I denna artikel undersöks hur undervisning organiseras och genomförs när ämnet svenska som andraspråk (sva) samläses med svenska (sve) i två klasser i årskurs 6 i den svenska grundskolan. Utgångspunkten är att skolämnet sva har en särskild kursplan med fokus på bland annat flerspråkighet, kontrastiva perspektiv och explicit språkundervisning. Studien baseras på klassrumsobservationer och intervjuer med två erfarna lärare, och analyseras med hjälp av begreppen kraftfull kunskap och epistemisk kvalitet. Även Biestas teori om utbildningens tre funktioner – kvalifikation, socialisering och subjektivering – används för att fördjupa förståelsen av lärarnas didaktiska val. Resultatet visar att samläsningen erbjuder vissa fördelar, såsom rika möjligheter till språk- och kunskapsutvecklande undervisning för alla elever, men också att sva-specifika moment ibland riskerar att nedprioriteras. Undervisningens kvalitet påverkas av lärarnas förmåga att balansera olika syften och behov. Studien bidrar med ny kunskap om hur integrerad svenska- och sva-undervisning kan organiseras för att främja ämnesfördjupning i en språkligt heterogen elevgrupp.

This article explores how teaching is organized and enacted when the subject Swedish as a Second Language (SVA) is co-taught with Swedish (SVE) in two sixth-grade classrooms in Swedish compulsory school. The subject of SVA follows a specific curriculum that emphasizes multilingualism, contrastive perspectives, and explicit language instruction. Drawing on classroom observations and interviews with two experienced teachers, the study applies the concepts of powerful knowledge and epistemic quality to analyze opportunities for subject-specific learning. The framework is complemented by Biesta’s three educational functions – qualification, socialization, and subjectification – to interpret the teachers’ didactic choices. The findings indicate that co-teaching can create favorable conditions for language- and knowledge-oriented teaching practices that benefit all students. At the same time, elements specific to SVA risk being deprioritized in the joint instruction. The analysis underscores the importance of teachers’ ability to balance diverse pedagogical goals. The study contributes theoretically and empirically to the understanding of how co-teaching in linguistically diverse classrooms can support the development of deep subject knowledge.

This study explores how teachers promote literary understanding and language development in Swedish as a second language (SSL) classrooms for Grade 6 students through read-aloud discussions. Addressing a research gap on core SSL curriculum delivery in elementary schools, this investigation observed two experienced teachers over a two-month period. The study draws on reader-response perspectives from Langer and Felski, combined with discursive strategies and Cummins' notion of reading engagement. Through analysis of classroom observations, field notes, and photos, the study examines how teachers use questioning, discussions, and language support strategies to foster students' growth in literary understanding and L2 knowledge.In both classrooms, linguistic aspects appeared to be highly integrated into the reading practices. For example, the teachers commented on the linguistic and aesthetic qualities of literary words. At the same time, the different dynamics of the student groups impacted the teachers’ choice of texts, which affected the possibilities for a deeper understanding of the text; for instance, by perceiving symmetries between the text and knowledge acquired in other teaching areas. The strategies revealed in the present study can potentially be used in other contexts to elevate the quality and status of L2 teaching.

In both classrooms, linguistic aspects appeared to be highly integrated into the reading practices. For example, the teachers commented on the linguistic and aesthetic qualities of literary words. At the same time, the different dynamics of the student groups impacted the teachers’ choice of texts, which affected the possibilities for a deeper understanding of the text; for instance, by perceiving symmetries between the text and knowledge acquired in other teaching areas. The strategies revealed in the present study can potentially be used in other contexts to elevate the quality and status of L2 teaching.

Research topic/aim

Despite Swedish as a Second Language (SSL) being its own subject in the Swedish school system since 1995, there is surprisingly little research on the actual teaching practices within the subject, particularly in the earlier school years. The purpose of this study is to contribute knowledge about the conditions teachers create for language and knowledge development in the subject of Swedish as a Second Language in elementary school. More specifically, it examines how experienced SSL teachers support students' literary understanding and develop their language repertoire.

Theoretical framework

The study is theoretically based on Langer's stances (2011) for developing students' literary understanding, in conjunction with the notion of interactional scaffolding to support language and knowledge development (Gibbons, 2006; Walldén & Nygård Larsson, 2021).

Methodological design

Data was collected during two months in the spring of 2023 in two sixth-grade classes, where a large proportion of the students had a migration background. During this period, both teachers worked with shared reading of a fiction book. The material consists of a total of 31 recorded classroom observations, field notes, photos, and interviews with the two teachers. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the material in tandem with Langer's stances.

Expected conclusions/findings

Preliminary results show that in the work of shared reading of a fiction book, teachers use various types of reading-related activities in their instruction. They discuss the content of the books and link the reading to both their own reading experience and to contexts outside the text. There is a consistent focus on developing students' language in the instruction, which is shown in discussions and through various support materials such as visual aids and reading and writing strategies. Metalinguistic strategies are also highlighted by encouraging students to “derive” and “pull apart” words. The attention to language is integrated into a collaborative reading practice in which the students are encouraged to seek for deeper meaning in the texts and “daring to fail” when they express ideas using the target language.  

Relevance to Nordic educational research

The findings of this study are relevant to the conference as it contributes to knowledge about SSL subject teaching practices.

Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap om vad som utgör kraftfull kunskap (powerful knowledge) (Young, 2013) i årskurs 6 där ämnena svenska och svenska som andraspråk undervisas integrerat. Studien är finansierad av Crafoordska stiftelsen och utgårfrån följande frågeställningar: i) Vilka prioriteringar uttrycker lärare gällande ämnesinnehål loch kraftfull kunskap i integrerad sva/sve-undervisning? ii) Vad utmärker lärarnas didaktiskaval för att stödja elevernas språk- och kunskapsutveckling i den integrerade undervisningen? Data samlades in under våren 2023, i två klasser i årskurs sex på två skolor, där minsthälften av eleverna hade utländsk bakgrund. Materialet består av semistrukturerade lärarintervjuer samt fältanteckningar och foton från observationer av 31 lektioner. Materialet analyserades genom tematisk innehållsanalys utifrån teoretiska perspektiv om kraftfullkunskap och epistemisk kvalitet (Hudson m.fl., 2023). Epistemisk kvalitet är ett mått på hurett ämnesspecifikt undervisningsinnehåll omsätts i undervisningen i interaktion mellan lärare och elev och kan således definiera vad kraftfull kunskap innebär på klassrumsnivå.Preliminära resultat visar att lärarnas didaktiska val, såsom litteraturval och arbetssätt, i stor utsträckning påverkas av de skilda förutsättningarna i de två elevgrupperna, vilket i sin tur har betydelse för den epistemiska kvaliteten i undervisningen. Studien är relevant för konferensen genom att bidra med kunskap om den integrerade undervisningspraktiken isvenska och svenska som andraspråk, vilket är ett underbeforskat ämne.

Referenser:

Hudson, B., Gericke, N., Olin-Scheller, C., & Stolare, M. (2023). Trajectories of powerfulknowledge and epistemic quality: analysing the transformations from disciplines acrossschool subjects. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 55(2), 119-137.

Young, M. (2013). Overcoming the crisis in curriculum theory: a knowledge-based approach.Journal of Curriculum Studies, 45(2), 101–118.