Degree projects in Swedish primary teacher education – a content analysis of didactics and topics

Sammendrag

Writing a degree project has been a major part of Swedish primary teacher education since the 2000s. Previous research about degree projects has mostly highlighted the writing processes, such as student teachers’ and supervisors’ experiences, or the academic rigour of projects, but there has been less research about the content. There is a lack of knowledge regarding which topics and aspects of the teaching profession student teachers choose to investigate in degree projects.  Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide knowledge about the content of degree projects in primary teacher education at two universities, with a focus on didactical aspects and topics of the projects. The empirical material consists of 264 degree projects produced during the 2010s in primary teacher education at two universities in Sweden. Regarding didactics, most of the degree projects were about problems related to the teaching of a specific school subject in the classroom. That implies a subject-didactical framing of degree projects in teacher education with a focus on subject matter and teaching methods. Regarding topics, more than half of the degree projects were about learning, instruction and organisation of teaching. This finding is consistent with previous research which suggests that primary teacher education to some extent maintains a vocational tradition.