In today's rapidly changing world, the acquisition of essential skills is crucial for the success of young individuals. Among these skills, computational thinking (CT) plays a vital role in problem-solving and adapting to the complex and evolving demands of the 21st century. However, there is a need to explore the integration of other thinking skills alongside CT, as well as their application in educational settings.

This study aims to address the gap in knowledge regarding the application of systems thinking to the development of CT and its integration into education. The primary objective is to explore the relationship between systems thinking and CT, providing a contextual framework for existing studies that focus on systems thinking in relation to CT. Additionally, the study explores how systems thinking can be applied to CT within educational contexts. By incorporating a systems thinking approach, a broader examination of the various factors involved in CT, including the technological landscape, individual skills and knowledge, and the social and cultural context, can be achieved.

The thesis comprises three papers that describe research efforts conducted over three years. These projects focused on CT development using educational robotics and maker technologies, aiming to build and enhance CT skills among individuals of different ages and perspectives. The findings of the research efforts are synthesized and consolidated using the systemic FMA model, a comprehensive model that interconnects the frameworks of ideas, methodology, and the area of interest. This model conceptualizes CT practices as a system encompassing emergent properties, multiple perspectives, design interventions, and social and ethical considerations. The adopted FMA model enables methodological pluralism and facilitates critical examination of the boundaries of CT development, leading to conceptual and practical changes.

The research contributes to the field of CT by providing insights into its theoretical foundations and practical applications, informing and guiding educational practices that are associated with CT. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) statements have been used as part of diversity management in human resources for some time and research suggests they are generally perceived positively and can increase organizational attraction in underrepresented groups, thus promoting diversity and inclusion. The main aim of this doctoral dissertation is to examine the effects of a particular diversity management practice called equality monitoring (EM) and investigate public perceptions of EM and effects on behaviour such as applications, intentions to pursue a job and organizational attraction. EM is the practice of collecting data on protected characteristics (such as age, ethnicity etc.), and using it to promote inclusion or for anti-discrimination purposes.

Study I examined perceptions of EM-use in an employment context. A cross-sectional survey looked at group differences of UK ethnic group and gender, and examined if perceptions and attitudes towards EDI were moderated by perceived previous experiences of employment discrimination. Results revealed that ethnic minority respondents and women were more positive about EM and had more positive attitudes towards EDI. History of discrimination was a moderator only for White males, where perceptions of previous discrimination in employment led to less positive ratings of EM and attitudes towards EDI. In a comparison between the UK responses and those from a small Swedish sample, UK respondents gave higher ratings, but both groups had positive attitudes towards EM.

Study II reports two experiments sampling majority and minority UK ethnic groups and presented job advertisements manipulated for the presence of an industry-standard (I-S) EDI statement with or without EM statements and a control condition with no EDI information. The effects were measured on organizational attraction on three subscales: general attractiveness, prestige, and job-pursuit intention. The I-S plus EM condition resulted in the highest prestige ratings across the sample, and stronger job-pursuit intentions in the ethnic minority group. In the second experiment, the effects of framing conditions on EM information were tested. The inclusion of any EDI information positively influenced ratings, but ratings dipped for ethnic minority respondents when an EM statement was provided without explanation for why data collection is being performed.

Study III was a largescale field experiment and survey on job applicants of a Swedish county council in which job advertisements were presented with no EDI statement, an I-S statement or an EM statement and were rolled out over separate 5-month periods. A second group of occupations received no changes to the usual job advertisements and served as a control group. The effects were measured on share of job applications from foreign-born and female job applicants and on average applicant age, but no effects of the interventions were found. In a subset of job applicants, survey responses showed no effects of statements on rated organizational attraction or commitment to EDI. However, perceptions of EM were positive across the sample and tended to be highest in groups protected in discrimination law.

While the present data cannot say whether statements have an effect on the number of applicant applications, they may boost aspects of attraction especially in some disadvantaged groups. Importantly, results demonstrate that EM does not detract from attraction and is generally perceived positively when it is explained to potential job seekers, even by Swedish respondents unfamiliar with EM. This is consistent with the introduction of EM more extensively to comply with obligations under EU and UN anti-discrimination directives. More research is recommended to understand the effects of EDI initiatives in diversity management across different groups and contexts in real world settings.

