idskrift nr 2–3 2006 - Lärarutbildning - Umeå universitet

idskriftför lärarutbildningoch forskningJournal ofResearch in Teacher Educationnr 2–3 2006Theme: Sloyd –Tradition in transitionSpecial issue editors:Kajsa Borg & Per-Olof Erixon

Tidskriftför lärarutbildning och forskningNr 2–3/2006 Årgång 13FAKULTETSNÄMNDEN FÖR LÄRARUTBILDNINGThe FACULTY Board FOR Teacher Education

Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskningnr 2–3 2006 årgång 13Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning (fd Lärarutbildning och forskning iUmeå) ges ut av Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning vid Umeå universitet. Syftet medtidskriften är att skapa ett forum för lärarutbildare och andra didaktiskt intresserade,att ge information och bidra till debatt om frågor som gäller lärarutbildning och forskning.I detta avseende är tidskriften att betrakta som en direkt fortsättning på tidskriftenLärarutbildning och forskning i Umeå. Tidskriften välkomnar även manuskript frånpersoner utanför Umeå universitet.Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning beräknas utkomma med fyra nummer per år.Ansvarig utgivare: Dekanus Björn ÅstrandRedaktör: Fil.dr Gun-Marie Frånberg, 090/786 62 05,e-post: gun-marie.franberg@educ.umu.seBildredaktör: Doktorand Eva Skåreuse-post: eva.skareus@educ.umu.seRedaktionskommitté:Docent Håkan Andersson, Pedagogiska institutionenProfessor Åsa Bergenheim, Institutionen för historiska studierProfessor Per-Olof Erixon, Institutionen för estetiska ämnenProfessor Johan Lithner, Matematiska institutionenDoktorand Eva Skåreus, Institutionen för estetiska ämnenUniversitetsadjunkt Ingela Valfridsson, Institutionen för moderna språkProfessor Gaby Weiner, Pedagogiskt arbeteRedaktionens adress:Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, Gun-Marie Frånberg, Institutionenför interaktiva medier och lärande, Umeå universitet, 901 87 UMEÅ.Grafisk formgivning: Eva Skåreus och Tomas Sigurdsson, Institutionen för estetiska ämnenIllustratör: Eva SkåreusOriginal: Print & Media, Umeå universitetTryckeri: Print & Media, 2006:2001767Tekniska upplysningar till författarna:Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning framställs och redigeras ur allmänt förekommandeMac- och PC-program. Sänd in manuskript på diskett eller som e-postbilaga.Distribution: Lösnummer kostar 50 kronor + porto (dubbelnummer 80 kronor + porto)och kan beställas från Lärarutbildningens kansli, Umeå universitet, 901 87 UMEÅ.Helårsprenumeration kostar 140 kronor + porto. Pg 1 56 13 – 3, ange Tidskrift förlärarutbildning och forskning i Umeå, konto 600001400, samt avsändare.Använd gärna det förtryckta inbetalningskortet.Tidskriften distribueras gratis till institutioner inom lärarutbildningen i Umeå.Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning är från och med nr 1/1999 utlagd som elektronisktidskrift på den hemsida som Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning i Umeå har:http://www.educ.umu.se. Förbehåll mot detta måste göras av författaren före publicering.© författarna, illustratörer

ContentsEDITORIAL ...............................................................................................7articlesHans ThorbjörnssonSwedish educational sloyd – an international success........................................10Kajsa BorgWhat is sloyd?A question of legitimacy and identity.............................................................. 34Lars LindströmThe multiple uses of portfolio assessment ....................................................... 52Mia Porko-HuddThree teaching materials in sloyd– An analysis of the makers’ thoughts behind the visible surface.......................70Viveca LindbergContexts for craft and design within Swedish vocational education:Implications for the content.............................................................................82Bent IllumLearning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the process............106Ragnar OhlssonA Practical Mind as an Intellectual Virtue......................................................128Kirsten Klæbo & Bodil SvaboeDesign and Digital Textile in higher Education:The Impact of Digital Technology on Printed Textile and Surface Design......136Marléne JohanssonThe work in the classroom for sloyd..............................................................152Authors .........................................................................................................172Notes on the submission of manuscripts .......................................................173Previous issues ...............................................................................................175

EditorialThis special issue of Journal of Teacher Educationconcerns Sloyd, Aesthetic Education, VisualArts and Handicraft. The issue is released inconnection to the first international conferencewith the same focus, “Tradition in transition”in Umeå, May 15-18, 2006. The conference isarranged by Umeå University, Sweden and ÅboAcademy University, Vaasa, Finland in cooperationwith UnizonKvarken, the EuropeanUnion, the Nordic Forum for Research andDevelopment in Sloyd (NordFo) and TextileEducation and Research in Europe (Texere) andis supported by the Swedish Research Council(Vetenskapsrådet).Compared to other academic subject fields,research concerning aesthetic school subjects andteacher education for those subjects is a youngphenomenon and not easily available. One of theproblems is that this subject knowledge can befound within other fields of research, like design,technology, art and craft, vocational education,home economics as well as pedagogy and educationalwork. Another problem is that in theNordic countries research is often published inthe Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedishlanguages and therefore not available to aninternational public. This issue is an attemptto present a collection of new research articleswithin the field. For this purpose a number ofresearchers from the Nordic countries have beeninvited to present their research, using Englishas a means of communication. Most of the contributorsto this special issue will present papersat the conference.The articles represent different branches withinthe field and should be looked upon as examplesof the variety of research that is going on in differentcountries. Thorbjörnson’s article describesthe exciting story of how the philosophy ofeducational Sloyd was spread around the worldmore than 100 years ago. The following articlecovers in brief the development of the Swe-

Editorialdish Sloyd subject from 1900 to 2000 (Borg).Johansson’s article gives a close-up descriptionof the activities and communication, verbal andnon-verbal, which take place in the Sloyd classroomtoday. In Lindström’s article, he discusseswhether or not portfolios can contribute to educationalimprovement when assessing aestheticsubjects. In the next article Ohlsson challengesthe dichotomy between theory and practice, bygiving examples of how a practical mind mightrepresent an intellectual virtue. Porko-Hudd’sarticles is a summary of a thesis on how thethoughts of the producer of web-based teachingmaterials can affect the teaching material itself.Two articles deal with the field of handicraft.One of them focuses on the dialogue betweenthe craftsman and the material (Illum), and theother one describes the environment and theconditions of handicraft education in secondaryschools (Lindberg). Klaebo & Svaboe givean example of how digital technology can havean impact on textile design, not only as anothertool, but also how the new technology offersnew combinations and opportunities.Kajsa Borg & Per-Olof Erixon,special issue editors.

Swedish educational sloyd– an international successHans ThorbjörnssonHow did Swedish school handicraft (’slöjd’ inSwedish; translated as ’sloyd’ in older Englishtexts) come to be at the international forefrontfor a few decades around 1900?During the 1880s, ”Swedish educational sloyd”was developed. The ideas were mainly based onthe Nääs sloyd teacher training college and itsleader Otto Salomon, a self-educated teacherof Jewish origins. Salomon called the teachingsystem developed at Nääs ”educationalsloyd”. The college was financed by Salomon’suncle, the merchant and landowner AugustAbrahamson. The college gained internationalrecognition, and up until the outbreak ofthe First World War, over 1500 foreign participants(teachers) from over forty countriesarrived to take part in the handicraft coursesat Nääs. For a few decades, this sloyd teachingmethod developed into an international educationalmovement. The various international supportersheld lectures, wrote newspaper articlesand books, formed societies and taught handicraftat their schools. Educational sloyd and itsideas were demonstrated at large internationalexhibitions. This article will discuss in depthhow educational sloyd spread from school toschool and from country to country thanks tothe efforts of individual, highly dedicated menand women.The Nääs SystemOn the estate of Nääs, situated between Gothenburgand Alingsås, the wealthy Jewish businessmanAugust Abrahamson (1817–98) initiateda sloyd teacher training college in 1875.His nephew Otto Salomon (1849–1907) ledthe programme and during the 1880s developeda system for teaching handicraft in elementaryschool.Around 1880, many countries were in theprocess of establishing a system of elementaryschools and colleges. Such was the case in eas-11Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 10–33 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successideas from them; ideas that he later developedinto a collective theory.The Progressive MovementDuring the 1890s, progressivism began to developwithin the USA’s schools. There were linkswith the desire for social and political change(The Progressive Movement). The school wouldlead the way. William James, Francis Parkerand Herbert Spencer wrote books on the subject,and John Dewey produced his classic workThe School and Society (1899).The situation in Europe was similar. Industrialismwas at its most intensive, and its negativeeffects were beginning to be dealt with, forexample, with legislation against child labourand the establishment of schooling for all socialgroups. Millions of people moved from thecountry into cities and industrial centres. Workersunited and demanded political influenceand education. Temperance movements, freechurches and movements for elementary educationand sport made new demands. The developmenttowards democracy affected women,who demanded suffrage, access to educationand labour and equal rights with men.The educational reforms of the early 1900swere international but nevertheless focussedaround common ideas. They were based to alarge extent on the thoughts of the classic pedagogues:Commenius, Rousseau, Pestalozzi andFröbel. The child’s development played a centralrole – the child was to be given freedom withresponsibility. Discussions revolved around anactive education with independence and individualisation.Other important terms were projectwork, group work and pupils’ influence ontheir own education.What happened in Sweden?In Sweden, eighties radicalism arose to fight theconservative views of the landed gentry, manypriests and farmers who dominated nationaland regional politics. The conservatives regardedthe enlightenment of the masses as a threatto the social order, and they were critical to theincreased expense of elementary schooling andthe many teachers who were radical, left-wingand often engaged in the Free Church. In theiropinion, children ought to start work at anearly age, for example by helping their parentson the family farm. Many priests and conservativeswere suspicious of the two Jews at Nääswho educated hundreds of school teachers everysummer. Salomon held a sensitive position, sincewhile he supported elementary schooling, wasalso critical of much of its content and organisation.Salomon expressed himself carefully, but13

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successmade clear his dislike of mass-education, theoryand rote learning. Favouring handicraft entailedcriticizing elementary schooling.For a large part of the 1800s, there was a greatinterest in the child’s versatile development.Formal education was a favoured term. WithSalomon, for example, there was a strive tomeet the needs and interests of the child. Elementaryschooling began to become pupilfocused.An educational reform based on progressiveideas emerged. Teaching would beginwith real objects rather than abstract reasoning.The development of the individual, the unionof practice and theory and the improvement ofmorality and health were incuded in the syllabus.Handicraft found its place within theseideas. For 10–15 years around 1890, there wasa strong interest in the Nääs System, but afterthat, progressivism gained new elements whichcriticised Swedish educational sloyd for its rigidityand lack of creativity, imagination andsocial co-operation between pupils.The first foreign contactsAttempts to make Nääs and the teaching thereinternationally well known were initiated in1876 with a series of well-planned measurescarried out by Abrahamson and Salomon. Theysent models, plans and a description of Nääs tothe World Exhibition in Philadelphia. In thesame year Salomon published the first part ofSlöjdskolan och Folkskolan [Handicraft Schooland Elementary School] and sent the book to alarge number of supporters of handicraft teachingthroughout the Nordic countries. Some ofthem were grateful for this gift and expressedan interest in visiting Nääs.In April 1878, August Abrahamson sent atdescription of Nääs sloyd schools with a coveringletter to several Swedish ambassadors inEurope. He asked them to pass on the descriptionto a suitable representative for the country’sgovernment together with an invitation to visitthe Nääs stand at that year’s World Exhibitionin Paris. He also offered to donate handicraftmodels and provide further information aboutNääs and educational sloyd. We can confirm thata German delegation visited Nääs in 1880, andthat during the early 1880s groups of teachersarrived from Belgium, Russia and Austria.Swift, reliable communicationThe period between 1875 and 1914 was a peacefulone in Europe. At the end of the 1800s, themeans of spreading educational ideas improved,and travelling to distant lands to, for example,visit or study at an institution like Nääs was arealistic possibility. An international postal ser-14

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successvice had begun to function. At Nääs, telephonewas installed in 1892. Several decades earlier,railways had been built between the large citiesin both Europe and North America. Regularsteamship services were established betweenEurope and the other continents. Course participantson their way to Nääs from the Americascould plan their journeys and arrive on time– perhaps with a delay of a day or two. Therewere two steamship routes between Britain andGothenburg. The journey by train from Gothenburgto Nääs took one hour.Journeys with meetings,lectures and conferencesEvery one or two years, Salomon travelledthrough western or central Europe. He oftenconversed with the international greats in handicraftsuch as Woldemar Götze in Leipzig, whereGerman handicraft teachers were educated, andGustave Salicis, who founded a famous handicraftschool in Paris in 1873. During 1884 and1886 Salomon gave several lectures in Denmark,Germany, Holland and Switzerland. In 1904he embarked on a long lecturing tour throughBritain and Holland. In other years he visitedItaly and Austria to study and establish newcontacts. He participated in international conferenceson handicraft and lectured in the otherNordic countries.Lots of lecturesEvery summer at Nääs, Salomon gave a largenumber of lectures in English, German andsometimes French. Prior to his death in 1907,around 1500 foreign participants from over40 countries had attended his courses, and afew hundred delegations and individuals frommany countries had paid short visits. Officials,politicians, professors, principals and all sortsof teachers came from all over the world. Allcame to hear Salomon present his ideas. At thesame time, they provided him with ideas duringtheir conversations.Salomon never got to visit the USA, despitemany invitations and his own carefully laidtravel plans. He did not travel to the WorldExhibition in Chicago in 1893, the Congressof the National Educational Association (USA)in the summer of 1904, or to visit John Deweyat the University of Chicago.According to written sources, over a hundred ofSalomon’s supporters gave lectures on handicraftall over the world. Elisabeth Hughes, principalfor teacher education at Cambridge, travelledfrom town to town and presented lectures at, forexample, the Yorkshire Ladies’ Council of Educationand The Democratic Club in London. Ofthe latter event, she wrote to Salomon:15

Swedish educational sloyd – an international success”They were a lot of revolutionary worksmen& greatly interested in Sloyd [handicraft];altogether Sloyd is making great strides inCambridgeshire.” 1A. T. van der Meulen, an elementary schoolteacher in Samarang, Java, who had attendedtwo Nääs courses, gave lectures on educationalsloyd to the Batavia district of the Dutch IndianTeaching Association in December 1895 (Slöjdundervisningsbladfrån Nääs, SLUB, 1896:3,Handicraft teaching pamphlet from Nääs;). In1885, college principal A. Sluys (Nääs course1883) presented a series of lectures on educationalsloyd in Brussels, Antwerp, Lille, Liegeand Mons (SLUB 1885:2). Other sloyd lecturerswere Guiseppe Manelli in Naples in 1887,John Johnson in Madison, Wisconsin in 1888,Josef Urban in Vienna in 1886 and Hans Kjennerudat the Christiania Teaching Association,Norway in 1886. (according to notes in SLUB1886:2,3; 1887:12; 1888:3).Anne Stewart, who attended the Nääs coursein 1904, wrote on the 23rd February 1906 torequest an English edition of the Nääs modelseries to give to Mr Charles A. Bennett, publisherof Manual Training magazine and leaderof the Manual Arts Department at the BradleyPolytechnic Institute, USA. Stewart wrote thatshe gave lectures on Nääs at this institute’s Artand Crafts Club. After this, she left CarlisleIndian School to teach in Cleveland, Ohio. 2Books were written and translated,articles were publishedEducational sloyd’s ideas were also spreadusing books, articles and exhibitions. Many ofSalomon’s texts were translated into English andreleased in Britain and the USA. Some bookswere translated into German, French, Spanish,Russian and 5–6 other languages. Over a hundredbooks written by Salomon’s supporters allover the world contain long sections on NääsSloyd, and were published in countries such asBelgium, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Rumania,Argentina, Cuba and Brazil.During the years from the mid-1880s untilSalomon’s death in 1907, over a thousand articleson Swedish educational sloyd were written innewspapers, magazines and journals all over theworld. In August Abrahamson’s archives, thereare hundreds of newspaper cuttings from Britain,Germany, Belgium, Holland, France, Italy,USA, Cuba, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina and othercountries. Additionally, correspondents in lettersfrom Bulgaria, Rumania, Greece, Russia, Australia,Java and South Africa report of articles theyhave written on sloyd, Nääs and Salomon.16

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successCollege principal A. Sluys from Brussels attendeda course in Nääs during the summer of1883. He wrote a detailed report to the Belgiangovernment the following year. 3 The reportwas read by Sir John Lubbock in England.He referred to Sluys and wrote an article onSwedish educational sloyd in The FortnightlyReview in October 1886. Librarian Ch. Delgravein Paris also read the Sluys report, andwrote the article ”Un voyage au pay de Slöjd”[A journey to the country of sloyd] in RevuePedagogique no. 11, 1886. Sluys’ report wastranslated into English and published in 1889by the Industrial Education Association inNew York with the title ”Manual Training inElementary Schools for Boys”. 4 The desire forarticles on educational sloyd was clearly noticeablein the USA. The IEA’s journal EducationalLeaflet in the years 1889–90 containedmaterial that had previously been published inBritain some months earlier, Thornton’s ”SloydStudents at Nääs” in the Manchester Guardian,and Elisbeth Hughes’ ”The economicadvantage of introducing the Swedish Wood-Slöjd into schools”. In 1888 the IEA releasedSalomon’s ”The Slöjd in the Service of theSchool” – a long article that had been publishedtwo years earlier in the German journalDer Arbeiterfreund. The English newspaperPall Mall Gazette ran an article on the 21stSeptember 1886 entitled ”Sloyd – on Swedishhandicraft”. The same article was reprinted inLe Temps in France on the 15th October inthe same year (SLUB 1886:11).In 1885 Salomon started to produce Slöjdundervisningsbladfrån Nääs [Handicraft teachingpamphlet from Nääs]. In this small newspaperhe published articles and informed handicraftteachers about new models, changes to thesystem, etc. The subscribers included Salomon’sSwedish apprentices who had travelled abroad towork in the Americas and Britain. Of around athousand copies, a hundred were sent abroad.Intensive correspondenceOtto Salomon was the spider at the centre of thesloyd web. He meant a great deal for spreadingthe ideas of educational sloyd over the world.Salomon corresponded intensively with hisrepresentatives/students in other countries. Letterswere sent in both directions five or six timesa year. He continuously encouraged them tosummarize their experiences and problems, andto describe the teaching system in that country,etc. Reading his letters, we sometimes get theimpression that he has not received correspondencefor a long time.17

Swedish educational sloyd – an international success”Ever since Forsman left Chile, I almost neverget to hear anything from there, for indeedCabezas has not written a line sincehe came home. It seems he has forgotten hisfriends, sloyders and gymnasts alike, here inSweden.” 5Salomon received and sent four to five, oftenlong and substantial, letters every day whilehe resided at Nääs. Perhaps half of them weresent to and from his handicraft friends on differentcontinents.Salomon’s apprenticespropagated handicraftSalomon’s apprentices travelled the world toteach educational sloyd. Carl Hårdh (CarlosHordh) became a school inspector in Argentina,Gerhard Wictorin became a collegeprincipal in Uruguay and Aron Heidengrenbecame a college principal in Cuba. MariaAndrén lead a number of courses for teachersin Britain and Carl Johansson taught inAskov, Denmark, Sheffield and Leeds, Englandand Montreal, Canada. Other countrieswith Swedish (or Nordic) handicraft teacherseducated at Nääs were Chile, Peru, PuertoRico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Italy, Greeceand South Africa.Several Latin American governments contactedSalomon to request handicraft teachers. Salomonnegotiated salaries, employment periodsand travel reimbursements. He recommendedCarl Hård to Corrientes, Argentina, Karl Ekelundto Santiago, Chile, Gerhard Victorin toMontevideo, Uruguay, Ernst Bjerke to Lima,Peru and Aron Heidengren and Charles Åbergto Havana, Cuba – all Swedes who became collegeteachers. The American L.L. Summers,teacher at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, whohad attended Nääs courses in 1900 and 1901,became Salomon’s recommended handicraftteaching inspector in Cuba (SLUB 1901:10).Salomon obtained work for three more Swedishteachers in Cuba, and these contacts resulted infive Cubans attending courses at Nääs between1906–09 (Moreno, 1998).School inspector J. J. Brebner from the OrangeFree State, South Africa, visited Nääs in thesummer of 1892. He became interested in educationalsloyd, and requested a skilled sloydteacher for Grey College in his home state. TheDutchman Frans Hondius accepted the positionwhen Salomon offered it to him. Hondiushad been a student, then a teacher at Nääs. Hehad recently married to the Norwegian EmelieRoggen, a skilled sloyd teacher who taught severalsloyd courses at Nääs. She accompanied her18

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successhusband to South Africa. Hondius moved in1897 to a new position in Pretoria. Salomoncontacted the Dutchman van der Meulen andasked him to suggest another Dutch teacher,for language reasons. At the same time he wroteto Brebner in Bloemfontein and recommendedthe Swede Johan Hjelm, who had worked inthe USA and at the time was in Johannesburg.However, Hjelm travelled home to Sweden.Once there, Salomon wrote an informed him ofanother teaching position in Argentina 6 .Gustaf Larsson andeducational sloyd in the USAGustaf Larsson (1861–1919) was particularlysuccessful at propagating Nääs sloyd. He wasborn in Sweden and studied at Nääs, where healso taught on some courses. In 1888 he travelledto Boston, and with the support of thephilanthropic Mrs Quincy Shaw, he started ahandicraft school for children and a college,Boston Sloyd Training School, where for overtwenty years he trained around 400 teachers,who then went on to teach in the USA, Mexicoand Cuba. Around 100 000 American schoolchildrenare estimated to have been taughtaccording to the American version of Swedisheducational sloyd developed by Larsson (Whowas Who in America, 1962). Salomon thoughtthat his supporters in other countries ought toadapt in a similar manner. Larsson publishedseveral books on his ’American sloyd’, as wellas a journal, first called Sloyd Bulletin and thenrenamed Sloyd Record. He lectured on educationalsloyd in many parts of the USA, andtook part in the great exhibitions. In 1907 hetravelled to India and ran a handicraft coursethat resulted in over ten handicraft schools inthe district of Mysore.Larsson persuaded William James and JohnDewey to lecture on his courses. With hisengaging manner he informed many influentialschool principals of the principles of Swedisheducational sloyd. He visited both thePratt Institute and Teachers’ College in NewYork, and talked with the teachers there, andhe recommended handicraft teachers to a largenumber of positions in many states. His colleaguesand students ran many summer coursesin handicraft organised by American universities.Larsson was regarded in the USA as a representativeof Nääs and Salomon. On severaloccasions he replaced Salomon as lecturer. ForSwedish Nääs teachers who visited the USA,Sloyd Training School in Boston became theirpoint of entry. They often took a supplementarycourse with Larsson so that they could teach in19

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successthe USA. Conversely, many of Larsson’s Americanstudents applied to Nääs to supplementtheir skills. Gustaf Larsson described his contactswith American teachers in his frequentcorrespondence with Nääs. Salomon receiveda great deal of information indirectly. In 1893,Gustaf Larsson wrote that he educated over80 teachers. ”Many have attended Nääs. MissCarling has room in a private school in Providence.I have helped Miss Cederoth to obtain aposition at State primary School, Palmer, Massachusetts.We hope to start a sloyd school inSan Francisco, where a Mrs Brown is interested.Mrs Shaw still funds the handicraft here. Shehas been invited to exhibit educational sloyd inChicago this summer (at the World Exhibition).I will attend with a few teachers. We shall alsoshow an exhibition of models. ” 7Anna Blake started a school for practical activitiesin Santa Barbara, California. Ednah Richtaught educational sloyd there. Rich had studiedunder both Gustaf Larsson in Boston and OttoSalomon at Nääs. In 1897 she became principalof the school. In 1909, Rich’s school was madeinto the State Normal School of Manual Artsand Home Economics.Educational sloydwas presented at exhibitionsAt the World Exhibition in Philadelphia in1876, Nääs participated with models and tools.At that event it was mainly Russian handicraftteaching that received attention. At later WorldExhibitions, Nääs sloyd’s success was greater: atParis in 1878, Chicago in 1893, Paris in 1900and St Louis in 1904. The exhibition in 1900in particular was clear evidence of educationalsloyd’s and Salomon’s international breakthrough.School sloyd inspector in StockholmHjalmar Berg reported to the government:”Even during a brief stroll through the variousdepartments, one received a strong impressionof the great influence that Nääs has had onhandicraft schooling. One clearly saw howeven in the most diverse countries, Swedisheducational sloyd has served as a paragon./.../Sweden’s influence is most apparent in the exhibitionsfrom Russia and Austria-Hungary,as well as from some English schools and thefamous American-Swede Gustaf Larsson’ssloyd institute in Boston. Close ties withSwedish educational sloyd could be witnessedin the Finnish and Norwegian exhibitions.”(SLUB 1901:6)20

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successThe network in actionIn 1877 August Abrahamson sent a series ofsloyd models as a gift to the Ministry of Educationin Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The GeneralConsulate Leonard Åkerblom encouraged Abrahamsonto send a model series to the Emperor,Dom Pedro II, as well. He did so, and onemodel series was used at a deaf-blind institutewhile the other was exhibited at the Bureau ofEducation. 8 In the early 1880s, Abrahamsonand Salomon donated complete model series toschools in Osnabruck, Zabern and Strasbourg.S. Martig in Basel visited Strasbourg, saw themodel series there and ordered one for Basel.Dr O. Hunziker at the Swiss Permanent SchoolExhibition in Zurich purchased a model seriesfor the exhibition, perhaps after having seen themodels in Basel or Strasbourg. 9Professor John Ordway of the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology in Boston visited Stockholmand Salomon at Nääs in 1882. They continuedto correspond, and in 1884 Salomon sentOrdway a model collection. Ordway displayedthe Nääs models at an exhibition in Madison,Wisconsin that was visited by 5000 teachers,and gave lectures on educational sloyd. Laterthat year when he moved to New Orleans anda position in Tulane University, he took themodel series with him. The following year thefirst sloyd courses were held at this university.At the same time, Salomon sent a new modelseries to elementary schools in Boston. 10Independent womenThe Finn Jenny Ericson was educated by VeraHjelt at the Educational Sloyd Institute in Helsinki.11 After a further handicraft course in theUSA, Ericson was employed by a college in Wisconsinand established sloyd teaching there. Shealso taught at a private school. On the 6th ofMarch, she wrote to Salomon:”It has been rather difficult to introducesloyd to this town, but I succeeded in theend, and continue to gain advantage. /.../The children’s interest in the work is literallyenormous. No matter how tired they arewhen they arrive at the workshop after theday’s lessons, nothing will prevent them fromgiving up a minute of their cherished work./.../ Our new school president knew nothingof educational sloyd but has now become aconvicted supporter, and intends to make itcompulsory.”Jenny Ericson moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvaniaand taught at Indian School. She participated inseveral teachers’ congresses for ”Indian teachers”and gave lectures on sloyd and its effect on21

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successupbringing. 12 In 1899 she moved to San Juanin Puerto Rico to teach at a college there.During the 1890s, Swedish educational sloydwas regarded with indifference in Germany.For a time, Marie Kühl in Nurnberg was probablythe only teacher in the country who usedthe Nääs system.Contacts the world overThe School Authority in Nelson, New Zealandwrote to Nääs for information about educationalsloyd, as it was considering to introduce itinto the town’s schools. A priest there, E. C.Isaac, had enlightened the authority duringhis lecture on ”Technical or Manual Instruction”(SLUB, 1895:10). Handicraft inspectorGodehkewitz in Cherson, Russia, wrote toSalomon on the 30th of January 1904, requestinghandicraft designs. Consul Östberg inAlexandria wanted price estimates in case theEgyptian government wanted to send teachersto Nääs. Miss Alvhild Shaleen from Lindstrom,Minnesota wrote that she had studiedunder Anna Murray (from Sweden) at ChicagoSloyd School, and now wanted to attend oneof Salomon’s courses. She came to Nääs earlyin the summer of 1906. 13Increased interestNellie von Mickwitz, a handicraft teacher inFellin, Livonia, read an article about Nääs in theGerman journal Die Frau. She wrote to Salomonand applied for a course, and attended inthe late summer of 1906. K. P. McDonnel andJ. Coulter, teachers in Ireland, attended a lectureby Mr Mulholland from Belfast on Swedishsloyd. McDonnell wrote to Salomon:”Mr Mulholland speaks very highly of theCollege (Nääs) and indeed finding from theobjects which he made there I know that theteaching must be very good.” 14Josef Brunner was schoolteacher in Vienna. Hevisited Kreibich in Penzing, who had studiedat Nääs. They discussed educational sloyd, andBrunner became so interested that he applied toSalomon’s course. Margrete Thoenes, teacher inBonn, heard a great deal about Nääs from hercolleagues Klostermann and Köster, that shealso wanted to attend.Charles A. Kunou followed an interesting route.He was educated at a technical school in Stockholm,and then studied under Gustaf Larssonin Boston. After a few years as a teacher in thiscity he received a sloyd teaching position at theState Normal School in New Britain, Connec-22

