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Purpose: The backdrop of the article is the emergence of an international and politically motivated ambition that aims at standardising the purpose and outcomes of teaching practices via various forms of outcome controls. This ambition of standardisation is discussed in a Swedish context in relation to social studies teaching, which, at its core, has highly diverse and sometimes conflicting aims and purposes. The purpose of the article is to analyse tensions that arise in practice as ten experienced Swedish social studies teachers implement outcome-focused reforms in their teaching, and to critically discuss implications for social studies teaching. Method: Interviews, observations and a conceptual framework built on Paul Ricoeur's discussion on the concept of practical reason has been used to analyse tensions that arose when the teachers implemented standardised tests and grading. Findings: Teaching practices shifted from social studies extrinsic dimensions (emphasising an open and individual understanding from social issues) toward social studies intrinsic dimensions (emphasising knowledge about a predetermined content) as a result of policy changes, teachers meaning-making of the reforms, and in relation to external constraints. In conclusion, it is argued that this shift risks circumscribing tools that can be used to deal with inherently complex subject dimensions.

In this article, we use data from ethnography-inspired studies of eight Swedish schools. We describe and analyse how a number of neoliberal-inspired economic and political processes have (re)organised social and relational practices in local school settings. There is an increased focus on individuality in the everyday working lives of teachers, where result-centred practices, relations and professional identities have replaced notions of equality and compensatory interventions. In our study, the teachers describe an increasing focus on performativity, competition and hierarchisation. We use fairness as a lens for illuminating these changes in social relations, changes in the organisation of teachers' practices, and teachers' struggles with these changes. The purpose of this study is to analyse how the current reforms are enacted and how they affect the working lives of teachers, and thereby to contribute to the current discussion on how the last decades of political and administrative changes have affected educational practice.

Despite uncertainties regarding the effects of outcome-focused reforms on teaching practices, the political confidence in the potential of such reforms to create educational change remains high. This article problematizes the assumption that two such Swedish reforms (grades and national tests in younger years) can function as an impetus for educational equity. Analysis is directed toward how the reforms were enacted in six socioeconomically diverse teaching practices, framed by a conceptual framework built on Ricoeur's discussion on a critical hermeneutics and practical reasoning. The results show great differences; with the reforms benefiting established teaching practices in the socioeconomically privileged schools to a greater extent. In conclusion, it is argued that this poses a problem in relation to aims for educational equity.

Although there are reasons to believe that policies emphasising testing, accountability, assessments, evaluation and inspections have unintended and undesirable consequences for teaching practice, such reforms continue to be widely used in many countries in order to meet challenges in their educational systems. However, it is difficult to critically discuss how these types of policies relate to teaching practice without either losing societal, critical perspectives, or circumscribing teachers' agency in analysis. This article addresses that challenge by setting out a conceptual framework, aimed at contributing to an understanding of how these types of policies relate to teaching practice. Inspired by French philosopher Paul Ricoeur, a critical hermeneutical approach is suggested. It is argued that his discussion of the concept of practical reason can be used to depict teaching as existing in a field of tension between the regulatory and reflective dimensions of the practice. Further, it is argued that critical hermeneutics can frame a study of teaching, understood as practical reasoning, and provide a critique that is grounded in a discussion on how the mechanisms and assumptions behind (for example neoliberal) policy are mirrored in practice, without losing sight of either the agency of teachers or a societal perspective on teaching.

This article uses neoinstitutional theory to comparatively analyze different actors' institutional work with "problematic school absenteeism". Data was generated around four cases, each consisting of absent students and actors who work with absenteeism. The results describe how a dichotomous view of students' well-being and knowledge development is established among actors, fueled by bureaucratic and professional logics that challenge the idea of integrating a concern for students' knowledge development and a care for their well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical study focuses on emotional processes in the supervision of doctoral students. It takes place in the context of an increasing focus on institutional regulation, time to completion, funding and skills development. It investigates emotional boundary work involved in the doctoral student's experiences, identity formation, and the relationship of this to the supervision process. Through in-depth interviews we aim to capture emotional elements in this identity development process. The research questions asked are: How do doctoral students deal with the fragile borderline between private life and work?; Are conflicts necessarily bad for the process?; and How do doctoral students deal with the emotional aspects of having to change supervisors? The interviews are ongoing, and to date the material consists of 10 interviews with the doctoral students, and these form the basis for this research article. The interviews are performed at different faculties and in different disciplines in a single Swedish university. The results indicate that an important part of the supervision process is connected to the emotional management of the relationship with the supervisor. Students learn how to handle changes in their supervisor's temperaments and moods, and how to develop skills in emotional management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]