REPORT 282 Competence and opportunity...The teacher’s perception of whether they enjoy teaching their subject 16 Male versus female teachers 17 Younger versus older teachers 18 Teacher-related

Competence and opportunity

REPORT 2822006

– the importance of teachers, their working situation and conditions

Competence and opportunity– the importance of teachers,

their working situation and conditions

In-depth evaluation based on the National evaluation of the compulsory school 2003

PrefaceThis report presents an in-depth evaluation based on data from the National Agency for Education’s national evaluation of the compulsory school (NU03), which focused on Year 9 and was published at the end of 2004. NU03 includ-ed comprehensive questionnaires for all participating teachers, students and head teachers – data which could only be analysed and reported to a limited extent in NU03’s main reports. The National Agency for Education has there-fore chosen, based on this questionnaire data, to examine certain particularly significant areas in more detail.

One such area focused on in this evaluation is the issue of compulsory school teacher competence – in a broad sense – and the impact this has on students’ learning environment and results. With a view to understanding and, as far as possible, explaining these correlations, in-depth analyses have been carried out on various aspects of the working situation of teachers and the conditions under which they carry out their duties. This means that, for once, the spotlight is on the teachers in Year 9 of compulsory school, rather than the students and their performance.

The sample of schools and teachers in the NU03 data base, along with the fact that the analyses only related to Year 9, sets certain limitations, which the reader should bear in mind. At the same time, the NU03 data has provided a unique opportunity to collate questionnaire data from students, teachers and head teachers, along with data on students’ results (test and grade data) at the individual level. This ensures that the correlations presented in this evalua-tion can be considered comparatively reliable and unique. This has not been possible with most other studies in this important area. The National Agency for Education hopes that the findings of this evaluation can be put to practical use in ongoing development initiatives at all levels – national, municipal and school. This applies not least to initiatives relating to the basic teacher train-ing programme and the national head teacher training programme, as well as ongoing skills development initiatives for these groups.

The report is a summary of the most important findings from more compre-hensive analysis material which includes a range of advanced statistical analyses.

Directors of Education Gunnar Iselau and Daniel Gustavsson essentially planned and carried out the analysis work and drew up this report. The project manager was Director of Education Sten Söderberg.

The work was monitored by a reference group comprising Professor Mikael Alexandersson, Göteborg University, adviser Grethe Hovland of the Norwe-gian Directorate for Education and Training in Oslo, Professor Horst Löfgren of Malmö University and Director of Education Annsofi Persson-Stenborg from the National Agency for School Improvement. These people provided valuable comments on the statistical analyses and various versions of the text in this report.

Several individuals within and outside the National Agency for Education have also contributed their comments. However, the National Agency for Education is entirely responsible for the final version of the report and for its conclusions.

Stockholm, September 2006

Per Thullberg Sten SöderbergDirector-General Director of Education, Project Manager

Contents

Summary 6

1.Introduction 8 Background 8 Purpose 9 Study data 9 Method 10 Guidance on reading 12

2.Theteacher’simportance 13What makes a good teacher? 13 The teacher’s training 13 The teacher’s assessment of his/her methodological and didactic competence 14 The teacher’s perception of whether they enjoy teaching their subject 16 Male versus female teachers 17 Younger versus older teachers 18

Teacher-related factors which correlate with students’ performance 19 Background 19 Findings 20

3.Theteachers’workingsituationandconditions 22Changes in school activities 22 Changing professional role 22 Increased collaboration in teams 23 Increased number of students in need of support 25

Different subject cultures 26 Students’ motivation in the subject 26 The interest of girls and boys 27 Classroom environment 27

Teachers’ attitudes to the national steering documents 31 The importance of the steering documents for the teachers’ teaching 31 Curriculum guidelines 32 Fundamental value-related goals 34 Knowledge-related goals 36

The teachers’ perception of the head teachers’ leadership and support 37

4.Summarisingdiscussion 41The teacher’s importance 41 Teacher training important but not sufficient 41 The desire to teach gives students the desire to learn 42 The importance of a mixed body of teachers 42

The teachers’ working situation and conditions for carrying out their duties 43 A changing profession – but are the teachers up to it? 43 Subject cultures – different schools within the school 45 The importance of the steering documents 46 The need for a head teacher 47

5.Finalreflections 49

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1) National evaluation 2003, National Agency for Education reports 250, 251, 252 and 253.

SummaryThis evaluation is based on the national evaluation of the compulsory school (NU03) carried out by the National Agency for Education in 2003, which reported and published summaries of the main findings during the period Oc-tober to December 20041. The collated data included comprehensive question-naire data from participating students, teachers, parents and head teachers. The combination of extensive material, links at the individual level and a basis in the steering documents make this evaluation unique in its scope and its opportunity to provide a broad, in-depth and contemporary picture of the situation in the final year of compulsory school.

The purpose and aim of the evaluation is to help increase the body of knowledge regarding the importance of compulsory school teachers, their working situation and conditions, which can be used as the starting point for improvement initiatives at all levels of responsibility, from national and princi-pal organiser to head teachers, teachers and students.

The evaluation confirms the impact of teachers on students’ development and learning. It also shows significant variations in teachers’ attitudes to their work, their working situation and their conditions. The study highlights fac-tors relating to teachers and their working situation which should be addressed in order to achieve increased quality and equivalence in compulsory school teaching.

The study’s main findings are summarised below, based on the purpose and aims of the evaluation. The findings are detailed in the report and discussed from the perspective of conditions for increased goal attainment.

The teacher’s importance• The issue of whether the teacher has teacher training and education in the

subject which he/she is teaching has an impact on students’ learning.• The higher the teacher grades his/her methodological and didactic compe-

tence, the better the conditions for students to learn.• The more fun the teacher describes teaching his/her subject, the better the

conditions for students to learn.• Boys’ assessment of who is a good teacher is affected by whether the teacher

is male or female. Boys rate male teachers more highly. • Girls’ assessment of who is a good teacher is affected by whether the teacher

is younger or older. Girls rate younger teachers more highly.

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Changing professional role• Different teachers give different pictures of their professional role and their

working conditions. The main trend is for teachers to describe an increase in the content of their work.

• Collaboration in teaching, particularly collaboration between teachers in the same subjects, is not developing to the same extent as other aspects of teach-ers’ work.

• The opportunities for skills development are perceived by more teachers to have reduced than increased. A third of teachers do not feel they have suf-ficient competence to be able to identify and support students in need of special support, and to be able to work with students from different social and cultural backgrounds.

different subject cultures• Teachers’ attitudes to their professional work differ depending on the

subject. • The learning environments differ depending on the subject. The differing

learning environments mean inconsistent conditions for teachers’ teaching and for students’ learning.

The importance of the steering documents• The national steering documents, the curriculum and the syllabuses, are

considered by the vast majority of teachers to be important to their teaching.• The degree to which teachers see the steering documents, and their various

parts, as important to their teaching varies. A tenth of teachers state that the steering documents are not very important to their teaching.

Head teacher’s leadership• Teachers’ perception of their head teacher correlates positively with their

description of job satisfaction and the support they receive at work. • The head teacher’s involvement in teaching has a positive correlation with

teachers’ perception of their working conditions and development opportu-nities.

• Most teachers are happy with and trust their head teacher. However, over a tenth state that they have a problematic relationship with their head teacher.

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2) The National Agency for Education’s status report 2004 on pre-school activities, school-age child care, schools and adult education, report no. 249; The National Agency for Education’s status report 2005 on pre-school activities, school-age child care, schools and adult education, report no. 264; The National Agency for Education’s missive to the Ministry of Education of 26 October 2004, www.skolverket.se/nu03

3) Gustafsson, Jan-Eric and Myrberg, Eva 2002: The impact of financial resources on educational results – a knowledge overview. The National Agency for Education, Stockholm, p 11

4) The National Agency for Education’s missive to the Department of Education of 26 October 2004, www.skolverket.se/nu03

5) National evaluation 2003, report 250 p 148f6) The teachers’ work as defined in the guidelines to the teacher in the national curriculum for the

compulsory school system, Lpo94.

IntroductionBackgroundAccording to a National Agency for Education status report from 2005: “Strengthening the teaching profession is vital for the improvement of results in compulsory school.”

The basic starting point for this evaluation study is the task given to the National Agency for Education to follow up and evaluate the school system and submit proposals to the government. The study takes on a student-based per-spective by focusing on the importance of teachers for students’ learning situa-tion and performance, as well as on teachers’ working situation and conditions. In this way, the evaluation follows the National Agency for Education’s vision to uphold the right of each individual to knowledge and personal development. The focus has been guided by the need for more reliable information regarding the situation and importance of teachers, as expressed in the National Agency for Education’s status reports in 2004 and 2005, and in the National Agency for Education’s missive based on the national evaluation of 2003 (NU03).2

This study should also be seen against the background of one of the reviews of research initiated by the National Agency for Education entitled “The impact of financial resources on educational results”, whose main conclusion was that “the expertise of the teacher is the type of resource which has most impact on students’ results.”3 With NU03 completed, the National Agency for Education stated in a missive to the Ministry of Education that “the spread of knowledge within the student group is so great that questions must be asked about the effects of the schools’ input”.4 A 2003 survey by the National Agency for Education also showed that, of the teachers in Years 7–9, only between 60 and 70 percent, depending on the subject, had undergone teacher training and education in the subject they were teaching.5 With this in mind, the study focuses on the impor-tance of teachers for students’ learning situation and knowledge development.

It would be unproductive to focus on the importance of teachers without at the same time highlighting the conditions teachers have for carrying out their duties.6 Studies show deficiencies in this respect, in terms of both the basic


7) National Union of Teachers in Sweden “Work environment study 2004”, www.lr.se, the National Agency for Education’s inspection report 2004 p 163ff.