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successticut. From there, educational sloyd was spreadto 3–4 other schools in Connecticut. Kunoumoved to Pasadena, California, and ran a handicraftschool for boys, which inspired the establishmentof a handicraft teacher training programmeat Throop Polytechnic Institute. Heleft his position in 1896 to organise handicraftteaching in Los Angeles’ elementary schools.Kunou’s replacement in Pasadena was ArthurChamberlain, who had studied at Nääs and itsGerman equivalent in Leipzig. A few years later,Chamberlain was elected chairman of the Sectionof Manual Training in the National EducationalAssociation. He was one of Salomon’sclosest friends in the USA. Charles Kunoupersuaded B. B. Hoffman to attend a courseat Nääs in the summer of 1890. Afterwards,Hoffman remained at Nääs until March 1891,to learn more about educational sloyd. Afterarriving back in the USA, he was made principalof Baron de Hirsch School, a technicalinstitute in New York. He later translated andpublished The sloyd system of woodworking. Thisincluded Salomon’s Slöjdskolan och FolkskolanV [Handicraft School and Elementary SchoolV] and Nääs modellserier [Nääs model series] bySalomon’s colleague Alfred Johansson.Euphrosyne Langley from Chicago and AnetteButtler from Santa Barbara attended a latesummer course at Nääs in 1900. Some yearslater Langley, now a colleague of John Dewey,wrote to Salomon and invited him”... to give in The School of Education of theUniversity of Chicago a series of lectures onsloyd.” 15The plan was that the Nääs course should berecreated as exactly as possible, with Salomon aslecturer and Langley and Buttler as assistants.Langley pointed out that this was an opportunityto reach American teachers:”This university is a strong center of influence,and whatever you do here would beknown and have might. You would be certainof intelligent and thoroughly interestedstudents.”John Dewey wrote himself, and repeated theinvite 16 . Salomon was offered a fee of 300 dollarsfor six weeks or 150 dollars for 3 weeks:”Hoping that you will do America and thisinstitution the honour of this visit.”Salomon was unfortunately forced to declinethis offer, as well as many others. He had tolead the summer courses at Nääs.23

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successJohn Byatt (Nääs courses in 1890 and 1892) leftLondon and became a teacher at the ManualTraining College of Victoria, Australia. In 1901he had trained the 14 first handicraft teachers.The following year Byatt reported that handicraftteaching was provided in 18 Australianschools. Charles B. Levens at the SloydCentre, Pfahran, Victoria wrote in 1903 andthanked for the photographs of Otto Salomonand Nääs Castle. People were still interestedmany years later. In 1913 F. N. King travelledto Nääs from Ballarat, Victoria to attenda summer course.Carl Zirul from Russia attended several coursesat Nääs, his first being in 1884. Upon returninghome, he became a handicraft teacher atthe teaching institute in St. Petersburg. He wassupported by the principal of the institute, whohad also visited Nääs and become interested ineducational sloyd. Zirul wrote books and articleson Nääs in Russian. In several letters he informedSalomon of his work on sloyd adapted toRussian circumstances. In the summer 1891,courses in sloyd for teachers were arranged atNovaja Lagoda, Moscow, Vilna, Tomsk andIrkutsk, with organisers who had been educatedat Nääs. Sixty Russian sloyd teachingcourses educated around one thousand peoplethroughout the country. Zirul himself ran fifteencourses for schoolteachers, for example, inRiga in 1888. He wrote instructions in educationalsloyd for colleges and teaching institutes.He was chairman at two major teaching conferencesin sloyd teaching. 17From the end of the 1700s until 1918, Polandwas divided between Austria, Prussia andRussia. In the Austrian part, schools were givenrelative freedom. Josef Siedmograj, teacher inSokal and student of Nääs, established Swedisheducational sloyd there and made his town intoa centre for teacher training in practical subjects.The engineer Wladyslaw Przanowski establisheda sloyd schooling centre in Warsaw. Prussia,on the other hand, fought against all thatwas Polish in its part of Poland. Teaching wasstrictly controlled, handicraft excepted, thisbeing regarded as a harmless subject. Consequently,teachers concentrated their strive forPolish culture within this subject. Customs andtraditions, culture, historical imagery, nationaland religious symbols all survived thanksto teaching in Nääs-influenced sloyd; a phenomenonunique to Poland. After Poland’s independencein 1918, educational sloyd was includedon the elementary school syllabus. Thus,Salomon’s educational programme became partof the Polish education system until the Germaninvasion in 1939 (Zielinska, 1993). At least four24

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successbooks on Swedish educational sloyd were writtenin Polish.The Siamese (Thai) Nai Cheune studied medicinein England. With another Siamese, heattended Nääs courses in 1904 and 1905, afterwhich he wrote to his supervisor AlgernoonBrown to send more Siamese to Nääs. Cheunealso wrote to the Education Department inBangkok to inform that:”...sloyd (Nääs method handicraft) must betaught in Siam and I have induced the Departmentto send Siamese students to Nääsevery year. The answer was satisfactory.” 18Cheune’s letter to Bangkok was fruitful. Siamsent a further six students to Nääs in the summersof 1907–12.Thousands of foreign letters of introductionfor prospective visitors and course attendantscan be read in the archive of the August AbrahamsonFoundation. These were usually sentby earlier course attendants who wanted to helptheir countrymen to visit Nääs.Sloyd courses for teachersHandicraft teaching courses spread the ideas ofeducational sloyd. Several such courses were runin Britain during the 1890s with Nääs-educatedBritons as lecturers and Nääs-educated Swedesas teacher trainers during the handicraft lessons.We know that some of the British attendantsof Nääs courses worked at colleges andteaching institutes in their homeland. 19 VeraHjelt ran a course in Nääs sloyd for Finnishwomen teachers in Ekenäs, Finland in 1885. Anew handicraft college in Helsinki was foundedin 1896. The teachers at the educationaldepartment had attended a Nääs course in thesummer 1895. The Norwegian Hans KonradKjennerud ran sloyd courses in Tromsø andKristiansund in 1886. Sören Meldgaard establishedsloyd teacher training at the folk highschoolin Askov, Denmark in 1891. Courses indifferent countries often consisted of a modifiedversion of Nääs sloyd, adapted to the conditionsof that country. Metalwork and otherhandicrafts could be included.Teaching organisationsin support of educational sloydMany teachers from different countries workedindependently for educational sloyd. They weresometimes opposed by their colleagues who haddifferent opinions of handicraft teaching. Inmany countries or regions, organisations wereset up for teachers with an interest in Nääs sloyd.They met at congresses and lectures, produ-25

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successced membership leaflets and exchanged ideas.In England, ”The Union of Sloyd Teachers inEngland trained at Nääs” was established in1888, as was the ”Association of Sloyd Teachersin Great Britain and Ireland”. In the USA the”National Educational Association of the US”showed an early interest in sloyd. In Boston, astudents’ association for teachers that graduatedfrom Sloyd Training School was established in1902, with a board that included Gustaf Larssonand two Swedish Americans (SLUB, 1902:9).Teaching associations were also established inother countries, including Austria (1887), Belgium(”Societé National du Travail Manuel”,1887) and Switzerland (1886). All workedtowards the establishment of educational handicraftin schools.What succeeded and what did not?The personal contact between Salomon and thecourse attendants at Nääs was probably the keyto the widespread distribution of Nääs educationalsloyd. Salomon’s great dedication to hiscause left a strong impression on those whosaw and heard him. His hospitality and kindnessput him in his guests’ favour. His manyletters to independent supporters strengthenedtheir interest and resolve. His ideas fitted withthe times and awoke new thoughts. The wayof life at Nääs, with hard work, interesting lecturesand pleasant company during the manyhours of daylight, with singing and games in thebeautiful countryside was said to have a suggestiveinfluence. Nääs sloyd’s opponents arguedthat this way of life was at least as important asSalomon’s pedagogical message.Educational sloyd was mostly spread by elementaryschoolteachers, principals and collegeteachers. They showed an enthusiasm forSalomon’s ideas, but were not influential peoplewithin the educational system. This can beregarded as the movement’s strength, but alsoas its weakness, since Salomon’s supporterswere forced to submit to decisions made bypeople with more influence in local educationauthorities and government agencies. Educationalhandicraft’s ideas quickly spread far andwide. However, their implementation functionedless well, for example, because woodworkcontrasted with the country’s own handicrafttraditions, because obtaining handicraft bencheswas costly, because material was expensiveor because politicians had different ideasabout schooling.What were the views of those within this network?In letters to Salomon, his colleaguesreadily show their support for his views andtheories. However, when they describe their26

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successachievements at home, the reader is made awareof the practical problems of everyday life inschool. Educational sloyd was obstructed bythe demands and costs of other school activities.Many letters focus on the attractive designof models. The appearance of the product wasused to judge the quality of the teaching. Swedishteachers who taught English colleagues onteaching courses reveal their disappointmentover the English teachers’ desire to ”make ashow” of handicraft teaching, i.e. show off infront of their peers.Pedagogues took part in debates on the formaleducation and principles of educational sloyd inarticles, discussions and conversations. However,out in schools, material goals probablydominated. Were tools used correctly? Wereobjects constructed correctly? Is their formaesthetically attractive? Salomon’s ideas did notreceive a strong response from the professors inthe new field of education. Several were moreinterested in theoretical educational subjects.Then, as now, practical subjects were lookeddown upon. Salomon did not have enough supportfrom politicians and government officials.In Britain and parts of the USA, tradesmen andcraftsmen in industry wanted to teach their ownapprentices, rather than leave it to teachers.Educational sloyd never established itself inGermany. Salomon did not fit in with theGerman middle class search for a nationalidentity. They needed the romantic traditionoffered by literature, where Salomon the realistand rationalist played no part. Salomonwas also too rational for the pedagogical thinktanksof the early 1900s. Certainly, imaginationand creativity could be found in Nääs sloyd,but not enough to satisfy the American andBritish critics, as well as Carl Malmsten, theSwedish architect and designer who attackedNääs sloyd in the 1920s.Studying the spread of ideasThe Nääs System of Swedish educational handicraftforms a Swedish contribution to the internationaleducational debate. It is interestingfrom several aspects. The ideas of Pehr HenrikLing or Ellen Key reached out to educationalistsover most of the world, but they did not directlyaffect teaching in the way that the theories ofeducational sloyd did. There were no internationalmovements proposing the teaching of practicalsubjects (manual work). The Russian ViktorDella-Voss’ system for teaching handicraft wasdirected towards vocational studies.The focus on formal education was typical ofthe times, and in the 1880s and 1890s pro-27

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successvoked a strong response. However, these ideasbecame something of a burden when the reformistpedagogues of the early 1900s desired tosee other values in practical schoolwork. Onthe other hand Salomon’s later interest in educationalsloyd satisfying the child’s needs waswell received. This perhaps has allowed sloydto be regarded as an early educational reformmovement.Salomon worked at a private institution. Hespread his ideas abroad without the support ofSwedish state institutions and authorities. Hewas not active at a university, and did not spreadhis ideas with the aid of an academic career orplatform. However, with economic help fromhis uncle, August Abrahamson, he was able torun a very deliberate, powerful and for its time,modern information operation.Ideas on education are usually limited to a singlenation and are then dominant, i.e. very visibleand easily understood. When such ideas spreadto other countries they are usually more ’underground’,alternative ideas. Individuals mighthear or read about these new ideas, becomeinterested and try to implement them in theirown country. Often, however, the new ideasare altered and adapted to the country’s owntraditions and current situation.Contemporary features rendered the NääsSystem short-lived from an international perspective.It was based on formal education,rigid planning and consequent procedures.Teachers were required to make the work interesting,independent and problem-based. Whydid the system not last? Probably because manyteachers that focussed on handicraft techniquesand carefully crafted objects could not realisethe intentions of the system. They could notmeet the requirements of these objectives, andcontinued to work according to their misunderstandingsof it. The dominant pedagogues ofthe early 1900s ignored the progressive featuresof educational sloyd and argued that they werenot adapted to the pupils’ needs and interests.These critics focussed on new goals: imagination,creativity and co-operation.Otto Salomon’s dilemmaSalomon balanced between two approaches:• creating a fixed, easily understood system thatworked for the establishment of handicraft inSwedish elementary schools, using teacherswith a limited education and who lacked thetechnical know-how of expert craftsmen.• creating a flexible system based on principlesthat could be applied in different countriesand cultures, and could be interpreted inslightly different ways.28

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successSalomon learnt, as far as we can tell, that asystem of education should not be developed indetail. Details invite attack by critics. Detailsalso allow the system to be judged a failure. ThatSalomon constantly stated that only the generalprinciples mattered did not help. A lastingsystem must allow alternative interpretationsand practices. It should preferably be of use toall teachers and pupils. It can be expressed invague terms, i.e. all-embracing and general. Thesystem ought to be able to assimilate new ideas.It should not be expressed in terms that in latertimes might be seen as negative. As the pedagogicalpendulum swings, regularity is interpretedas deadlock and dictatorial control, precision aspedantry and narrow-mindedness, and upbringingas discipline and punishment.For and against educational sloydWilliam James, the famous professor of philosophyat Harvard University, held a lecture in1895 on the Boston version of Swedish educationalsloyd for an audience of several hundredBoston teachers. He argued that, of all the methodsof handicraft teaching he had studied, theSwedish method advocated the best principles.He especially appreciated that lessons were appliedto objects that were useful to children, thatadvancement took place gradually, that designplayed a prominent role and that handicraft wasonly taught by pedagogically educated teachers(SLUB, 1895:2, s. 2–3).”Of the various systems of manual trainingso far as woodwork is concerned, the Swedishsloyd system is by far the best psychologicallyconsidered.”(James, W. ”A Voluntary Testimony” Handand Eye, September 1899)Obstacles to the spread of educational sloydarose for many reasons. One was countries’own educational traditions and conditions. InGermany, the leading pedagogues held a conservativeview of handicraft teaching and itsgoals, while elementary school teachers preferredteaching theoretical subjects rather thanpractical ones (Reincke, 1995, p. 230). In Britain,in line with its industry, metalwork was farmore common that woodwork. Swedish handicrafttraditions were regarded as exotic. TheDutchwoman Lucie Brugman did not believethat woodwork would become established inDutch schools because timber was so expensivethere. 20The conclusive opposition developed in theUSA in the early 1900s. Stanley Hall, FrancisParker and Caroline Pratt were among thosewho found the sloyd system to be too rigid29

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successand controlled. 21 They wanted to allow pupilsand teachers greater variation and creativity.They wanted to make room for imaginationand project work. Their views spread rapidlyover the world, with new ideas from JohnDewey. Salomon’s ideas soon became eclipsed,even though some clearly were progressive.22 One can pose the question whether ananti-Semitic tendency could be found amongsome of the critics, e.g. Stanley Hall, and inGermany, where sloyd never established itself.Modern educational research, studied by HansJoachim Reincke, argues that Hall’s views onmanual training were irrelevant, vague and unilaterallyreactionary in their comparisons withGerman medieval handicraft. William James’views on the philosophical and psychologicalbasis of handicraft teaching have recently beenbrought up in a fruitful and comprehensive discussion(Reincke, 2001). Reincke has also studiedin detail the German pedagogues of theearly 1900s who competed with Salomon andopenly opposed him, e.g. Alwin Pabst, GeorgKerschensteiner and Emil von Schenckendorff.Reincke regards them as far more conservativethan Salomon in their views on the child andhandicraft teaching. Kerschensteiner emphasisesthe child’s obedience, expertise and thepreparation of youth for military training andbecoming good soldiers (Reincke, 1995). It issurprising that Kerschensteiner was regarded bymany Swedish pedagogues of the early 1900sas being a progressive inspirer.30

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successSources and literatureUnpublished sourcesAugust Abrahamson’s Foundation archive. DepartmentsB:1 (The director’s copybooks and concepts) and E:III(Letters to the director). Gothenburg Provincial RecoedOffice. (August Abrahamsons Stiftelses arkiv i GöteborgsLandsarkiv)Olof Hansson’s private collection of letters and otherdocuments concerning Nääs. In Enskede and Smögen,Sweden.LiteratureThe Australian Journal of Education. (1903).Bennett, Charles Alpheus (1937). History of Manual andIndustrial Education, 1870–1917. Peoria, Illinois.Blachford, G. (1961). A history of handicraft teaching.London.Eyestone, June Elisabeth. (1989). The influence of SwedishSloyd and its Interpreters on American Art Education.Unpublished dissertation. University of Missouri. Columbia,Missouri.Hand and Eye. (1899). London.Hodson, George. (1901). Educational Sloyd in Theory andPractise. London, Liverpool.Hudson, J.C. (1902). What is sloyd. London.Knibles, G.H. – Turner, J.W. (1903). Interim report ofthe commissioners on certain parts of primary Education.Sydney.Moreno, Lazaro. (1998). Cuban Sloyd. An EvolutionalApproach, Theoretical Perspective and Empirical Contribution.Åbo: Åbo Akademis förlag.Pratt, Caroline. (1901). Manual training at Nääs. Education(USA), March 1901.Reincke, Hans Joachim. (1995). Slöjd. Die schwedischeArbeitserziehung in der internationalen Reformpädagogik.Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.Reincke, Hans Joachim. (2001). Sloyd in America – StanleyHall´s critique on sloyd. I Techne-serien B:10/2001.Visioner om slöjd och slöjdpedagogik (pp. 343–352).NordFo. Vasa och Åbo.Salomon, Otto. (1892). The Theory of Educational Sloyd.London.Slöjdundervisningsblad från Nääs. Månadstidning. 1885–1902. Göteborg. (SLUB)Thorbjörnsson, Hans. (1990). Nääs och Otto Salomon.Slöjden och leken. Helsingborg: OrdbildarnaWhittaker, D.J. (1965). The Slöjd System. A ScandinavianContribution to Education with special Reference to Britain.Unpublished dissertation. University of Liverpool.Who was Who in America. (1962). Vol. 1, 1897–1942.Chicago.Zielinska, Krystyna. (1993). Slöjd – Transfer und Wandlungin Polen, i Sonnenberg-rapport InternationalerBerichte zur Geschichte von Arbeit und Technik im Unterricht.Erster Band.31

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successFootnotes1 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:19, 5/3 1893.2 This information is interesting because it was Bennettwho in 1926–37 published the standard work Historyof Manual and Industrial Education including a detailedpresentation and analysis of Nääs educational sloyd.Bennett was in the 1890s employed at Teachers Collegein New York, an institution with good Nääs contacts.3 Sluys, M.A. (1884). L’enseignement des travaux manuelsdans les Écoles primaires de garcon en Suede.4 This amalgamation, formed in 1884, was in 1893 madeinto Teachers College and became part of Columbia University.In the early 1890s Otto Salomon was one of IEA’seight European contact people.5 Salomon in a letter to Miss Hult who travelled to Chile.AA’s Foundation archive, BI:7, p.162, Sept. 1896.6 AA’s Foundation archive, BI:8, 2/12 1897.7 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:19, 20/2 1893.8 Letter in Olof Hansson’s collection (copies at Nääs) 8May 1877.9 Letter from Salomon to Theodor Brandi in 1881 and 1882in Osnabrück’s town archive. Letter to August Abrahamson25/6, 27/6 and 6/10 1883 in Olof Hansson’s privatecollection.10 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:5, no. 564 and 679 in1884.11 Vera Hjelt was regarded by Salomon as being especiallycompetent. She studied at Nääs in 1884.12 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:23, 24/2 189613 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:25 (Östberg), EIII:35, 21/81905 (Shaleen).14 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:26, 28/2 1899.15 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:33, 25/2 1904.16 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:33, 7/3 1904.17 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:23, 1/9 1896.18 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:35, 23/2 1906.19 D. J. Whittaker (1965) views the period between 1888and a decade or so later as being one in which Swedisheducational sloyd was very influential in Britain. Between1884 and 1914, around 700 British teachers appliedto Nääs, but were seldom given travel expenses bytheir educational board. Upon their return, they receivedlittle support from the school boards or Ministry ofEducation to establish handicraft in schools. A Britishversion of handicraft was proposed instead, with coursestaught by craftsmen in school workshops, for pupils innearby schools. Opponents argued that Swedish educationalsloyd was difficult to adapt to British traditionsand circumstances. The subject did not allow gradingand examination, which was regarded as a disadvantage.The opponents were constantly active and powerful. Themost important literature on educational handicraft wasGeorge Hodson (1901) Educational Sloyd in Theory andPractise. Mixtures of Swedish and British handicraft teachingwere established in a hundred or so schools, mainlyin central England, Scotland and Ireland. Around 1920,the Swedish influence finally disappeared.20 AA’s Foundation archive, EIII:19, 29/12 1892.21 Bennett. (1937). p. 439 (regarding Hall, Parker). See alsoPratt, 1901.22June Eyestone (1989) argues that Gustaf Larsson went astep further (towards a coordination of school subjects)than Salomon. The pupil would first draw a plan of theproposed object in drawing lessons, then construct it inhandicraft lessons. Up to Larsson’s death in 1919 and fora few more years, educational sloyd was rather influentialin the USA.Colonel Francis Parker’s methods were very different toLarsson’s regarding amongst other things technical expertise.”Anything goes” placed handicraft beneath otherschool subjects. Parker proposed coordinated teachingin several different subjects.32

Swedish educational sloyd – an international successElla Victoria Dobbs, active during the first half of the1900s, partly at the University of Missouri, Columbia,reinstated the balance by coordinating teaching in art(painting/drawing) and handicraft. Dobbs had studiededucational handicraft under Kunou and Chamberlainat Throop Polytechnic Institute and then continued herstudies at Teachers College, Columbia University (NewYork) under the leadership of John Dewey, FrederickBonser and Arthur Wesley Dow. June Eyestone sees Dobbsas an interpreter of educational handicraft. There is someaffinity between her and Salomon. She toned down thedemand for technical expertise and was influenced by theprogressive movement.33

34Hulda Lundin 1847–1921

What is sloyd?A question of legitimacy and identityKajsa BorgAbstractThe purpose of this article is to discuss the developmentof the Sloyd subject in Swedish schoolsover the last 100 years. The Sloyd subject isdescribed in terms of legitimacy and identityrelated to society changes. Legitimacy is usedas the external perspective from society on thesubject. Identity is used as the internal perspectiveof the subject used by the actors, how theyseem to understand and interpret the main purpose,aims and goals of the subject. The articleends with a view towards the future and somenew possible aspects on legitimacy and identityregarding Sloyd.The Swedish school subject SloydThe development of society is mirrored in thedevelopment of schools because of influencesfrom political issues, media, parents and pupils,teachers and related research and development.This article will focus on the Swedish traditionof teaching Sloyd, the current situation in theSwedish school system and some prospects forthe future. I will discuss the development ofthe Sloyd subject over the last hundred years interms of legitimacy and identity. In this articlelegitimacy is used as the external perspectivefrom society on the subject, which means towhat extent the need for the subject is recognizedby members of society. Identity is used asthe internal perspective of the subject used bythe actors, i.e. teachers and teacher educatorsand students, how they seem to understand andinterpret the main purpose, aims and goals ofthe subject.The concept of SloydSloyd is the English translation of the Swedishword slöjd, when it is used in educational contextsas the name of a compulsory school subjectin the Swedish comprehensive school system.Sloyd for boys and Sloyd for girls were introducedin the 1880s in Swedish schools, as a pedagogicalsystem of manual training adopted to35Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 34–51 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

What is sloyd?people in Sweden could read and write to someextent even without going to school, since thechurch required that everybody should be ableto read the Bible and know the hymns. For theupper classes a system for popular education hadbeen established as early as the 17th century asa complement to other education.At the end of the 19th century there were atleast two major reasons for reforming the compulsoryschool system. One reason was that theSwedish national Lutheran church was losingits power, partly because of the birth of “freechurches” and other social, political and philanthropicmovements. Through the new compulsoryschool system the politicians could, tosome extent, still control the education of allchildren. Another reason was industrialization.The same characteristics can be found inSweden as elsewhere at that time: from self-subsistenceeconomy to crafting or industrialisedproduction, urbanisation, etc. In parallel to thisstructural change in society, a discussion hademerged concerning how children and youngpeople spent their days. When the parents’ workchanged, their children could no longer participatein their work on the same conditions asearlier. Two parallel educational tracks weredeveloped, one theoretical (with a classical curriculum)for the upper classes and one practical(learning to read, catechetical knowledge) forordinary people (Hartman, 1995; Lindmark,2004; Richardsson, 1994). It is noticeable thatreading and writing was named ‘practical’ as acontrast to the classical studies.The Sloyd subjectAs a balance to the ’theoretical’ subjects severalnew subjects, such as gardening, home economics,sloyd and temperance education wereconsequently introduced. Sloyd for boys (woodworking)in the public schools received governmentalsupport in 1882, while Sloyd for girls(mainly sewing and knitting) received governmentalsupport some years later in 1896. Bothof them were elective subjects. The Sloyd subjectreceived support because it met the politicalinterest from both the conservative politicalwing and those with progressive ideas. TheSloyd subject became the contrast to subjectslike reading, writing and arithmetic.There were some very strong spokesmen and-women for Sloyd education during the time ofconsolidation. Two pioneers in particular havehad a great impact on the concept of SwedishSloyd: Otto Salomon (1849–1907) for woodworkand Hulda Lundin (1847–1921) for textilework. Neither of these was trained as a teacher,but they independently conducted courses, par-37

What is sloyd?The post war periodAfter World War II, all political parties inSweden shared the same idea of introducing amodern way of schooling for all children. Theywanted to abandon the so-called parallel schoolsystem from the fifth form, with one track preparingfor further studies and another trackleading to an educational “dead end” or vocationaltraining after 7 or 8 years in school. Thevisions for the new school were that it shouldbe governed by democratic values and that thechildren should be brought up to be democraticcitizens. There was also a strong intention ofequality, all children should be given the sameopportunity of receiving education whereverthey lived in Sweden. During the 1940s and1950s there were several school commissionswho studied and prepared the possibility ofintroducing a comprehensive school system foreverybody from the first to the ninth form.The commissions were influenced by differentpedagogical philosophies and psychologicalresearch, such as Piaget and others. Thechildren were assumed to have an inner driveto fulfil themselves and shape their identity inaccordance with certain developmental stages.The commissions were also influenced by laboureducation (Freinet), activity education (MariaMontessori), social education (John Dewey) andeducation through art. Herbert Read (1943)discussed how fostering could be done throughart. “Free creative expression” was a concept fora form of education stressing the right of everychild to develop their own personality and theirown expressions. Throughout the official documentsit is possible to recognize the idea thatthere are two different kinds of children: thosewith theoretical talents and those with practicaltalents (Sjögren, 1991). Instead of dividingschool education into two streams, either“theoretical” or “practical”, the commissionsrecognized their responsibility for both categoriesof children. Perhaps the rather commonlyaccepted ideas of the two kinds of talents, thepractical and the theoretical, gave support tothe fact that the so-called “practical-aesthetic”subjects were given considerable volume in thenew comprehensive school system. The generalidea was that all children should get an equalstart, and from the 7th form they were offeredopportunities to choose subject combinationsaccording to individual interests (and talents?).Inspired by John Dewey and the progressiveeducation movement in the USA, learning byexperience, and the interaction between schooland local society, the practical-aesthetic subjectsreceived a fairly prominent part of thecurriculum. With such an organization, equalvalue was supposed to be given to both “theo-39

What is sloyd?retically” and “practically” talented pupils.The practical-aesthetic education was said tobe one of the most important tasks for the newschool system (SOU 1948:27 p.31), especiallyfor stimulating and developing the children’screative ability. The main purpose of the subjectwas, amongst other things, to develop goodworking manners, concentration, self-control,responsibility and an interest in manual work(Sjögren, 1991).During the period from 1950 to 2000, theimportance of individual development througheducational Sloyd activities has been stressed.This meant that there was strong criticismagainst the earlier Sloyd tradition of children’sreproduction of models, prepared by the teachersin order to secure the progression of subjectknowledge. Every child should have the opportunityto create their own objects, according totheir own ideas and their own wishes (Hartmanet al. 1995). When the children made embroidery,their own clothes or they did wood carving,simple carpentry or metalwork etc., thiswas not only manual training but also a meansto express their thoughts and emotions. Aestheticeducation was understood as an interdisciplinaryphenomenon taught in art, music andsloyd classes, but also in the Swedish languageand other subjects (SOU 1956:13). At thesame time, there was a trend in society towardsregarding aesthetic values as functional valuesin daily utility goods. Aesthetic experience anda sense of good quality and design were connectedwith daily life, household items and interiordecoration.New teacher education for sloyd teachersAlready before the war there were teachers whoonly taught the Sloyd subject as well as someelementary school teachers who were speciallytrained in Sloyd. Gradually specialist Sloydteachers who had a solid knowledge and experienceof the craft area replaced the elementaryschool teachers. From the 1960s onwards, theteacher education for Sloyd teachers in textileswas prolonged to three years and specializedin weaving, dressmaking, embroidery, knitting,etc. For teachers in wood and metal, theorganization was different. They were requiredto have a complete handicraft education in e.g.furnishing or be interior carpenters with additionalat least one year’s experience of metalworkbefore being admitted to a one-year teacher educationcourse containing aesthetic expressionand subject didactics. The three Sloyd subjects,Woodwork, Metalwork and Textiles, becamecompulsory subjects in 1955. Woodwork andMetalwork were merged to become one subjectin 1962, and the unified Sloyd subject was40

What is sloyd?introduced in 1969. The national curriculumfor compulsory schools mentioned just one subject,Sloyd, but with two branches, Textiles andWood/Metalwork. Both boys and girls shouldbe given equal amounts of teaching in the twobranches at elementary level, while they couldchoose to work in either one at secondary level.This can be seen as a part of the political intentionof enforcing gender equality in society.The rhetoric of the legitimacy of the subjectchanged compared to what is described above,fifty years earlier. In the 1950s Sloyd was nolonger a part of every ones formal education,but it was a democratic right for everybody toreceive education according to his or her ability.The Sloyd subject represented the alternativeway of studying for those who did nothave much talent for or interest in intellectualwork, i.e. for those who were assumed to have“practical” talents or interests instead of intellectualinterests. Consumer aspects as well asenvironmental issues, became more importantin society. These together with gender issues,were included in the Sloyd syllabus, and therebycontributed with new aspects of legitimacyto the subject. Another way of adding aspectsof legitimacy was the growing interest in theaesthetic influences on everyday life.The identity of the subject also changed. Theaesthetic aspect was added to the former aimsto learn about tools, materials and techniques.The former emphasis on simple utensils of goodquality was replaced by emphasis on the pupils’creativity. This was to be expressed personallyshaped items, not necessarely functional, butexpressive. The teachers, on the other hand,were recruited on the basis of a high level ofskills or craft knowledge and were requiredto have experience as craftsmen (in wood ormetal). Here a contradiction in the educationalsystem can be identified. While the teacherswere expected to be skilled in textiles, wood ormetal, these skills were toned down in favourof aesthetic and expressive values in the syllabusfor Sloyd in the comprehensive school. Theidentity of the subject became at least threefold.Firstly, the children should learn the basic techniquesand skills, materials and tools; secondlythey should learn to express themselves, maketheir own decisions; and thirdly they oughtto understand and appreciate aesthetic values(Borg, 1995).41

