos ensamstående föräldrar och familjer som lever i fattigdom riskerar att minska