8) The National Audit Office, The right training for the teaching. State initiatives for teacher compe-tence. RiR 2005:19; Everyone has the right to trained teachers! The Swedish Teachers’ Union 2006

9) Educational inspection 2004 – compilation and analyses of inspection findings p 163ff.10) Teachers Matter. Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers, OECD 2005 11) The term “learning environment” includes the classroom environment (atmosphere, disruptive

noise etc.) and the teacher’s attitudes and actions.

conditions for the school’s activities and the teacher’s own conditions.7 The National Agency for Education, along with the National Audit Office and the teaching unions, has concluded that many teachers do not have the training which the teaching requires.8 The National Agency for Education’s Educa-tional Inspectorate has identified major variations within and between schools in terms of teaching delivery and teachers’ assessment of students’ knowledge.9

This picture of the teaching situation is not unique to Sweden. The OECD project “Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers” highlighted deficiencies common to all the countries which took part in the study, includ-ing difficulties attracting people into the profession, teacher competence below required levels and not valuing the teaching profession.10

PurposeThe purpose of the evaluation is, based on the conditions and framework of the national evaluation 2003, to describe correlations which are able to show how important teachers are for students’ learning environment and perform-ance, plus factors which may affect the situation of teachers and their condi-tions for carrying out their duties.11

The aim is, by giving a broad and up-to-date picture of teachers’ importance, situation and conditions, to provide wider and more in-depth knowledge, based on which the National Agency for Education can act to uphold each student’s right to knowledge and personal development. The objective is therefore that the findings of the evaluation will provide knowledge and be able to be used as a starting point for improvement initiatives at all levels of responsibility, i.e. nationally and at the level of principal organiser, head teacher and teacher.

In order to meet the above purposes and aims, the study takes its main direction from the national curriculum for the compulsory school system (Lpo94) and evaluates the findings in relation to the curriculum’s goals and its guidelines for teachers.

StudydataThis study is based on the national evaluation of the compulsory school (NU03) carried out by the National Agency for Education in 2003, which reported and published summaries of the main findings during the period


12) National evaluation 2003, National Agency for Education reports 250, 251, 252 and 253.13) PPS = Probability Proportional to Size 14) In the study, the term “teacher with teacher training” is used for teachers who have a degree in

teaching. As such, this term is used instead of “qualified teacher”.15) Proportion of working teachers in compulsory school with pedagogical training in the academic

year 02/03.16) Statistics Sweden, statistics for academic year 2003.

October to December 2004.12 The collated data included comprehensive ques-tionnaire data from participating students, teachers, parents and head teachers. The data base has been designed so that connections at the individual level between these four groups of respondents are possible. The combination of extensive material, connections at the individual level and a basis in the steer-ing documents make this evaluation unique in its scope and its opportunity to provide a broad, in-depth and contemporary picture of the situation in the final year of compulsory school.

In order to obtain a nationally representative sample, the NU-03 used a “PPS” sample,13 where the primary sample unit was compulsory schools with a Year 9. Then, once the schools had been selected, two to four classes were selected at each school as a systematic sample. These are the students and their teachers which have been included in this study.

The study sample comprises a total of 120 schools, 1,688 teachers and 6,788 students.

The individual non-response rate for the questionnaires on which this survey is based stands at 14 percent on average for the teacher questionnaires, 14 percent for the student questionnaires and 0 percent for the head teacher questionnaires.

Of the teachers in the survey, 86 percent state that they have completed a teacher training course.14 This proportion is somewhat higher than the national average, which stood at 80 percent at the time of the survey.15 Sixty percent of the teachers in the study are women and the age distribution shows two “bulges” with a considerably larger proportion of teachers around the ages of 30 and 60. The study’s picture of an uneven age distribution and a larger proportion of women is in line with the national statistics.16

MethodThe phrase “teachers’ importance” raises the question of whether it is possible to identify any causal correlation based on the existence of a correlation. A causal cor-relation may mean that the teacher is an explanatory factor for the students’ actions or that the students are an explanatory factor for the teacher’s actions. It may even be that the teacher is an explanatory factor while also being a dependent object in a reciprocal correlation. However, the term “correlation” in this study does not necessarily mean that there is a causal correlation. The text explains what interpre-


tations have been made on whether a correlation indicates the teacher’s importance for the students’ learning environment and performance.

The study is attempting to identify correlations of a general nature and several statistical methods have been used. The main methods used have been factor analysis, regression analysis and multilevel analysis. Factor analysis has been used to generate indices based on several variables.

Since the study is attempting to identify correlations of a general nature, a number of variables have been kept constant in the analysis. These were the teacher’s gender, whether the teacher has undergone teacher training, the teacher’s age and the subject which the teacher teaches. In the analyses which also include students, their gender, whether they have a foreign background and the student’s socio-economic background17 have been kept constant.

There were not sufficiently large subject teacher groups to allow in-depth analyses of all the subjects individually. The teachers have therefore been grouped into the following categories: mathematics, Swedish, English, social subjects, natural science subjects and practical/artistic subjects. This gives sub-ject groups of a size ranging from 200 to 400 teachers.

A major advantage of this study is that connections can be drawn between teachers and students in the analysis. This has made it possible to use multi-level analysis as well as more traditional statistical methods. Multilevel analysis allows for the study of correlations between different levels, i.e. in this study between head teachers, teachers and students.

In the analyses where the teacher’s training has been connected to students’ attitudes and performance, it has not been possible to carry out individual analyses of each and every one of the teachers’ training combinations. It has only been possible to compare teachers who have undergone teacher training and education in the subject taught with the group of other teachers.18 It is also important to bear in mind, when assessing the findings of this study, that this is a quantitative study with the inherent advantages and disadvantages which that entails. In addition, due to the design of the study, it has not been possible to carry out all desirable analyses, as some groups were too small. This applies particularly to the possibility of carrying out certain subject-specific analysis of the relationship between teachers and students. The study also does not allow for the analysis of circumstances over time.

17) The highest level of education achieved by the parents has been used as a measurement of socio-economic background.

18) “Other teachers” here means the following combinations: teachers who have teacher training but not education in the subject taught, teachers who do not have teacher training but do have education in the subject taught, and teachers who have neither teacher training or education in the subject taught.


GuidanceonreadingThe report has two main sections, one descriptive and one discursive. The findings and sub-findings in the report should be seen in light of these two perspectives together. The report ends with some forward-looking final reflec-tions.

The first part of the report presents the findings, along with comments explaining the findings from the perspective of goal attainment. This first part in turn comprises two sections. The first, “The teacher’s importance”, aims to highlight teacher-related factors which are in correlation with students’ descriptions of a good teacher and a good learning environment, and with students’ performance. The next section, “The teacher’s situation and condi-tions”, describes the view which teachers and students have of the teacher’s situation and conditions for carrying out his/her duties within four areas, which can be expressed in the keywords “changed professional role”, “subject culture”, “steering documents” and “head teacher’s leadership”.

The second part of the report is a summary of the findings and a discus-sion of the problems that arise, under the headings “The teacher’s importance” and “The teacher’s working situation and conditions for carrying out his/her duties”. The purpose here is to discuss the importance of the findings, and their applicability to work aimed at increasing goal attainment at national level, the level of principal organiser and the level of the local school.


Theteacher’simportanceWhat makes a good teacher?This study relates teachers’ attitudes to their work, their working situation and their conditions to students’ descriptions of a good teacher, based on the three questions 1. “Is the teacher good at teaching?”, 2. “Is the teacher good at ex-plaining things you (as a student) don’t understand” and 3. “Does the teacher give fair grades?” Below, the concept “good teacher” is related to students’ re-sponses to these three questions.

An analysis of the factors which characterise a good teacher also involves focusing on the learning environment in which teacher and students come together. In this study, the concept “learning environment” is an umbrella term which includes the classroom environment plus attitudes of and relations between teacher and students.

The analyses of the teachers’ own responses and students’ descriptions of their teachers highlight five factors in teachers which correlate positively with students’ learning environment and/or students’ description of a good teacher. These are described in more detail below.

Theteacher’straining

The teacher’s training correlates with students’ perception of a good teacher. The strongest correlation is with high performing students. For low performing students, there is no correlation with the teacher’s training.

Two thirds, 62 percent, of teachers who in this study have teacher training have teacher training in and teach exclusively in the subject in which they are edu-cated. 19 This means that 38 percent of teachers with teacher training fully or partly teach in subjects for which they have no education.20 If we include teach-ers who have no teacher training, the equivalent figures are 53 and 47 percent.

The study shows that teachers’ training correlates positively with students’ perception of a good teacher. The correlation applies to whether the teacher has teacher training and is educated in the subject which he/she teaches.

However, this does not apply to all students. For those students with the very lowest final grades (merit rating 175 or lower), there is no correlation at all between the teacher’s training and whether the students consider the teacher to be a good teacher. The higher a merit rating the student has, the greater the correlation. The best performing students (merit rating 251 or

19) The calculation is based on no. of teachers, not per full-time equivalent. 20) Cf. “Everyone has the right to trained teachers!” The Swedish Teachers’ Union 2006, which

reports that 54 percent of teachers’ contact time in Years 7-9 constitutes teaching in the subject for which the teacher is trained.


above) most strongly single out teachers who have teacher training and are educated in the subject they teach as being better teachers.

CommentsAs we have seen, the combination of the teacher’s teacher training and educa-tion in the subject which the teacher teaches correlates with students’ descrip-tion of a good teacher.

However, the analysis also shows that the factor of training is not in itself sufficient to reach all students. The fact that there is no correlation between the teacher’s training and those teachers which students with the lowest final grades judge to be good teachers suggests a problem that should be considered before any decisions are made on initiatives to increase goal attainment. The study does not have the data to determine whether the problem lies in the focus or content of subject-specific teacher training, the design of subject teaching, the lack of motivation of low performing students and/or other factors.

Theteacher’sassessmentofhis/hermethodologicalanddidacticcompetence

The teacher’s own assessment of his/her methodological and didactic competence correlates positively with the teacher’s and students’ description of the learning envi-ronment. They also correlate with students’ descriptions of a good teacher, irrespec-tive of the students’ gender, socio-economic background or level of performance.

The teachers were asked to assess their own competence in terms of methodol-ogy and didactics. Diagram 1 shows that three out of ten teachers agree very much that they have sufficient competence in methodology and didactics, around six out of ten agree quite a lot about their competence, while one in ten teachers do not agree very much with with the statement.