What is sloyd?After 2000 …The most recent curriculum for compulsoryeducation (Lpo 94) entered into effect in 1994and was revised in 2000. Earlier, the nationalcurriculum guaranteed a national equivalencethrough its prescribed content and organisation.Today we have a decentralized organization.Every municipality has to adopt a local planshowing how the schools in that municipalityare to be organized and developed. The curriculum,syllabus and school plan then allowthe principals, teachers and pupils of individualschools the flexibility to adapt content, organizationand work methods to local conditions.The planning of these elements is laid out inthe schools’ work plan. Besides the nationalcurriculum there is a national time allocationplan. The minimum number of hours of guaranteedteaching is given in a general timetablefor every subject in the 9-year compulsoryschool system. The Sloyd subject should takeup 330 hours, which is equivalent to about 5%of the total teaching time in compulsory schoolfrom the first to the ninth form.It has been said that we now live in a knowledgeand information society. School education ingeneral is adjusted to the needs of society, politically,socially and/or economically. In a postindustrialeconomy there is less need for reproductionof knowledge, but a growing need forknowledge production, creative ideas and communication,as well as developing a critical attitudetowards all easily available information(Hargreaves, 2003). Consequently, the steeringdocuments for the school have changed in accordancewith the new needs of society. The students’work is now guided by a goal-orientatedsyllabus for every subject. The students’ results arechecked and evaluated in relation to the aims andgoals of the subjects. Earlier there was a commoncurriculum of study for most students. Nowadayspupils can usually be flexible and make their ownchoices and combinations of courses.The overarching aim of the Sloyd subject as statedin the national syllabus from 2000, is to promotethe pupils’ all-round development by trainingtheir creative, manual and communicative skills.The Sloyd education should create awareness ofaesthetic values and develop an understandingof how choices of material, processing and constructioninfluence the function and durabilityof objects. The pupils are to be provided withknowledge of environmental and safety issues, aswell as awareness of the importance of resourcemanagement. The teaching is expected to linkprevious and contemporary sloyd/craft traditionsas well as create an awareness of similar traditionsin other cultures.42

What is sloyd?More precisely, translated from the syllabus goalsto strive for, we find that Sloyd aims at ensuringthat the pupils will develop their self-esteem andconfidence in their ability to practise Sloyd. Thepupils are to develop knowledge and desire tobecome creative human beings on the basis oftheir own experiences and interests. The pupilsare to develop their ability to work independently,to be able to plan their “sloyd process”and solve tasks. They are expected to acquirepractical experience of practising different methods/techniques,using tools and instrumentswhile working with different materials in thesloyd class. They also have to learn how to useinformation technology in the sloyd subject.What is new in the latest version of the nationalcurriculum is the emphasis on the pupils’responsibility for their personal learning andtheir possibility to develop their self-esteemthrough Sloyd education. The curriculum stressesthat in the Sloyd subject the pupil has tofollow a complete process from visualizing tomaterializing an idea. The pupils are asked todevelop their ability to plan their work accordingto conditions such as available time andother resources. They should develop theirability to reflect on and assess work processesand products, and finally they should developtheir readiness for the needs of daily life, takinginto account factors like gender equality andeconomic and environmental issues. (Skolverket,2000).Compared to 50 years earlier, the role of theteacher has changed in favour of the students’initiative and interest. According to the latestnational evaluation, Sloyd is the number onesubject in Swedish schools in which the pupilsthemselves express that they really can haveinfluence and makes their voices heard (Skolverket,2005).In accordance with the text above, today’steaching of sloyd is process-oriented. The creativeprocess should take a point of departure inideas, personal needs or a problem that has to besolved. The pupils have to try to find a way ofdesigning whatever they will produce throughsketches or drawings. They are expected tochoose materials, find solutions and learn themethods and skills required. Throughout thework process there will be a number of occasionswhen the pupil has to stop and reflect, becauseof obstacles or new problems that have to besolved (Johansson, 2002). The teacher supportsthem by instructing, explaining, giving suggestionsand asking questions. After completingthe object or the project, there should be timefor evaluation together with classmates and the43

What is sloyd?teacher. The pupils are asked to understand therelationship between the quality of their work,their level of competence and the quality, designand finish of their sloyd object.Today boys and girls work together quite naturallyin elementary level schools. In the higherforms we can still find many girls and few boysworking with textiles, but attitudes are (slowly)changing. About 10–15 % of the wood- andmetalwork teachers are women. Today it is alsopossible to become a Sloyd teacher with competencein both textile- and wood/metalwork.The legitimacy of Sloyd as one of the aestheticsubjects has been studied in connection witha research project evaluating some schools thaton an experimental basis organized their teachingwithout following the national time plan.The researchers could identify five discourses,which were derived from their interviews withteachers and headmasters. Aesthetic subjects ingeneral (e.g. Art, Health/Sports, Home Economics/ConsumerKnowledge, Music andSloyd) were regarded as a) compensation forchildren with special needs, b) providing abalance between theory and practice, c) joyfulactivity, d) a teaching method fostering creativity,e) unique subject content (Lindgren &Folkestad, 2005). It is quite possible that thisresult might be valid not only for a group ofsubjects but also for every single subject separately,such as Sloyd.From a national evaluation of the Sloyd subjectorganized by The Swedish Board of Education,NU-03 (Skolverket, 2005) we learn thatstudents enjoy the Sloyd subject very much. Itis one of the most popular subjects in schools.That attitude was known since the previousevaluation (Skolverket, 1994) as well as througha research project focusing on the memoriesadult persons can recall from their own Sloydeducation. Surprisingly enough, there was littledifference in attitudes between those who hadreceived a very traditional, teacher-dominatedSloyd education and those who had been taughtusing a more progressive model where the pupilshad possibility to influence their Sloyd lessons.Most informants preferred the Sloyd subject tomost other subjects (Borg, 2001). In the latestevaluation, the students expressed a dual opinion;the Sloyd subject is fun and rewarding,but how will the Sloyd knowledge be useful infuture life? Only 4,2% of the parents did rankSloyd as one of the five most important subjects.According to the national evaluation, parentsnow do question the role and purpose of thesubject, which means that Sloyd now seemsto have a low legitimacy outside schools (Skol-44

What is sloyd?verket, 2004). It is possible that the result wasbiased because of the way the questions wereasked, but there is a strong tendency in societyand in the schools to put more importance onthe teaching and the results in Math, Englishand the Swedish language. They are regardedas the “most useful” subjects, which partly canbe explained by the admission requirements forhigher education. As a conclusion, it is possibleto say that the legitimacy of the Sloyd subjecthas been weaker from the society’s point of view,even though it is possible to recognize some ofthe earlier arguments for legitimacy in the listabove, like keeping the balance between theoreticaland other subjects in schools.When studying the identity of the Sloyd subjectthrough reading the aims and goals andlistening to the teachers’ opinions, I find thatthe conditions for shaping a subject identity haschanged from the situation one hundred yearsago. The teachers are supposed to foster aestheticappreciation as well as the new communicativedimension that has been added, includingreflection and self-evaluation. The current sloydsubject should promote personal developmentin a wide sense. Some Sloyd teachers are worriedabout that the subject might disappear orbecome theorized; other teachers can see newpossibilities when integrating Sloyd and othersubjects in the same themes. When teachers areasked about their needs for level up their competence,they want to study techniques and skillswithin their own field, and integration betweensubjects as well as they want to learn marketingand “public relations” to be able to better explainthe goals and aims of the Sloyd subject (Skolverket,2005). Those answers indicate a weakersense of identity. The teachers in Sloyd feel thatthey need more (updated?) subject knowledgeand they realise that they have to be more skilledin presenting their subject to others.The current teacher education is prolonged. Theprogram provides 1.5 years of general teachereducation, equal for all teacher students, 1–1.5years of Sloyd studies and another 1–1.5 yearsof studying another subject and an individualspecialization. The teacher’s own identity is nolonger as strongly connected to sloyd/craft as itwas earlier. The requirement of sloyd competencehas been reduced, while the general pedagogicalknowledge has increased (Borg, 2006).Summing upLooking back more than 100 years, it is obviousthat some of the original ideas still guide theSloyd subject. On the one hand it is still a generaleducation subject aiming at the students’overall development; the materials used (tex-45

What is sloyd?tile, metal and wood) are still commonly usedin daily life. The tools and technical skills arepartly the same, partly new technological inventionsand the students still enjoy the subject.Looking at the current discourses defined, thismeans that Sloyd and other aesthetic subjectsare still regarded as a complement or balance toother subjects in schools – for good or for bad.It is good to be recognized for unique subjectcontent and working methods, but it might benegative to be regarded as a complement or abreak. On the other hand, the content focus haschanged from reproduction and object orientationto becoming more inventive and processoriented, and the aesthetic values and creativeand communicative aspects have been added.The gender issue is not enough problematized inSloyd. Boys and girls start with having both textile-and wood- and metal work together. Laterthey might be able to choose what material theyprefer to work with. Almost all teachers in textilesare women; about 15% of the teachers inwood/metal work are also women, but very fewmen teach textile work. It would be more up-todatethat every person, student or adult, regardlessof sex, should be able to choose to work withany material or combination of materials theyprefer, after having a general introduction inboth branches of the Sloyd subject.The legitimacy of the subject was very strongaround the previous change of decade around1900. The subject was one of several new subjectsthat were needed as a contrast to a verytheoretical school system. Sloyd was regardedas a formal education subject for everybody. In1950 the school commission indicated that therewere two kinds of children, those with talents forpractical studies and those with talents for theoreticalstudies. The aesthetic-practical subjectsshould function as an equally valuable alternativeto other subjects. Now the concept of designhas become popular in society and discussed assomething fresh, new and valuable (Marner,2005). The aspects of design is not regarded inthe school curriculum, even if the pupils havebeen taught about colour combination, aestheticsense, shape, form and function in Sloyd formany years. The Sloyd subject content does notseem to be well known in society.The identity of the subject was quite clear 100years ago. All pupils were supposed to learnthe same skills through making more or lessthe same useful objects, which to some extendserved as a guarantee for the progression of subjectknowledge. In case there was some availabletime left over after completing the compulsoryassignment, the pupils could do some extra workaccording to their own choice. Fifty years later46

What is sloyd?the predefined models were abandoned, the studentshould make objects of their own choice,within limitations set by the teachers. Still thetechniques were decided, but the objects couldvary. Individual development through aestheticexpression became important. Teachers neededto know both craft skills as well as giving formand colour and know about children’s’ psychologicaldevelopment. Boys and girls were mixedin the Sloyd classroom, the character of femaleor male subjects were erased at least officially.Theme work with various labels was practised,which included unspecified aesthetic subjects.In the current curriculum the individual choiceand the process is emphasized. Very seldom thepupils work with similar tasks at the same time.The Sloyd teachers have to be able to develop avery good simultaneous capacity to assist anddiscuss with every single student about theirproblems or questions. Nowadays the identity ofthe subject has become blurred, as the aim of theSloyd subject has been widened over the years.Even in the national curriculum for the Sloydsubject, the unique subject content is hardlynoticeable. New subject content like, environmentalknowledge, multicultural aspects andICT have been introduced in the curriculum.Today many teachers also teach another subjectbesides Sloyd. They might have a strongerteacher identity in general, but a weaker connectionto Sloyd work and Sloyd competence.The teachers ask for help to present and introducetheir subject to colleagues, parents andstudents. The identity of the subject is uncleareven to the actors in the field.The arguments for having sloyd as a compulsorysubject in the Swedish comprehensive schoolsystem have changed drastically during thepast one hundred years. There is a tendency inschools to add new content in order to recognizenew needs in society (Hartman, 1995).This can be observed by studying the nationalsyllabuses for the Swedish sloyd subject from1962 to 1994 (Borg, 1995). To add new objectivesor to have new responsibilities includedin a school subject is one way of trying to keepa strong legitimacy in order to meet the needsand requests from several pressure groups. Subjectswith low status have shown a tendency tomore easily adopt new ideas and new educationaltrends (Goodson, 1987). Regarding legitimacyand identity, it might be the case that in strivingfor maintaining a strong legitimacy, the identityof the subject has been more unspecified in theprocess of modernization through the greaterdiversity created by new aspects added to thesubject content.47

What is sloyd?Looking forwardThe original ideas might still be valuable butpartly forgotten. The philosophy of the subjectwas formulated long time ago. The advocate ofthe Sloyd subject has to fight the myths of a subjectbeing regarded useful only for pleasure oras a break between other more important tasks,or a subject more suitable for students withoutinterest for studying. The legitimacy is questionedby the society; the identity is unclear to theteachers who have to argue with their colleaguesfor teaching hours and enough economical supportfor the subject. There might be only twooptions either to accept that Sloyd knowledgeis something from the past, at best a culturalheritage worth studying once or twice duringthe time in school or to start to reconstruct thesubject content in order to restore a strong legitimacyand a clear identity showing a modernimage. Not to become populist but to work inorder to prove that learning Sloyd is one way toprepare for a future life in the 21st century.One powerful argument for the second optionis that the pupils still like the subject, morethan other subjects. Hasselskog and Johansson(2005) were asked by the Swedish Boardof Education to elaborate on ideas for the Sloydsubject in the future. They emphasized thatthe students are very dedicated and feel empoweredand free while working with Sloyd. Thesame arguments can on the other hand be usedagainst the subject from society side. Is it possibleto keep a school subject where the teacherdoes not conduct teaching, just discuss possibleproblem solving with the students, where everystudent can have her/his own choice, at least tosome extent?Students are supposed to develop self-confidencein making their own decisions and acceptingconsequences of the decisions they made. Thesubject aims at developing creative problem solvingand innovative thinking as well as knowledgeabout materials, tools and techniques.They should learn to conceptualize, visualizeand materialize their ideas and needs, theylearn to take risks, to make mistakes and tocommunicate what they want to do. Withoutan individual driving force and determinationthere will be little outcome. Similar attitudesare necessary conditions for those who wantto work as entrepreneurs in society. A modernsociety requires creative, inventive and self-confidentcitizens to meet the eternal changing conditionsfor modern life in an uncertain world(Hargreaves, 2003). The American professorin regional economic development, RichardFlorida has in two books (2002, 2005) describedthe creative class as a necessary generator48

What is sloyd?of ideas and entrepreneurs to keep the societygoing, when very few work in the agriculturalarea, like 100 years ago, and when the productionindustries have been relocated to countrieswith lower wages.The super-creative core of this new class includesscientists, engineers, university professors,poets, novelists, artists, entertainers, actors,designers and architects, as well as thethought leadership of modern society: non fictionwriters, editors, cultural figures, thinktankresearchers, analysts and other opinionmakers. Wether they are soft-ware programmersof engineers, architects or filmmakers,they fully engage in the creative process. (Florida,2002, p.68)In the Sloyd classroom the students should developtheir ability to make their own design for theobjects they are producing. The process-orientatedwork includes many steps from developingideas to presentation, appraisal and evaluationof the object. Most common are objects wheredesign, aesthetics and functionality are combined,flavoured with personal preferences andlimited by personal skills and knowledge. Theonly possible way to learn to work with Sloyd isto work with Sloyd, like learning other manualactivities. It has to do with ‘learning by doing’in the meaning intelligent reflection or learningby experience (Dewey 1938).He points out that creativity has to be connectedto working life as well as leisure time.These people engage in creative problem solving,drawing on complex bodies of knowledgeto solve specific problems. People whodo this kind of work may sometimes come upwith methods or products that turn out to bewidely useful, but it is not part of the basicjob description. What they are required to doregularly is to think on their own. (Florida,2002, p.69)49

What is sloyd?References:Borg, K. (1995) Slöjdämnet i förändring 1962–1994. Linköping:Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för pedagogicoch psykologi.Borg, K. (2001) Slöjdämnet intryck, uttryck, avtryck. Linköping:Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för beteendevetenskap.(diss)Borg, K. (2006) Akademisering – en väg till ökad professionalismför slöjdlärare? (in print)Dewey, J. (1938) Experience and Education. New York: TheKappa Delta Pi Lecture Series.Florida, R. (2002) The Rise of the Creative Class. NewYork: Basic Books.Goodson, I.F. (1987) School Subjects and CurriculumChange. Studies in Curriculum History. London: ThePhalmer Press.Hargreaves, A. (2003) Teaching in the Knowledge Society.Education in the age of insecurity. Open University Press/MacGraw-Hill Publishing Company.Hartman, S.G. (1995) Lärares kunskap. Traditioner och idéer isvensk undervisningshistoria. Skriftserien Skapande Vetande,nr. 28, 1995. Linköping: Linköpings universitet.Hartman, S.G., Thorbjörnsson, H. & Trotzig, E. (1995)Handens pedagogik. Skriftserien Skapande Vetande nr.29, 1995. Linköping: Linköpings universitet.Hasselskog, P. & Johansson, M. (2005) Slöjdämnet in iframtiden utvecklat, avvecklat eller invecklat? I: SkolverketsAntologi 05:909. Grundskolans ämnen i ljuset av Nationellautvärderingen 2003. Stockholm: Fritzes, s.170–176.Johansson, M. (2002) Slöjdpraktik i skolan hand, tanke,kommunikation och andra medierande redskap. Göteborg:Acta Universitatis, Gothenburgensis.Lindgren, M. & Folkestad, G. (2005) Skolans musikaliskaoch estetiska verksamhet i en avreglerad skola. Forskningsprojektkring försöksverksamheten Utan timplan – medoförändrat uppdrag (DS 1999:1). Göteborg: Musikhögskolanvid Göteborgs universitet.Lindmark, Daniel (2004). Reading writing and schooling:Swedish practices of education and literacy 1650–1880.Kulturens frontlinjer: Skrifter från forskningsprogrammetKulturgräns norr, 49. Umeå: Umeå universitet, Instför litteraturvetenskap o nordiska språk.Marner, A. (2005) Möten & medieringar – estetiska ämnenoch läroprocesser i ett semiotiskt och sociokulturellt perspektiv.Umeå: The Faculty Board for Teacher Education.Pannabecker, J.R. (1996) Diderot, Rousseau and the MechanicalArts: Diciplines, Systems and Social Context. TheJournal of Industrial Teacher Education. Vol.33, No 4.Read, H. (1943) Education through Art. London:Sjögren, J. (1991) Praktiskt i skolan. Synen på praktisktarbete och slöjd i utredningsarbetet 1940–1962 inför enny obligatorisk skola. Linköping: Tema-T, Working Papernr. 85. Linköpings universitet.Skolverket (1994) The work processes in craft and designworking methods and knowledge. Report, 58. Stockhom:Liber.Skolverket (2004) Rapport 250. Nationella utvärderingenav grundskolan 2003. Sammanfattande huvudrapport.Stockholm: Fritzes.Skolverket (2005) Rapport 253. Ämnesrapport Slöjd. Stockholm:Fritzes.SOU 1948:27, 1946 års skolkommisions betänkande med förslagtill riktlinjer för det svenska skolväsendets utveckling.SOU 1956:13, Konstbildning i Sverige. Förslag till åtgärderför att främja estetisk fostran. Förslag avgivet av 1957 årsskolberedning VII.Thorbjörnsson, H. (1990) Nääs och Otto Salomon slöjdenoch leken. Helsingborg: Ordbildarna.50

What is sloyd?Footnotes1 Östgötalagen, http://runeberg.org/oglfreud/0149.html51

The multiple usesof portfolio assessmentLars LindströmIn Sweden a little more than a decade ago,portfolios were unheard of as a tool for assessmentand learning, except in fields related tothe visual arts such as architecture, design andphotography. Currently portfolio assessmentis being used in a wide variety of settings, invarious domains, and at all levels of educationfrom primary school through university studies,to assess and promote progress and achievement.Portfolios have rapidly become a stockin trade of modern schooling. Researchers, suchas Davies and LeMahieu (2003), have expressedoptimism about the role of portfolios in educationalreform. Research on portfolio assessment,however, is still insufficient concerning bothconceptual issues and empirical evidence.Disagreement on what should go into a portfolio,who should make the selection, how theportfolio should be assessed, etc. often originatein the fact that portfolios are used for differentpurposes. Taking this into consideration, itseems futile to expect that all portfolios shouldlook the same, that they should be assessed bythe same criteria, and so on. The question ofwhether or not portfolios contribute to educationalimprovement cannot be answered withoutreferring to specific contexts and clearlydefined aims (Wiggins, 1998).Portfolios in which students store their workare by no means any educational innovation. Inorder to make portfolios more useful in assessment,oral or written reflections in which studentsevaluate their own learning are increasinglymandated.Another major change is the fact that portfoliosare being put into multiple new uses.53Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 52–69 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentFigure 1. Uses of portfolios in education6. Portfolios in teachereducation as a tool ofmonitoring students’development1. Final examinationand admission tohigher educationsuch as universitycolleges in the makingdisciplines5. Portfolio assessmentas a researchtool in studyingstudents’ creativeabilities at differentlevels of schoolingPortfolioassessmentof students’ workin the makingdisciplines2. Portfolios in professionaldevelopmentwhere colleagues areassessing the qualityof students’ work4. An educational toolin order to develop theself-assessment abilityamong students3. Portfolios as a meansof assessing the attainmentof goals at thesystems level (i.e.quality securing efforts)Published in: Studies in Educational Policy and Educational Philosophy (E-journal), 2005 (1).54

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentFigure 1 illustrates those educational uses ofportfolios that I will present in this article. Thefollowing examples represent only a segment ofthe thirty-five or more purposes of portfoliosthat have been listed elsewhere (Mitchell, 1992).However, I consider them to be of particularrelevance to the discussion of assessment in myown field of expertise, which is the making disciplines(aesthetic activities, arts, crafts, designand technology in education).1. Final examination and admissionto higher education such asuniversity colleges in the makingdisciplinesThe most well-known application of portfoliosin visual arts education is their use in finalexams of studio work at the pre-university level.Around 4,000 students in 60 countries chooseeach year to take the International Baccalaureate(IB) in Art and Design (Anderson, 1994;Boughton, 1998, 2004). The Dutch CentralPractical Examination (CPE) was introducedin 1981 as a mode of assessing studio work atthe national level (Schönau, 1996). This modelhas later been adopted and modified in Hungaryand Finland. The US College Board’s AdvancedPlacement Studio Art examination (Mitchell,1992; Myford & Sims-Gunzenhauser, 2004)has operated for more than thirty years and isanother example of portfolio evaluation at thepre-university level. Recently, Blaikie, Schönauand Steers (2004) reported on how art-anddesignstudents in Canada, England and theNetherlands experience the use of portfolios inconnection with final assessment in secondaryschool. A portfolio, for this purpose, was definedas a ”focused collection of pieces of visualart and design, often accompanied by reflectiveand explanatory written data” (p. 303).Typical of final exams is that the procedures areexplicit. Since all students should be given equalchances, it is important that everybody knowsthe rules of the game. At least when final examsare used nationwide, they often set the standardsfor the rest of the educational system. Thus,they influence what is aimed for at all levelsof the upper secondary school, and they sometimesstimulate what happens at lower levels ofthe educational system, too.However, there are some specific features of finalexams that must be taken into considerationwhen using them as models for assessment inother educational contexts. First, the demand forfairness often imposes restrictions on teachersthat are not justified in other situations. Forexample, in the CPE, teachers have to be carefulnot to interfere with the students’ work or55

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentgive them any advice or suggestions on how toproceed. Some teachers will probably experiencethese requirements as a straitjacket that prohibitsthem from doing their best teaching. When the28-hour CPE examination period has started,students are not allowed to bring work home.In another context this rule, too, may very wellbe conceived as counterproductive.The IB used to prescribe a certain weighting ofcriteria, such as imagination (35%), persistence(20%), technical skill (15%), etc. Even if thesefigures are used only as an indication of where toput the emphasis, adding up scores on differentcriteria, weighted in approximately the same wayacross diverse artistic tasks, can surely becomemisleading. Moreover, as remarked by DougBoughton (1998), Chief Examiner 1994–1999,the weights applied reflected an ethnocentric viewof art, favouring studio work made in the Westernmodernist tradition. Imagination always receivedthe highest weighting, which is not necessarilyappropriate for art produced in Non-Westernand postmodern cultural contexts.As a response to this criticism, a curriculumreview committee was set up, with Boughton(personal communication, 2005) in the chair.The committee introduced a new, holisticmethod, which described five important criteriafor examiners to pay attention to initially inrelation to students’ work. However, instead ofproviding a mark for each criterion, as is the casewith the old, analytic method, a single holisticjudgment is made. This allows the examiner tobe reflexive, and to take account of the culturalcontext and genre of the work, and also to takeaccount of any characteristics in the work notdescribed by the criteria. Kerry Freedman andBoughton conducted a study, in conjunctionwith IB, to determine if there were any significantdifferences between the reliability of judgmentsusing both methods. They found reliabilityto be the same.Other potential biases should be taken into consideration,too. For example, portfolio assessmentmight favour female students, according toa study by Blaikie, Schönau and Steers (2003).Consistently across three Western countries,high school students’ experiences of portfolioassessment in art differed according to gender.Males were less likely than females to know andunderstand the qualities a teacher is looking forin their work; males considered it less importantthan females did to know and understand thecriteria for assessment; it was less importantto males than females to discuss their art withtheir teacher; and males found group critiquesless valuable than females did.56

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentDesign and technology education in Britain hasbeen criticized for yet another type of bias inthe assessment of student performance. Sincethe assessment procedures were widely regardedas being formulaic, routinized and predictable,it was felt that the hard-working rule-followerswere rewarded at the expense of the risk-takingdesign innovators. Sharing this criticism, RichardKimbell (2005) launched a research projectcalled ”Assessing Design Innovation”. Theproject has moved through three phases: initiallyexploring performance descriptors ofdesign innovation, then examining classroompractices that encourage it, and finally developingassessment activities that promote theevidence of innovative performance among 16-year-old students.The research team developed a ”structuredworksheet” (mini-portfolio) approach, includinga collaborative element and a story-line ofdigital photos. The students work concentratedfor seven hours and are encouraged to developinteresting ideas, knowing that they will not bejudged by the craft quality of the final outcome.This approach has been very well received, alsoin Sweden where a parallel trial has been carriedout. However, it still remains to be proventhat it accurately identifies those students whoare really good at design innovation.2. Portfolios in professionaldevelopment where colleagues areassessing the quality of students’workAs a result of the potential importance of thefinal exams for the life career of students, thework is judged not only by the student’s teacherbut by a colleague from another school as well.”This procedure,” says Diederik Schönau, oneof the architects of the CPE in the Netherlands,”in combination with the obligation tovisit other schools and to discuss the quality ofstudio work with unacquainted colleagues, hasmade the experimental examination of studiowork in the Netherlands a success” (Schönau,1996, p. 164). Teresa Eça (2005) reports onsimilar findings from an experiment in Portugal,using portfolios for art external assessment atthe end of secondary education (age 17+). Thenew assessment procedures developed ”communitiesof assessors”. These enabled increasedconsistency of examination results and positiveprofessional development opportunities.The successful use of the community of artteachers as an arbiter of quality, may have majorimplications for how we look upon standard settingand staff development in general (Boughton,1997). In countries such as the UK, theNetherlands, Australia, and New Zealand, com-57

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentmunity moderated procedures of judging studioart have been installed at the upper secondarylevel. However, similar procedures can be usedat lower levels in school, too. Defining and interpretingcriteria for quality, examining samplesof work and setting standards are, after all, proceduresused not only in the wider ”art world”but in any genuine profession.However, describing criteria for quality is noeasy task. Donald Schön (1987) noted that ”notonly in artistic judgment but in all our ordinaryjudgments of the qualities of things, we recognizeand describe deviations from a norm verymuch more clearly than we can describe thenorm itself” (pp. 23–24). One implication ofthis observation is that in order to define criteriaand achievement levels, teachers should begiven the opportunity to compare a set of portfoliosof varying quality.In a study by Lindström (in press), a comparativeapproach, called Repertory Grids, wasapplied to articulate implicit criteria used byteacher educators and professional craftspeopleto assess craft-and-design portfolios, consistingof final products, sketches, and interviews aboutthe working procedure. The criteria used bythese assessors were categorised in five themes.Three of these distinguish the expert from thenovice by properties of the working process(idea and design; realisation; evaluation); theother two were articulated in the assessment ofthe final product (craft; form). Two additionalthemes (function, utility) appeared in theinterviews, but merely descriptively and not asa means of discerning expert ability from thatof a novice.Large similarities were found in the way thatteacher educators and the artisan assessed craftportfolios (Lindström, op. cit.). However, thecraftsperson tended to be more product-oriented,while the teacher educators were more process-oriented.This discrepancy is important tokeep in mind when discussing the relationshipbetween formal education and the world of work.Ambitions to make education more ”authentic”or ”real”, if carried too far, can reduce the freedomand tolerance for failures that are requiredin order to foster lifelong learning. With toomuch autonomy, on the other hand, learningwill become disconnected from the everydaycontexts in which people live and work. In definingcriteria of quality, a decision has to be takenon which social contexts and cultures of learningeducation should prepare for.Portfolio assessment as a vehicle in professionaldevelopment can be applied in a more or58