Wood-based panels are indispensable in many areas, such as the construction industry and furniture production. The intensified demand for renewable materials, rising wood prices and increasing protection zones of forest areas make the wood panel industry consider alternative raw materials. The agricultural sector provides, at the same time, large amounts of sustainable and renewable lignocellulosic materials. By-products can arise along the entire agricultural production chain, i.e., during harvesting or further processing into food, but their potential has not yet been fully exploited. This thesis explored the potential of agro-industry feedstocks and side streams as raw materials for wood panel manufacturing. A literature review on the research of agricultural residues as a raw material in wood panels provided an overview of the investigated wood alternatives and their performance in final products. Most of the studies focused on the production of particleboard and its mechanical and physical properties. Often only up to 30% of wood could be replaced by alternative raw materials before the properties decreased remarkably.This thesis focused on an intensive material characterisation of barley husks (BH), oat husks (OH) and wheat bran (WB). Husks are the protective surrounding of their cereal grain and have an anatomical leaf structure. Wheat bran is a side stream of flour production and consists of the grain's outer layers. It was found that BH and OH have at 70% and 66% a slightly lower holocellulose content than wooden materials (poplar, spruce), while their hemicelluloses content exceeding that of cellulose. Additionally, WB had a very high lignin content of 43%. The chemical composition, especially the ash content (5% BH, 6% OH) and the high silicon occurrence on the husks’surfaces, reduced their wettability, as demonstrated by low contact angle measurements. Micromechanical tests showed that OH could resist a higher ultimate stress load than BH and WB, but the modulus of elasticity (MOE) was lower. The MOE was noticeably affected by the microfibril angle, which was three to four-times larger in the husks compared to wooden materials. Furthermore, the results of OH showed larger particle lengths and widths on average, approximately half as much extractive content and slightly higher thermal stability compared to BH. Therefore, OH was suggested as promising raw material and evaluated for particleboard manufacturing. In an experimental investigation, OH was explored as raw material in aspecial particleboard type, i.e., tubular particleboards. Although the boards showed higher insulation properties than wood particle-based ones, the mechanical properties were considerably affected by the reduced wettability, and the manufacturing method led to poor density distribution. In addition, the agricultural feedstock wheat starch, in combination with microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and emulsifiable diphenylmethane diisocyanate (eMDI), was investigated as an adhesive system for fibreboard production. Wheat starch was modified to dialdehyde starch (DAS) and served as the backbone in an adhesive formulation of 99.5% bio-based content using 1% MFC and 4% eMDI based on DAS, which showed excellent mechanical and water resistance performance in fibreboards. Especially, internal bond and MOE values even exceeded those obtained in boards manufactured with commercial formaldehyde-based adhesive. The application process should be optimized in the future since the DAS was applied in powder form, and long press times were necessary because the adhesive system required a high-water content. The DAS-based adhesive was used to bond OH in particleboards, where as challenges in practical implementation were encountered. The severely shortened starch molecule reacted with the proteins of the OH, and from temperatures of 160°C, it led to accelerating degradation and reduced bonding capacity of the adhesive. Finally, this thesis provided a deeper knowledge of husked-based raw materials' properties in the context of panel manufacturing and showed that they are a possible but challenging alternative to wood. Further experimental investigations are necessary to improve the interfacial adhesion of OH and there spective adhesive system in order to produce panels with mechanical and physical properties that meet current requirements. The investigation of a DAS based adhesive opened a promising path for bio-based adhesives and the independence of formaldehyde systems. But subsequent studies must convert the used application method into a sprayable process for industrial integration