Diagram 1

It is likely that there is a certain amount of subjectivity where a professional agrees “very much” or “quite a lot” with a statement about their own professional expertise. However, in this case the analyses show that the teachers’ assessment of their own methodological/didactic competence as very good signals a self-confi-dence which correlates positively with assessments from the students to a greater extent than where teachers assess themselves as being quite good. The higher the teacher judges his/her own methodological and didactic competence, the greater the extent to which students consider the teacher to be a good teacher. The

very muchquite a lotnot very muchvery littleAgree

I feel that I have sufficient competencein methodology and didactics 1 10 58 31 %


21) Factor based on students’ responses to the questions: “The teacher finds out what we know and don’t know when we start on something new”, “The teacher plans the various topics in the subject together with us students”, “We students are informed about what the subject’s syllabus says we have to learn”, “We are made clear about what we have to be able to do to obtain various grades in the subject”, “The teacher is good at linking the teaching to society and life outside school”. In this document, the phrase “act in line with the intentions of the steering documents” is used in this sense.

22) Factor based on students’ reponses to the questions: “Students do not listen when the teacher is talking”, “There is a pleasant, positive atmosphere”, “There is disruptive noise and poor discipline” and “The work only starts long after the lesson has begun”. Use of the term in this document refers to this factor analysis. In this document, the term “classroom environment” is used in this sense.

23) Factor based on teachers’ responses to the questions: “How happy are you with your work team?”, “How happy are you with your group?”, “How happy are you with your other colleagues at the school?”, “How happy are you with the school administration?”, “How often do you enjoy your work as a teacher?” and “Do you feel badly treated by your colleagues?”

24) Factor based on teachers’ responses to the questions: “How happy are you with the students?”, “How often do you enjoy your work as a teacher?” and “Do you ever feel harassed by students?” In this document, the phrase “being happy with the students” is used in this sense.

students also state that teachers with a high opinion of their methodological and didactic competence act in line with the intentions of the steering documents to a greater extent.21 A greater proportion of the teachers with a higher opinion of their methodological and didactic competence state that the objectives of the curriculum and syllabuses, along with the national grading criteria, are very im-portant to their teaching. According to the students, these teachers have a greater ability to motivate and arouse the interest of students. This is the case irrespec-tive of students’ gender, socio-economic background or level of performance.

Teachers who agree very much that they have sufficient competence in methodology and didactics stress to a higher degree than their colleagues the importance of the knowledge content in teaching, and report to a higher degree that they regularly evaluate their teaching together with the students. Teachers who rate their methodological and didactic competence more highly also state to a greater extent that they have a friendly and positive atmos-phere and that lessons rarely have any disruptive noise or discipline problems. Students too perceive their classroom environment22 to be more positive when they have teachers who in their self-assessments have stated that they have greater methodological and didactic competence.

It is generally the case that teachers with teacher training rate their meth-odological and didactic competence higher, compared with teachers with no teacher training. When it comes to teachers’ confidence in their methodo-logical and didactic competence, the positive correlations with the learning environment are stronger than the correlations with the fact that the teacher has undergone teacher training.

Those teachers who agree very much that they have better competence in terms of methodology and didactics also state that they are happier with their colleagues, their head teacher23 and their students.24


CommentsThere is a consistent line separating those teachers who state a high level of competence and those who state a lower level of competence in terms of methodology and didactics. This is true of how teachers practise their profes-sion, their job satisfaction and responses from the students. It is worth noting that the main difference concerns teachers who consider that they have quite good or very good levels of competence. Teachers with very high confidence in their methodological and didactic competence perceive there to be a better classroom environment, work more closely in line with the curriculum and are considered better teachers by the students.

Since teachers’ description of their methodological and didactic competence correlates with students’ assessments irrespective of a student’s gender, socio-economic background or performance, this factor – the teacher’s own view of his or her competence – has real potential when it comes to initiatives for increased goal attainment for all students. Seen in terms of a student’s right to equal opportunities, the findings of the analysis suggest grounds for focusing on those teachers who express doubt about their competence, expressed in the analysis with the response “agree quite a lot”. Particular consideration should be given to the situation that one in ten teachers do not agree very much with that they have sufficient competence in terms of methodology and didactics.

Theteacher’sperceptionofwhethertheyenjoyteachingtheirsubject

The teachers’ descriptions of how much they enjoy teaching their subject correlate positively with the description of the learning environment as given by teachers and students. They also correlate with students’ descriptions of a good teacher, irrespec-tive of the students’ gender, socio-economic background or level of performance.

The teachers were asked to state how much they enjoy teaching their subject. The majority of teachers, 56 percent, state that they enjoy teaching their sub-ject very much (see diagram 2), 41 percent state that it is quite enjoyable and 3 percent say that it is quite boring.

Diagram 2

very enjoyablequite enjoyablequite boringvery boring

What do you feel about teaching the subject?

%0 3 41 56


Once again, the survey shows that the teacher’s opinion correlates positively with assessments from the students. Those teachers who state that they enjoy teaching their subject very much have students who to a greater extent state that the teacher has the ability to motivate and arouse interest. This is the case irrespective of students’ gender, socio-economic background or level of per-formance.25 In general, those teachers who enjoy teaching their subject more are rated as better teachers by the students.26

There is also a correlation between teachers who state that they enjoy teach-ing very much and perception of being happy with the students. In addition, these teachers are more likely to perceive a better classroom environment, and the students agree. The teachers who state that they enjoy teaching their subject “very” much have teacher training and education in the subject taught to a greater extent.

There are differences in the teachers’ responses to the question of how much they enjoy teaching, depending on their gender and teacher training. Generally speaking, the female teachers enjoy teaching more than the men do. Teachers who have undergone teacher training and education in the subject which they teach state to a greater extent that they enjoy teaching very much. Those teachers who have undergone teacher training, but who teach in a subject for which they have no education, state less frequently than teachers without teacher training that they enjoy teaching the subject in question.

CommentsThe importance of the fact that teachers enjoy teaching their subject very much makes it a strong indicator of the conditions for goal attainment. The analysis indicates an upward spiral, where the teacher’s enjoyment of teach-ing the subject affects students’ attitudes and vice versa. The variations in the teachers’ enjoyment which relate to training are also important to consider and seek explanations for.

25) The term “low performing” is used about the 25 percent of students with the lowest merit rating in their final grades from Year 9, the term “high performing” is used about the students with the highest merit rating in their final grades from Year 9.

26) The label “better teacher” is based on an analysis of the factor “good teacher”, which in turn is based on students’ responses to the following three questions: 1. Is the teacher good at teaching? 2. Is the teacher good at explaining things you (as a student) don’t understand? and 3. Does the teacher give fair grades?

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Maleversusfemaleteachers

The teacher’s gender has a correlation with boys’ perception of the learning environ-ment. Boys perceive male teachers to be better teachers to a greater extent.

Boys’ assessment of who is a good teacher is affected by whether the teacher is male or female. Boys rate male teachers as better teachers to a greater ex-tent, i.e. feel that the teacher teaches well, is able to explain when they do not understand and gives fair grades. Boys also state that male teachers act in line with the intentions of the steering documents.27 In addition, they state that male teachers have a greater ability to motivate them and arouse interest. What is more, boys state that they listen to male teachers more than they listen to female teachers.

Girls express no differences between female and male teachers when assess-ing whether someone is a good teacher.

CommentsThe findings shed light on the issue of boys’ difficulties in attaining the com-pulsory school knowledge goals. There is cause to consider the issue of what makes boys listen to and get motivated by male teachers and whether there is something in male teachers’ attitudes and behaviour which is more likely to in-crease boys’ interest and motivation. Whatever the reasons, the findings show that boys are less inclined to listen to or be motivated by their female teachers. This situation has consequences for female teachers’ conditions for carrying out their duties, and for boys’ opportunities for development and learning.

Youngerversusolderteachers

The teacher’s age has a correlation with girls’ perception of the learning environ-ment. Girls perceive younger teachers to be better teachers to a greater extent.

Girls rate younger teachers as better than older teachers, i.e. feel that the teacher teaches well, is able to explain when they do not understand and gives fair grades. For boys, this correlation is considerably weaker. Girls also state that younger teachers act more in line with the intentions of the steering docu-ments. In addition, they state that their younger teachers have a greater ability than their older ones to motivate them and arouse interest. This should be compared with the fact that the older teachers to a greater extent describe their students as motivated in the subject.

27) Factor analysis of the concept “acting in line with the intentions of the curriculum”, see footnote 21.


CommentsSince girls state to a higher degree that they are motivated by younger teachers, the question may be asked as to whether the younger teachers are more able to connect with the girls’ lives and values. One finding worth noting is that although the older teachers to a greater extent feel that they have a good class-room environment with motivated students, the findings of the analysis show that there may be a group of less satisfied but silent girls in class. From the perspective of goal attainment, the findings suggest grounds for making older teachers aware of the situation, as well as actively focusing on girls’ views on their conditions and needs as the basis for their development and learning.

Teacher-related factors which correlate with students’ performanceThe fact that the teacher has undergone teacher training and is educated in the sub-ject taught, and that the teacher enjoys teaching, has a correlation with students’ performance, but these factors differ in their importance.

BackgroundThe study of student performance is based in part on how well they did in a selection of exercises within the framework of NU03’s knowledge measure-ments, and in part on students’ final grades.

When considering the study’s findings regarding correlation between teacher-related factors and students’ performance, it should be remembered that students’ knowledge development has been underway for nine years, and much of their learning also takes place outside school. At the same time, it is reasonable to assume that the last year of the nine years which students have been at school is particularly significant for how students perform in school, both in terms of test results and grades attained. This is based on the sup-position that the most recent experiences have a particularly large impact. Additionally, in Year 9 students become strongly focused on knowledge-based performance and so on the learning environment which promotes this.

The selection of exercises taken from NU03’s knowledge tests is extremely limited due to a desire to ensure the best possible representativity and validity. This means that the comparison between teacher-related factors and students’ results only concerns student performance in Swedish, mathematics and English, as the subjects in which the largest number of teachers and students took part. There was an intention to use the test results in other subjects, but the underlying data has been judged to be far too inadequate in quantity and strength to ensure reliable analyses in these subjects.


It should also be added that there is a certain amount of uncertainty regarding the results in mathematics, since the national test had been leaked onto the Internet. Because of this, a large number of schools decided not to report the results. In our study, the student non-response rate is 47 percent for the na-tional test. In order to compensate for this situation, NU03 also employed an “extra test” which was the same as that used in NU92. The non-response rate for this test was 35 percent in our study.

In addition to students’ results in the knowledge tests, their final grades have also been used to measure performance. The final grade is based on the teacher’s overall assessment of the student’s knowledge in relation to the objec-tives and grading criteria of the syllabus. This means that the analysis is based on both concrete student performance and the teacher’s overall assessment of student performance.