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentless formalized way, from the strictly regulatedcollegial systems used in national exams to aninformal ”portfolio culture” developed at anindividual school. The latter may imply thatteachers, within or across subject areas, taketurns in bringing a few student portfolios (representing,for example, diverse achievement levelsor kinds of assignments) to staff meetings, inorder to discuss their qualities and get feedbackon how they should be assessed.For the less experienced trainees, participationin such discussions will help them to decodewhat is often called the ”tacit knowledge” of theprofession, or ”knowledge by familiarity.” Butthe more experienced teacher will profit as well,since teachers typically conduct most assessmentof students’ work alone in the art room. Theseunchallenged and apparently ”subjective” judgementsare sometimes questioned by those outsidethe field. A greater openness about criteriaand how these are applied will not only sharpenthe eye of the individual teacher but alsoraise the status of the profession in its relationto the outside world (students, parents, schooladministration, etc.).3. Portfolios as a means of assessingthe attainment of goals at thesystems level (i.e. quality securingefforts)Quality securing refers to the assessment of anorganization’s quality by comparing its actualstatus with an imagined one. The procedurelays the foundation for efforts to plan how thequality can be maintained and improved. ElliotEisner talks about ”taking the temperature” ofan organization (Eisner, 1993). In the USA,multiple-choice tests are often used to providepolicy-relevant information. Although thesetests have been criticized for not offering validdata and promoting teaching to the test, alternativemodes of assessment, such as portfolioassessment, have often been considered to be toocomplicated and expensive. Dennie Wolf andher colleagues, however, suggest that a sampleof portfolios at selected schools would be a feasibleprocedure for gathering information aboutthe current conditions of the educational system(Wolf, Bixby, Glenn, & Gardner, 1991).In Vermont, USA, portfolios with collectionsof the students’ best work were introduced statewidein 1990 to provide for accountability.Portfolios were scored to permit comparisons ofschools and districts. Specifications for grades4 and 8 mathematics and writing (not for any59

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentof the making disciplines) included directionsfor what would be collected as well as criteriaand achievement levels. Assessment was multidimensional,i.e. analytic instead of holistic, inorder to provide useful feedback to the participatingschools. One finding was that students’writing, irrespective of grade level, scored lowon ”voice,” that is students found it hard toexpress themselves in a personal and authenticway. Furthermore, portfolio assessment tendedto change the curriculum taught, for exampleby laying increased weight on ”problem solving”in mathematics.Most teachers liked the implementation of portfolioassessment, although they were more interestedin using the portfolios for teaching purposesthan for providing data that could be usedfor comparisons across schools and districts.That is, they used the portfolios to help studentslearn better and did not have a personal stake inincreasing scoring reliability, which was heavilyemphasized by policy makers in the administration.This tension between sometimes conflictingaims seems to be fairly universal whenportfolios are used as a means of assessing theattainment of goals at the systems level. Howit is resolved depends on a number of circumstances(Firestone, 1998).For large-scale assessment, the potential drawbacksof portfolio assessment, particularly interms of reliability of scoring and the time andeffort involved, must be recognized. However,in a report from a large-scale trial, Dorn(2003) concluded that with appropriate training,art teachers have the ability to reliablyevaluate student performance in the makingof ”expressive objects”. An attempt should bemade system-wide, he suggests, to ”accuratelyassess the school district’s art program withoutassessing every child at every level over 12 yearsof schooling” (op. cit., p. 368). Although justifiedfor practical reasons, the diagnostic (”temperature-taking”)benefit of Dorn’s approach toassessment is reduced by his use of holistic scoringbased on products only.4. Portfolios as an educationaltool in order to develop the selfassessmentability amongstudentsCriterion-based portfolio assessment is commonlyused as an educational device. Assessmentis then regarded as an integral part ofgood teaching, not as something that can orshould be separated from it. With specified criteriaand achievement levels, new dimensions ofstudio work in the visual arts become accessible60

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentfor attention, reflection and communication.However, the capacity for assessing one’s ownwork on multiple dimensions is not an inbornpower of the human mind. Like most otherabilities it has to be exercised and trained. Otherwise,it will not advance from the detached,rule-following behaviour of the novice to theinvolved, intuitive performance of the expert(Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1986).Portfolio assessment is here used for a formativerather than a summative purpose. That is, itsaim is to guide the learning process rather thanto make an overall judgement based on pastachievements. The teacher is given an active rolein trying to help students track their ”footsteps,”in order to see merits and shortcomings of theirwork and to set goals for themselves. The properweighting of criteria should be discussed ratherthan determined in advance. Arts PROPEL, aprogramme in the United States for studentsaged 10–16, is an example of portfolio assessmentused for a formative pupose (Winner &Simmons, 1992; Lindström, 2005). The Mini-Portfolio, advocated by art educator Donna KayBeattie in the US, draws inspiration from boththe Dutch CPE and Arts PROPEL (Beattie,1994). Beattie wants to combine formative andsummative aspects of assessment.Although both Arts PROPEL and the Mini-Portfolio start with predefined criteria, it is doubtfulwhether this ”top-down” approach shouldalways be recommended for formative purposes,especially in the lower grades. The alternativeapproach may be termed ”bottom-up.” It is characterizedby an inductive procedure allowing aset of criteria to emerge step-by-step. The teachermay start the criterion-building procedure byasking her students to bring visual imagerythat, in their minds, represents high-qualitywork. The students are welcome to bring artefactsfrom the art world or the popular culture.Or they could select some work made in theclassroom. In fact, they can select any imageas long as they can explain why they think itis well done. Then the teacher may divide theclass into small groups, asking group membersto share their selections and justify their choices.From these discussions, students may be askedto identify three to five characteristics (indicators)of good work. The indicators may lateron be tested, supplemented and refined whenapplied to the assessment of student work. This”bottom-up” approach incorporates the studentsin the development of criteria and achievementlevels and thus may give them a sense of ownershipin the assessment of their portfolios (Johnson,1996, pp. 156–157).61

The multiple uses of portfolio assessment5. Portfolio assessment as aresearch tool in studying students’creative abilities at different levelsof schoolingIn Sweden, an instrument for assessing portfoliosof students’ performances and project workin the visual arts has been tested (Lindström,Ulriksson & Elsner, 1999; Lindström, 2002,2006). It was developed as part of a project,initiated by the Swedish National Agency forEducation, called ”The Evaluation of SwedishSchools 1998 Concerning the New Curricula.”The study included 22 classes in grades 2 (8-yrs), 5 (11–yrs), and 9 (15-yrs) of the compulsorynine-year comprehensive school and inthe final year or concluding courses in the artsprogramme of the upper secondary school. Ata later stage, 32 five-year-olds from variouspreschools were included in the sample. Thestudy comprised a total of about 500 childrenand adolescents. For each individual a portfoliowas collected, containing questionnaires, logbooks,preliminary studies (sketches, drafts),models (photos, cuttings, postcards, etc.), finalproducts and a 10–15 minute videotaped interviewwith questions about the work process.Fourty-six portfolios were presented on a CD-ROM in order to anchor criteria and achievementlevels in actual student work on differentschool levels.There is a major difference between portfoliosused in a research context and portfolios usedin final examinations. In the evaluation of Swedishart education, the purpose was to describewhat students accomplish given the kind ofteaching that takes place in the everyday world.Nevertheless, some restrictions had still to beimposed on the teachers: students should begiven a time frame of 10 to 30 hours (dependingon the school level); they should keep trackof their ideas in a logbook; preliminary studiesshould be stored in the portfolio, even if theywere not considered successful; students shouldtry to document models that inspired them, etc.Most importantly, the tasks or themes selectedfor studio work should allow for diverse solutions.That is, training of technical skills couldbe included in the project but should not constituteits major aim.In all other aspects (materials, techniques,themes, social and cultural backgrounds ofthe students, pedagogical approaches, etc.), adiversity representing everyday schooling wasaimed for. One of the criteria assessed is ”inventiveness.”This capacity is difficult to assessat final examinations, since the risk of failuremake students ”play it safe.” In fact, the Finnishguidelines for the Final Exam in Art Education1998–99 (National Board of Education62

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentHelsinki, 1998, p. 2) explicitly states that ”candidatesshould not experiment with unfamiliarmaterials and techniques.” István Bodóczky atthe Hungarian Academy of Applied Arts concludesthat some intellectual processes, ”likedivergent thinking, readiness to take risks(experimenting), individuality, etc., contradictthe usual exam situation which demandsconformity and integration from the students”(Bodóczky, 1998). Within the less threateningframework of research, however, students maybe more willing to take risks.In short, Lindström et al. (op. cit.) found thatSwedish students from age 8 to age 15 acquiredknowledge and skills as regards how to make art.However, they did not develop the understandingand familiarity that is required to applywhat they have learned to new situations or torely on their own judgement. As an implicationof these findings, guidelines for what should gointo the portfolio must take into account notonly the quality of the product or performance,but also the process, i.e. the student’s ability toreflect upon her work and learn from models,take risks, explore in depth, etc. A student withsophisticated reasoning and an appropriateapproach may still hand in flawed or carelesswork, while a less sophisticated student mayproduce painstaking and well-executed work.With a multidimensional assessment, each ofthese students will be both acknowledged for herachievements and encouraged to progress.6. Portfolios in teacher educationas a tool of monitoring students’developmentIn teacher education, portfolios are often usedas a tool of monitoring students’ professionaldevelopment. Most often students are encouragedto reflect on their experiences as classroomteachers. Problems emerging from practiceteaching are usually complex and sensitiveto the context. As a consequence, there are nopanaceas that will cure them all. For example,Gunilla Wiklund at the Stockholm UniversityCollege of Music has developed a portfolioapproach to the analysis of teaching experiences,asking students questions like: ”Describe howthe lesson started and went on.” ”Could youuse the aids that you had prepared?” ”What didyou find difficult?” ”What did you find easy?””What would you change until next time?”(Wiklund, 1996)The questions of what students found difficultand easy encourage the teacher trainees toexercise self-assessment. In a long term perspective,students will be able to analyse how theirstrengths and weaknesses develop over time,63

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentwith some of them recurring over and overagain, while others fade away or even changefrom one pole to the other, for example whena weakness has been overcome or transformedinto a strength. The question ”What would youchange?” prompts the students to set goals forthemselves and thus to become more independentand responsible learners.Portfolios are increasingly used in ordinary academiccourses as well, in order to make studentsreflect over what they are reading, listening to,discussing, making and learning. An early suchcourse, involving 577 students and around 40teacher trainers at the Stockholm Institute ofEducation, was designed and analysed by LarsLindström (1997). The purpose of the coursewas to introduce students to the use of multiple”forms of representation” or ”entry points”to various domains of knowledge across thecurriculum. Sixty-one student portfolios fromseven student groups and 364 evaluation questionnaireswere examined. It was found that theteacher’s response to the portfolios to a largeextent determined how the students evaluatedthe usefulness of portfolios as an examinationtool. Groups where students did not feel seenor heard often had a low opinion of this formof assessment, while the opposite was true forgroups where students felt respected and appreciatedfor what they had done. Interestingly, somestudents began to take an increased responsibilityfor their own learning even outside of thecourse setting, by evaluating their progress andsetting goals for themselves.There is a growing literature on portfolio assessmentin teacher education (e.g. Huba & Freed,2000) and neighbouring disciplines, such aseducation for health care and social work (e.g.Taasen, Havnes & Lauvås, 2004). Reviewingearly experiences, Dysthe (2002) described portfoliosas a ”pedagogical chameleon” that maybe used for all kinds of purposes and in differentteaching contexts. In other reports, however,portfolios are rather envisioned as a TrojanHorse. Tjalve Madsen (2003), for example, concludeshis international review of portfolios andportfolio assessment in teacher education withthe following remarks: ”For many students,portfolios have involved a perspective on learningthat challenges them to revise their ideasabout what is accurate and useful knowledge,their conception of their own role and that ofthe teacher in learning processes, and their viewon how their competence should be assessed ina fair and valid way” (p. 177).Most recent reports on portfolios in teachereducation deal with digital portfolios. In an64

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentexam paper reviewing this phenomenon, JanSjunnesson (2001) makes an interesting observation.In North American studies of teachereducation, the focus is almost exclusively onthe individual and his or her learning processes,described in terms such as ”student-centered”,”self-empowering” and ”encouraging preserviceteachers to assume a responsibility fortheir learning”. Student work is mainly lookedupon as solitary. No common goals or sociallearning processes are recorded, according toSjunnesson (op. cit.).In the Scandinavian literature, on the otherhand, the potentials of digitalizing portfoliosare referred to rather in terms of the buildingand assessment of collective portfolios. Dystheand Engelsen (2003) in Norway and Gustafsson(2004) in Sweden all emphasize the newopportunities for learning created by collectiveportfolios organized around themes and projectsthat cut across and link individual portfolios.By using these opportunities students will learnmore about how a group can contribute to realizea common objective, which is an importantingredient in preparing for lifelong learning.A collective portfolio in a learningcommunity – an epilogueTaking advantage of collective work and groupprocesses, however, is not an exclusive concernbrought up by the use of portfolios or ICT; it isultimately a matter of social and cultural change.Recently, Chris Watkins (2005) re-invented theidea of classrooms as ”learning communities”.I will finish this review of the multiple uses ofportfolio assessment by quoting an example ofa collective portfolio in a community setting.It includes, to varying degrees, the elementsdefining a portfolio, such as collection, selectionand reflection (Hamp-Lyons & Condon,2000). And if anything, it connects school to”real life”.The story comes from a book (School of Barbiana,1970) written as Letters to a Teacher byeight Italian boys, eleven to thirteen years old.They went to school in Barbiana, a communityof about twenty farm houses in the hills thirtymiles north of Florence. The school was startedfifty years ago by a parish priest who realizedthe urgent need of young people to studyand understand problems directly significant totheir own lives. The school died with the priest;and yet its legacy is still alive. The followingpassage from the book (op. cit., pp. 103–104),describing the authors’ ”humble technique” of65

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentwriting, may enrich the contemporary visionof a portfolio used for helping young peoplemaking sense of their lives:To start with, each of us keeps a notebook inhis pocket. Every time an idea comes up, wemake a note of it. Each idea on a separatesheet, on one side of the page.Then one day we gather together all the sheetsof paper and spread them on a big table. Welook through them, one by one, to get rid ofduplications. Next, we make separately pilesof the sheets that are related, and these willmake up the chapters. Every chapter is subdividedinto small piles, and they will becomeparagraphs.At this point we try to give a title to each paragraph.If we cannot, it means either thatthe paragraph has no content or that too manythings are squeezed into it. Some paragraphsdisappear. Some are broken up.While we name the paragraphs we discusstheir logical order, until an outline is born.With the outline set, we reorganize all thepiles to follow its pattern.We take the first pile, spread the sheets onthe table, and we find the sequence for them.And so we begin to put down a first draft ofthe text.We duplicate that part so that we each canhave a copy in front of us. Then scissors, pasteand coloured pencils. We shuffle it all again.New sheets are added. We duplicate again.A race begins now for all of us to find anyword that can be crossed out, any excess adjectives,repetitions, lies, difficult words, overlongsentences and any two concepts that areforced into one sentence.We call in one outsider after another. We preferit if they have not had too much schooling.We ask them to read aloud. And we watch tosee if they have understood what we meant tosay. We accept their suggestions if they clarifythe text. We reject any suggestions made inthe name of caution.Having done all this hard work and havingfollowed these rules that anyone can use, weoften come across an intellectual idiot whoannounces, ’This letter has a remarkablypersonal style.’66

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentReferencesAnderson, T. (1994). The International BaccalaureateModel of Content-Based Art Education. Art Education,47(2), 124–129.Beattie, D. K. (1994). The Mini-Portfolio: Locus of successfulperformance examination. Art Education, 47(2),14–18.Blaikie, F., Schönau, D. & Steers, J. (2003). High schoolportfolio art assessment in Canada, The Netherlands, andEngland. Studies in Art Education, 44(4), 335–349.Blaikie, F., Schönau, D. & Steers, J. (2004). Preparing forportfolio assessment in art and design: A study of the opinionsand experiences of exiting secondary school studentsin Canada, England and The Netherlands. InternationalJournal of Art & Design Education, 23(3), 302–315.Bodóczky, I. (1998). Remarks on portfolio assessment.Paper presented at the Swedish-Finnish-European Symposium”Assessment in Secondary Art Education”, Hanasaari(Finland).Boughton, D. (1997). Reconsidering issues of assessmentand achievement standards in art education. Studies inArt Education, 38 (4), 199–213.Boughton, D. (1998). IB assessment in art education.Lecture given at the Swedish-Finnish-European Symposium”Assessment in Secondary Art Education”, Hanasaari(Finland).Boughton, D. (2004). Assessing art learning in changingcontexts. In: E. W. Eisner & M. D. Day (Eds.) Handbookof Research and Policy in Art Education (pp. 585–605).Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Davies, A. & LeMahieu, P. (2003). Assessment for learning:Reconsidering portfolios and research evidence (pp.141–169). In: M. Segers, F. Dochy, E. Cascallar, OptimisingNew Modes of Assessment: In Search of Qualities andStandards. Dordrecht, Neth.: Kluwer.Dorn, C. M. (2003). Models for Assessing Art Performance(MAAP): A K-12 project. Studies in Art Education,44(4), 350–370.Dreyfus, H. L. & Dreyfus, S. E. (1986). Mind over Machine.New York: Free Press.Dysthe, O. (2002). Om förhållandet mellan individ ochgrupp i portföljprocessen. In: Skolverket (Ed.) Attbedöma eller döma (pp. 91–108). Stockholm: Skolverket/ Liber.Dysthe, O. & Engelsen, K. S. (2003). Digitale mapperved to lærarutdanningsinstitusjonar. In: O. Dysthe & K.S. (Eds.) Mapper som pedagogisk redskap (pp. 205–235).Oslo: Abstrakt.Eça, T. (2005). Using portfolios for external assessment:An experiment in Portugal. International Journal of Art& Design Education, 24(2), 209–218.Eisner, E. W. (1993). Reshaping assessment in education:Some criteria in search of practice. Journal of CurriculumStudies, 25(3), 219–233.Firestone, W. A. (1998). A tale of two tests: Tensionsin assessment policy. Assessment in Education, 5 (2),175–191.Gustafsson, J. (2004). Portföljer, en bärande idé? Studiesin Educational Policy and Educational Philosophy. E-journal, 2004:2.Hamp-Lyons, L. & Condon, W. (2000). Assessing the Portfolio.Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.Huba, M. E. & Freed, J. E. (2000). Learner-Centered Assessmenton College Campuses. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Johnson, B. (1996). The Performance Assessment Handbook,Vol. 1: Portfolios and Socratic Seminars. Princeton, NJ:Eye on Education.Kimbell, R. (2005). Assessing design innovation. In: L.Lindström (Ed.) Technology Education in New Perspectives:Research, Assessment and Curriculum Development.(pp. 15–35). Stockholm: HLS Förlag.67

The multiple uses of portfolio assessmentLindström, L. (1997). Portföljen som examinationsform – ettsocialt-konstruktivistiskt utvecklingsarbete inom lärarutbildningen.Stockholm: Stockholm Institute of EducationPress (HLS Förlag).Lindström, L. (2002). Criteria for Assessing Students’ CreativeSkills in the Visual Arts. In: P. Hagenaars (Ed.) AMust or a-Muse. Arts and Culture in Education: Policyand Practice in Europe. Conference Results (pp. 175–189).Utrecht, Neth.: Cultuurnetwerk.Lindström, L. (2005). Portföljmetodik i estetiska ämnen.In: L. Lindström & V. Lindberg (Eds.) Pedagogisk bedömning(pp.159–192). Stockholm: Stockholm Institute ofEducation Press (HLS Förlag).Lindström, L. (2006). Creativity: What is it? Can you assessit? Can it be taught? The International Journal of Art &Design Education, 25 (1), 53–66.Lindström, L. (in press). Assessing craft and design: Conceptionsof expertise in education and work. In: A.Havnes & L. McDowell (Eds.) Balancing Dilemmas inAssessment and Learning in Contemporary Education.London: Routledge.Lindström, L., Ulriksson, L & Elsner, C. (1999). Portföljvärderingav elevers skapande i bild. Stockholm: Skolverket/ Liber.Madsen, T. (2003). Internasjonale erfaringer med mapperog mappevurdering i lærerutdanning. In: O. Dysthe &K. S. (Eds.) Mapper som pedagogisk redskap (pp. 159–181). Oslo: Abstrakt.Mitchell, R. (1992). Testing for Learning. New York: FreePress.Myford, C. M. & Sims-Gunzenhauser, A. (2004). Theevolution of large-scale assessment programs in the visualarts. In: E. W. Eisner & M. D. Day (Eds.) Handbook ofResearch and Policy in Art Education (pp. 637–666).Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.National Board of Education Helsinki. (1998). Final Exam inArt Education 1998–99. Paper presented at the Swedish-Finnish-European Symposium ”Assessment in SecondaryArt Education”, Hanasaari (Finland).School of Barbiana (1970). Letter to a Teacher. Harmondsworth,Middx: Penguin.Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the Reflective Practitioner:Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in theProfessions. San Francisco, Cal.: Jossey-Bass.Schönau, D. W. (1996). Nationwide assessment of studiowork in the visual arts: Actual practice and research inthe Netherlands. In: D. Boughton, E. W. Eisner & J.Ligtvoet (Eds.), Evaluating and Assessing the Visual Artsin Education: International Perspectives (pp. 156–175).New York: Teachers College Press.Sjunnesson, J. (2001). Digital learning portfolios: Inventoryand proposal for Swedish teacher education. Uppsala University,Department of teacher education, exam paper.Taasen, I., Havnes, A. & Lauvås, P. (2004). Mappevurdering– av og for læring. Oslo: Gyldendal.Watkins, C. (2005). Classrooms as Learning Communities.London: Routledge.Wiggins, G. (1998). Educative Assessment. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass.Wiklund, U. (1996). Portföljen – en modell för utvärderingav musikutbildning. Stockholm: KMH Förlaget.Winner, E. & Simmons, S. (1992). Arts PROPEL: AHandbook for the Visual Arts. Cambridge, Mass.: EducationalTesting Service/Project Zero, Harvard GraduateSchool of Education.Wolf, D., Bixby, J., Glenn, J. I. & Gardner, H. (1991).To use their minds well: Investigating new forms of studentassessment. In: Grant, G. (Ed.), Review of Researchin Education (Vol. 17, pp. 31–74). Washington, DC:American Educational Research Association.68

Three teachingmaterials in sloyd– An analysis of the makers’ thoughtsbehind the visible surfaceMia Porko-HuddThis article is based on my doctoral thesis(Porko-Hudd, 2005) concerning the analysis ofthe thoughts behind or what is under the visiblesurface of three web based teaching materialsin sloyd, especially textile sloyd. The aim of thearticle is to give a short summary of the study.IntroductionSince the middle of the 1990’s teachers in textilesloyd in Finland have worked together increating and developing a website called Käspaikka(www.kaspaikka.fi). The aim of Käspaikkais to support teaching in sloyd, mainlytextile sloyd, and since its creation the websitehas been developed and grown to become avirtual text book in a compulsory school subjectthat lacks traditional text books, but constantlyrequires new ideas for educational projects(Sinervo, 2001).The materials in Käspaikka range from descriptionson how to make different textile objectsand how to sew basic stitches to presentations ofconducted sloyd projects in schools and researchwithin sloyd or textiles related sciences. All thematerials in the website have been done by theteachers themselves during different courses incomputer programs and how to use informationtechnology in textile sloyd. These courseshave been very popular and they have had thefunction of in-service education for teachers inusing information technology in a meaningfulway in sloyd teaching (Kröger, 2003).The research task for my doctoral thesis originatedfrom personal experiences as a teacher intextile sloyd to plan and make teaching materialsfor the teaching subject sloyd in the comprehensiveschool in Finland to be published inKäspaikka. The initial task to plan and maketeaching materials in a media which characteristicsone did not fully master, led to many questionssuch as: What kind of teaching materials canwe make? What can they look like? What can they71Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 70–81 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

Three teaching materials in sloydbe about? How can themes be dealt with? Whomshould we make them for? and How can the newinformation technology be used in order to developthe teaching subject in relation to demands fromthe society? As there were no ready answers tothe questions, one had to find them oneself andplan teaching materials that would suit one’s ownteaching. This situation led to a fruitful cooperationbetween me and a colleague of mine whoteaches textile sloyd in the comprehensive school.Our cooperation led to the making of the teachingmaterials Slöjdvägen (eng. The Sloyd Road),Familjen Nål (eng. The Needle Family) and Personligaväskor (eng. Unique bags) (Porko & Backlund-Kärjenmäki,1998; 1999a; 1999b).Text books and teachingmaterials in sloydThe huge interest in making teaching materialsto Käspaikka among Finnish teachers intextile sloyd, can be regarded as quite unique,as teaching in sloyd is often done without thehelp of teaching materials in the form of traditionaltext books, even though text books ingeneral are regarded as important means forteaching and learning (Heinonen, 2005, pp.59–66; Wikman, 2004, pp. 82–89).One reason for not using text books in theSwedish textile sloyd teaching in Finland 1 isthe lack of updated text books within the field.The latest Swedish text book that was writtenfor textile sloyd teaching in the comprehensiveschools in Finland was published in themiddle of the 1980’s during the influence ofnational curriculum cores from the 1970’s andthe 1980’s. Because of the changes in educationconcerning the view on the teacher, the pupiland on learning in general, the twenty year oldtext book can be considered as outdated and notmediating the kind of textile education that themore current national curriculum cores fromthe 1990’s and 2000’s state. However, all thematerials and tools in sloyd teaching also makeup teaching materials and the situation has notbeen so alarming thanks to professional teachersin sloyd who have planned and conducted sloydteaching in a creative way. (Porko-Hudd, 2005,pp. 68–72)According to the current national curriculumcores for sloyd teaching in the comprehensiveschools in Finland (Utbildningsstyrelsen, 2004,pp. 240–244) and according to some main sloydeducational theories (e.g. Lindfors, 1991a, pp.89–103; Lindfors, 1991b, pp. 21–24; Nygren-Landgärds, 2000) teaching in sloyd should beconducted within larger themes that give thepupils freedom to design and make individualartifacts in sloyd materials. This means that72

Three teaching materials in sloydis it not always justified using text books thatmight steer the teaching in an undesired wayor represent sloyd teaching with a completelydifferent teaching ideology.Instead of using text books when planningteaching, teachers have a freedom in planningthe teaching according to their individual teachingideology. This is certainly not a problem forthe creative, sloyd technologically and pedagogicallycompetent teacher, but what is the situationfor the sloyd technologically and pedagogicallyinsecure teacher and what are the consequencesof this for the pupils’ interest in sloyd and theirpossibilities to learn? This vast question must atthis time be regarded as rhetoric, since the aimof this article is not to give it an answer. However,one can say that even though the teacherhas a freedom in planning his or her teachingaccording to one’s individual teaching ideology,the freedom can also be regarded as verydemanding. This means that the teacher mustconstantly be aware of trends in the society, newteaching themes, teaching methods and whatsloyd techniques are trendy. The teacher mustalso be on the look out for ideas to new kinds ofproducts and most of all be creative in how allthese aspects can be implemented in an educativeway in the pupils’ sloyd processes.Even though the teacher can get ideas for hisor her teaching from many different sources,he or she must also transform the material intoa didactic teaching material that suits his orher education. The lack of teaching materialcan therefore lead to the situation that pupilsdo not get information from any other sourcesbut the teacher and become too dependent onthe teacher to be able to advance independentlyin their own sloyd processes. The materials inKäspaikka can therefore be regarded as a newkind of text book in textile sloyd and functionas a continuously updated source of informationand inspiration for both teachers and pupils(Porko-Hudd, 2005).Personal experiences of makingteaching materials lead to researchAfter the three teaching materials The SloydRoad, The Needle Family and Unique bags (Porko& Backlund-Kärjenmäki, 1998; 1999a; 1999b)had been published in Käspaikka, the idea forthe research study emanated from the question:Why do the three teaching materials look like theydo and how come other textile teachers commentthat they are different?It is quite common to conduct research on teachingmaterials from the users’ point of view, sinceit is important to know how users conceive a73

Three teaching materials in sloydteaching material. It is also quite common totry and define existing teaching materials. Avast study on defining teaching materials inKäspaikka has been made by Kröger (2003).I have, however, in my research initially beenmore interested in teaching materials from themakers’ point of view and especially how theyhave reasoned about different aspects in theteaching materials at hand. The main researchquestions in my thesis consist therefore of: 1)What were the maker’s reasoning behind the visiblecharacteristics of the three teaching materials? 2)How do the makers´ of the teaching materials educationaland teaching ideologies appear in the threeteaching materials? and finally 3) How do sloydeducational theories and demands from the societyas they are stated in the national core curriculumappear in the three teaching materials?The aim of the study was to analyze the earliermentioned three teaching materials in sloydand show how collective educational ideologiesin sloyd in the form of theories within thesloyd educational science and the national corecurriculum, how the makers’ of the teachingmaterials educational and teaching ideologiesin sloyd, and how trends in the society appearin the teaching materials. This aim can be seenas a concrete attempt to find out how a teacher’sindividual educational and teaching ideology inthe subject he or she teaches affects his or herteaching and making of teaching materials. Thiscan be seen as a sequel to earlier sloyd educationalresearch that has shown that the teacher’sindividual teaching and educational ideologyaffects his or her teaching in sloyd (Nygren-Landgärds, 2000).The use of the icebergmetaphor in the studyIn order to clarify the research approach ofthe study, the discussion of analyzing teachingmaterials was related to the study of an iceberg,which in the same way as teaching materials doesnot reveal everything by just looking at whatis seen above the surface of the water or whatis visible in the final teaching material. Accordingto the iceberg metaphor only a fraction ofthe whole iceberg is visible above the surfaceof the water and the majority of the iceberg ishidden under the surface (Wiedersheim-Paul,2005). This means that one can look at theiceberg from two dimensions; the visible partabove the surface of the water and the hiddenpart under the surface.Haldin-Herrgård (2004, p. 3) has used the icebergmetaphor in order to illustrate that the tacitknowledge of something lies in the iceberg underthe surface of water. I have used the metaphor74