According to The Simple View of Reading, both decoding and linguistic comprehension processes are needed for reading comprehension for L1 as well as L2 students. Previous research has shown that early support is important for students who struggle with reading. The thesis aims to investigate the role of decoding and comprehension for students learning to read in Swedish as L2 and how teaching and early special support can promote reading development. The first study in the thesis has a cross-sectional design and examines scores on decoding, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. The results showed that L2 students in grades 1-3 in Sweden had significantly weaker scores on all three tests than L1 students and that both decoding and vocabulary are related to reading comprehension. The results also showed that a significantly higher proprtion of L2 students were in need of extra support in reading. The second study is a systematic scoping review that identifies findings from reading intervention studies of L2 students. The results showed that additional small group or within-class programs can support L2 students when teaching is matched to their individual needs. The study also supported the view that instruction in skills in one language can transfer to skills in another. The third study has a between-groups design and investigates the impact of a Response to Intervention (RTI) model with a focus on decoding. The results showed that the RTI model had the potential to promote both L1 and L2 student's reading ability but to a lesser extent among L2 students. The forth study has a single subject design and examines the impact of a systematic word decoding intervention in Swedish for students learning Swedish as L2. All students improved their word decoding ability. In conclusion, it can be seen that differentiated balanced reading instruction and early support in an inclusive setting can promote reading ability in students learning Swedish as a second language. A second language perspective in early reading education is discussed.

This dissertation explores the design and application of a digital tool as a supporting aid for teachers of English in Swedish upper-secondary classrooms. The scope of this dissertation is the design, development and evaluation of a focus-on-form diagnostics tool in the Swedish upper-secondary English subject context. The use of corrective feedback on student texts has been discussed extensively in previous research, but the implementation of an automated diagnostics tool as a support for the practice less so.

The teachers' needs are explored through a survey with the goal of gaining insight into problems learners commonly have when attaining grammar, vocabulary and spelling as experienced by in-service teachers. Focus is on how a digital diagnostic tool could fit within the teachers’ current routines. By combining the survey results with a review of previous research, a design specification for the tool is produced. The tool is then evaluated in teaching practice as a way of exploring the possible benefits and issues of implementing automated language diagnostics as a support for teachers. The evaluation data was produced through interventions and debriefing interviews with the participating teachers.

The results of the survey on teachers' needs indicated that any automated attempt at supporting language diagnostics within the school context would have to be able to identify a series of error patterns, such as sentence structure, punctuation, verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, article usage and spelling. In addition, the tool would have to fit within an already established practice aimed at providing learners with the necessary supports for them to succeed, while also avoiding pitfalls such as creating avoidance issues or overwhelming the students. The results of the intervention study used to evaluate the tool indicated that the respondents found it likely that the implementation of the tool would result in a higher workload initially, but would be beneficial long-term. In terms of fit with current routines and ability to identify relevant language patterns, the tool was experienced as conceptually sound. However, some issues, such as the limited target variant, technical issues surrounding on-site implementation, and the overwhelming form of the output data, remain.

The use of automated text analysis for the focus-on-form reading performed by the teachers was found to provide functional support for them. Based on the results, automated diagnostics tools are indicated as being a fitting venue for future research and development. 

Over the last decades, formal schooling has changed towards an enhanced focus on theindividual pupil’s achievements. This comprises formative assessment such as visualizingpupils’ learning processes, as well as summative assessment in terms of increased numberand importance of National tests. However, little is known, from a pupils’ perspective,about how pupils together with classmates relate to the extensive focus on assessment ofthe individual’s achievements in formal education; what do today’s pupils, who havegrown up with digital technology and social media, say and do out of the teachers’supervision when dealing with individual assignments? In line with ethnographiceducational research, this thesis explores and analyses how educational structures areimposed upon subordinate groups. This thesis gives an account of, from a pupils’perspective, the pupils’ backstage pedagogy regarding formal schoolwork inside andoutside school.The applied analytical tool is Goffman’s (1990) theater metaphor of social life; in thisstudy, pupils’ interactions with peers out of the teachers’ supervision when doingschoolwork are regarded as carried out backstage, preparing an intended impression oftheir abilities and know-how to present to the assessing teacher. Based on observations, aninnovative and discreet staging of audio-visual recordings, and semi-structured interviewswith the pupils in one class at a Swedish municipal lower secondary school whereapproximately 50 % of the pupils had a foreign background, the results show that pupilsapplied a backstage pedagogy. Outside the teachers’ supervision and awareness, theyinformally interacted with classmates and used social strategies when dealing with formalindividual assignments. The pupils’ regard for grades was the linchpin of their activities;some pupils a) swapped computers with peers and wrote original texts for classmates, b)copied peers’ assignments, c) logged into classmates’ Google classroom accounts andwrote original texts for peers, and d) shared leaked National tests on the class’s Snapchatgroup. These actions led to dilemmas in the teachers’ assessing and grading of individualpupils as well as in implementing fair, impartial grading. In looking forward, the thesisdiscusses the phenomenon and impact of backstage spaces comprising parents, siblings,Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT to improve grades. 