FindingsThe discernible correlations differ in their importance. Of the three subjects Swedish, English and mathematics, the correlation appears most clearly in the first two subjects.

The combination of the teacher having undergone teacher training and education in the subject taught correlates positively with student performance in the national knowledge tests in both Swedish and English. The correlation can be identified in four out of the six components of the test. These are read-ing comprehension and free composition (essay writing) in Swedish, plus oral and receptive ability in English. However, the correlation with the teacher’s education in the subject is not apparent in free composition (essay writing) in English, or the oral element (pair work) in Swedish. There is also a positive correlation between the teacher having undergone teacher training and educa-tion in the subject taught and the students’ final grades in Swedish, while this correlation does not exist in English.

In addition, there are other types of correlation for Swedish and English. The teacher’s statement that he/she enjoys teaching very much has a positive correla-tion with students’ results in all elements of the test in Swedish and also with students’ final grade in Swedish. However, the same correlation is not evident in English. Instead in English the teacher’s focus on the syllabus goals correlates with students’ test results in every element and with students’ final grades.

In mathematics there is not the same clear correlation pattern with the combination of teacher training and education in the subject taught. However, as in Swedish, there is a correlation in mathematics between the teacher’s view that he/she enjoys teaching very much and students’ performance – the teacher enjoying teaching very much correlates positively with students’ final grades. This correlation can also be identified in one of the two knowledge tests in mathematics.


CommentsThe study shows that teacher training and education in the subject taught, the view that teaching the subject is fun, and a focus on the steering documents’ goals to be attained have a positive correlation with students’ subject grades and knowledge test results, in so far as the latter have been able to be evaluated in this context. However, the correlations are different for the three subjects Swedish, English and mathematics.

For instance, the teacher’s view that teaching the subject is fun has a greater impact on students’ results in Swedish and mathematics than in English. The absence of a correlation in English with the teacher’s perceived enjoyment may be explained by the fact that English is a subject where students are to a large extent motivated by factors outside school. Students’ interest and level of learning outside school is considerably greater in English than in Swedish and mathematics, according to NU03.28

Bearing in mind that many students in NU03 perceive English to be “fun but difficult”,29 the correlation between the teacher’s focus on the goals to be achieved and students’ results in English may possibly be explained by the fact that for certain students, setting a clear threshold level is important for motiva-tion and therefore for performance.

There may be several reasons for the weaker correlations in mathematics. It may be related to the fact that mathematics is one of the subjects where students change teacher most often. The subject culture may also go some way to explain-ing the weaker correlations with the teacher’s education. As this and other studies show, the subject of mathematics differs in many ways from other school sub-jects. Mathematics is a subject with few whole-class explanations and discussions, with students largely working on their own. Mathematics is also the subject in which students are least motivated.30 The Delegation on Mathematics states that teaching is often traditional, strongly tied to teaching material, with little variation in approach.31 The delegation has concluded that the growing trend for individual calculation in Swedish schools is damaging. In order for students to gain the desire and willingness to learn meaningful mathematics, the delegation believes that the competence of teachers needs to be better exploited. 32

Students’ performance is affected by a host of factors in the here and now and earlier in their schooling, and it can be difficult to identify any general influencing factors. However, since correlation is identifiable and recurs despite the complex context, it may be possible that the correlations are actu-ally stronger than is evident in this analysis.

28) National evaluation 2003, Main report 250 p 7929) National evaluation 2003, Subject report to accompany report 251, 2005 p 1330) National evaluation 2003, Main report 250, p 132 31) Improving mathematics - interest, learning, competence. Report of the Delegation on

Mathematics Stoc kholm 2004, SOU 2004:97, p 1232) Improving mathematics - interest, learning, competence. Report of the Delegation on

Mathematics Stockholm 2004, SOU 2004:97, p 15


Theteachers’workingsituationandconditions

Changes in school activities different teachers give different pictures of their professional role and their working conditions. The main trend is for teachers to describe an increase in the content of their work. Collaboration in teaching, particularly collaboration between teachers in the same subjects, is not developing to the same extent as other aspects of teach-ers’ work. The opportunities for skills development are felt to have reduced rather than increased. A third of teachers do not feel they have sufficient competence to be able to identify and support students in need of special support, or to be able to work with students from different social and cultural backgrounds.

ChangingprofessionalroleA key factor in understanding the situation of teachers is their perception of the direction in which their own school’s activities are developing. In order to gain a picture of this, teachers who had been working at their school for five years or more were asked to describe whether, and if so how, they felt that the school’s activities had changed.33

For most of the questions concerning the development of school activities, around half of the teachers state that the situation has remained unchanged in the past five years. Of the other teachers, more state a quantitative increase than state a decrease in the content of their work.

The tasks which most teachers give as having increased rather than reduced include those with a more social emphasis such as parental contact, absen-teeism and problems with violence, bullying and racism. Among the more teaching-related working conditions, issues of note are the increased scope within teaching to focus on a student’s individual needs, a rapidly increasing proportion of students in need of special support, and interventions for these students. In terms of organisation, team meetings and joint conferences have increased considerably.

The aspects which most teachers feel have reduced rather than increased in their professional life concern collaboration between subject colleagues, oppor-tunities for skills development and contact with organisations outside school. In addition, the use of textbooks has fallen.

Below is a more detailed examination of the two most significant changes, collaboration in teams and the increased proportion of students in need of special support.

33) 733 teachers stated that they have worked for at least five years at their current school.


Increasedcollaborationinteams

Diagram 3

As diagram 3 shows, a significant majority of the teachers state that the number of joint conferences and team meetings has increased. In terms of the way they work, the teachers describe a major increase in collaboration within teams. However, there is a split when it comes to the trend regarding the number of subject conferences and collaboration with colleagues in their sub-ject group. In this case, more teachers feel that there has been a decrease than an increase.

Diagram 4

Clearly, collaboration in teams has become an increasing part of a teacher’s professional life. In terms of the content of this collaboration, diagram 4 shows a coherent picture that much of the student welfare work takes place within the framework of the work team. The team also has a function as a forum for colleague support. However, only around half of the teachers describe the work team as having a pedagogical function, i.e. being a forum for lesson plan-ning and discussions on teaching.

increased considerablyincreased slightlyunchangeddecreased slightlydecreased considerably

No. of work team meetings

No. of joint conferences

Collaboration with subject group colleagues

Collaboration with work team colleagues

No. of subject conferences

%

%

%

%

%

41322151

39312631

819372412

23363542

719422012


pedagogical planning is carried out within the framework of the work team

we often have discussions aimed at increasing our understanding of our teaching role as described in the curriculum and syllabus

student care work is carried out within the framework of the work team

we colleagues support each other

In my work team

1 6 44

12 42 35 11

14 42 32 12

103 45 42

49 %

%

%

%


Diagram 5 Questions: What importance do you yourself feel that the following have on students’ educational results? What importance do you feel that, in practice, your school attaches to these issues?

Where the teachers describe what in their collaboration is most important for the educational results of students, the greatest proportion of teachers empha-sise the importance of all teachers pulling in the same direction, see diagram 5. Discussion and planning between teachers in the same/similar subjects is seen by teachers as being more important for students’ educational results that that this takes place within the team. As the diagram shows, the incidence of teacher collaboration in all its forms is considered in practice to be lower than teachers feel it should be at their school.

Comments In general it can be said that workload and responsibility in the teaching pro-fession are perceived to have increased. The overall picture which teachers give of their working situation represents a clear increase in the content of their work. This is true for what can be labelled social and teaching initiatives as well as participation in whole-school conferences and in the activities of the work team. However, in two areas, more teachers describe a decrease than an increase. This applies to the opportunities for skills development and collabo-ration with colleagues in their subject group. The trend of an increase in work-load and a decrease in certain teaching-related aspects of a teacher’s work place the spotlight on organising and prioritising available teacher time.

Overall, the findings focus on the content of the teacher’s tasks and the time which is – or should be – available for carrying out those tasks.

The teachers’ picture of their situation and the changes to their job go some way towards explaining deficiencies in goal attainment, but also give a start-ing point for improvement initiatives. Many teachers’ description of increased workload and the undermining of key pedagogical elements give cause to highlight the responsibility of the school administration for pedagogical lead-ership, organisation of time and prioritisation of work.

very importantquite importantless importantnot important

That all teachers pull in the same direction

My view

In practice

1

%

%

%

%

%

%

That teachers in the same/similar subjects discuss and plan teaching together

My view

In practice

That teachers in the work team discuss and plan teaching together

My view

In practice

60 40 54

313 50 16

14 45 40

387 40 15

222 48 28

4310 36 11


Increasednumberofstudentsinneedofsupport

Diagram 6

The greatest change noticed by teachers is that the proportion of students in need of support has increased. As diagram 6 shows, 84 percent state an in-crease, while 47 percent also agree that interventions for these students have also increased. 29 percent consider interventions to have decreased.

Diagram 7

Being able to identify and support students in need of special support and be-ing able to work with students from different social and cultural backgrounds are two areas where a third of teachers do not agree very much that that they have sufficient knowledge and competence.

In this context, it is also the case that more teachers describe students’ com-mitment to schoolwork as having decreased rather than increased, although around half of teachers describe the situation as unchanged.

Comments The fundamental values emphasise care for the weak and vulnerable, and the curriculum emphasises that the starting point should be the circumstances of each individual. The finding that a third of teachers feel that they have quite or very poor competence when it comes to being able to identify and support students in need of special support and being able to work with students from different social and cultural backgrounds gives cause to highlight the equiva-lence of students’ opportunities for development and learning.

Collaboration with subject group colleagues

Proportion of students in need of special supportInterventions for students in need of special supportCollaboration with work team colleagues

increased considerablyincreased slightlyunchangeddecreased slightlydecreased considerably

Interventions for students in need of special support

Proportion of students in need of special support %

%

151

241910

43

34

41

13

to be able to identify and support students in need of special support

to be able to work with students from different social and cultural backgrounds

very muchquite a lotnot very muchvery littleAgreeI feel that I have sufficient competence

%

%

4 29 47 20

3 28 51 18


It is the teachers’ view that the number of students in need of special support has increased drastically. This makes a strong case for looking into teachers’ competence in and opportunities for dealing with and developing students based on their varying circumstances and needs. At the same time, the situa-tion shows potential for increasing goal attainment by focusing on and, where necessary, strengthening teachers’ competence in these respects.

different subject cultures The teachers’ view of their professional work and the teachers’ and students’ de-scriptions of the learning environment show clear differences depending on the sub-ject. The differences are so clear that there is justification for talking about different subject cultures.