Three teaching materials in sloydin a similar way concerning teaching materialsin sloyd when I say that one can look at a teachingmaterial as a whole iceberg consisting of thedimensions above and under the surface of thewater. This means that a teaching material canbe regarded as the result of a many dimensionedwork by the maker of the material who has takeninto account several different aspects under thesurface e.g. current scientific results within thefield, national curriculum cores within the subject,trends in the society and traditions withinthe subject. The maker has surely also reflectedon how the target group studies and learns, howthe material should best be presented and howit should be used. These aspects, that can beregarded to lie under the surface of what actuallyis visible of the teaching material, are tosome extent consciously chosen by the maker ofthe teaching material. There are, however, alsoaspects that are unconsciously chosen or thatmake up the existential frames for the makingof a teaching material. In order to make theteaching material trustworthy it is importantthat the maker’s knowledge within the differentaspects under the surface become visible abovethe surface to the user of the teaching material.(Porko-Hudd, 2005, pp. 27–30)The questions that I wanted to find answers toin my thesis consisted of: What aspects underthe surface are visible above the surface in theteaching materials and what is it that affects thecharacter of the teaching materials? The secondpart of the question raised the importance ofthe makers of the teaching materials and especiallythe importance of their individual teachingand educational ideologies. This aspect led toan addition to the traditional iceberg metaphoras I would like to acknowledge the dimensionby the surface of the water. This dimensioncan be seen as a filter that keeps the invisiblepart of the iceberg under the surface from thevisible part of the iceberg above the surface ofthe waterline. Both the consciously chosen andthe unconsciously affecting aspects of a teachingmaterial that lie under the surface are interpretedby the maker of a teaching material, andwhat is finally visible in the teaching materialabove the surface are the maker’s conceptionsof the study theme at hand and how it best canbe studied and taught.The maker’s conceptions of different aspectsare dependent on his or her individual ideologyabout teaching and education within the subjectat hand, which means that the individual ideologyfunctions as a filter letting some aspectsaffect the teaching material while others arenot let through the filter and are therefore notincluded in the teaching material. This line of75

Three teaching materials in sloydthought can lead to the view on teaching materialunder the surface, by the surface and abovethe surface. In my thesis I have tried to defineand describe the complete iceberg for the threeteaching materials The Sloyd Road, The NeedleFamily and Unique Bags.The iceberg metaphor inconnection to three teachingmaterials in sloydThe part of the iceberg that is under the surfaceof the water consists, in the case of thethree teaching materials at hand, of collectiveideologies on teaching and education in sloydin the form of sloyd educational scientific theoriesand national curriculum cores at the timeof the making of the teaching materials, atthe end of the 1990’s. Other aspects under thesurface are existing traditional teaching materialswithin the subject, changes in society atthe time, new demands of knowledge and therelation between the teaching subject sloyd andthe changes in the strong Finnish informationtechnological society. In order to analyze howthese aspects under the surface are visible in theteaching materials above the surface and to beable to analyze how the makers of the teachingmaterials have affected the character of theteaching materials, I conducted an empiricalresearch in order to clarify the makers’ individualteaching and education ideologies. Thequestion at hand was what did the filter looklike that more or less consciously have let someaspects get through from under the surface tothe teaching materials above the surface? (Seefigure 1).Figure 1: The iceberg metaphor in connectionwith the analysis of three teaching materials insloyd.The research concerning the individual ideologieswas conducted as theme interviews and theanalyses led to similarities and differences betweenthe makers of the teaching materials concerningtheir view on the pupil and the teacherin sloyd and on the contents and on conduc-76

Three teaching materials in sloydting of teaching in sloyd. After this the teachingmaterials were analyzed from three differentperspectives firstly in order to find out themakers thoughts behind the visible aspects ofthe teaching materials, secondly to find out howthe makers’ individual ideologies appear in theteaching materials and thirdly in order to findout how sloyd educational scientific theories anddemands from the society, as they appear in thenational curriculum cores at the time, appearin the teaching materials.Results from analyses of thethoughts behind the teachingmaterialsIn order to answer the first research questionconcerning the maker’s reasoning behind thevisible characteristics of the three teaching materials,one can say that the visible characteristicsof the three teaching materials reflect many ofthe general demands stated for teaching materialsand web pages. This is obvious despite thefact that the two sloyd teachers who made thethree teaching materials had deficient knowledgein information technology and computersand also limited experiences of making teachingmaterials. It seemed, however, as if the twoteachers intuitively could take into considerationmany central aspects for making teachingmaterials. This can be dependent on the fact thatthe teachers have a pedagogical education andmany years experience of studies and teachingpupils of the same target group as the teachingmaterials are aimed for. The teachers also hadexperience of being involved in making two televisionprograms about teaching in sloyd and abook to them. If general aspects about makingteaching materials and making web pages hadbeen subject to more reflection at the beginningof the making process, the making of thethree teaching materials might have been moresufficient and the materials might have becomemore user-friendly. Knowledge about what possibleusers think about the materials would beinteresting considering that teaching materialsare made for a special target group and madeto be used in teaching.It was noted that the volume of the three teachingmaterials had successively grown regardingcontent, amount of web pages, text, illustrationsand photos so that the first made teaching material(The Sloyd Road) is the smallest one and thelast made (Unique Bags) is the largest one. Thiscan be seen as an expression of the fact thatwhen the makers’ knowledge and experiences ofmaking web based teaching materials increased,they could better deal with extensive wholes andsee what individual learning objects a teachingmaterial could consist of. On the other hand it77

Three teaching materials in sloydcan be interpreted that makers of the teachingmaterials had difficulties in restricting the informationin the teaching materials and wantedto make too large entities. This can lead to thefact that the making of teaching materials isnever finished.The two makers’ ideas about including the completesloyd process from the first ideas withina theme to designing, planning, making andevaluating the product and process was kept inall three teaching materials. Variations withinthe themes concerning for instance what kindof products pupils can make, was however notdiscussed. This can affect users of the teachingmaterials to only focus on the products presented,and not on the original idea that the presentedproducts are just examples of what canbe made within a similar theme.The second research question dealt with howthe makers’ of the teaching materials educationaland teaching ideologies appear in the threeteaching materials. Summing up one can saythat the makers’ educational and teaching ideologiesof sloyd are clearly visible in the threeteaching materials while only four documentsout of 29 teaching material documents did notshow signs of the ideologies. Earlier research(Nygren-Landgärds, 2000) shows that individualideologies are visible in a teacher’s teachingand teaching materials. The interesting aspectthat my study gives is, however, an illustrationon how the ideologies appear in teachingmaterials.The third research question dealt with howsloyd educational theories and demands fromthe society appear in the three teaching materials.The analysis in relation to this questionwas made on the texts in the materials. Thetexts were coded to dimensions developed inthe first empirical study concerning individualideologies. After this the texts where interpretedfirstly according to what kind of marks of sloydeducational theories could be seen in them andsecondly according to how trends in the societyaccording to the national curriculum core couldbe seen in the teaching materials.The interpretation of the texts showed that sloydeducational theories and trends in the societywere clearly visible in the three teaching materials.The variety of scientific theories was howevernot very big. The reason for this might bethat the two makers of the teaching materialsdid not use any other theories when making thethree materials. If the teaching materials hadbeen more than three and the making of themhad spanned over a longer period of time, it is78

Three teaching materials in sloydpossible that the two makers could have developedtheir making processes and varied thetheoretical bases for the teaching materials.This could then also have been possible to seewhen analyzing the materials.Most goals for sloyd in the national curriculumcore could be seen in the three teaching materials.This can either be regarded as a sign ofthe two makers’ familiarity with the goals or asign of the general nature of the goals and theeasiness to see them in texts written by teachers.Goals that are not so clearly visible in the textscan have been left out because of their irrelevanceto the teaching themes at hand and dueto the fact that a few teaching materials cannotfulfill all curriculum core goals.Other trends in the society at the end of the1990’s when the teaching materials were madeare visible mainly through the digital form ofthe teaching materials. This can be seen asa concrete example of how the informationtechnological society influences education andteaching. Other aspects in the society at thetime, such as entrepreneurship and sustainabledevelopment could, however, have been morevisible in the materials. The fact that a few textileteachers make web based teaching materialsdo, however, not mean that teaching in thesubject would suddenly change or that teacherswould start using web based teaching materials.The developing of teaching requires much morethan that. The existence of web based teachingmaterials can still be regarded as a small stepin the direction of developing teaching in sloydaccording to current trends in society.Summing upThe study’s contribution to the relation betweensloyd teaching and society is an exampleof how changes in society and demands thatderive from the changes, have influenced generalconceptions on the teaching subject sloyd,the subjects teaching content and the characterof teaching materials. The study also givesmore information about the thoughts and ideasbehind teaching materials. This information hasan educational value as it shows what kind ofinfluence the maker of a teaching material hason the material’s characteristics and how usersof teaching materials should be aware of this.The study’s significance for further teaching insloyd is that the study might arouse interest forthe meaning of teaching materials in teachingsloyd and developing the subject. Consideringfuture making of teaching materials in sloyd it ispossible to think that the study benefits makersto also think about different visual aspects of79

Three teaching materials in sloydtheir teaching material making such as illustrations,language and layout.Finally one can say that teaching materialsin sloyd and research about them have got aboost when an ever increasing amount of Finnishteachers in sloyd make web based teachingmaterials that are spread to other teachersvia a website for the purpose. This means thattrends in the society and especially the developmentof information technology in educationand teaching have led to new development andresearch areas in sloyd.ReferencesHaldin-Herrgård, T. (2004). Hur höra tyst kunskap?Utveckling av en metod för studier av tyst kunnande.Helsingfors: Svenska handelshögskolan.Heinonen, J.-P. (2005). Opetussuunnitelmat vai oppimateriaalit.Peruskoulun opettajien käsityksiä opetussuunnitelmienja oppimateriaalien merkityksestä opetuksessa.Tutkimuksia 257. Helsingin yliopisto: Soveltavankasvatustieteen laitos.Kröger, T. (2003). Käsityön verkko-oppimateriaalin moninaisuus”Käspaikka”-verkkosivustossa. Joensuun Yliopistonkasvatustieteellisiä julkaisuja N:o 90. Kasvatustieteidentiedekunta. Joensuu: Joensuun yliopistopaino.Lindfors, L. (1991a). Slöjddidaktik. Inriktning på grundskolanstextilslöjd. Loimaa: Finn Lectura.Lindfors, L. (1991b). Slöjdverksamhetens grunddimensionervid arbetsinlärning i ett slöjdpedagogiskt perspektiv. (Rapporterfrån Pedagogiska fakulteten 33/1991). Vasa: ÅboAkademi. Institutionen för lärarutbildning.Nygren-Landgärds, C. (2000). Educational and TeachingIdeologies in Sloyd Teacher Education. Åbo: Åbo Akademisförlag.Porko, M. & Backlund-Kärjenmäki, E. (1998). Slöjdvägen.(The Sloyd Road.) Available at: http://www.tkukoulu.fi/~mporko/Porko, M. & Backlund-Kärjenmäki, E. (1999a). FamiljenNål. (The NeedleFamily) Available at: http://www.vasa.abo.fi/pf/li/esph/nalfamilj/index.htm.Porko, M. & Backlund-Kärjenmäki, E. (1999b). Personligaväskor. (Unique Bags). Available at: http://www.vasa.abo.fi/pf/li/esph/vaskor/index.htm.Porko-Hudd, M. (2005). Under ytan, vid ytan och ovanförytan. Analys av tanken bakom tre läromedel i slöjd. Åbo:Åbo Akademis förlag.Sinervo, P. (2001). Käsityön TietoBoxi. Available at: http://www.tkukoulu.fi/handmade/ (27.7.2001)80

Three teaching materials in sloydUtbildningsstyrelsen (1994). Grunderna för grundskolansläroplan. Helsingfors: Tryckericentralen.Utbildningsstyrelsen (2004). Grunderna för läroplanenför den grundläggande utbildningen. Vammala: VammalanKirjapaino.Wiedersheim-Paul, F. (2005). Isberget och andra metaforer.Available at: http://fefiwid.fek.uu.se/Exawebb/isberget_och_andra.htm#isberget(14.12.2005)Wikman, T. (2004). På spaning efter den goda läroboken.Om pedagogiska texters lärande potential. Åbo: ÅboAkademis förlag.Footnotes1Finland has two national languages, Finnish and Swedish.This article is written from a Swedish language perspectiveon teaching sloyd in Swedish comprehensive schoolsin Finland.81

Contexts for craft anddesign within Swedishvocational education:Implications for the contentViveca LindbergAbstractThe context for this paper the research project”Communication and learning in sloyd practices”,funded by the Swedish Research Council.Within the project, we explore sloyd practicesfrom comprehensive school to higher education.In upper secondary education, which is the focusof this paper, the sloyd-related content can befound in various programmes. This paper is relatedto one of the subprojects, ”Sloyd in a changingworld”, with a general issue concerning whatkind of sloyd- and craft-related competence isin demand in society today. Here, the focus ison variations and similarities in content in twovocational programmes related to craft anddesign within Swedish upper secondary educationand the implications of these with regardsto competence. The data produced are based ongroup interviews, designed as three sequentialsessions for collective remembering (Middleton& Edwards, 1990). Activity theoretical aspectsinform the analysis of data. The schools repre-sent different programmes but they all includetextile craft in the main vocational subject. Theidentified similarities and differences in what theteachers want their students to learn is discussedin relation to historically developed traditionsand how these shape the actions that frame thecontent, in order to achieve the sloyd- and craftrelatedcompetencies important for professionalor personal development.83Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 82–105 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

Contexts for craft and designIntroductionThe context for this paper is a research programmecomprising of four subprojects, oneof which is called ”Sloyd in a changing world”.Within the project as a whole, this specific issueis being explored with regards to both quantitativeand qualitative aspects. In this article, thefocus is on textile-related programmes in Swedishupper secondary school and what competenciesteachers prepare their students for.The issue of this paper is to explore the variationsand similarities in content when textilerelatedsubjects are contextualized in differentprogrammes. What contributes to similaritiesand variation? Is there a core of textile-relatedknowledge that can be identified disregardingof context? What indications does the learningenvironment give about these matters? What– if anything – has changed over time? In thisrespect, the study seeks to identify implicationsfor the actions the teachers choose for contributingto the competencies needed for participatingin practices engaged in textile work (Leontiev,1986). Variation, similarities and changesare here related to the local history and to theinterplay between local and societal levels.Swedish upper secondaryschool – backgroundFrom 1970–1991, there were 26 programmes(10 general and 16 vocational programmes 1within Swedish upper-secondary school. Ofthe latter, two were related to sloyd: clothingmanufacturing and woodwork. For each programme,there was a national curriculum thatwas to guarantee that all schools, regardless ofmunicipality, would provide their students withan equal education (Lundahl, 1998). Today,the Swedish upper secondary school consistsof seventeen national programmes, 14 of whichare vocational and three general. Additional tothese national programmes, there are speciallydesigned programmes, mostly a local variationof a national programme 2 (Gy2000:19). Foreach programme, there is a national curriculumand national syllabuses. In these, the aimsfor each programme and for each subject arestated. The national curriculum defines someof the subjects – the core subjects 3 and the programmespecific subjects (vocational or general).For each school, a space in the curriculum isleft for defining courses related to local (orregional) needs – optional courses. Dependingon the programme, the amount of predefinedprogramme specific subjects co-varies with theamount of optional courses: the more predefinedcredits, the less optional courses and vice84

Contexts for craft and designversa. Further, some space is left for the individualstudent to decide which of the courses theschool offers (s)he wishes to include into his/herexam. Summarising, the structure of a nationalvocational programme is the following:Table I: Programme structure in Credits,national & specially designed programmes(Gy2000:08).Programme specific subjects(vocational or general)Optional courses (vocationaland/ or general)Specific subjects, totalIndividual options (vocationaland/ or general)350–800 credits150–1000 credits1.450 credits300 creditsCore subjects, all programmes 750 creditsTotal2.500 creditsA credit is defined as approximately 60 minutes.The final decision of deviations from thisapproximate time is left to the school and theprogramme (see below for examples of thesekinds of decisions). In principle, the aims ofeach subject should be guiding the decision oftime needed.Programmes andschools for the studyWithin upper secondary school, two nationalvocational programmes have been interpretedas sloyd related: the handicraft programme andthe industry programme. Further, there aresome specially designed programmes relatedto the materials. Complementary to the nationalspecialisations, local specialisations may beconstructed (Skolverket, 2000a). For the handicraftprogramme, there are no national specialisations– all are local – whereas the industryprogramme has several. However, only few arerelated to sloyd, and so is the case for the speciallydesigned programmes.The main arguments in choosing schools for thestudy were to find representatives for the threetypes of programmes in order to identify significantvariations with regards to tools, tasks,competencies etc. Thereby the schools selectedfor the research project represent the handicraftprogramme, the industry programme, and speciallydesigned programmes.Aims for the three programmesFor each programme, there is a programmedescription, overarching aims, a curriculum,and syllabuses. In the description of the handicraftprogramme (HP), the following charac-85

Contexts for craft and designteristics are emphasised: the specific handicraftculture (which is to be maintained and developed),small-scale conditions, cultural traditionsand skills, marketing and selling. Thisdescription is reflected in some of the aims 4 forthe programme. The main aim is to give basicknowledge for work within a variety of craftareas (production, repair, and services) and todevelop insights into the conditions for enterprising.The school is responsible for the students’developing the following competencies(Gy2000:19, p. 21):– ability to transform ideas into products (withregards to functional demands, design, economyand quality)– expertise in both craftsmanship skills ofthe respective craft and an aesthetical mindneeded for creative processes– familiarity with basic theories of relevancefor the craft– familiarity with traditions within craftsmanshipand ability to relate these to cultural andstylistic contextsThe handicraft programme is a kind of umbrellafor many directions from hairdresser to florist.As these are regional or local, the teacherswithin each school are to relate and concretisethese general competencies to the direction inquestion – no further guidelines are given ona national level.The characteristics of the industry programme(IP) are described as ”providing a basic knowledgeof working in both industrial production”(Gy2000:19, p. 25) and related areas withregards to competence ”required in manufacturing,maintenance and service” (ibid., p. 25).Technology and technological development areemphasized, as well as competition on a globalmarket, organisational changes (from mass productionto outsourcing), control engineering,mathematics and computer applications. Theschool is held responsible for ensuring that studentshave the following skills (ibid, p. 26):– basic knowledge required for effectively usingtools, machines, computer systems and methodsused in production;– familiarity with using resources, productioneconomics and work organisation in order to”take part in planning and production, andcarry out work tasks with quality and responsibility”– familiarity with basic scientific theories andmodels and important technical developmentof importance related to their industrialarea86

Contexts for craft and designThe basis for the specially designed programme(SDP) that is related to this study is one ofthe general programmes, the social science programme,which has been combined with coursesfrom the handicraft programme. The characteristicsof the main programme are describedas ”providing knowledge based on the socialsciences and the humanities about man’s conditionsand activities”, as well as ”developingthe ability to formulate, analyse and solve problemsin a number of different subject areas”(Gy2000:19, p. 6). This is a general programme,mainly preparing for further studies, which isexpressed as the responsibility of the school(ibid, p. 8). These focus aspects like ”interestin social science issues”, ability to ”search for,interpret and analyse information, as well asformulate and solve problems with the help ofmethods from the social sciences”; ”apply conceptsand theoretical models”; ”apply a historicalperspective to phenomena and events in society”;etc. However, in order to give a more specificdescription of the special with the speciallydesigned programme, this national descriptionneeds to be completed with the local descriptionof the school.Summarising, the main differences, withregards to the curriculum for these three programmes,concern the following issues:– tradition/small-scale production/entrepreneurship(handicraft programme);– technology/industrial production/globalmarket (industry programme); and– knowledge about man’s conditions and activities/formulate,analyse and solve problems/prepare for further studies (social science programme)In this article, two of these programmes – handicraft(HP) and the specially formed programme(SDP) – will be compared with regardto their local history 5 and to the teachers’ conceptionsof what sloyd-related competenciesthat are needed in society today (and therebywhat motivates their actions – they want theirstudents to learn).Courses common fortwo or three programmesOf the 1.450 credits for specific subjects, someare common for all three programmes in thisstudy, some are common for two of the threeprogrammes, and some are unique for one ofthe programmes. In table II, a comparative overviewis presented of those specific subject coursesthat are related to textile work.87

Contexts for craft and designTable II: Courses related to textile and programme (Material from local schools and their Internetpages).Course HP SDP IPWorking environment and security, 50 credits yes yes yesComputering, 50 credits yes yes yesVocational drawing and design A, 50 credits yes yes yesPattern construction A, 50 credits yes yes yesCredits common for all three programmes 200 200 200Arts and form – basic course, 50 credits yes yes noPattern construction B, 50 credits yes yes noCredits common for schools 1 and 2 100 100 ---Projects and enterprising, 50 credits no yes yesTextile, colour and form, 50 credits no yes yesTextile and clothing, 200 credits no yes yesCommon for schools 2 and 3 --- 300 300Specific courses related to textile and schoolCraft technology Embroidery &A-Dyarn techniquesMaterials DesignPatt. constr. C Introduction toSale & service aestheticsIntroduction to Vocationalcraftdrawing andHistory of culture design B& styleDesign AIntrod. to clothing Design, textile && tricot weavingCredits for courses related to textile, specific 1050 500 800for a school per schoolTextile related courses, in total per school 1350 1100 1300QualitytechnologyProductionprocessIntrod. tosteering techn.IndustrialtechnologyComputerizedpattern constr.A-BTextile andclothing B-CMaintenance88

Contexts for craft and designWith regards to Table II, all programmes havenational syllabuses for four courses in common,which equals to 400 credits. These coursesare also the only courses HP and IP have incommon. HP and SDP have two additionalcourses in common. They share national syllabusesto a total of 300 credits. SDP and IP haveseven syllabuses in common. In this case, theamount of credits is 500. However, for one of thetextile related specific courses within HP – thesequence Craft technology A-D – the syllabusis formulated in a very general way. As there areseveral directions within the programme, theteachers within each direction are requestedto interpret and specify the goals in relation totheir programme. The guided walk indicatedthat the content chosen for this course contributedto the three programmes becoming moresimilar than could be expected from the firstglance at courses and credits. Another indicationof further similarities was given during thesecond group-interview with the teachers fromSDP: they said that they had used the nationalsyllabuses for IP and HP as basis for their constructionof local syllabuses.Collective remembering– sequential group interviewsAt the beginning of the research project, weadvertised for teachers who were willing to participatein the research project by letting us intotheir classrooms. Concerning upper secondaryschool, two textile teachers from one school readthe advertisement and contacted the researchgroup. In the other cases, the researcher contactedthe schools.At the first visit to the school, the project waspresented to the teachers. Their participationwas presented as a study consisting of two parts:a session of sequential group-interviews andclassroom observations. The teachers were givenan option to take part in only the first part ofthe study or in both parts. Each teacher’s finaldecision was to be taken at the end of the firstpart. In this article, the focus is on the resultsfrom part one of the study.The organisation of the sequential groupinterviewswas inspired by works on collectiveremembering (Konkola, 2000; Middleton &Brown, 2005; Middleton & Edwards, 1990;Radley, 1990; Wertsch; 2002). The basic ideawith collective remembering is that memoryis seen as social and related to people, placesand artefacts rather than an individual, cogni-89

Contexts for craft and designtive process (Halbwachs, 1992/1925; Middleton& Brown, 2005). By interviewing groupsof people who partially share memories, thegroup-interview is a situation where people areinvited to contribute to the construction of asocial memory.However, the interview is a specific form ofconversation, in which both interviewer andthe interviewees contribute to the productionof data – the meaning of the conversation is coconstructed(Mischler, 1986; Säljö, 1994; 1999).The data produced during interview sessions isthereby a result of the interaction between thepeople involved and thus reflect the interviewsituation (Middleton & Brown, 2005; Säljö,Schoultz & Wyndhamn, 2001). How to contextualisethe situation is therefore an issue tobe considered when planning the interviews.Another aspect to be regarded is the processingof the data, e.g. by using more than one interviewsession (Lindberg, 2003a) and by circulatingsummaries and preliminary results to theparticipants for validation (Lather, 1986).In situating the interviews, I have been inspiredby the work of Konkola (2000), Berthén(2003), Borg (2001) and Ivarsson (2003). Inher study, Konkola structured the interviewsaround tools and resources. In this study, oneof the tools she constructed – a time-arrow –was used in the first interview session (of three)for collective remembering within each school.The time-arrow was drawn on a large paper onthe wall in the room. In each case, the startingpoint for time-arrow was the employment yearthe teacher who had been employed for the longestperiod of time (see also Berthén, 2003). Inthese particular schools, the respective timearrowscovered from 1986–2005 within HPand from 1992–2005 within SDP. The teacherin question was asked to start by telling whatthe school was like when (s)he started, her/hisimpressions of the teaching and the preconditionsfor teaching. Further (s)he was asked tomake comparisons with the actual situationwhenever (s)he found reason for doing so, andto tell about key events (Middelton & Brown,2005) or critical incidents (Tripp, 1994; Woods,1999) that (s)he considered had contributedto important changes within the programme.The instruction for the other teachers was tofeel free to ask questions or make commentswhenever they wanted to. In similar ways, theother teachers were told their stories a chronologicalorder with regards to when they wereemployed. While a teacher was telling his/herstory, the time-arrow was complemented withdates, names, and keywords for the persons,events etc. that were brought up.90

Contexts for craft and designThe second interview was constructed with thesteering documents (the national programme,national and local syllabuses and whatevercomplementing documents – current or previous– the teachers had considered relevant)as structuring tools. The reason for choosingsteering documents as tools for structuring theinterview was that they, when commented bythe teachers, would contribute to a somewhatmore specific picture of the design and structureof the programme within the particular school.Here, the initial instruction for the teachers wasto present the programme with the help of thesedocuments, to chose one of the first coursesand tell what the students were expected to dowithin the course. Similarly the teachers wereasked to present one of the last courses the studentsmeet in the programme. They were alsoencouraged to tell about changes that had occurredduring their employment and they consideredimportant (key events/critical incidents)– that in some way had had an impact on theprogramme offered to the students. The first twogroup-interviews were audio-taped and transcribed.Copies of the documents the teachers hadchosen for the interview were also received.The third interview was inspired by Ivarsson’s(2003) study, where she asked children to presenttheir pre-school, its places and spaces toher – what a place/space was for and what wasbeing done there. Basically, the same designwas used for this study: teacher/-s was/wereasked to introduce their workshop and otherrelevant spaces, the machines, tools and materialsused and the tasks the student would usethem for. Further, this introduction to theworkshop served as a shortcut to becomingsomewhat acquainted with the environment,the terminology, what the teachers highlighted(vs. walked by without paying attention) beforestarting part two of the study – the classroomstudies. This session was conducted as a video-& audio-taped, teacher-guided walk through theworkshop; digital photos were taken as a complement.One teacher within each of these twoprogrammes guided me through the workshop.They were instructed to comment on any changesthat had occurred in the workshop duringthe teachers’ time as an employee, when theyconsidered it important, and the consequencesof these changes for teaching and learning. Oneof the questions during the guided walk concernedif the there was some kind of succession inthe workshop with regards to where a newcomer(first-semester-student) would spend much timewhereas an old-timer would not and vice versa,and whether some workplace, machine, or toolwas more important than the others.91

Contexts for craft and designData processingThe time-arrow constructed during the firstinterview was transformed into a document andthe notes were complemented with informationfrom the transcription of the first interview. Thissummary was given to the teachers and theywere asked to complete it if they found that someimportant aspects were missing. The transcriptionsof the second interview and the audio- andvideotaped walk through the workshops contributedwith complementary information, whichwas later added to the document. The interviewtranscripts were then used for constructing narrativedescriptions of each school’s local history.Finally, similarities and differences with regardsto what the teachers within each school andprogramme want their students to learn. Thewhole process also guided my choosing of focusfor the later classroom studies.Descriptions of the schoolsIn the following, the descriptions of each schoolare structured around the following themes:a general introduction, teachers, programme,organisation of time, buildings and spaces,equipment, and tasks and material.School 1: Handicraft programme –professional development for productionThe school and this particular vocational programmehave roots that can be traced ratherfar back in time. According to books on localhistory, there have been several masters in tailoringreceiving apprentices in the region sincethe 17th century until the guilds were abandonedin 1846. Only a few decades later, a factoryrelated to textile industry was established, andlater also to clothing. The various stages in thedevelopment of Swedish vocational educationhave all been represented here. Shortly afterthe school reform of 1918, related to offeringyoung workers a combined general and theoreticalvocational education (Hedman, 2001), anapprenticeship school 6 was established in 1920.Two years later, a related vocational school 7 wasestablished. When these school forms were abandonedfor a new form, the workshop-school 8 ,one was established in 1943. With the reform of1970, vocational and general programmes formallybecame one integrated upper secondary92