Yrkesverksamma anhöriga (YVA) kombinerar förvärvsarbete med att geanhörigomsorg. Idag vet man ganska lite om denna viktiga grupp avomsorgsgivare som förväntas öka i antal på grund av en åldrande befolkningoch den ekonomiska utvecklingen. YVA gör stora insatser för samhället menkombinationen av förvärvsarbete och att ge anhörigomsorg får konsekvensersåväl för deras sociala och ekonomiska förhållanden som för deras hälsa. Dennaavhandling undersöker hur anhörigskapet påverkar YVA.

Studie I var en scoping review över forskning om utmaningar och lösningar vidkombinationen av att yrkesarbeta och ge anhörigomsorg och vilket stödinformations- och kommunikationstekniska lösningar kan innebära för YVA.Resultaten inkluderade ett begreppsmässigt ramverk som identifierade högaoch/eller konkurrerande krav som en avgörande utmaning som kan lösas medformellt stöd. Webbaserad teknik och kommunikationsteknik ansågs vara enpotentiell fördelaktig lösning för att stödja YVA. Likväl fanns det hinder som ivissa fall förhindrade att det användes optimalt.

Studie II och III baserades på data från en undersökning som genomfördes 2018på ett stratifierat slumpmässigt urval av Sveriges befolkning. Studie II beskrevinformella omsorgsåtaganden och erhållet stöd bland kvinnliga och manligaYVA. Kvinnor utförde oftare anhörigomsorg ensamma, med högre intensitetoch upplevde omsorgen mer krävande samtidigt som deras arbetsförmågaminskade i större utsträckning vid jämförelse med männen. Studie III fastställde de omsorgsrelaterade faktorer som associerades medYVAs minskade arbetsförmåga och att det är krävande att ge anhörigomsorg.Ett viktigt resultat var att psykisk stress och ekonomiska problem på grund avatt ge anhörigomsorg ökade risken att både uppleva omsorgen som krävandeoch gav upphov till minskad arbetsförmåga, medan upplevd tillfredställelse avatt ge anhörigomsorg minskade risken för detta.

Studie IV var en intervjustudie om YVAs erfarenheter under COVID-19pandemin. YVAs positiva erfarenheter inkluderade stöd på distans via digitalteknik och mer tid med omsorgstagaren. Negativa erfarenheter inkluderaderädslan för att bli sjuk, nya utmaningar på arbetsplatsen och inställtkommunbaserat stöd till omsorgstagaren.

Denna avhandling bidrar med ny kunskap om YVAs situation i Sverige.Resultaten har betydelse för hur policyer mer effektivt och lämpligt kan hanterastödbehovet hos YVA som kombinerar yrkesarbete med anhörigomsorg.

Entrepreneurship has gained increasing attention as a strategic area for rural development. Addressing environmental, demographic, and gender inequality challenges in rural areas requires contextualizing entrepreneurship. Moreover, applying contextualization as a critical lens provides a deeper understanding of how and why entrepreneurship happens in rural areas. This thesis examines the interplay between entrepreneurship and gender within the rural context and is situated in the growing body of literature expanding the knowledge on entrepreneurship in rural contexts. Thus, the thesis responds to the calls to contextualize rural entrepreneurship (McElwee & Atherton, 2021) and gender in entrepreneurship (Welter, 2011; Baker & Welter, 2020; Welter 2020). The thesis is based on a qualitative study on the life stories of women and men entrepreneurs engaged in their family businesses in the rural province of Småland in southern Sweden. The thesis further contributes with a systematic literature review describing the “state of the art” in rural entrepreneurship as well as the intertwinement between the rural, gender, and entrepreneurship fields. Methodologically, the thesis contributes to the operationalization of a rural proofing concept. To theorize on the intersection of these three, often separately studied, fields (Webster 2017), the thesis illustrates the dyadic influence of the rural context on entrepreneurship and gender relations. The thesis also provides theoretical contributions concerning the interdependence of the rural context, agency, and entrepreneurship, including the implications of this interdependence for policymakers, and practitioners. Contextualizing rural entrepreneurship and gender in entrepreneurship is crucial in the development of policies able to address the needs and capabilities of rural entrepreneurs to explore the impact of different policies on rural enterprise development (Smith & McElwee, 2014). Rural proofing policies that take into account the particularities of the rural milieu, such as gender, ethnicity, and traditions within the rural community, can increase the resilience of rural enterprises in the face of challenges arising from local and global contexts.