Students’motivationinthesubjectTeachers in different subjects were asked what proportion of students in Year 9 they felt were motivated in the subject. The overall data gives the following findings.

Diagram � Students are motivated in the subject

A quarter of the teachers, 24 percent, feel that all or most students in their subject are motivated. However, a total of 39 percent of the teachers state that only half or fewer than half of the students in their classes are motivated to learn the subject.

The teachers’ responses differ depending on the subject. Teachers in the practical/artistic subjects state to the greatest extent that students are motivated in their subjects. Two groups of teachers – natural science teachers and particu-larly mathematics teachers – state that fewer students are motivated compared with other subject teachers. A comparison with students’ descriptions of how interested they are in the subjects largely shows the same relationship between

2%

24%13%

37%

24%

None or very few

Fewer than half

Around half

More than half

All or most

Pupils are motivated in the subject

The teachers in the practical/artistic subjects responded to the largest extent that they have motivated stu-dents: 46 percent stated that all or most students are motivated. The lowest figure is amongst mathematics teachers, 11 percent of whom stated that all or most students are motivated.


the subjects. The greatest proportion state an interest in the practical/artistic subjects, and the lowest proportion of students state an interest in mathemat-ics and natural science subjects, particularly physics and chemistry.

TheinterestofgirlsandboysAnother picture of the differences between the subjects can be illustrated by the fact that some subjects are seen by teachers to interest students more de-pending on whether they are girls or boys. In the first instance, this applies to Swedish, where 57 percent of Swedish teachers state that girls are more inter-ested in the subject. Next come religious studies and English. Here 44 and 24 percent of the subject teachers respectively respond that girls are more interest-ed. The opposite is true for history, where 31 percent of history teachers state that boys are more interested in the subject than girls. The students confirm the teachers’ view that interest relates to the students’ gender in these subjects.

ClassroomenvironmentPleasant and positive atmosphereThe teachers give a more positive picture of the atmosphere in lessons than the students do. The atmosphere is described by almost three quarters of teachers (70 percent) as pleasant and positive in every lesson. In contrast, only 37 per-cent of students state that there is a pleasant and positive atmosphere in every lesson.

Diagram 9 Percentage of teachers and students who feel that there is a pleasant and positive atmosphere in every lesson

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Every lesson according to studentsEvery lesson according to teachers

Pr/ArtSoNSSwmaEn

Percentage of teachers and pupils who feel that there is a pleasant atmosphere in every lesson

The diagram aims to show the current status, as well as the discrepancy with the desired situation of a pleasant and positive atmosphere in every lesson.


The general picture shows some differences depending on the subject and sub-ject groups, as illustrated by the diagram above. There is also no universal cor-relation between the percentages for teachers and students assessing the same subject, i.e. the discrepancy between the picture given by teachers and students changes from subject to subject.

disruptive noise and poor disciplineAlmost half of teachers, 49 percent, state that they sometimes or always experi-ence poor discipline or disruptive noise during their lessons. The correspond-ing assessment from students produces a figure of 66 percent.

Diagram 10 Percentage of teachers and students who feel that there is never or rarely disruptive noise or poor discipline

The diagram aims to show the current status, as well as the discrepancy with the desired situation of good discipline and no disruptive noise in every lesson.

Once again, there are differences depending on the subject and subject groups, as illustrated by the diagram above. The diagram also shows the discrepancy between the teachers’ and students’ views of the situation and that the discrep-ancy differs depending on the subject/subject group.

Students’ picture of the classroom environment in the different subjectsThe study does not have sufficient data to describe with any certainty the vari-ation in the classroom environment between each individual subject based on the teachers’ descriptions. The picture of the overall classroom environment in individual subjects is therefore based only on the students’ assessments. The relevant statements in the questionnaire were as follows: “Students do not listen when the teacher is talking”, “There is a pleasant, positive atmosphere”, “There is disruptive noise and poor discipline” and “The work only starts long after the lesson has begun”.

Every lesson according to studentsEvery lesson according to teachers

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pr/ArtSoNSSwmaEn

Percentage of teachers and pupils who feel that there is a satisfactory working environment, i.e. that there is never or rarely any disruptive noise or poor discipline


Diagram 11 Students’ perception of the classroom environment in each subject

Factor score

explanation: Average = 0, Standard deviation = 50 A higher factor score means a better classroom environment.

The students give a picture of different classroom environments depending on the subject. The practical/artistic subjects are described by students as having the most positive classroom environments. Swedish, physics, and particularly chemistry and mathematics, are described by students as having the most negative classroom environments. The distribution largely matches the corre-sponding picture given by teachers.

Problematic picture of the learning environment in mathematics and natural science subjects The picture of the learning environments shows that many teachers and stu-dents in all subjects perceive a situation that is far from desirable. The findings also show a dividing line separating mathematics and natural science subjects from other subjects. Mathematics and natural science subjects show a more consistent and widespread pattern, where teachers and students give a more coherently negative picture of the learning environment and of adherence to the goals and objectives of the curriculum. However the natural science and mathematics teachers do not differ from other teachers in terms of placing emphasis on the syllabus’ goals to strive towards and goals to attain.

The mathematics and natural sciences teachers state the lowest level of stu-dent motivation. They also state to the lowest degree that students have influ-ence in their subjects, i.e. can influence content, way of working and how long to spend on different areas within the subject. Fewer of these teachers describe planning the various elements of their teaching together with the students. They stress less than their colleagues in other subjects the importance of student equality.

-120-100

-80-60-40-20

020406080

100120

machphSwbisoEngeciremuhiarHEcrPE

Pupils’ perception of the classroom environment per subject


However, natural science teachers and mathematics teachers do differ in some respects. Notably, the natural science teachers are least likely to express the importance of those students who have most difficulty learning receiving the most help. On the other hand, the mathematics teachers are least likely to state that they relate their teaching to society and life outside school.

The students’ descriptions show a similar picture. A lower proportion of stu-dents state that they listen when the teacher speaks in these subjects. The teachers in these subjects are also described less by the students as motivating them and arousing their interest. It is in mathematics and natural science subjects that stu-dents feel they have the least influence over content, way of working and how long to spend on a subject area. These subjects are also more likely to experience disrup-tive noise and poor discipline. In addition, it is in these subjects that, according to the students, work is more likely to start a long time after the lesson has begun.

Among the three natural science subjects of biology on the one hand, and physics and chemistry on the other, there are differences in the perceptions of teachers and students, in so far as this has been possible to determine. The biology teachers state to a significantly higher degree than physics and chemis-try teachers that students listen and are motivated and interested. The students give the biology teachers a considerably more positive rating than they give to chemistry and physics teachers. This can be illustrated by the extent to which the students agree with the statement regarding the teacher’s ability to teach and explain when the student does not understand, with the lowest propor-tion of students stating that this applies to physics and chemistry teachers, while biology belongs to the group of subjects where the largest proportion of students state that the teacher teaches and explains well.

The sample in NU03 covers only one natural science subject per school, which is why the analysis cannot identify differences between students’ assess-ment of the same teacher depending on whether that teacher teaches biology or chemistry, for example. However, since 76 percent of the biology teachers in our sample also teach physics, and 88 percent also teach chemistry, the students’ view of the situation raises the question of whether the prevailing subject cul-ture – locally or nationally – affects the individual teacher’s interpretation of the steering documents and his/her planning and implementation of the teaching.

Comments The collective picture provided by the teachers’ and students descriptions of motivation, interest and classroom environment in different subjects is so co-herent that it appears justified to talk about different “subject cultures”. The findings give rise to the question of whether the differences between the sub-jects’ learning environments can be explained from a subject teaching perspec-tive or differences in syllabuses. Or do they indicate a situation where different


subject cultures instead embody “hidden” syllabuses which prevent the teacher from taking into account the students’ needs, circumstances, experiences and thinking, in line with the curriculum? This issue is an important one to raise from the perspective of goal attainment. While the findings show differences between the subjects, there are naturally also differences within the different subjects between teachers’ descriptions and perceptions. However it is the dif-ference in emphasis between the subjects which gives cause to pay attention to and talk about subject cultures.

Although there are relative differences between the learning environments in the subjects, the overall picture shows a significant deviation from the desired situation in all subjects. This means that a large proportion of the teachers and students describe a working and learning environment that does not provide good conditions for development and learning. The findings raise the issue of what it would mean for teachers’ opportunities and students’ motivation, inter-est and knowledge development if more teachers and more students experienced a learning environment with a good atmosphere and good discipline.

Teachers’ attitudes to the national steering documentThe national steering documents, the curriculum and the syllabuses, are perceived by the vast majority of teachers to be important to their teaching. There are varia-tions between teachers in terms of the extent to which the steering documents, and their constituent parts, are seen as important to their teaching.

Theimportanceofthesteeringdocumentsfortheteachers’teaching“Steering documents” refers here to the curriculum and syllabuses for com-pulsory schools. The curriculum describes the teachers’ work in terms of goals and guidelines. The syllabuses add flesh to the bones of the curriculum at subject level by clarifying the key qualities of knowledge in the subject (goals to strive towards), and the minimum level of knowledge which students must have achieved by Years 5 and 9 (goals to attain). The syllabuses also include the national grading criteria, which state how students can show that they have attained the goals to the quality required for the various grades.

Diagram 12 How important are the following to your teaching in the subject?

Curriculum’s goals

Syllabus’ goals to strive towards

Syllabus’ goals to attain

National grading criteria

%

%

%

%

veryquitenot verybarely/not at all

2753173

395371

3058111

3356101


When the teachers are asked to assess the importance of the steering docu-ments for their teaching, the overall picture is that most teachers describe the curriculum, the syllabus’ goals to strive towards and goals to attain plus the grading criteria as quite important. They are very important to less than half of the teachers. One in ten of the teachers see the steering documents as quite unimportant. When it comes to the national grading criteria, one in five teach-ers state that they are quite or very unimportant. The analysis shows that these teachers also do not attach any great importance to the local grading criteria.