Contexts for craft and designschool. However, the vocational programmeswere located in another part of the town the1990’s, when a new house was built.The number of students accepted to the programmehas increased from twelve per year,which was the case in 1984, to sixteen per yearduring the probation in the late 1980’s/early1990’s. Today this number is seventeen.TeachersIn the group of three teachers – Anna, Aliceand Adrian – Anna was employed in 1984. Twoyears later, she left the school for family reasonsbut was reemployed in 1999. Alice has beenemployed since 1989. Adrian was employed in1997. All teachers have a vocational educationor equivalent within the area. They all also haveworked several years within clothing-industry.All three teachers have a vocational teachereducation.When Anna was employed, three vocationalteachers worked within the programme, onefor the first grade and two for the second. Thenumber of teachers has remained, but nowadayseach teacher follows her/his class from gradeone to grade three. With minor exceptions,each teacher teaches all vocational courses totheir students.ProgrammeSince 1970, the vocational programmes were oftwo-years duration and this was also the caseas Anna was employed in 1984. A one-yearprogramme for further vocational educationwas introduced during the late 1980’s. Whenthe National Board of Education initiated in aprobation – related to the later restructuring ofthe upper secondary school – the headmasterof those days urged teachers from all vocationalprogrammes to participate, which they did.Part of the probation concerned the structuringof vocational subjects into specified modules– previously there was no other specificationthan vocational theory and working techniques.When the national reform of upper secondaryschool was implemented in Sweden in 1992, theheadmaster proposed the teachers should use thepossibility to postpone the implementation witha year, in order to take advantage of experiencesmade by other schools. Again the teachers choseto follow their headmaster’s advice.With the latest reform, the programmes ofupper secondary school became fewer and broader.In this particular case, it meant that theprogramme the teachers had been employedfor, clothing technology, no longer existed. Asa result of discussions within the programmeas well as with teachers from the wood tech-93

Contexts for craft and designnology programme, which also was terminated,the teachers draw the conclusions that therespective content could be framed within oneof two programmes: the industry programme orthe handicraft programme 9 . Due to the currentlabour market situation on the one hand andtrends in the figures from those days showing16-year olds’ preferences regarding the nationalprogrammes, the teachers from both programmesconsidered the handicraft programme themost relevant choice.Organisation of timeThe national curriculum regulates the time forteaching. When Anna was employed, the curriculumfrom 1970 was still in use. In those days,the national timetable stipulated that vocationaltheory was to be taught seven hours perweek each of the two years, and working techniques23–20 hours per week during the firstyear respective 28–25 hours per week duringthe second (in total app. 1700h). The introductionof modules – which was a first step towarda specification of vocational theory and workingtechniques into more explicit content – duringthe above-mentioned probation, had a structuringfunction of the time spent for the contentof each module. With the implementation ofthe curriculum of 1994 (Lpf-94), the time wasagain reorganised. Each programme was dividedinto courses: programme specific subjects, optionalcourses, individual options, and core subjects(see above). Each course comprises of 50, 100or 200 credits. Common syllabuses 10 in coresubjects were introduced for all programmes,vocational as well as general.According to the teachers, the division of thevocational subject into courses, combined withthe introduction of core subjects, resulted in ascheme that is fragmented – the students havefew opportunities to work continuously forwhole days. It is the vocational teachers’ experiencethat vocational subjects are subordinatedto core subjects (core subject teachers teachwithin all programmes, therefore the schemeis firstly planned with regards to them). Thetotal time for vocational subjects has decreased.Local decisions also have further consequencesfor how the total time is used. As mentionedabove, a credit point is approximately 60 minutesof teaching. With this flexible definition,given from the National Board of Education,the school has decided that a credit point invocational subjects should be reduced to 80percent of the recommended time. Further,various activities common for the whole schooltend to decrease the factual time for vocationalsubjects.94

Contexts for craft and designBuildings and spacesIn 1984, two separate buildings were used forthe program – one for the first grade and anotherfor the second. Five years later, they found a buildinglarge enough for the whole programme.In 1996 a new school building was erectedfor all vocational programmes. The space forthis particular programme was complementedin 1999 with a room for pattern constructionand in 2003 they were given three more rooms– two for theoretical lessons and a computerroom. There is one workshop, divided in threeinterconnected sections. Two of the sections arereserved for the students in upper secondaryschool – one for students in grades one and two,and one for students in grade three. The thirdsection is reserved for students in the advancedvocational education (19+). Anybody can movefreely between all three sections when needed.This also means that part of the equipment isshared between upper secondary school andadvanced vocational education, which contributesto reducing the costs for each of them. Theoverall impression when entering the workshopis that it is very crowded. With 16–17 studentsper group, tables for working, sewing machinesof various kinds etc. there is hardly spaceenough for two people passing each other. Inorder to manage the lack of space without creatingtoo much chaos, a system for increasingorder has been established with boxes, shelvesand routines, which the students seem wellacquainted with.EquipmentIn 1984, the basic equipment consisted of industrialsewing machines and a regular pressingequipment.In 1991 the first computer wasbought for the programme. The main equipmentis presented in table III.Table III: Main equipment (HP)Equipment N =Sewing machines: 35– industrial 22– industrial, computerized 4– household 1– overedge 4– special (knitware) 1– buttonhole 2– blind–stitch 1Pressing equipment 11– regular 8– steamer 3Tailors’ dummies 17Computers in/nearby workshop (excl.teachers’)– programme for pattern constructionThe chairs for the sewing machines are adjustablein order to make it possible for the stu-1495

Contexts for craft and designdents to find a position that is ergonomicallyright. Cutting tables and pressing equipmentare placed next to the rows of sewing machines.There is a rail for full-size patterns in cartoon,clothing in progress and ready-made clothes ineach section of the workshop, and bookshelvesfor the student’s binders. Further, there aretwo groups of four worktables – two studentsshare a table. Each student has a basket, wherethey keep patterns, fabrics, notes etc. they needfor their work. Under two of the worktables, ashelf has been made. Here tailor’s rulers of variouskinds, other small tools, and huge rolls ofwhite paper for patterns are kept. As the schoolinvested in computers and computer programmesfor pattern construction quite early – alsowith regards to textile-industry – this had animpact on the collaboration between school andindustry during the early 1990’s. The computerand the computer programme were more advancedthan what was regular within industry inthose days. Collaboration was established, basedon the industry having access to the computerprogramme within school and paying by offeringcourses in computer-based pattern construction.When the industry eventually closeddown, the school employed the person, who hadbeen working with computer-based pattern construction.Until 2003 there were looms in oneof the workshops and weaving was part of thecontent in the programme. Vocational theory,for instance pattern construction, was consideredneeding more space and therefore the wallbetween the classroom and the workshop wasreplaced in order to enlarge the classroom. Atthis point the teachers decided weaving was nolonger relevant for the programme and all loomswere removed.Tasks and materialBased on the interviews, two major changes intasks have been identified, one of which concernspattern construction. In 1984, when patternconstruction was taught, this was madein 1/4-scale only because there was not spaceenough for full-scale patterns. When the programmewas moved to another building in 1989,the 1/4-scale pattern construction was abandonedand since then full scale pattern constructionis practiced. When the first computer wasbought in 1991, manual pattern constructionwas completed with computer-based patternconstruction. Manual pattern construction isstill maintained as the basics (three courses – A,B and C – of 50 credits each), whereas computer-basedpattern construction is offered as oneof the courses (of 50 credits) within the group”Individual options”. According to the Adrian,the use of computer programmes so far requiresknowledge of the limits and possibilities96

Contexts for craft and designof changes in basic patterns, which computerprogrammesof today cannot manage.Another change in tasks is related to two matters.Firstly, a societal change related to structuralchanges in labour market. Many of theprevious textile-industries in the region haveclosed down – or moved their productionabroad. During the 1980’s, they provided theschool with jackets that were ready-cut for thestudents to sew. In this way, the students hadthe opportunity to sew many jackets and thusthey got training in repeated sewing. Today thisis not possible, which has had consequences forthe confidence and speed in sewing the studentscan develop during their time in school.Secondly, the latest reform resulted in an experienceddecrease in the time for specific subjects(Lindberg & Borg, 2006). This has contributedto a shift in the focus of tasks from productionto product – and an increased ”theoreticalwork”. According to Alice, more bookshelvesare needed nowadays, due to the fact that thestudents do more paper work. The most significantreason for this is connected to changes inthe vocational subjects; with decreased time, theteachers have changed the tasks. More time isspent on sewing models of various details (e.g.darts, pockets) needed when making basic clothes(a dress, a shirt, a pair of trousers, a jacket,a coat) and writing job-descriptions for and,occasionally, remarks on these. Sewing modelsof various details have thereby replaced the repeatedsewing, with focus on production. Thesedetails are used in the one or two garments thestudents sew within each course (trousers, dress,blouse, jacket/blazer, coat). Each student is tocollect these details in a binder as a cataloguethat (s)he can use later in life as a kind of encyclopaediafor how things are done, but also foridentifying differences between various solutionscommonly used.During the guided tour, the dominating fabricsdisplayed in the material room were woollencloth and synthetic fabrics of various kinds.There was also some cotton and silk, and linings.Dark colours (associated with jackets, trousers,coats) dominated.School 2: Specially designedprogramme – for personal developmentand private useThe school in its present form was founded in1992. Previously, there was a boarding schoolfor home economics in these buildings, establishedin the beginning of the 20th century. Dueto the reforming of upper secondary school, itwas closed down and a new, independent schoolwas established. Since the school is in the coun-97

Contexts for craft and designtryside and offers specially designed programmes,the facilitators have maintained the conceptwith a boarding school. Thus some, but not all,of the students live there for shorter or longerperiods of a semester. The first students startedtheir education in the fall of 1993.TeachersBella was employed in 1992. She has a backgroundas an industrial sewer, later she chosea further education to directress. After havingworked several years with designing clothes andcollections for Swedish clothing companies, shedecided to become a teacher. In 1998, when theschool invested in a programme for internaldevelopment she chose computing as her profilefor development. Barbara also started in 1992,but there was only a part-time employmentfor her, so already the next year she found anemployment as a sloyd teacher in comprehensiveschool. When a full-time job was announced in1997, she applied for and got the employment.Betty was employed for a part-time position in1999. She has now specialised on special educationand has a full-time employment that combinesher two competencies. All three teachershave a textile teacher education.ProgrammeThe national programme that formed the basisfor this particular programme was a generalprogramme (social studies). The specific subjectcourses integrated partly come from thehandicraft programme (textile) or the industryprogramme. Other specific subject courses arelocal, but their content is constructed based oncourses from either the handicraft programmeor the industry programme. One of the firsttasks Bella met was to, in collaboration withthe headmaster, decide on the programmeto come. With regards to the fact that therealready was a handicraft programme withinthe area, and to the labour market situationwithin Swedish textile-industry, she recommendedthat they rather should start a speciallydesigned programme than a vocational.She further emphasised the importance ofsecuring that the programme would qualifyfor higher education within the area. Thereforethe special admission requirements for textileteacher education, higher design education andthe textile university were explored in order toensure that the programme would meet theserequirements.Organisation of timeDuring the period 1993–1996 the curriculumwas revised several times. Partly this was done98

Contexts for craft and designbecause the national steering documents wererevised and partly because the syllabuses weretried out and revised with regards to experiencesmade. In 1996, a one-year continuation coursewas planned. However, it was given only once– since then all upper secondary programmes inSweden became of three years duration. Simultaneously,the curriculum was revised and aestheticswas increased in order to match the admissionrequirements for sloyd teacher education.During the late 1990’s, the students’ interestin design increased. In 2002, this resulted in arevision of the programme, with an increase ofcourses related to design at the cost of decreasein courses related to environmental matters.Buildings and spacesWhen Bella was employed, the school still wasa school for home economics, where the emphasisin relation to textile work was on weaving.During her first year she, besides teaching anddesigning the programme to come, was also torenew equipment and tools with regards to theintended programme. The workshop is dividedinto three separate rooms, two larger anda small. The rooms are the same as before, butthe space is used differently. Previously, abouttwenty looms dominated the workshops. Theywere complemented by a few sewing machines.Many of the looms have been sold and replacedby equipment related to sewing. In addition,there is a small classroom equipped with variousyarn-related material for courses where sewingmachines or cutting tables are not needed.As it is a boarding school, the workshops areopen for the students also after school, whichmakes it possible for the students to either workwith school tasks or to work with private projectsand thereby use the school’s equipmentand tools.EquipmentThe workshop is divided into three rooms, twolarger and one small. In one of the larger rooms,equipment related to sewing dominates. In theother room, the equipment is mixed. In additionto the sewing machines etc. there are alsothree smaller looms and a big one. Next to thisroom, there is a small room, which is full withlooms. In the two last mentioned rooms, someolder tools related to textile work have been usedas decoration. Table IV gives an overview of thelarger equipment in these three rooms.99

Contexts for craft and designTable IV. Main equipment (SDP)Equipment N =Sewing machines: 20– industrial 1– household 15– overedge 4Pressing equipment 4– household (steam iron)Tailors’ dummies 6Computers in/nearby workshop (excl.teachers’)– quilt software programmeLooms 14– large 8– small 6Tasks and materialThe tasks here presented are based on impressionsfrom the guided tour. The students in thisschool also produce a catalogue – a collection ofmodels of various details (darts, pockets, collarsetc) with descriptions of how the work is done.They are collected in maps in three colours –one for each main category of fabric (cotton,synthetics, and leather). The teachers motivatethe catalogue differently – as the main focusof the programme is not on professional competence,the catalogue is to be used out of thestudent’s personal interest in being able to recallhow various details are constructed.3When it comes to the products, the students arefree to choose the products they want to make asa specialisation within each course. One significantchange in the tasks in this school is relatedto the size of the products. Some years agothe teachers realised that most students had towork late in the evening in order to finish theirproducts in time. When this became clear, theyreconsidered the tasks – they realised that thetasks must be related to the time available. Sincethen, the products are chosen with regards to thetime frames – this means that the products thestudents make normally are rather small.In the workshops there are several wall cupboardswith fabrics and yarn of various kinds.Cotton, tricot and synthetic material in variouscolours (associating to leisure wear, shirts,skirts etc) dominate the fabrics. The yarn is alsoin various colours and material (cotton, woollen,synthetic).Comparison and some conclusionsAlthough the preconditions for the two schoolsare quite different, some similarities can stillbe found. The main differences that have beendiscerned are, in a broad sense, related to differenttraditions. HP has a regionally continuoustradition related to tailoring that can be tracedfar back in history – master-apprenticeship, clo-100

Contexts for craft and designthing industry, and early vocational education– whereas SDP is newly established both as anupper secondary school and as an alternative tonational programmes. The teachers within eachprogramme seem to reinforce these differences.In HP, all teachers are vocational teachers. Theyhave a previous vocational education or trainingas tailors or dressmakers and they all haveexperiences of working within clothing industry.In SDP, all teachers are textile teachers –their education is manly directed at teaching incomprehensive school, evening courses or folkhigh schools. One of them has a background asa dressmaker and has had a career within clothingindustry. When the teachers in HP feelthe time is too short for a vocational education 11 ,the teachers in SDP feel it is sufficient for itspurpose. Further, the equipment, the fabrics,and the focus in the tasks reinforce these differences.The equipment within HP is relatedto professional production – tailoring and clothingindustry – whereas the equipment withinSDP is varied and related to everyday privateuse and personal development.The most notable similarity so far is the taskrelated to the making of the catalogue. The differencewas related to how the task was motivated.When leafing through the exemplars foundin each of the programmes, the basic idea wasthe same: sewing details of various kinds forcomparison and as models for encyclopaedicuse. However, the fabrics chosen for the detailsvaried between the programmes – but so didthe choice of details included in the cataloguetoo. Again, the different objects – professionalrespective personal development – seemto motivate the choices of fabric and details.Within SDP, this task was part of the courseTextile and clothing, whereas it, within HP –where this course was not included – was partof the course Craft technology, a course withgeneral aims that needed a local interpretation.This task was seen as contributing to the studentsfocusing on specific aspects of the work– patterns, fabrics, details and combinationsetc. Teachers within both programmes relatedto similar catalogues they themselves had madeduring their respective education – vocationaleducation or sloyd teacher education. Thisencyclopaedic catalogue contributed to raisinga question about the tradition of education fortextile work: where does the task come from?Here only a brief outline for an answer is given.Some traces can be found already at the end ofthe 19th century, when a book on methodologyfor teaching in women’s sloyd was published(Lundin, 1892). This book seems to have hadan impact on the teaching of textile work inmany context in Sweden – and still has.101

Contexts for craft and designAs a conclusion, the two contexts for textile educationeach are of significance for what equipmentand tools (artefacts of various kinds – cf.Kozulin, 1998; Säljö, 2005) the students aregiven to work with within the frames of the sameor similar courses. They contribute to shapingthe learning environment and thereby to whatis mediated – in a school context this is part ofthe content. The artefacts in use mediate whattools they see as necessary for their students tolearn to use, how to use them, and how to talk ofthem in use – in vocational or everyday contexts.One specific task, the catalogue, indicates thatthe competences the teachers find important fortheir students to learn not only relate to artefactsof today, but also to a tradition. This taskaims at producing a tool – a support for thememory: an encyclopaedic catalogue. Whetherthe students choose a vocational or a speciallydesigned, general programme, the one aimingat professional and the other at personal development,they simultaneously also appropriateand become part of the cultural historical traditionof textile education.ReferencesBerthén, D. (2003). Gemensam historiebildning – ettsätt att berätta verksamhetens unika historia. Paperpresented at the NERA conference 6 – 9 March 2003in Copenhagen.Borg, K. (2001). Slöjdämnet – intryck, uttryck, avtryck.Linköping studies in education and psychology, 77.Linköpings universitet.Gy2000:08. Hantverksprogrammet. Stockholm: Skolverket.Gy2000:19. Programme manual. Programme goal and structures,core subjects, subject index for upper secondaryschool. Stockholm: National Agency for Education.Halbwachs, M. (1992/1925). On collective memory. (edited,translated and with an introduction by L. A. Coser).Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Hedman, A. (2001). I nationens och det praktiska livetstjänst: Det svenska yrkesskolesystemets tillkomst ochutveckling 1918 till 1940. Umeå universitet, Pedagogiskainstitutionen, 57.Ivarsson, P-M. (2003). Barns gemenskap i förskolan. UppsalaStudies in Education, 101. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.Uppsala universitet, Pedagogiska institutionen.Konkola, R. (2000). Yhteismuistelu työyhteisön historiaanliittyvän aineiston keräämisen välineenä [Collectiveremembering as a tool for collecting data regarding thehistory of a working unit. In Finnish]. TutkimusraporttejaNo. 3. Helsingin yliopisto, Kasvatustieteen laitos,Toiminnan teorian ja kehttävän työtutkimuksen yksikkö.Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto.Kozulin, Alex (1998) Psychological tools. A socioculturalapproach to education. Harvard University Press.Lather, P. (1986a). Research as praxis. Harvard EducationalReview, 56, 257–277.Lather, P. (1986b). Issues of validity in openly dialogicalresearch: Between a rock and a soft place. Interchange,17, (4) 63–84.102

Contexts for craft and designLeontiev, A. (1986). Verksamhet, personlighet och medvetenhet.Moskva: Progress Moskva/Fram Göteborg (originalwork published 1977).Lindberg, V. (2003a). Yrkesutbildning i omvandling. Enstudie av lärandepraktiker och kunskapstransformationer.Studies in Educational Sciences, 64. Stockholm:HLS Förlag.Lindberg, V. (2003b). Learning practices in vocationaleducation. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research,47, 157–179.Lindberg, V. & Borg, K. (2006). Educational reforms– changes in sloyd education. Paper presented at the NERAconference 9–11 March 2006 in Örebro.Lindström, L., Borg, K., Johansson, M. & Lindberg, V.(2003). Communication and learning in sloyd practices.Research application to the Swedish Research Council,April 2003.Lundahl, L. (1998). Still the stepchild of Swedish educationalpolitics? Vocational education and training inSweden in the 1990s. Thematic Network on TeacherEducation in Europe, Vol. 1, Nr 1. http://tntee.umu.se/publications/publications_uk.html#volume1 (retrieved2000-06-10).Lundin, H. (1892). Handledning i metodisk undervisningi kvinnlig slöjd (med 80 teckningar af Ebba Carlin).Stockholm: Fritze.Middleton, D. & Brown, S.D. (2005). The socialpsychology of experience. Studies in remembering andforgetting. London/Thousand Oakes/New Delhi: SagePublications.Middleton, D. & Edwards, D. (1990). ”Conversationalremembering – A social psychological approach”. In D.Middleton & D. Edwards (Eds.), Collective remembering.London: Sage.Mishler, E. G. (1986). Research interviewing: context andnarrative. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Nilsson, A. (1998). Uppkomsten av nya organisationsmodellerför yrkesutbildning i Sverige. Thematic Network onTeacher Education in Europe, Vol. 1, Nr 1. http://tntee.umu.se/publications/publications_uk.html#volume1(retrieved 2000-06-10).Prop. 2003/04:140. Kunskap och kvalitet – elva steg förutvecklingen av gymnasieskolan. Stockholm: Utbildningsdepartementet.Radley, A. (1990). ”Artefacts, Memory and a Sense of thePast”. In D. Middleton & D. Edwards (Eds.), Collectiveremembering. London: Sage.Skolverket (2000a). Education for all. The Swedish educationsystem. Stockholm: Liber distribution.Skolverket (2000b). Utvärdering av fem gymnasieprogram1999 [Evaluation of five upper secondary school programmes].Rapport nr 182. Stockholm: Liber distribution.Säljö, R. (2005). Lärande och kulturella redskap. NorstedtsAkademiska Förlag.Säljö, R. (1999). ”Dialogiska ansatser: Introduktion”. In J.Lindén, G. Westlander, G. Karlsson (Eds.), Kvalitativametoder i arbetsforskning (p. 202–209). Stockholm: Rådetför arbetslivsforskning.Säljö, R. Schoultz, J. & Wyndhamnd, J. (2001). Heavenlytalk: Discourse, artifacts, and children’s understandingof elementary astronomy. Human development, 44(103–118).Tripp, D. (1993). Critical incidents in teaching. Developingprofessional judgement. London: Routledge.Wertsch, J. V. (2002). Voices of collective remembering.Cambridge, U.K. ; New York: Cambridge UniversityPress.Woods, P. (1993): Critical events in teaching and learning.London: Falmer Press.103

Contexts for craft and designFootnotes1 Besides the national programmes, there were a good 500special vocational courses (cf. Lundalh, 1998).2 In a specially designed programme, subjects from variousnational programmes may be combined. The speciallydesigned programmes are often hybrid programmes,vocational programmes with an increased amountof general subjects or vocational subjects integrated in ageneral programme (Lindberg, 2003; Nilsson 1998).3 Core subjects (Swedish/Swedish as second language,English, the arts, mathematics, general science, physicaleducation and health, social studies) are common to allnational programmes.4 The other aims are common for all programmes. Theseconcern service-quality-responsibility; communicationskills; ethics; ICT; matters of health and security; sustainabledevelopment; and international regulations. Eachof these aims are to be related to the respective programme.5 According to a research review on sloyd-related education,most studies so far have described the history of sloyd educationon a national level. In some cases, the history ofan individual school has been described – in these casesthe focus has been on documentary-based descriptions(Lindström, Borg, Johansson & Lindberg, 2003).6 The conception apprenticeship school relates to the studentsaccepted – the admission requirements were anemployment within e.g. craft. The basic idea was that theemployer provides the apprentice with the skills necessaryfor the work whereas the school was responsible forvocationally related theoretical subjects – vocational drawing,vocational economy, and laws regulation labour andvocations (Hedman, 2001; Lindberg, 2003a).7 The admission requirements were a minimum of twoyears working experience, a completed the apprenticeshipschool. The vocational school provided advanced vocationalknowledge for individuals aiming at establishingenterprises or master-positions within industry (Hedman,2001).8 This school form was implemented in Sweden as an answerto the current labour market situation with an increasingunemployment. Therefore workshops for training wereestablished within schools as a solution to the contradictorysituation that had emerged with the previous schools;the precondition for admission to education was that youhad an employment providing you with the skills and theemployers expected their workers to be skilled (Hedman,2001, Lundahl, 1998).9 The handicraft programme is one of the smallest nationalprogrammes. It is an umbrella for several vocational areas– e.g. florists, hairdressers, tailors, carpenters (Skolverket,2000:182)10The syllabus for each core subject consists of commonobjectives, formulated in general terms. These are to becomplemented by locally formulated objectives that,according to the guidelines from the National Board ofEducation, should be infused by the character of eachprogramme (Prop. 2003/04:140).11 N.B. the steering documents specifically point out thatupper secondary school does not give vocational education,only preparatory vocational education as it is impossibleto predict the specific competencies needed.104

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Learning in practice– practical wisdom –the dialogue of the processBent IllumAbstractThis article is based on parts of the contentin my PhD thesis “Det manuelle håndverksmæssigeog læring – processens dialog”(eng.Manual handicraft and learning – a matter ofdialogue between the material and the craftsman).The aim of the research was to lookfor explanations how learning develops in themanual craft field.The article introduces a learning model – processdialogue – for the learning that takes placein the manual handicraft area. First of all anattempt is made to explain the complex circumstancesconcerning the use of the concept ofapprenticeship, and then there is a discussion ofearlier theoretical positions in relation to apprenticeshipand the area of learning, after whichthe theory and the model of process dialoguecan be presented. This theory of learning is thenpositioned in the handicraft and design processitself. In my work the model of process dialoguehas been used to show and illustrate the processin the working procedure, the external as wellas the internal process. The model demonstratesand documents the individual elements thata handicraft process (or sloyd process) consistsof, including the simultaneous perception thatis part of the element of process dialogue. Thismodel also includes the internal process, theprocess dialogue, and it is therefore also used asa basis for learning theoretical considerations ofbody-based learning (tacit knowledge).107Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 106–127 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processIntroductionThrough man’s entire existence, he has taughthimself patterns of action and edified his knowledge.A big part of this learning and knowledgeedificationhas taken place in practice – that isby acting in relation to a piece of work or a processwhich had to be handled. But how this areaof learning actually functions in the individual(learning) or for that matter in institutionalsituations of learning (teaching) has not been asubject of much interest or research. Part of thiscan be ascribed to the fact that man, when heneeds to learn something practical, only needsto have a presenter and an action which needsto be done. When he has repeated this action asufficient number of times, he has learned andwill then be able to present it to others, whocan then begin learning by acting. Often thesepresentations are not accompanied by muchlanguage. Maybe the verbal communication isjust: ”Look here. You just do this...”, ”Now itis your turn.” How does the individual learn inthis situation, and what becomes of this knowledge?When we know that we know it and wecan present it to others, why do we not verbalizethe actions and the knowledge? Are these patternsof action and this knowledge silent (tacit),or is it just not necessary to verbalize? Are therewithin this field ways of communication whichhave not yet been examined?The situation of learning in schooland in everyday lifeIn the Danish Folkeskole the subjects are oftendivided into ”the academic subjects” and ”theothers”, the non-academic subjects, the practical-and art subjects, the creative subjects or theaesthetic subjects. There are a number of termswhich seek to cover the areas for the non-academicsubjects. But here are also problems; thechosen term usually does not cover the entirearea. For instance, the term ”practical subjects”does not include the subjects music, arts andphysical education or does it? That completelydepends on which perspective you take. Butactually this dividing up into academic andnon-academic subjects might be interchangeablewith the fact that there are different learningconditions, which are manifesting themselves.Pedagogues and psychologists have for at longtime been interested in the learning conditionsin the so-called academic part of the subjectspectrum; but how does the learning take placein the other part of the subject spectrum? Hereit looks like the learning situations more resemblethose that take place in everyday life, forinstance in the homes and perhaps some placesin the business life, where the individual adultteaches the rising generation the necessary skills,more than they resemble those that take placein the academic part of the subject spectrum.108

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processFrom this argumentation it could look like thelearning conditions in the non-academic subjectshave something to do with the action- andknowledge learning as it takes place in everydaylife, where practical actions and knowledge arelearned. When empiricism concerning this fieldof learning must be gathered through research,it will therefore be possible to do so both in aninstitutional context in the Folkeskole, in a contextof everyday life, or in another context wherepractical skills and knowledge is being learned.My research, which underlies this article, isbased on empiricism collected at a Folkeskole.On the basis of the above-mentioned problematicsconcerning the learning conditions in thepractical field, it will be interesting to considerthe learning conditions as they are describedin the traditional craft’s apprenticeship, whereone has traditionally learned skills and knowledgein practice.Research in the learning fieldof the craft’s apprenticeshipCraft’s apprenticeship has been known sincethe Middle Ages as a concept and a form ofpractice. The concept has had different valueand content concerning the perspective of theperson speaking or writing about it. The perspectivecould be based in economic competences,educational conditions, historical conditions,learning systems, handicraft skills,social competences or professional competences.It is obvious that so many and such differentperspectives will never have the same opinionabout a certain field. Through the last part ofthe last century, the craftsmanlike educations,which used craft’s apprenticeship in Denmark,underwent a number of changes (Sigurjonsson.2003), but in the end of the 20th century andin the beginning of the 21st century, the politiciansin Denmark once again became awareof the importance of craft’s apprenticeship as aform of education. Lave and Wenger in 1991submitted their research achievements in thebook ”Situated learning – Legitimate peripheralparticipation”. In this they told how theirtheory about situated learning and legitimateperipheral participation among other thingshas come about on the basis of field researchwith the Vai and Gola tailors in West Africa.By observing life, work and the way of educatingwith these tailors, Lave and Wenger formedtheir theory. It was especially the conception oflearning which was the focus of interest for theseresearchers. Traditionally learning can be consideredas ”a certain kind of individual shorttermmental exercise” (Lave. I: Nielsen & Kvale1999. p. 39). This definition generally appliesto the research fields of anthropology, psychology,sociology and social theory. In educational109