Labour market policies, also known as activation, are common responses to poverty, unemployment and social exclusion. Activation is characterised by increased individual responsibility, requiring welfare recipients to strive for financial self-sufficiency, be it through job-seeking, training or coaching. In Sweden, activation policies are also implemented in municipal welfare services such as social assistance and activation services. However, knowledge concerning the practical implications of activation for welfare recipients is lacking. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the meaning of recognition in social work with activation. The study explores themes such as poverty, dignity and inclusion in society. Theoretically, the thesis draws on Axel Honneth’s critical theory of recognition, which concerns social justice and a human need of being recognised as a full member of society.

The study examines social assistance and activation services in five municipalities in southern Sweden, which participated in a project funded by the European Social Fund, as a case of activation. The project consisted of a skills training programme aimed at enhancing recognition. Social workers underwent training in recognition theory and its implementation in practice over two years. The thesis studies the outcome of the training programme, partly through a survey with social workers and partly through a pre-post-test survey with welfare recipients in the case study municipalities and in five comparison municipalities. However, the study also draws upon welfare recipients’ experiences in activation through focus group and individual interviews, and open-ended survey responses from the pre-post-test.

The research findings suggest that the skills training programme did not significantly increase recognition. Also, on the one hand, welfare recipients experience the activation practices as recognising, through supportive individual interactions, increased financial resources and social esteem for work-related contributions. On the other hand, they still experience poverty, low status and limited employment prospects. The main conclusion of the thesis is therefore that welfare recipients are subject to a marginal recognition in activation. On the basis of this conclusion, a discussion is raised about the potential of social work with activation to fully recognise welfare recipients.

This dissertation is about developing our knowledge of teaching and student learning through examining teaching that has been designed and implemented with in a learning study. Applying an interdisciplinary approach, this research builds knowledge of how teaching can be designed and implemented for young students with different prior knowledge of mathematics. The focus is on inclusive education and, in particular, on inclusive learning environments. Teaching and learning about whole numbers for students in grades 2 and 3 were studied.The empirical material, mainly comprising videotaped lessons and the results of identical knowledge tests that the students completed before and after the lessons, was collected in a learning study and used in two steps. First, the teaching characteristics were analysed at a collective level, mainly based on test results used to measure learning outcomes, i.e.,students’ ability to expand their number range from natural to whole numbers. The extent to which the teaching characteristics were transferable to new teaching contexts was also investigated. Second, an interdisciplinary approach was followed, applying knowledge and theories from special needs education and mathematics education. Examining teaching characteristics in relation to outcomes, the research perspective expanded from the collective to the individual level, emphasizing participation and learning among students with different prior knowledge according to test results. Notably, at a collective level, teaching was characterized by being based on the identification of critical aspects. Analyses of teaching outcomes at the individual level revealed a mixed picture of student learning and participation in the learning study lessons. Concerning one studied lesson, an analysis of student test results revealed considerable diversity in student achievement, indicating that some students learned what was intended while others did not. However, test results from another lesson indicated that all students progressed in learning about whole numbers. During this lesson, the teacher-guided mathematical discourse incorporating several routines seemed to be central to facilitating student participation as well as change in the discourse on whole numbers.The main conclusion is that the interdisciplinary research approach helped foster deeper insight into teaching design and its outcomes regarding individual students’ learning and participation. In addition, the findings emphasize the importance of teachers taking responsibility for inviting the students into the mathematical discourse in relation to the access aspect of participation, and then, through challenging questions, facilitating progress to the collaborative aspect of participation.