Comments The teachers generally give a positive view of the steering documents, but the degree of importance varies. One in ten teachers state that the goals of the cur-riculum and syllabuses are quite or very unimportant to their teaching. The fact that a number of teachers describe the steering documents as less impor-tant to their teaching may naturally mean that the teachers instead see teach-ing material or local planning as the concrete embodiment and application of the steering documents’ goals. These may then be deemed more important to the teacher’s teaching than the general documents. However, if this is not the case, and instead various aspects of the steering documents’ wording, its inter-pretation or the local school activity are counteracting the intended function of the steering documents, then this is a problem which requires attention in the context of equivalence and goal attainment.

CurriculumguidelinesThe study is unable to give a broad overview of teachers’ attitudes to all the curriculum guidelines, but is able to shed light on one of the guidelines: “The teacher should, together with the students, plan and evaluate the teaching”. This is made more explicit in the introduction to the syllabuses, as follows: “At each school and in each class, the teacher must interpret the national syllabuses and together with the students plan and evaluate teaching on the basis of the student’s preconditions, experiences, interests and needs”.34

The teachers were asked how true it is that they inform the students of the goals, and together with the students plan and evaluate the teaching. Since the curriculum stresses that the starting point is the students’ existing knowledge and circumstances, the teachers were also asked about whether they inform the students about the goals and find out about the students’ existing knowledge before they embark on a new subject area.

34) Syllabus for compulsory school 2000, p 5


As diagram 13 above shows, the majority of teachers, nine out of ten, agree very much or quite a lot that they inform students about the goals in the sylla-bus. Around half of the teachers state that they find out about students’ exist-ing knowledge or plan the various elements of their teaching together with the students. Over half regularly evaluate the teaching together with the students. The lowest proportion of teachers, fewer than half, state that they plan the various elements of their teaching together with the students.

Diagram 14

The teachers’ description of students’ participation in planning the teaching gives a picture of different approaches within the teaching profession. This can be illustrated by the fact that the teachers were asked how important students being involved in planning the teaching is for the students’ study results. Sev-enty-six percent of the teachers state that this is very or quite important, while almost a quarter, 24 percent, see it as less important.

CommentsThe curriculum guidelines to teachers that they should plan together with the students has been used in the study to gain a deeper understanding of teachers’ attitudes to a clear requirement in the curriculum. The findings show a split picture. One half of the teachers state an approach in line with the guidelines, while the other half states that this is not how they teach. Irrespective of how the teachers teach, their responses show how differently the curriculum guide-

“I tell the students what the subject’s syllabus says they have to learn”

“I find out what each stuent knows and doesn’t know when we start on something new”

“I plan the various topics in the subject together with the students”

“I regularly evaluate the teaching together with the students”


%

%

%

%

1 12 47 40

6 40 44 10

6 52 39 6

3 36 47 14

Diagram 13

How important do you feel that the students being able to be involved in planning the teaching is to the educational results of students?

very importantquite importantless importantnot important

%241 59 16


lines are perceived and effect their perception. The overall picture also includes the fact that a quarter of teachers feel student participation in planning of teaching is of little importance for students’ study results.

Fundamentalvalue-relatedgoalsThe study includes teachers’ views on questions relating to the curriculum’s goals to strive towards for the area “Norms and values”. Based on the questions below, the teachers assessed the importance they attach to the goals of the fun-damental values in their work with students.

Diagram 15 What importance do you attach to the following in your work

with students?

The variations in the teachers’ responses come primarily when assessing wheth-er ethical attitudes are very or quite important. It is uncommon for teachers to state that ethical issues are of little importance. However, as the diagram shows, there are considerable differences regarding which issues teachers place greatest emphasis on. The most notable difference is the relatively low impor-tance attached to the attitude that those students who have most difficulty learning should receive the most help.

%

%

%

%

%

Reacting against bullying and anything else which makes someone suffer

Respecting the intrinsic value of other people

Equality between girls and boys

Students learning to take a stance on ethical issues about right and wrong

Ensuring that those who have most difficulty learning receive the most help

a great dealquite a lotvery littlenone

49465

65323

75223

9271

9451


In order to obtain the students’ view of whether teachers act in line with the goals relating to the fundamental values, the students were asked to describe how many of their teachers place an emphasis on these goals.

Diagram 16 How many of your teachers place emphasis on the following in their teaching?

The students confirm that most teachers place an emphasis on the fundamen-tal value-related goals in their teaching. Eighty-four percent of the students state that most or all teachers stress the importance of respecting the intrinsic value of other people. Between 67 and 76 percent state that most or all teach-ers emphasise the importance of acting against bullying, taking a stand on ethical issues, promoting equality and ensuring that those students who have most difficulty learning receive the most help.

CommentsThe picture given by the teachers is that the fundamental value issues have become well embedded in their thinking. However, there are relative differ-ences with regard to stating that each fundamental value-related goal is very important. The students also present largely the same pattern with regard to the proportion of teachers who place an emphasis on the various issues, but at a lower level. However, there is a considerable difference with regard to placing emphasis on acting against bullying. While almost every teacher states that act-ing against bullying is very important, a quarter of the students state that only some of their teachers place an emphasis on this.

Another problem relating to the fundamental values and the work to increase goal attainment with regard to student knowledge is the relatively low impor-tance which teachers attach to ensuring that those students who have most dif-ficulty learning receive the most help. Since the question is related to the teach-ers’ work with students, their order of ranking raises the question of whether this is an expression of their opinion or whether these teachers have allowed their ethical standards to be influenced by their view of the practical options

Importance of respecting intrinsic value of other people

Importance of reacting against bullying

Learning to take a stance on issues of right and wrong

Equality between girls and boys

Ensuring that those who have most difficulty learning receive the most help

%

%

%

%

%

all teachersmost teacherssome teachersno teachers

2146285

3043225

2450233

2848213

2856142


Getting the students to enjoy themselves and be self-confident

Being curious and enjoying learning

The students getting sound knowledge in their school subjects

The students being well-prepared for further study

The students being well-prepared for working life

%

%

%

%

%

a great dealquite a lotvery littlenone

57357

64342

74251

77221

86131

1

in the actual situation. It is reasonable to suggest, in interpreting the findings, that the lower weighting may reflect a situation where teachers feel inadequate, where the need for support is greater than the opportunity for delivery.

Knowledge-relatedgoalsThe teachers also stated the importance they attach to questions relating to the curriculum’s goals to strive towards in the area of “Knowledge”. These questions can be said to reflect the goals which have a bearing on students’ experience of the learning process (self-confidence), goals which more emphasise attitude to learning (curiosity), goals which stress the results of the learning (good knowl-edge) and some goals relating to expected effect (preparing for the future).

Diagram 17 What importance do you attach to the following in your work with students?

The teachers largely state that all the knowledge-related questions are very or quite important. The differences lie in the teachers’ assessment of what is very important. The overall findings show that teachers to a somewhat higher degree attach importance to the goals which have a bearing on students’ enjoy-ment and self-confidence, while goals which pave the way for future studies are of less importance to many teachers.

CommentsAlthough practically all teachers attach importance to students gaining good knowledge in their school subjects and three out of four teachers describe this as very important, there is cause to consider how the various goals of the steer-ing documents are interpreted and brought together in teaching. The National evaluation 2003 particularly emphasises the importance of the teaching allow-ing students the opportunity to reflect over concrete content, and suggests a risk that the content of teaching may otherwise be trivialised.35

35) National evaluation 2003, report 250 p 128


The teachers’ perception of the head teacher’s leadership and support Teachers’ perception of their head teacher correlates positively with their description of job satisfaction and the support they receive at work. The head teacher’s involve-ment in teaching has a correlation with teachers’ perception of their working condi-tions and development opportunities. Most teachers are happy with and trust their head teacher. However, over a tenth indicate that they have a problematic relation-ship with their head teacher.

Eighty-four percent of the teachers state that they feel happy in their work most of the time or every day. However, 15 percent report feeling unhappy occasionally. (One percent report unhappiness practically every day.) Nine out of ten teachers rarely or never feel that colleagues treat them badly or work against them. Nine out of ten teachers also state that they rarely or never feel harassed by students. Conversely, one in ten teachers report sometimes feeling that colleagues treat them badly or work against them. A similar proportion, ten percent of the teachers, report sometimes feeling harassed by students.

How happy a teacher is at school, with students, colleagues, their group or team, is related to the individual more than to the school. However, happiness with and support by the school administration shows a more uniform picture school by school.

Diagram 1� How do you feel about your working situation?

Diagram 19

Diagram 20


I receive support from the school administration in my work.

I have confidence in the way the school administration does its job.

I have the opportunity to be involved in and influence the issues I think are important at the school.

%

%

%

4 21 46 29

neverrarelysometimesevery day

Do you ever feel that the school administration treats you badly or works against you?

%

5 21 50 24

3 24 53 20

very happyquite happyquite unhappy neither happy or unhappyvery unhappy

How happy are you with the school administration?

%3 8 17 43 29

1 15 30 54





%

%

%

4 21 46 29



%

5 21 50 24

3 24 53 20



%3 8 17 43 29

1 15 30 54





%

%

%

4 21 46 29



%

5 21 50 24

3 24 53 20



%3 8 17 43 29

1 15 30 54


Three quarters of teachers state that they are very or quite happy with their school administration. A similar proportion feel that they receive support from their school administration. However, this means that a quarter of the teach-ers have responded to these questions in a way which indicates some degree of dissatisfaction with the school administration. Similarly, a quarter of the teach-ers state that they do not have confidence in the way the school administration does its job or feel that they are unable to influence the issues which they con-sider to be important in terms of the school’s activity. One in six, 15 percent, report sometimes feeling that the school administration treats them badly or works against them. One percent report feeling this on a daily basis.

How happy teachers are at their school and the perception of the support they receive in their work correlates positively with the teachers’ assessment of the head teacher’s competence.36 The analysis also shows that happiness with the school administration and students are more important factors for a teach-er’s happiness at the school than happiness with the work team, subject group and other colleagues at the school.