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processconnections in the western countries, learninghas traditionally taken place in formal institutionalizedcontexts; but with the tailors inWest Africa, Lave and Wenger could describeanother method of learning, another system oflearning, which somehow was different fromthe formal institutionalized method. Judgingfrom the descriptions, it is probably the samemethod as has previously been present in thecraft’s apprenticeship in our society. Lave andWenger found that the learning took place inthe working partnership in the practice situation– the circumstance they called ”situatedlearning”. Through the observations they alsofound that education took place in a way where”the apprentice” participated very little in thebeginning, yes he might even only observe,while later he participated in easy processes andin the end he participated fully in the practiceproduction. In their theory this phenomenonis called ”legitimate peripheral participation”.Their observations showed that while ”theapprentice” learned the handicraft he was alsoeducated to becoming a member of the tailors’society. This applied both to the commercial,the educational, the social, the organizationaland the economical fields. From an anthropologicalperspective you can say that this educationprimarily took place as a socializationcourse similar to the thoughts of Lave andWenger, where socialization took place througha number of situated learnings.This argumentation you also find in other placeswith Lave (Lave. I: Jacobsen. 2001). On thisbasis Lave and Wenger think that learning assuch concerning the craftsmanship only takesplace in situated practices. I will question thisand return to this later in this article.Hubert and Stuart Dreyfus also did researchin the end of the 20th century on the conceptof learning; but their basis was in the computerdevelopment and the consequent wish forfurther knowledge about the human concept ofintelligence. Through the book ”Towards a Phenomenologyof Ethical Expertise” (Dreyfus &Dreyfus. 1991) they discuss their theory of thedevelopment of the craftsmanlike competencewith examples of practice, from for instance,playing chess and driving a car. These thoughtsare continued in ”Life on the internet” (Dreyfus,H. 2001). They research is from a psychological,philosophical point-of-view; but theirfocus is also aimed at the learning process assuch. They state that knowledge and experiencearise through practice training. Training shallnot be understood here as an unconscious repetition;but as a common use of craftsmanlikeskills in everyday life. Their theory includes110

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processfive levels from the neophyte to the expert. Theneophyte learns by means of rules and instructions.The expert works in an intuitive, holisticway, as Dreyfus & Dreyfus described, basedon his/her many prior practice experiences withhis/her problem-solving and he/she achieves inthat way results of a high qualitative level. Thistheory of learning depends on a form of socialgathering in the form of a kind of ”education”on the first levels, neophyte and advanced neophyte.There the education has an asymmetricalrelationship between a master and an apprenticeor between a teacher and a student, even thoughit does not necessarily have to take place in aformal, institutionalized context. On the twolast levels, the competent and the expert, it isthe holistic, and in the case of the expert, alsothe intuitive holistic way of working, which isprevailing. This way of working must absolutelybe said to be individual. The learning, whichtakes place on these two levels, must thereforealso be subject oriented.These two very different learning theories aboutlearning in relation to the handicraft weightthe social aspect very differently. In Lave andWenger’s theory the situated learning, whichtakes place in a social context, the central aspect.Dreyfus & Dreyfus’ learning theory focus onlearning which takes place in the person, I amtempted to say ”inside” the person, and whichis being summed up there.Do these differences have grounds in differentscientific basis, anthropology respectively psychology/philosophy?That is possible. Lave andWenger only deal with which learning takesplace in the individual tailor, in relation tobeing absorbed and admitted into the tailors’community. Their examinations are based ona wish to uncover some conditions concerningdifferent kinds of learning in a formal and aninformal context. H. and S. Dreyfus deal withlearning in relation to the individual person’sskills and competences which relates to masteringone craftsmanlike area or another. The basisis to want to uncover the human intelligence inrelation to its usability or uselessness in relationto the computer industry. These two very differenttheories show a little of how broad theconception of the craft’s apprenticeship is justin the area of learning.The craft’s apprenticeship and the learning, orthe learning systems it contains, are accordingto the new broad and complex conception ofintelligence, a very complicated field. Manyresearchers deal with this complicated fieldof research. From the anthropological, socialfield can be mentioned Lave & Wenger (1991,111

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the process2003), Nielsen and Kvale (1999), Dreier, (In:Nielsen and Kvale, 1999). From the psychological,philosophical field can be mentionedH. & S. Dreyfus (1999, 2001), Johannessen(1999), Nielsen & Kvale (1999), Molander(1993), Schön (2001) and Gustavsson (2000).From the field of brain research, which mustbe considered a sub-field to the psychological,philosophical, medical field, can be mentionedBergström (1998) and Gerlach (1999), and fromthe field of working life can be mentioned Illeris(2002) and Schön (2001).Analysis of the craft’sapprenticeship’s learning fieldIn order to uncover and define learning in practice,I believe there is a need to analyze, not onlythe very broad conception of craft’s apprenticeship,but also the learning systems whichare to be found. In most educational courses,at the time where the education is established,you can find a certain purpose concerning thegoals of knowledge and skills, which are desiredimproved in the individual. At the place ofeducation, which can be a business or an educationalinstitution, a method to improve thelearning of the desired knowledge and skills ischosen. Based on the given education/exemplification,a learning takes place in the individualstudent or apprentice, which can be read as ”amore or less permanent change in behavior asa result of experiences, knowledge and exercisesby ones own choice of activities, work andassignments” (Hansen. 1998).I call the relation between goal, contents,method and learning profile a ”system of learning”in this connection. From this definition,containing several parameters, it is clear thatdifferent learning systems can be found.Especially the learning systems, in relation tothe problem presented in this article, are essentialto get clarified. The conception of craft’sapprenticeship as such contains as mentioneda number of sub-fields, such as business competence,business understanding, economicalcompetence, social competence, historic conditions,the educational conditions of the craft’sapprenticeship as well as the craftsmanlike professionalskills and the actual learning systemsof the craft’s apprenticeship, which each havetheir own learning style.It is the learning systems or the learning stylesand the craftsmanlike skills and knowledge ofthese, which relate to the problem field of thisarticle. The essential questions in this connectionmust be:112

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the process1. What are the contents of the learning?2. Which learning system applies?Already in these two questions, the complexityof the field becomes obvious, because there areseveral answers to each of the questions.When I look at what an apprentice in Denmarklearns during his education, it turns outthat there are several focuses of learning duringthe education. Naturally there are labor marketdirected goals of skills, knowledge and competences;but that is not the only thing the apprenticelearns. He/she is also implanted with/taughtan identity in the course of the apprenticeship/education. It is the special group identity, whichjust in Denmark belongs to this particular educationfield. As a figurative example of this canbe mentioned that blacksmiths usually wear bluework clothes, carpenters wear khaki or white andbricklayers wear white. This is how it is, withoutthere being any clear logical explanationfor this. If a carpenter one day comes to work inblue work clothes, it is not well received.The different craftsmen also have a clear notionof the craftsmanlike hierarchy and know exactlywhere they are placed themselves. On topof that, most craftsmen also have a clear notionof where their actual trade is on society’s socialladder. So in the course of the training ascraftsmen a clear group identity preparation ofthe apprentice takes place, so that he/she canbecome a valid member of this actual professionalor rather social professional environment.In my opinion this phenomenon is a result ofwhat Lave & Wenger call legitimate peripheralparticipation (Lave & Wenger In: Nielsen& Kvale. 1999). In the training a more or lessconscious influence of the person has taken placefrom peripheral participation to complete participationin the community. There has beena social learning (a learning of a social nature)towards complete participation. This learninghas mostly taken place in social contexts in thepractice community, in what some researchers(Lave & Wenger; Nielsen & Kvale and Dreierin: Nielsen and Kvale. 1999) describe as situatedlearning.But where has the professional learning of skills,knowledge and competences taken place, then?Does it follow on its own as a covert learning,a kind of silent transfer of knowledge, as a byproductto the above-mentioned social learning?I do not find that likely. I do not even think ithas been rendered probable that there is a directconnection between the social learning andthe professional learning, apart from the factthat they both take place in the same learning113

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processspace. I actually believe, that it is this indistinctcondition, which causes Merete Munk in herbook ”Mesterlære retur” to be able to exposea considerable criticism to the craft’s apprenticeshipas it is interpreted by Lave & Wengerand others, especially in the area of learning.Munk summed up her criticism of the craft’sapprenticeship in Lave & Wenger’s interpretationwith the words:”It has further been shown that the craft’sapprenticeship does not distinguish betweenlearning and socialization, and that the craft’sapprenticeship is not a theory about learning,but solely deals with socialization.” (Munk.2002. p. 114)The complexity of the craft’sapprenticeshipOut of this complex field, I am in this articleoccupied with how learning takes place in thisfield. It must be likely that the learning towardsso many joint-fields as the model contains, takesplace at different times and in different ways,but in what ways? Which areas are the mostimportant for the apprentice? In which ordermust the most important areas be learned? Itmust be expected that even though the educationtoday mostly are education of exchange(Sigurjonsson. 2003), the learning for the partof a large number takes place in practice fieldsof formal or informal character. But which practicefields are we talking about here?That indicates that the craft’s apprenticeship’svery complex field could look like the figure 1.HistoricconditionsEconomiccompetencesSocialcompetenceLearningsystemsThe complexity of the craft’s apprenticeshipFigure 1 (Illum. 2004. p. 71)EducationalconditionsBusinesscompetenceCraftsmanlikeskillsThese above-mentioned considerations thenmean that, in my opinion, there are at least twolearning spheres/learning systems within thecraft’s apprenticeship or as I prefer to call it inthis connection, the craftsmanlike field. Thatindicates that the craft’s apprenticeship’s verycomplex field could look like the figure below.The one learning system must be of a socialcharacter, since it is directed towards the personal,towards the formation of a group identityas craftsman of the certain kind, whichthis training is directed towards. This learning114

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processtakes place, as mentioned above, within theconceptions of legitimate peripheral participationand situated learning. The other learningsystem must be the learning field which givesthe apprentice craftsmanlike skills and competences.By craftsmanlike I here mean specificbody-based skills and competences, whichare relevant to the handicraft in question. Forinstance it applies to the carpenter that he needsto possess body-based skills and knowledge thatmake him capable of using his tools to as anexample make an attic on a house.The last-mentioned learning system has fulfilledits mission, when a person has achieved the necessaryprofessional skills, knowledge and competences.The person will also have obtained a strongself-esteem and a personal identity feeling whichwill probably melt together with the above-mentionedsocial formation of identity. Maybe it isprecisely these two different ways towards thecraftsmanlike joint identity which, when theyhave not been looked at separately, have contributedto muddling the learning image in the craftsmanlikefield. From the last-mentioned argumentationthe joint image of learning and of formationof identity looks as the figure below.The learning course of the craft’s apprenticeship.Figure 2 (Illum. 2004. p. 72)The above-mentioned formation of an identityand professional learning in the apprentice takesplace through two different learning systems inthe learning course of the craft’s apprenticeshipand can be illustrated as on the figure below.The joint formation of identity relationship ofthe craft’s apprenticeship. Figure 3 (Illum. 2004.p. 73).The learning courseof the craft’s apprenticeshipThe social learningSituated learning/legitimate peripheralparticipationThe craftsmanlikelearning/the skilllearningThe learning courseof the craft’s apprenticeshipThe social learningSituated learning/legitimate peripheralparticipationProfessional and personalformation of identityThe craftsmanlikelearning/the skilllearning115

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processThe handicraft expertsas minority or majorityThe professional, traditional craftsmen inthe North are often looked at as a ”dying outrace” in the post modern society. The Nordiccountries nowadays do quite a bit to register theancient handicrafts before they become completelyextinct. Gradually as society changes moreand more rapidly, the demands to the productswe surround ourselves with will change. Thereforethe needs for different types of professionalcraftsmen will also change over time. That iswhy, in my opinion, nothing strange if some ofthe traditional handicrafts diminish drasticallyor disappear completely. On this backgroundit is commendable that some people undertaketo gather material about these types of handicrafts,before it is too late. But new ”handicrafts”also turn up. New products and processesare developed, which need to be masteredand treated by somebody. As examples of thiscan be mentioned that the pyramid-builder isextinct, that air mechanic has turned up, theplumber has within his field changed the coalfurnace for the gas furnace, and the factoriesproduce new products developed by differentkinds of designers.That the number of traditional professionalcraftsmen is going down can be seen in statisticalworks; but many work situations in boththe business world and in the everyday life containskills of craftsmanlike character. Craft’sapprenticeship as a learning system has survivedin the trades and the skill-areas, whichhad a craft’s apprenticeship-like educationalsituation, for instance singers, painters, architects.Now we can add new titles to the fieldof professional craftsmen, such as designers,creators, textile developers and so forth. Therehas become many more of these occupationalnames. So to me the ”handicraft” is still goingstrong, when this is understood as to be able touse one’s hands by means of body-based experiencesand skills to produce something, whichothers will pay for.Learning to produce the products which arenecessary to survive in ones own culture hasalways been a characteristic for man (Mollerup.1998), for that matter, a skill which separatesus from the animals. Learning to produce theseproducts based on body-based experiences, toolsand reflection on the process is a consequenceof man’s way of using his senses.If this is the case, it means that the learningmethod, where the function of the senses andthe dialogue of the process (learning in practice)which form a whole, is fundamental and116

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processhumanly universal. Based on this backgroundit can be said that the way of learning, whichfor instance is in focus by researchers such asLave and Wenger, the Dreyfus brothers, Illumand others, partly with an anthropological andpartly with a psychological, intelligence- andlearning theoretical basis, actually points outthe learning method of the handicraft, which isa part of the universal human learning method.It looks to me like the people, who have theopportunity to use and do use this way of learning,do not constitute a minority, but a majorityof humanity.The craftsmanlike learningThe social learning system is as earlier mentionedtreated and described by researchers suchas Lave & Wenger, Kvale & Nielsen, Dreyerand others, while what I call the craftsmanlikelearning is not quite as well described. Intheir theory about intuitive expertise, Hubertand Stuart Dreyfus discuss the results of thiscraftsmanlike learning; but they hardly mentionhow this learning takes place and how it leavesits marks in man, leaves its marks in the body.The craftsmanlike kind of learning happens to alarge extent through the senses. When we workwith our hands, almost everything is taken inthrough the senses, both the far-away senses(sight and hearing) and the nearby senses (taste,smell and tactile senses). If the perception takesplace through one sense, there may be a fine perception;but if there is a multi sense perception,then this is much stronger than the first-mentioned(Beck and Wellershoff. 2002).By manual craftsmanlike labor and learning thetactile and sight senses are leading; but also thehearing and smelling senses are essential. Thetaste sense usually has less importance. Here areperception situations where the multi sensing isthe prevalent. On this basis it must be a good,efficient way of learning, which can be found inthe manual craftsmanlike field. But how doesthe learning itself take place, and how can theresults of this learning be stored and recycledas knowledge, skills and competences?The process course for the sloydprocess / the handicraft processWhen you work within one of the areas of sloydor handicraft, your work traverses a course, aprocess, a work process for the practical work.This process has many names: The DanishMinistry of Education’s Executive Order usethe conceots the creative and craftsmanlike production(www.faellesmaal.uvm.dk/fag/Sloejd/formaal) or the design and work process (www.faellesmaal.uvm.dk/fag/Sloejd/beskrivelser).The curriculum for the previous graduate educationat Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitet117

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processuses the name the process for aesthetic practicalwork (DLH. 1993). The design theorists usethe design process, and the philosopher MichaelHusen calls the process the entire work (Husen.1984). It is a process, which has been focusedby researchers especially within the frameworkof Nordic Forum for Research and Development(NordFo) by Linnea Lindfors (Lindfors.1992), Kajsa Borg (Borg. 2001), Jan Sjögren(Sjögren. 1997), Christina Nygren-Landgärds(Nygren-Landgärds. 2000) and others. Theseresearchers have all worked from their separatebasis, with their separate perspective, towardstheir separate focus – and essential points inthe sloyd process’ long and complex course hasbeen thoroughly examined. But the total imageof the sloyd process’ course is not yet completelyelucidated, and many questions are stillto be answered, like: What is the essential inthe handicraft- and sloyd process? What is thefundamentals of handicraft- and sloyd process?Or in the modern, Danish discussion terminology:What is the core of our subject area? Tome the core is definitely of a learning theoreticalnature!Pointing out and clarifyingthe dialogue of the processAt a seminar in Gothenburg, Sweden, withinthe framework of Nordic Handicraft Forum, astudy – the Maihaugen Report (Godal. 1999)– was quoted for. The question was which wasthe most essential to the ancient craftsmen intheir education and professional experience,the knowledge of materials or the knowledgeof tools. This knowledge is not to be understoodas if the individual craftsman or ”sloydsman”knows where to buy wood or how to hitwith a hammer. It is to be understood as theindividual having to obtain a more profoundunderstanding of the differences of materials.What is the characteristics of the materials,their potential, their limitations and that theindividual must be able to use the tools in sucha way, that they have become a periodically integratedpart of the person himself. I can give anexample. When a young child uses a hammer,it takes all of the child’s attention to hold onto the hammer and to hit, that is to move thehammer in a way which makes the head of thehammer even hit the nail. When the skilled”sloydsman” or craftsman uses a hammer, hisattention is turned to the intrusion of the nailinto the material. If the process turns out the wayit should, the ”sloydsman” also manages to keepan eye on the materials, which are to be nailedtogether, to ensure that they have been correctlyplaced in proportion to each other. In otherwords, the focus has been shifted. The tool hasbecome an integrated part of the ”sloydsman”118

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processhimself, and the attention is no longer wherethe hand ends, but where the tool ends. Thiscould also be expressed by the fact that focus hasbeen shifted from using his energy, consciousnessand power to getting the tool to work, todirecting focus in the working process towardsgoing into dialogue with the material.In the here mentioned working process withhitting a nail into a material, probably made ofwood, one can ask one-self if a dialogue arises– what I call the dialogue of the process. Theword dialogue stems from the Greek word’dialogos’, which means conversation or discussion.Can you then call the craftsmen hittinga nail a dialogue? Can something whichis usually non-verbal or silent, be a dialogue? Ibelieve that a conversation or communicationcan be described as an exchange of views andarguments concerning a common field, and itis in this way I metaphorically apprehend thedialogue of the process. Man and tool constitutethe one participant in the dialogue and thematerial is the other participant. The commonfield is the working process itself. In a verbaldialogue man mainly uses his auditory senseto hear words (sounds), which results in internalvisualization and conceptualization. I hereallow myself to except body language, facialexpressions and so forth as a part of the verbaldialogue. In the dialogue of the process manalso uses his senses, but in a slightly differentand broader way.An example: When the ”sloydsman” puts thenail in that place on the wood material wherethe nail is to be hammered in, he intuitivelyestimates from his knowledge of this exactkind of wood, this kind of nail and this sizeof hammer, how hard he needs to hit with thehammer. After the first blow the ”sloydsman”can, if he is attentive, sense how the activity hasbeen carried out. He can hear how the sound wasin relation to the sound he expected. He knowsthe sound of a correct blow. With the auditorysense he perceives the sounds of the process,and he compares these sounds with his experience-basedknowledge of sounds when a nail ishammered in. From this comparison alone, the”sloydsman” can determine whether the processgoes correctly or whether something needs to becorrected. Besides, he can see whether the nailwent straight in as he anticipated, or whetherit went in askew in relation to what he anticipated.With the sight he reads this thumbnailsketch, which is a result of his extension, thetool’s working up of the material, his ”remark”to the material. If the nail has gone straightin, he can also, by interpreting the image, seeif it has gone in as far as he expected. The tac-119

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processtile sense makes out the resonance or recoil thehammer produces in the hand as a result of theblow. This recoil tells the ”sloydsman” how theworking up of the material in the process hasbeen – successful or insufficient. By reading,”hearing” and feeling these reports, ”remarks”,from the material in the process, the ”sloydsman”obtains the knowledge he needs in orderto proceed with the process. Then comes thenext blow – the next remark from the ”sloydsman”– and once again the material ”answers”him in the working process itself. An answer,which can be read by means of the senses, andwhich the ”sloydsman” understands by virtueof his body-based experience. He reflects uponan answer and is then able to give his answer– that is to act. In this way the dialogue continues– what I call the dialogue of the process– until the nail has been completely hammeredin. Often the process is concluded with anevaluation – a sense-like evaluation, where the”sloydsman”, if he is right-handed, brushes overthe head of the nail with the tips of his left-handfingers, to feel – sense tactilely – whether thenail is all the way into the wood.This way a dialogue arises between man + tooland material in the course of the sloyd processor handicraft process each time a tool worksin a material.The dialogue of the process is in the fieldwithin the triangle carried out between product/intention,man + tool and material.Man+toolProduct/intentionTriangle model of the dialogue of the process:Figure 4 (Illum. 2004. P. 87)MaterialIn the course of developing the triangle modelof the dialogue of the process, I was aware ofthe fact that the conception of a product did notcover all the areas, which could be the result ofthe dialogue of the process during a sloyd- orcraftsmanship process. The dialogue of the processalso occurs in, for instance, many practicalworking processes like it is to mend a bicyclepuncture. Here it is more of an intention; a specificgoal man has with the working process. Itmeans that the practical working process caneither have a specific product or a problem-solvingintention as its goal.120

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processThe word intention made me think back to OttoSalomon, the Swede who came up with and definedthe concept of ”the pedagogical sloyd”. Hewas already in the end of the 1800s working onfinding the essential – in the modern Danishterminology the core of the field – in the sloyditself. For many years he wondered, and discussedwith many others – what should be consideredto be truly central in the sloyd – in thehandicraft? In the end he found the inspirationto be able to see the connection. He believed thathis thought about ”en övning” [a practise] wasso clear that he called it his ”Columbi egg”. Heformulated the fact of carrying out ”en övning”or to ”slöjda” in this way: ”En övning är bearbetandetav ett material af en viss beskaffenhetmed et visst verktyg för ett visst syfte” (Thorbjörnsson.1990. p. 62). [ ”To work with sloydis to work up a certain material with a certaintool with a certain intention” (Illum. 1999)].Combined with my later research concerningthe dialogue of the process, the result will be: Towork with sloyd is to work up a certain materialwith a certain tool with a certain intention in areflection supported by senses.Model of Otto Salomon’s Columbusegg and The dialogue of theprocessThis condition can be made into a model. OttoSalomon’s thesis can, if it is made into a trianglemodel, be seen as an outer frame aroundthe model for the dialogue of the process, orrather the dialogue of the process is a suggestionof what goes on deeper within the core ofthe sloyd as Otto Salomon described the overallwith his Columbi egg about the sloyd. Inthis way Otto Salomon became aware of thecore of the sloyd – the handicraft, while mylater research about the dialogue of the processis a suggestion of how to uncover the core itselfand its contents.The Columbus egg and the dialogue of the process:Otto Salomon’s Columbus eggProduct/intentionFigure 5 (Illum. 2004. p. 88)121

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processWhere in the sloyd- or handicraftprocess does the dialogue of theprocess occur?I have already described the working processitself as the sloyd process or the handicraft process– here I use the Scandinavian meaning ofthe words. From other perspectives than thatof the handicraft, this working process also hasother designations, like the entire working process,the aesthetic practical process, practicalwork and the design process. These different,non-craftsmanlike perspectives on the workingprocess are obviously suggestions of what couldbe the contents of the process. They can all bedescribed in general terms by the following foursub-elements in the working process: idea, planning,carrying out and evaluating. This is illustratedin the model below as the linear progressof the ideal working process.Idea – Planning – Carrying out – EvaluatingThe linear progress in the sloyd/handicraft/designprocessFigure 6 (Illum. 2004. p. 89)Where in this progress is the dialogue of theprocess then? Considering that the dialogueof the process is defined as the field betweenman + tool, material and product or intention,it means that the dialogue is carried on duringthe implementation itself. But the learninglikeresults of the dialogue of the process – theexperience, the awareness – partly the bodybasedexperience and partly the knowledge ofmaterials and tools, which are left and gatheredin man (Illum. 2004), are used in a broaderway in the sloyd- and handicraft process.This knowledge of materials and tools, whichis gathered in man in the course of many processdialogues, contributes to form the basisof both planning and evaluating the finalproduct/intention. To sum up, the dialogueof the process takes place in the execution ofthe practical work itself; but the learning andthe formation of experience, which emerges asa result of the dialogue of the process, is alsothe reason for the process phases of planningand evaluating.In the working practice of everyday life it oftenhappens that the working process is not linear.There can be many reasons why a sub-processsuddenly becomes problematic in the progress.Therefore it can be necessary to go back in theworking process and change some conditions ortechniques in order to proceed again. The describedideal linear process thereby often becomesmore or less circular in practice. See the modelof the design process below. The dialogue of122

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processthe process in this model also takes place in theexecution- or production phase.Formulation of problemFormulation of ideaTesting of ideaAnalysis/problem solvingMaking up one’s mindProductionEvaluationThe circular progress of the sloyd-/handicraft-/design processFigure 7 (Illum. I: Sløjd nr.5/2001. p. 159)Communication in and around thedialogue of the processThe communication in the dialogue of the processis usually inaudible since it takes place insidethe individual person in a more or less consciousform, or I could also in relation to Dreyfus’theory about intuitive expertise (Dreyfus &Dreyfus. 1991) call it in a more or less intuitiveform. Regardless of how experienced the individualis, the dialogue in the dialogue of theprocess usually takes place as an inner dialogue.Exceptions from this, however, can accordingto my empiricism be observed, if the dialogueof the process’ degree of difficulty exceedsthe participant’s simultaneous communicativecapacity, Case examples can be observed, wherethe person uses either his body language or hisspoken language as an underlining element inthe dialogue (Illum. 2004). Examples of suchoccurrences, which are categorized as commentingverbalization, can be that the personthrows the thing aside, or that he commentswith ”Wheeeee....” or ”Ohhh....”.It looks different if the context surroundingthe learning situation is contemplated. Here itmight be expected that the normal verbal formof communication, the spoken language, willbe used. In the institutionalized context, wheremy empiricism was gathered, it was to be expectedthat the normal spoken language would beused explanatory and descriptive, as it often isin institutional teaching situations. However,there were very few of this kind of occurrencesin the educational course where I was present.The entire educational course was recorded onvideo, so there were picture- and sound coverageof the informants in a large part of the timethey were present.This picture- and sound coverage showed thatthe communication in this workshop-like practicefield took place in a combination of linguisticsand three-dimensional demonstration,where the three-dimensional demonstration123

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processwas the focus of the communication. In otherwords it was a kind of bodily-based communication(the three-dimensional demonstration)which was the center of the learning space. Thedirect speech, verbalization, which takes placecommunicatively in the learning space surroundingthe bodily actions, is complex since it isoften constructed differently from the everydaylanguage. To me it looks like humans, whenindividuals work in the manual craftsmanlikefield with learning and transferring of knowledge,they make use of a symbiosis of verbalizationand bodily demonstration.These conditions make me able, by means ofmy material, to categorize verbalization forms,which I call parallel verbalization, metaphoricalverbalization and summing up verbalization(Illum. 2004). These are all verbalization formswhich differ from the everyday language, sincethey usually in practice situations are very muchtied to the context. Tied to the context in relationto a three-dimensional demonstration ora talk, examination or correction in relation tospecific manual craftsmanlike conditions.Memory conditions concerningbodily learningWhat will become of these skills and this knowledgeonce the individual has learned? Mostpeople know how difficult it has been to learnto ride a bicycle, to swim or to drive a car. Mostpeople also know for themselves whether theyhave these skills, and if they are asked to do so,they can also show and perhaps explain the skillsin question; but there is hardly anyone who canexclusively explain it.This has to do with the way humans remember.We have different kinds of memory storages,for instance the short-term memory. Like,for example, a telephone number which has tobe remembered in a short period of time, untilwe have dialed the mumber. The long-termmemory has several memory registers (Vedfelt.2002). The conditions or skills, which needto be learned, must first be processed in thereflexive register. When the learning as such hastaken place, the skills and the knowledge mustbe stored in a memory register. The practicalor the bodily skills and knowledge are stored inthe procedural register (Illum. 2004, 2004b),which can be found in a person’s unconsciousmind. This might exactly be the explanationwhy these kinds of skills and knowledge are notusually phrased; but are precisely communica-124

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processted through three-dimensional demonstration– through bodily action. It is the body that possessesthe learned knowledge!ConclusionIn the beginning of this article I outlined theproblem field concerning learning in practice,including the questions of where and how learningin practice takes place and how the learnedskills and knowledge, the practical wisdom,is stored in the individual person. I also raisedthe question about communication forms inthis learning field.an inner dialogue within the individual andan outer interpersonal communication. Theouter communication conditions are complexand to a great extent tied to and dependant onthe context.An additional clarification of the outer communicativeconditions in the craftsmanlike learningspace is desirable as it, together with knowledgeof the dialogue of the process, could form thebasis of a didactic understanding, which willcause a further qualification of the learningconditions in this field.Learning in practice goes on everywhere wherepeople use their hands and their body for workingprocesses of different kinds and complexity.Based on this argumentation I have examinedthis learning space as it can be found in the sloydworkshop in the Danish Folkeskole.In the article I have, based on my research,argued for the dialogue of the process as thecrux of learning which takes place throughpractice, and for the fact that the skills andknowledge which occurs through the learningare being stored in the procedural register in thememory. I have pointed out that the communication,which takes place in the craftsmanlikelearning space, is in two parts as there is both125