With respect to the head teacher’s activities as a pedagogical leader and manager of the teachers, two thirds of teachers agree very much or quite a lot that the head teacher conveys a vision of the school’s development. Fifty-five percent agree very much or quite a lot that their head teacher monitors and evaluates the school’s results in relation to the overall goals of the curriculum. A somewhat lower proportion, 44 percent, state that the head teacher often consults teachers about the school’s obligations under the curriculum.

The head teacher’s activities seem primarily to consist of communication. According to the teachers, it is very uncommon for the head teacher to keep abreast of day-to-day activities by regularly observing lessons or evaluating the results in a subject. Over half of the teachers agree very little that the head teacher evaluates the results in their subject or regularly observes lessons.

Only 16 percent of the teachers agree quite a lot or very much that the head teacher regularly monitors and evaluates the results in their subject. Only 6 percent of all teachers agree very much or quite a lot that the head teacher observes and monitors their teaching.

The head teacher’s actions correlate with the teachers’ description of their working situation. Those teachers who to a greater degree describe their work-

36) Factor based on teachers’ responses to the questions: The head teacher “…conveys a vision of our school’s development”, “…has high expectations of teachers in terms of stimulating students’ learning”, “…supports teachers who try new teaching methods”, “…keeps the dialogue about the fundamental values alive”, “…often consults us teachers about the school’s duties under the curriculum”, “…monitors and evaluates the school’s results in relation to the overall goals of the curriculum”, “…monitors and evaluates the school’s results in relation to the goals of the subject syllabuses”. In this document, the term “head teacher’s competence” is used in this sense.


ing conditions37 as favourable report to a larger extent that their head teacher regularly observes their teaching and monitors and evaluates the results in their subject. These teachers are also more likely to state that their own development opportunities38 have increased. The more the teacher reports that the head teacher shows an interest in the teaching and the results of the school’s peda-gogical activity, the higher the teacher rates the head teacher’s competence.

However, the reverse is also true. The less often the teacher states that the head teacher evaluates the results and observes the teaching, the more often the teacher feels badly treated.

Since the teachers’ head teachers were also asked questions, it is possible to study the correlation between the head teachers’ views and the teach-ers’ description of the head teacher’s actions. The more meaningful the head teacher considers his/her job to be, the more often his/her teachers report that the head teacher observes the teaching and evaluates the results. The analysis also shows that the head teacher’s perception that he/she has the confidence of the teachers correlates positively with the teachers’ perception of the head teacher’s involvement. A third correlation exists between the head teacher’s own judgement of whether he/she has sufficient knowledge about the daily work of the school and the teachers’ description of the extent to which the head teacher monitors and evaluates school activities, and also the degree to which the head teacher observes the teaching. All three of these correlations, which represent a head teacher participating in school activities, are stronger than the correlation between the teachers’ perception of the head teacher’s involvement and the head teacher conveying his/her vision of the school’s development.

CommentsThe Education Act requires the head teacher to “keep informed about daily work in the school” and to “work towards development of the education”. The curriculum states that “as both pedagogical leader and head of teaching and non-teaching staff, the school head has overall responsibility for making sure that the activity of the school as a whole is focused on attaining the national goals”.39

37) Factor based on teachers’ responses to the questions: “I have the opportunity to be involved in and influence the issues I think are important at the school”, “I am able to influence the content of my own skills development”, “I have confidence in the school administration’s way of doing its job”, “I receive support from the school administration in my work”. In this document, the term “working conditions” is used in this sense.

38) The concept “Development opportunities” includes “Opportunities for skills development”, “Coordination between subjects”, “Freedom to try new ways of working” and “Contacts with organisations outside school”. The analysis here relates to those teachers who have worked at the same school for the past five years.

39) The Education Act, Chapter 2, 2§, Curriculum Lpo94 8:2


The teachers’ descriptions give a split picture of the head teacher as pedagogi-cal leader. However, it appears that teachers at the same school are more in agreement about their view of the head teacher than they are on other issues. The evidence suggests that head teachers act differently.

There is cause to make particular note of the fact that head teachers very rarely regularly observe or monitor teachers in their professional work. If a head teacher’s means of showing pedagogical leadership is supposed to be based on his or her own understanding of the teaching being carried out, the findings clearly show that this is mostly not the case.


Summarisingdiscussion

The teacher’s importanceThe evaluation has identified three conditions or factors in teachers which have an impact on students’ perception of the quality of the teaching they receive, their learning environment and to some extent also their performance. These factors relate to teachers’ education, teachers’ self-confidence and security in their profes-sional role, and the demographic composition of the teaching staff. All these fac-tors are therefore important to take into consideration with a view to promoting increased goal attainment. This section aims to raise and discuss the opportuni-ties, and the problems, which these teacher-related factors may present.

TeachertrainingimportantbutinsufficientTeacher training in combination with education in the subject taught corre-lates with students’ description of a good teacher. However, there is no correla-tion between the teachers who have undergone teacher training and education in the subject taught and those teachers which the lowest performing students describe as good teachers. It is also the case that students achieve better results with those teachers who have undergone teacher training and education in the subject taught in two of the three subjects which the study into student performance has been able to analyse: Swedish and English. However, similar findings are not evident in mathematics.

The fact that trained teachers with education in the subject taught appeal more to already motivated students, while the least motivated students have other preferences when evaluating teachers, is knowledge which can be applied in the work to increase knowledge development among low performing stu-dents. The evaluation has shown the importance in this work of taking into account the fact that the low performing students respond to the teachers who have a high level of confidence in their didactic and methodological compe-tence and enjoy teaching. The overall picture painted by the findings there-fore suggests the need for a discussion on developing subject didactics and a subject methodology which reaches all students. In other words, a competence in subject teaching which takes as its starting point the needs, circumstances, experiences and thinking of each student in order to create a learning environ-ment which develops the knowledge of all students in line with the goals to strive towards as set out in the subject syllabus.

The fact that teacher training together with education in the subject taught is an important but insufficient basis for a good learning environment and good results for students is knowledge which can be applied to improvement initiatives at all levels of responsibility. This applies to the principal organisers’ and the head teachers’ work to provide teachers with good pedagogical condi-tions for attaining the goals, while also providing a starting point when recruit-ing teaching staff.


ThedesiretoteachgivesstudentsthedesiretolearnThe syllabus places emphasis on the student’s desire to learn. The analyses show that students’ desire to learn has a correlation with the “teacher’s desire to teach”. Teachers’ own confidence in their methodological and didactic com-petence and the fact that they enjoy teaching are factors which, irrespective of the student’s gender, socio-economic background and level of performance, correlate positively with the students’ assessment of who is a good teacher and what characterises a good learning environment.

The study also shows that the teacher enjoying teaching very much correlates with good grades in Swedish and mathematics. The findings indicate a positive spiral, where a teacher’s confidence in his/her professional competence and posi-tive attitude to teaching engenders positive responses from the students. The positive spiral is likely to further boost the teacher’s job satisfaction and confi-dence in his/her own competence, generating an even better student response.

How can the importance of these two “inner success factors” in teachers be interpreted in an everyday school context? The major importance of a teacher being confident about his/her own professional expertise and enjoying teaching is not in fact surprising. However, what the evaluation shows is that the students may single these teachers out as better professionally and more motivating. For the teacher, as for the student, the perception of meaning in the work, made manifest in commitment and self-confidence, appears to be an important factor for success in the teaching profession. In the work to stimulate the least moti-vated students, it is particularly important to note that it is these two factors in teachers which generate positive responses from even the low performing students.

The importance which these two “inner success factors” have for students, irrespective of their gender, socio-economic background or level of perform-ance, gives cause to particularly take note of the variation in attitude shown by teaching staff to their profession. This variation has repercussions for the teachers’ working situation, the students’ learning environment and the stu-dents’ opportunities for knowledge development.

The knowledge that “the teacher’s desire to teach”, i.e. the teachers’ view of their own professional competence and teaching, is a success factor has implications for the basic teacher training programme and the ongoing skills development initiatives in schools. It is also an issue for head teachers to bear in mind when determining the direction of pedagogical support for teachers in the school, and when recruiting teaching staff. TheimportanceofamixedbodyofteachersThe teachers’ age and gender have an impact on girls’ and boys’ perception of who is a good teacher. Many girls prefer younger teachers and many boys prefer male teachers – at least when they are assessing the teacher’s ability to provide them with good teaching. The findings may give rise to speculations


about boys’ need for male role models or stereotypes such as well-adjusted and quiet but dissatisfied girls, but our study does not have the data to draw any such conclusions in this matter. One might naturally think that, in an equal society, the teacher’s age or gender should not be of any great importance to the students’ attitude towards the teacher. At the same time, these correlations may be an expression of social structures, family circumstances, entrenched gender roles or demographic conditions which the school is only able to influ-ence in part or perhaps over the long-term.40

However, an initial conclusion from the study’s findings on this point may be that, since the students clearly express a correlation depending on the teacher’s gender and age, it must be assumed that these correlations exist. And if they do exist, it is important to consider the implications for teachers’ work-ing conditions and for students’ opportunities to learn and develop. This is an important issue to address not least with regard to boys’ motivation and girls’ experiences of stress.

There is therefore good reason to highlight and examine the situation from the perspective of goal attainment, not least when recruiting teaching staff and organising the school’s activities. In the long term, it is important – as in most workplaces and most companies – to work towards a more mixed body of teaching staff in terms of age and gender. This would create conditions for teachers and students to take account of differences and conduct a dia-logue with students and among the teaching staff on conditions for work, for example from the perspective of age and gender. One element of this involves focusing on achieving a balanced mix of teachers, by encouraging more men and more people of lower middle age to take up the teaching profession.

The teachers’ working situation and conditions for carrying out their duties It is hardly possible to develop teachers’ “desire to teach” without at the same time focusing on teachers’ opportunities, i.e. their working situation and con-ditions.

This section addresses four areas, highlighted in the teachers’ picture of their working situation, which affect the teachers’ conditions for carrying out their pro-fessional duties. These areas can be summed up with the keywords “professional role”, “subject culture”, “steering documents” and “head teacher’s leadership”.

40) For further discussion, see Björnsson, Mats “Gender and school success: interpretations and perspectives”, The National Agency for School Improvement 2005


Achangingprofession–butaretheteachersuptoit?The teachers’ descriptions express social and value-related attitudes which can be assumed to have been strengthened through the increased collaboration within teams. This is positive and suggests good conditions for the work to further strengthen the fundamental values within the school. At the same time, the find-ings show a need to re-examine all parts of the curriculum’s knowledge-related goals. The curriculum’s approach to knowledge places considerable demands on the teachers’ didactic knowledge and ability to lead students’ learning. Without the teacher’s informed pedagogical leadership, there is a major risk that other factors such as contentment and the student’s own work will become detached from the pedagogical purpose and become the dominant features of the work. At the same time, the findings show a need to re-examine all parts of the curricu-lum’s knowledge-related goals. The curriculum’s approach to knowledge places considerable demands on the teachers’ didactic knowledge and ability to lead students’ learning.

One area which the evaluation particularly suggests should be given closer examination in the teachers’ professional situation is teachers’ description of a marked increase in students in need of special support. The situation becomes even more acute when set in the context that a third of teachers describe hav-ing insufficient competence to identify and support students in need of special support. One in three teachers also state that they have insufficient compe-tence to deal with students from different social and cultural backgrounds. The teachers thus paint a picture of a more demanding working situation when it comes to dealing with students, combined with the feeling of many teachers that they do not have the necessary competence.

In this context, it is also worth highlighting the problem of the shifting picture given of the work team’s pedagogical function. The teachers agree that student welfare initiatives take part within the framework of the work team, and that the team provides colleague support. This unanimity among teach-ers contrasts with the more split picture given by teachers of how pedagogical planning and more in-depth discussions about their understanding of teaching take place within the framework of the work team. In addition, the reduced collaboration with colleagues in the subject group, which many teachers report, can be seen as an indication of undesirable and unforeseen effects of organising teachers within teams.41 Having only one subject representative in each work team is a particularly worrying situation, as this would clearly pose a risk of different subject interpretations arising within different teams at the school, and between different schools. The situation could become particularly critical for both teacher and students if the teacher does not have teacher train-ing and education in the subject being taught. The finding that many teach-ers express a desire to discuss and plan teaching together more, along with a

41) NU03, report 250 p 88


willingness to “pull in the same direction”, shows potential within the teaching profession when it comes to pedagogical development.

It is therefore important to create realistic conditions for teachers to carry out their professional duties. In the first instance, it is the responsibility of the prin-cipal organiser to provide at school level the opportunities which the steering documents’ requirements demand. It is up to the head teacher to manage and distribute work so that the teachers have conditions which match the require-ments stated in the curriculum goals and guidelines to the teacher. The teach-ers also have a responsibility to clarify their contribution and the needs which exist in order to be able to give each student the right conditions for learning and developing. Such a contribution, seen in relation to teachers’ need for good working conditions and the school’s need for increased goal attainment, may for example involve a review of teaching content and the distribution of teach-ers’ working hours. The teachers’ descriptions indicate that the various elements of their teaching work compete with each other for the time available. In order to avoid weakening pedagogical elements of the teacher’s work and instead strengthen them so that they correspond to the picture which teachers give of the need for this, consideration must be given to the frameworks for and the use of teachers’ time.42 In this respect, we can also include the problem of scope for skills development, particularly in the areas relating to a need for knowledge of subject didactics. However, skills development initiatives must also take into account the fact that teachers are now faced with more and more students from different cultural backgrounds, more students in need of special support inter-ventions and more well-educated and therefore critically aware parents with legitimate demands for good quality education for their children.

The overall picture of teachers’ working situation, seen from the perspec-tive of goal attainment, emphasises the responsibility of the principal organiser and the head teacher to ensure that the time for and focus of teachers’ work is based on the curriculum’s goals and guidelines. Bearing in mind a student’s right to an equivalent education, the evaluation gives the principal organiser and head teacher strong grounds to actively examine the individual teacher’s need and opportunities for skills development in line with the curriculum’s goals and guidelines to the teacher.

Subjectcultures–differentschoolswithintheschoolThe study can be said to paint a picture of school activity as the splitting up of tasks between teams and subject cultures. In this picture, the teams take care of social matters for teachers and students, while the subject cultures take care of the focus and content of the subject teaching.

42) Cf. Ulf P Lundgren, Framework factor theory and practical educational planning, Pedagogical Research in Sweden 1999, p 31ff


The question is also why the subject cultures are so different in themselves. Is it the case that different subjects require different attitudes to learning, for reasons of subject didactics? Or is it the case that teachers perceive differences in the subject syllabuses, which steer their interpretation and teaching in dif-ferent directions? From the student’s perspective, the question may be asked about what impact the differences, which mean a shift of teaching culture for each subject, have on participation and learning.

Other questions which arise include what the impact from a subject culture means in relation to teachers’ own methodological and didactic reflections and in relation to the curriculum’s general guideline that the teacher should plan teaching based on the students’ needs, circumstances, experiences and think-ing. The study raises the issue of whether the subject culture is stronger than the teacher’s pedagogical grounding and the curriculum’s general guidelines to the teacher. Consideration of this issue is justified not least since the study indicates that students perceive the learning environment to be different in dif-ferent subjects for the same teacher.

The teachers’ and students’ descriptions give cause particularly to consider the subject cultures in mathematics and natural science subjects. The findings raise the issue of whether there is a correlation between subject culture, the descriptions which teachers give of their work and their priorities, and the dif-ficulties and lack of motivation which many students perceive in mathematics and natural science subjects.43 Against the backdrop of the attention and the initiatives which have been carried out over the past decade to increase goal attainment in mathematics and the natural science subjects, the findings raise questions regarding the focus and effects of those initiatives. The Delegation on Mathematics believes major changes to the subject content and objectives for mathematics made in the 1990s have not been followed by corresponding national and local initiatives for developing the teaching.44 Scientific research on subject didactics stresses the importance of teaching relating to the stu-dents, their world and values, and giving knowledge which develops their sense of their place in the world.45 If this is necessary to encourage students’ interest and motivation, the findings show that many students experience teaching in the natural science subjects which does not meet this criterion.

43) Re students’ attitudes to mathematics, see National Agency for Education report 221:02, The desire to learn – with a focus on mathematics 2002, p 20; re students’ attitudes to the natural science subjects, see also the National Agency for Education’s National evaluation, no. 252 2004, p 39ff

44) Improving mathematics – interest, learning, competence. Report of the Delegation on Mathematics Stockholm 2004, SOU 2004:97, p 12

45) See also Björn Andersson. Students’ thinking and natural science in schools. The National Agency for Education 2001, p 14 ff; Svein Sjöberg, Natural science as general education – critical subject didactics. Studentlitteratur 1999, p 348ff; Compulsory school subjects in the light of the National evaluation 2003 – Current status and looking ahead, The National Agency for Education 2005, p 224ff


The findings give cause to consider the extent to which the national syllabuses and teaching materials in the various subjects are an expression of and possibly consolidate subject cultures, a position not supported by the curriculum’s ge-neral goals for teaching or research into subject didactics.

TheimportanceofthesteeringdocumentsThe vast majority of teachers state that the goals in the curriculum and syl-labuses, plus the syllabus’ grading criteria, are very or quite important to their teaching. A tenth of teachers state that the steering documents have little impact on their teaching. The question is what the breadth in the teachers’ descrip-tions of the importance of the steering documents might say about the steering documents’ role in a situation with other controlling factors such as textbooks, subject traditions and/or the teacher’s own planning. Is it the case that those teachers who state that the national steering documents are of less importance instead see them being consolidated in textbooks and local subject planning? Or have different teachers had different opportunities to familiarise themselves with their content and meaning, a situation which is then reflected in their different attitudes to the importance of the steering documents? However, it cannot be ruled out that the differences in assessment of the importance of the curriculum and syllabuses, as shown in this study, may be an indication that various cir-cumstances are counteracting the intended function of the steering documents to guide school activities. For this reason, there is cause to review the teachers’ attitudes to the steering documents from the perspective of goal attainment and equivalence. The steering documents constitute regulations, and all students and parents must therefore be able to assume that the function, content and meaning of the curriculum and syllabuses is well-known to the students’ teachers.

TheneedforaheadteacherThe picture which the teachers give of their situation and conditions for car-rying out their duties expresses the need for a uniting and guiding force, a pedagogical leader. In other words they want exactly what the curriculum states about head teachers, i.e. that “as both pedagogical leader and head of teaching and non-teaching staff, the school head has overall responsibility for making sure that the activity of the school as a whole is focused on attaining the national goals”. Most teachers appreciate their head teacher, but more as someone who creates good conditions for the teachers’ work than as someone who actively assesses and gives feedback on their teaching. According to the teachers surveyed, only a few head teachers are actively involved in the teach-ing side of the school’s activities, by regularly visiting and observing lessons and/or monitoring and evaluating the results in the subjects.

The head teacher’s “absence from the teaching arena” may indicate a divi-sion of labour between head teachers and teachers, where head teachers are


responsible for organisation and finances, and the teachers are responsible for teaching. Such a situation differs from that emphasised in research into the function of the head teacher. Such research emphasises the need for the head teacher to have in-depth insights into the consituent parts of a teacher’s work in order to be able to lead teaching staff.46 The findings therefore show the importance, from the perspective of goal attainment, of the principal organiser ensuring that head teachers have the conditions and support necessary to carry out their jobs under the Education Act and curriculum.47

46) Ekholm, Mats et al. Research into head teachers – a research overview. The National Agency for Education 2001

47) See also the National Agency for Education’s status report 2005, p 55


FinalreflectionsThis evaluation has added to the body of knowledge on how teachers’ actions and competence impact on students’ learning environment and performance. It has also increased our knowledge of teachers’ conditions for carrying out their work in line with the established goals. The purpose of the evaluation is therefore to act as a concrete tool in improvement work at every level of re-sponsibility, from state and principal organiser to the professional local level, and also to form a shared basis for collaboration between the different levels of responsibility.

The evaluation also shows the importance of and opportunities inherent in ensuring that continued evaluations of school activities are designed so that students’ and teachers’ responses can be related to each other at the individual level. Only then can teachers’ competence, for example, be related to students’ attitudes and performance in a clear and useful manner. Furthermore, this study and its limitations show the importance of ensuring that continued evaluations of teacher competence and other influential factors in the school situation are set up such that they provide a nationally representative picture of all compulsory school subjects.


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Documents

REPORT 282 Competence and opportunity...The teacher’s perception of whether they enjoy teaching their subject 16 Male versus female teachers 17 Younger versus older teachers 18 Teacher-related