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processReferencesBeck, J. & Wellershoff, H. (2002). Sanserne i undervisningen.København. Gyldendal.Bergström, M. (1998). Neuropædagogik: en skole for helehjernen. København. Reitzel.Borg, K. (2001). Slöjdämnet intryck – uttryck – avtryck.Linköping. Linköpings University, Department ofbehavoiral Science.Danmarks Lærerhøjskole. (1993). Den pædagogiskekandidatuddannelse – studieordning ´90 – studieplanfor pædagogisk hovedretning, faglig pædagogisk linie,musisk-æstetiske studieretninger Danmarks Lærerhøjskole.København.Dreyfus, H & S. (1991). Intuitiv ekspertise: Den bristededrøm om tænkende maskiner.Dreyfus, H. (2001). On the Internet. London. Routledge.Gerlach, C. (1999). The functional organization of knowledgeand its implamentation in the brain. København.Københavns Universitet.Godal, J. B. (1999). Skisser og fabuleringer kring handverkspedagogikk.Tromsø/Lillehammer. De Sandvigskesamlinger.Gustavsson, B. (2000). Kunskapsfilosofi. Wahlström &Widstrand.Hansen, M. m.fl. (red) (1998). Psykologisk pædagogiskordbog. Gyldendal.KøbenhavnHusen, M. (1984). Arbejde og identitet. København. NytNordisk.Illeris, K. (red.). (2002). Udspil om læring i arbejdslivet.Frederiksberg. Roskilde Universitets forlag.Illum, B. (2001). Teorier bag design. I: SLØJD nr. 5/2001.Tema: Design. Århus. Danmarks Sløjdlærerforening.Illum, Bent. (1999). Otto Salomons didaktik og æstetik – setfra det 21. århundrede. København. DLH. §3 opgave.Kandidatuddannelsen i sløjd, Danmarks Lærerhøjskole.Illum. B. (2004). Det manuelle håndværksmæssige og læring– processens dialog. Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitet.København.Illum. B. (2004b). Tavs viden eller ........praktisk klogskab– Et bidrag med henblik på at afdække og diskutereproblematikker omkring begrebet tavs viden dels sombegreb og dels som forekomst i håndværksmæssig læring.I: Nygren-Landgärds. C & Borg. K. (red.) (2004). Slöjdforskning.Artiklar från forskerutbildningskursen Slöjdoch bild i en vetenskapsfilosofisk och metodologisk kontext.Publikation nr. 9/2004. Vasa: Pedagogiske fakulteten.Åbo Akademi.Jacobsen, N. m. fl.(red.). (2001). Fra undervisning tillæring. Svebølle. Kalundborgegnens produktionsskole.Johannesen, K. (1999). Noen aspekter ved taus kunnskap.PLF-rapport nr. 2/99. Bergen. København. Munksgaard.Lave, J & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimateperipheral partipitation. CambridgeLave, J. & Wenger, E. (2003). Situeret læring og andretekster. København. Hans Reitzel.Lindfors, L. (1992). På väg mot en slöjdpedagogisk teori:Paradigmutveckling och kunskaps behållning. Selma.Fram Bokförlag.xxxxlæringslandskab: At lære gennem at arbejde. København.Akademisk forlag.Molander, B. (1993). Kunskap i handling. Göteborg.Daidalos.Mollerup, P. (1998). Design er ikke noget i sig selv. København.Gyldendal.Munk, M. (2002). Mesterlære retur. København. UngePædagoger.Nielsen, K. & Kvale, S. (1999). Mesterlære: Læring somsocial praksis. København. Hans Reitzel.Nygren-Landgärds, C. & Peltonen, P. (red) (2001). Visionerom slöjd och slöjdpedagogik. Techne serien.126

Learning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processSchön, D. A. (2001). Den reflekterende praktiker. Århus.Klim.Sigurjonsson, G. (2003). Fra mesterlære til skolastisk læring.I: Nielsen og Kvale. PraktikkensSjögren, J. (1997). Teknik – genomskinlig eller svartlåda? Linköping: Institutionen för Tema. Linköpingsuniversitet.Thorbjörnsson, H. (1990). Nääs och Otto Salomon slöjdenoch leken. OrdBildarnaVedfelt, O. (2002). Ubevidst intelligens: Du ved mere enddu tror. København. Gyldendal.Footnotes1 Learning is ”a more or less permanent change in behavior,which is the result of experiences, knowledge andexercises of one’s own choice of activities, work and assignments”(Hansen. 1998)2 The concept of Expert in relation to Dreyfus (1991). Intuitiveexpertise3 An attic is an addition to a roof. The attic contains a window.4 The field of sloyd is the field which contains the activitieswhere one by the means of one’s hands and tools producescertain products. To work with sloyd is to use a certaintool to work on a certain material with a certain intention.127

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A Practical Mind as anIntellectual VirtueRagnar OhlssonAbstractIt is argued that ’intellectual virtues’ wouldbe a better goal for education than the nowfashionable ’critical thinking’. A definition of”intellectual virtues” is offered. As an exampleof intellectual virtue ”a practical mind” ischosen. This concept is illustrated with a discussionof the skills exhibited by an excellentcarpenter. It is argued that a good carpentermust have many different features, desirableattitudes, habits, cognitive skills, and so forth,which must be integrated as firmly entrenchedcharacter traits. This justifies the appropriatenessof talking about a practical mind (”craftsmanship”,”technical skill”) as a form of intellectualvirtue.Intellectual virtue definedThe goal of all education should be intellectualvirtues. For a long time “critical thinking”has been a catch-word in education in manycountries. To a lesser degree the same goes for“thinking skills”. I believe that we would dobetter if we thought in terms of “intellectual virtues”instead. By “intellectual virtue” I mean agood character trait, a combination of desirablethinking habits and attitudes, integrated withinthe personality to the extent that it determines agreat proportion of the individual’s behaviour andthinking. In contrast to “critical thinking”, “intellectualvirtue” has a wider range than merely theability to detect flaws in argument. Additionally,in contrast to “thinking skills” it also covers motivationalelements. A skill can be used or neglectedaccording to one’s motivation; intellectual virtueincludes elements of desirable motivation.To say that education ought to aim at intellectualvirtue might seem elitist. However, it is not.129Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 128–135 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

A Practical Mind as an Intellectual VirtueFrom ancient times there has been a consensusabout defining virtues as personality traits thathuman beings need to flourish or to live well.Therefore, we all need virtues; we do not haveto think of them as some very sublime goal.They are simply traits that we need in order toget around in our daily lives, and get a grip ofreality. Of course, fully developed intellectualvirtue, something like wisdom, can be a verydistant goal for most of us. However, we all needto have some forms of intellectual virtue, sincealmost anything we do involves some kind ofcognitive activity.In ancient Greece a lot of attention was paid todefining and developing the virtues. The bestworked out theory of virtue is found in the workof Aristotle, which up to now is a well of inspirationfor those who are interested in virtues.Aristotle made a distinction between “intellectual”and “moral virtues”. I believe that the linebetween these two categories is less sharp thanhe thought, as will be seen in what follows.The intellectual virtue, to which Aristotle paidthe least attention, was techne, “a practical mind”(“technical skill” or “craftsmanship”). That hedid not work hard to analyze this virtue is certainlyan effect of his class and gender position;a practical mind was something needed by artisans,slaves and women. He is much more detailedwhen it comes to analyzing practical wisdom(phronesis), which is needed for becoming a successfulpolitician or statesman, or for being agood citizen in general. He – most certainly aman – needed it to live a good life and to organisesociety in the best way possible. Phronesisis analysed in four different sub-virtues or components.Techne is much more unfairly treated.But we must give Aristotle credit for realisingthat a practical mind is a kind of intellectualvirtue at all. At this point I will leave Aristotle,to speculate about what makes someone practicallyminded.What is a practical mind?If we characterise someone as having a practicalmind (or possessing craftsmanship), whichproperties do we ascribe to him or her? It mightbe that we only mean that this is a person whois not very prone to intellectual enterprise: hedoes not like abstract speculations, is not verygood at theoretical school subjects, finds himselfmore at ease with handicraft, painting, or householdduties. However, this rather negative wayof ascribing someone of a practical mind seemsto me to be too easily won and also misleading.A person with a practical mind (a technicallyskilful person) has a well developed capacityfor solving a wide variety of problems. There-130

A Practical Mind as an Intellectual Virtuefore it is reasonable to consider it an intellectualvirtue. Many of the problems involved are of acognitive nature. Unhappily it is not the casethat the properties we need for managing thedifferent tasks we meet are so justly distributedthat a person who has difficulties in dealing withcertain forms of abstract thinking, thereby hasbeen furnished with a splendid practical mind.On the contrary, in most cases a well developedcapacity for solving intellectual problems isrequired to handle many practical problems.The opposite might not always be the case: itis said that Alan Turing, the famous Britishmathematician and logician (first half of the20th century), regularly lost the driving chainon his bicycle when cycling to work. Turingstarted thinking about the problem, countedthe number of turns of the pedal between theoccasions of losing the chain, counted cogs onthe cog-wheel, etc. and after complicated calculationshe found the solution – which a bicyclemechanic would have thought of in the firstplace – one of the cogs was warped. (The storyis told in Ceci, S. J., On Intelligence, HarvardUniversity Press, 1996, p 118 f.)Working with wood – an exampleA skilful carpenter differs from a less skilfulone, by, for example, his greater imagination;he can see alternative ways of solving a giventask. He must be able to interpret an architect’ssketch (or the building engineer’s drawings), andthink of practical solutions to problems that thearchitect has not thought of. Naturally, he mustalso be good at mathematical calculations andsolving geometrical problems. He must be ableto manage mechanics of materials, know a lotabout different materials and have a lot of experience.In addition, he must possess a well developedcapacity for handling different tools; hemust be careful both in doing the calculationsand in using the tools. To build a well functioningstair-case is a task which presupposes thatyou solve quite a lot of geometrical and mathematicalproblems, but it also requires imaginationand a sense of form and beauty.To be a skilful wood-worker involves not justone kind of talent. There are great differencesbetween the carpenter and the cabinet-maker.The former must be able to improvise, to solveproblems as they show up while he builds thehouse. When standing there with the sketchesfrom the architect (or the more detailed specificationsfrom the engineer) the best way is probablynot to sit down and calculate the exactquantity needed of building timber, or to tryto foresee and solve every problem in advance.Instead he makes some rough estimates and131

A Practical Mind as an Intellectual Virtuestarts working on the framework. His experiencecomes in useful, as do the good habitshe has learnt, to get a resulting stable construction.After a while it is clear that the architecthas shown just what the finished house will looklike, but paid less attention to the concrete workof reaching the goal. Now the carpenter mustuse his imagination, experience and curiosity tosolve any problems that appear. It is often amazingto see how quickly the carpenter detectsflaws in proposals that look good on paper butwhich turn out to be very difficult to realise inthe real world. The carpenter solves each of theseproblems in turn. Eventually the house standsthere, the work completed. In the best of worlds– if the carpenter has been careful, imaginative,responsible, experienced and skilful – thehouse will stand for many years and functionwell. Water will not come in through the roof,there will be no draught from the windows andno mould in the double floor.An intricate interplay has taken place betweendifferent skills, well entrenched during manyyears of training, and attitudes such as carefulness,professional pride, perseverance, patience,integrity, self reliance, love for the material andwork, humility and so forth. All this must begoverned by good judgement that decides howmuch care is needed in different cases, whenthe self-reliance tends to be too great and somehumility would suit better, and so forth. We canalso observe the vagary of the boundary betweenintellectual and moral virtues. Some of thesedesirable properties are clearly moral traits.The cabinet-maker’s work process is different,and she needs partly different virtues and skills.She is far less able to improvise. Since her materialis often quite expensive, the cabinet-maker,before she starts, must calculate very accuratelyhow she is to use a certain piece of wood, to getas much as possible out of it. Every moment ofwork calls for conscientious preparations, andshe must be quite certain of her calculationsbefore she starts working on the wood. Naturally,she, too, needs carefulness, indeed in hercase to much higher degree. To reach peakperformance she must also possess a kind ofhonesty: if she fails when working with a drawer,she can choose between different options: glueon a missing flake, grind off the other drawersto match this one, or make a fresh start witha new piece of wood. The conscientious cabinet-makerwill probably choose the last option.Among other things this is what marks the differencebetween the eminent cabinet-maker andthe more mediocre one.132

A Practical Mind as an Intellectual VirtueAcquiring craftsmanshipThe skills possessed by the talented artisan, orthe skilful professional in general, have for sometime been discussed under the label of “silentknowledge”. In my experience, a proficient boatbuilderdoes not need to be silent about his art:he can be rather loquacious about how to proceedand how not to proceed. However, it is truethat the skills needed cannot be taught by justtelling someone how to do it, or by reading abook – you learn a handicraft not even by justobserving someone showing you how. To acquirea practical skill you have to practice. This isin line with what Aristotle states about moraltraining: you get virtuous by performing virtuousactions. To become brave, you must behavebravely, to become just you have to act justly,and so forth.It is curious that Aristotle states that only themoral virtues are acquired by training, and notthe intellectual ones. This seems to be a mistake.No one will be a good logician if she doesnot practice her logical ability by performingvalid deductions many times. It is true that wetry to tell our students how to write a scholarlypaper, we give them excellent papers to read,discuss strong and weak points of their papersat seminars and exhort them to read handbooksin the art of writing papers. However, no onewill become proficient in writing such papers,unless she does a lot of practicing.My aim with these reflections on the woodworker’sprofessional skills is to draw attention tothe fact that many different kinds of skills and virtuesare required to make a good craftsman. Thus,not even craftsmanship within a certain professionis one techne – it is a combination of severalvirtues. Some of these are skills, well entrenchedhabits that include both theoretical ones and handinesswith tools. Others are desirable attitudes,and they must all be governed by sound judgement.The practical mind is much more intellectualthan an academic will notice at first sight.This sketch of the wood-worker’s practical skillshows how different elements – intellectual, practical,and moral traits – cooperate, so that theyare difficult to separate from each other.I am fully aware that what has been said aboutthe carpenter’s professional skills could easilybe stretched out to cover a whole book withoutthe subject being exhaustively treated. I havenot been able to do them full justice, since I amnot a practical man myself (indeed, I have doneeven less justice to the skills of the architect). Itis also easy to understand that you could writemany volumes in the same way on what marksthe excellent plumber, sewer, or craftsman.133

A Practical Mind as an Intellectual VirtueThe value of a practical mindThe question about the value of a certain virtue,for instance, a practical mind, will of course havedifferent answers in different circumstances:it depends upon the kind of society in whichyou live, what the labour market is like, and soforth. It is easy to understand that a settler inthe wilderness needs a much greater amount ofpractical skill than someone living in a modernsociety with division of labour and very advancedspecialisation. However, other considerationsalso play a role. In the 1970s, Ivan Illichwas much discussed because of his critique ofcivilisation. He thought that specialisation hadgone too far in modern society, and this wasserious, because it curtailed people’s autonomy.That people were no longer capable of buildingtheir own houses, but had to consult experts,was a serious flaw of modern society, since itlimited freedom. We can differ in details abouthow important a certain practical skill is, but itis obvious that a complete lack of practical mindis a handicap. It is said that Herbert Tingsten, afamous editor of a leading Swedish newspaper,had to call a porter from the newspaper whena fuse broke in his house.if we stressed the importance of intellectual virtues.This is not the place to do that. It seems,however, reasonable to suppose that problemsolving ought to be at the heart of such education.Certain well tested methods for dealingwith standard problems can certainly also betaught. However, it is very important to try andpreserve open-mindedness, curiosity and imaginativeness.Two problems are seldom exactlyalike, and a new way of solving a problem couldprove to be better.It is interesting to speculate about the conclusionsthat ought to be drawn for education atdifferent levels and in different kinds of schools,134

A Practical Mind as an Intellectual VirtueLiteratureAristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, transl. Rowe, C., OxfordUniversity Press, 2002Ceci, S. J., On Intelligence, Harvard University Press,1996Illich, I., Toward a History of Needs, New York, 1978Josefsson, I., Från lärling till mästare: om kunskap i vården,Lund 1988– Kunskapens former: det reflekterade yrkeskunnandet,Stockholm 1991Lipman, M., Thinking in Education, Cambridge UniversityPress, (1991) 2003Molander, B., Kunskap i handling, Göteborg 1996 (4:etryckningen 2004)135

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Design and Digital Textilein higher Education:The Impact of Digital Technology on PrintedTextile and Surface DesignKirsten Klæbo & Bodil SvaboeAbstractWe write about possibilities and difficulties byuses of technology in textile design studies atThe Oslo University College, Faculty of Art,Design and Drama. We are talking about thechange in attitudes towards more use of technologyas a tool and a medium in textile designstudies. We have introduced uses of e-learningas a medium for the students to communicate,and evaluate the design process and product inthe middle of the design process. We have experiencedthat the combination of digital andtextile methods has resulted in new expressionsand new attitudes towards textile design. Thenew focus on entrepreneurship can lead us intoa more commercial and functional way of thinkingabout design. We mean that in our designstudies in the teacher education we still want tocombine artistic and design methods.Digital technology in textile designeducationThe faculty of Art, Design and Drama at theOslo University College, has a long traditionwith textile education. We have worked withimplementing digital technology for many yearsnow, and it has become more common touse digital technology in all subjects at our faculty.In this article we are writing about howwe have implemented uses of digital technologyin textile design education in the third yearof the Art and Design teacher education. ”Digitalimaging technology has provided textilepractitioners with a medium that is changingand challenging the processes used in generationand production of printed textile artifact.”(Treadaway, 2004) When we started examiningthe uses of ICT in the design study, we realizedthat many students mostly did not use ICT asa creative tool in their design process. The studentsmostly used ICT when it came to documentationand presentation of their art and de-137Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 136–151 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationsign process, in rapports afterwards. One of thereasons that it took so long for the students touse ICT as a tool in their art and design work,was at first the lack of computers in their workingarea and also the quality of the printers. Wewere disappointed by the high costs of printersand the low quality of the printed outcome. Beforethe computer paper was hard and plain, inmostly A4-fomat and the colors quickly faded,because of low tolerance to light. The quality ofthe digital expression with additive light colorswas rather different than the printed outcomeof subtractive color expression. We were experiencingmany new image possibilities but wewere lacking a physical outcome of the digitalimage making process. Because of the expenses,and the bad quality of the printers manyteachers and students rather wanted to workwith digital images in connection to web designon the internet.We have arranged ICT courses for the studentsfor some years now, but we had to do somethingto get the students to use ICT as an integratedtool in their art and design work. Therefore westarted focusing on how the student could integratecomputer technology as a tool and as amedium in the design process in the third yearof the art and design teacher education at theOslo University College.We were two teachers, one textile design teacherand the other an ICT art and design teacher,who decided to collaborate and try to increasethe uses of ICT in the design studies. We foundthat with joint effort we could explore the possibilitiesof using new technologies together withtraditional textile design printing and materialexperimenting. We did not want to loose thetextile qualities, but we wandered how we couldbenefit from combining textile technology anddigital technology. We thought that in the meetingof two mediums, textile printing and digitalimage making, there would be possibilitiesthat could benefit both the textile subject andthe digital image making subject.ICT and Design processesIn the design study we used an idea based designmethod, were the students attended differentworkshops were they learned different artand design technologies connected to textilematerial and printing experimenting. We focusedespecially on how to use ICT as an arttool in the textile design process.”Design is usually described as the act of shapingman-made products. However, the Englishword design actually means to think outor plan. This dimension of the word distinguishesdesign from the subsidiary concept ex-138

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationpressed by the Norwegian word, formgiving.The word design is used in referring to theprocess and to the profession as well as to thefinished product. While the concept of designtechnically covers all man-made products,the term usually doesn’t include fine art andarchitecture. The word design is often usedas a synonym for industrial design.” (Friedman,1993)Because of the close link to industrial design,many were against the use of the term designat our faculty. Many teachers believed that”formgiving” was more related to didacticalissues, which was used in the schools were ourstudents would later work. Other teachers believedthat they had used design methods intheir teaching for years, but with a wider understandingthan merely function and form.”Many wanted to use the term design just likean art scenario, where ”art, craft and design”was used as a wider term, which included differentangles and attitudes based on the idea infocus”. (Hõgkvist, 2005) Formgiving refers tothe physical forming or shaping of man-madeproducts. It’s a more subjective process, wherethe learning is in the process. But in design theprocess require a product that has to be of someuse to somebody.In the design history we have had many differentinterpretations about what designmeans, what sort of tasks it contains, whatareas it contains and what the main focus is.(Hauffe, 1995)Using a design approach has lead to a need tolearn to communicate about the productionand the product. This meant that we also hadto focus on the communication as an elementin the design process. We therefore tried to introduceuses of e-learning in the design process.We wanted to try out an interactive designdatabase system with the opportunity topublish design images and write comments anddiscuss the outcome. We also wanted the studentsto use the e-learning application to evaluateeach other products. We have tried outthe design communication application, but werealised that using e-learning did not excludeverbal communication in the classroom. Theimportance of communication around designproduct in the classroom was that the studentcould see and feel the tactile expressions whilediscussing the objects.”...it is difficult to reconcile the criteria fordesign-based artefact with the traditionalaesthetic criteria applied to the arts. This isbecause the basis of the latter is the univer-139

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationsality and non-utilitarian nature of beauty,whereas the basis of design is that the objectin question is created for the benefit of somegroup of potential users, and is therefore aimedat satisfying some need, desire or economicdemand.” (Palmer, 1996)We agree that there is a difference between artprocess and design process. We wanted to use an” idea based design method”, but allow the studentto design artistic expressions. We have forexample participated in a Nordic network called”Grenseløse tekstiler” (Borderless textiles). Inthe work with borderless textiles we developedan approach, were we combined subject matterswithout the old rules. We did not want to makea new ”design” study in the terms of ”industrialdesign”, but we wanted to change the attitudeand approach of the students, to move from merelyfocusing on the process and making endless”beautiful” samples toward a focus on an objectwhich could be of use to somebody. We wantedthe process to be more related to craft processesthan to industrial design processes. We wantedto use modern technology that they use in industrialtextile industry today. But in the shortperiod of time that our students have available,the students will not be able to produce industrialdesign products. But they will produceunique artefacts or design products for smallscale businesses with focus on mixing traditionaltextile technology and using modern technology.Our problem is that large digital printingmachines and digital cutting machines areexpensive. It is important to note, however, thatwe did not only want to focus on the functionof the object. We wanted a wider definition offunction. It could function as an artefact. Ormaybe it could not function at all!After the official focus on Design as linkedto the commercial industry, and focus on theintersection between form and function, ithas grown out a Design that takes a standagainst this. It has developed groups of designersand art and crafts people who look uponthemselves as independent, in the sense thatthey don’t create their products for sale oreany other commercial purposes. They see it astheir products have a inner message contraryto the sale value. It can remind us about theslogan: ’Art for arts sake’. But what’s interestingfor this type of design is that it is Designfor the Design’s sake, ore art and craft for theart and craft’s sake. Despite that their Designfalls outside the ”Design” criteria; theycall each other designers, not artists. It is notabout Design on the border to Art, but Designas forcing ore challenging its own traditions.(Hõgkvist, 2005)140

Design and Digital Textile in higher EducationInteraction in Design with focus ontradition and innovationTextile design practice has always been linkedwith production methods and tools, and eachtechnological change has impacted on the visualoutcome of the textile produced. (Treadaway,2004) In the beginning the students thought itwas interesting to work with ICT as a creativetool in the design process, but as soon as theystarted using other textile material in the designprocess they thought their ideas from experimentingwith ICT did not connect easilywith the physical materials they had chosen.The digital expression was interesting, but itlacked textile physical qualities.The integration of digital processes, particularlydigital inkjet printing technology, has changedthe visual characteristics produced and stimulatedto a renewed interest in physical interactionwith the cloth. (Treadaway, 2004) Whenthe students realized that they could combinedigital printing methods with textile printingand material experimenting, their interest inusing ICT as a creative tool expanded.The possibilities arising from using digital inkjetprinting coincided with textile printing, andmodernized the process of printing. Inkjet printershave over the last years developed, and wecan now print out digital images on variationsof paper- with different qualities and format.Digital images can also be printed directly ona variety of mediums including canvas, vellum,or transparent film. (LeWinter, 1998) This hasgiven us opportunities to develop more transfertechniques in textiles and to combine it withtraditional textile methods and techniques. Atour school we still do not have the technologyto print larger format than A3, but we havecontact with other institutions that can printout larger format. But the students have beenable to make larger format by joining smallerformat together.”... There are certain basic characteristicsexhibited by the digital medium. One of themost basic of them is that this medium allowsfor multiple kinds of manipulation anda seamless combination of art forms, whichcan lead to a blurring of the distinction betweendifferent media. Photography, film, andvideo have always entailed manipulation –for example, of time and place through montage– but in digital media, the potential formanipulation is always heightened to sucha degree that the reality of ’what is’ at anygiven point is constantly open to question.”(Paul, 2003)141

Design and Digital Textile in higher EducationThe use of digital imaging processes has enabledthe students to use photographic motivesin their expressions. This has changed the motivesof the design expressions. It has allowedthe student to focus on different concepts withmore details, and more colours. But when thestudents are using photographic images and aremanipulating these images into new expressions,there is a question of when the image isno longer a copy!”The use of a scanner can sometimes blur thedistinction between an original print anda reproduction. The seamless incorporationof images from newspapers, magazines, comics,advertisements, and the Internet intothe artist’s digital composition pushes the limitof copyright considerations.” (Schminke,2004)The uses of scanners or digital images have madeit more difficult for the teacher to see whether itis an original product from the student or just afound image from the internet. It was thereforeimportant to emphasis that the students usetheir own photographic images. Photographicimagery has been integrated into surface patternand textile designs for the last decade asthe result of four-color process and heat transferprinting (Briggs, 1997; Treadaway, 2004) Briggsargues that the use of photography and digitalimaging in the design of textiles is producing a”New visual language”.” (Briggs, 1997; Treadaway,2004) This has enabled us to produce colourprints on a variety of material surfaces. Ithas improved the textile printing process: wherethey before had to print one-by-one colour, theynow, using digital printing methods, are able toprint millions of colours.”The complexity of image has been made possibleas a direct result of the availability of ahuge color palette provided by digital printingtechnology. Unlike analogue printing systemsin which the printing of large numbers of colorsis economically prohibitive, digital ink-jetprinting facilitates the use of thousands in anyone printed image. The level of detail, hue,and tonal range is also massively increased.”(Treadaway, 2004)Many people without computer knowledgebelieve that it is very easy to make a digitalimage. One can merely scan in or photographdigital images and then manipulate the imagewith different filters and techniques. Copyingphotos, cutting and pasting images are not newin the art and design world. But the seamlesscombinations of images give new possibilities.By evaluating the results from the students we142

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationnoted a change in the variation of expressions.Previously, because of the limitations in the printingtechniques the images would be simplified,but with the new digital printing possibilitiesand digital image making the creative productsbecame more complicated with more details andcolors. But the response from the student wasthat it took a long time to make digital good expressions.And the student found that they spenta lot of time in front of the computer trying outdifferent color or other compositional variationsin connection to the design process.Compositional elements can be imported froma variety of sources, such as scans of real objects,drawings, photographs of nature, andother digital images. Additional manipulationof saturation or opacity, as well as the useof filters, enhances the artist’s range of expressions.(LeWinter, 1997)The scanner can be of good use when it comesto scanning technical material experimentingsamples direct in the scanner, and afterwardsfurther manipulate it to a new expression. Thisinspired many interesting outcomes. The possibilityto scan different found objects was agreat inspiration in the idea-based inspirationprocess in the beginning of the design process.The development of the graphic pen and tablethas enabled us to interact with the computerjust as we should draw with a pen or pencil ona peace of paper, but still it is the hand and themind that does the drawing. By using the penwe will experience a similar tool approach asuses of traditional pen and pencils. But is it agoal to use computer technology as a traditionalart pencil?”New papers and inks have expanded thepossibilities for rich surfaces, but the real potentialof the medium lies in the successfulmarriage of technique and expression, so thatqualities inherent to the medium are centralto the concept of the work of art.” (Schminke,2004)The development of the printer so the studentcould print out expressions on different surfaceswas also a reason that the students saw morepossibilities in using ICT technology in theircreative work. There is a never ending processto textile garment making which involve mixingmedia or mixing different materials on topof each other. There is no one way to perform asurface design process any longer. We have experimentedwith transferring the digital imageinto another medium either on paper, textilematerial ore even concrete materials. The possibilitiesof using textile technology on other143

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationmaterial have meant a new interest in the textilefield, which has opened up for new expressions.We also experienced that the possibilityof printing on alternative material made it moreinteresting for boys to work with ”textile” techniques.It is even possible to transfer the imageonto a screen through a video monitor. Withthe digital original saved on a disk, there arealso possibilities to send the image through internetto a printing business to be printed outin different sizes and on different papers or oncanvas. By combining digital imaging with printtechniques there will be a different outlet dependingon the size, color range and materialit will be printed on. We use different ways ofdigital transfer methods and we combine themand have a textile perspective with a more multimediaapproach.Due to the availability with mixed-media,the image can be printed over, or even scanned,reworked on the computer, and printedagain. (LeWinter, 1997).The students can also manipulate the fabricsurface by using over-printing and laser cuttingon the design of a product or garment. We sawthat if the students repeated the printing processseveral times, painted or embroidered onto thedesign, they achieved a richer expression. Thisinspired the student to create a different imageexpression, were they continued working beyondjust copying a photo or pattern directly fromthe computer image. This gave a richer surfacedesign, with deeper artistic meaning. The possibilitiesof reprinting and mixing media havegiven the students many new ways of experimenting.A single work can be dyed, painted,pieced, rusted, fused, couched, appliquéd, stitched,burned, and then encrusted with beads,metallic powders, and found objects. (Kieffer,2004) There are endless possibilities, and theoutcome of the expressions has changed. Overthe years the focus has moved more and more inthe direction of surface design rather than textiledesign in the old sense of the sawing of perfectclothes or interior artefacts, so we are nowtalking about surface design rather than textileprinting. The focus on surface design, digitalprinting and transfer techniques has made thecourse very attractive for young students.Design communicationWorking with design includes that the studentshave to learn to cooperate with other people, forexample customers etc in order to be able to developa design product. In a more real settingthe design object is often made on order or ina hope of an order. Because of the time limit inour educational system, we were more focused144

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationon the making and the aesthetical phenomenaof the design process. We therefore have emphasizedcommunication and collaboration betweenstudents in an evaluating and inspirationprocess. We introduced uses of e-learning inthe design process. The students had to use aninteractive design portal which Kirsten Klæbohad made in the senior lecture ship program atOslo University College. Here we wanted thestudents to publish images of their design products.They had to publish at least four imagesfrom the process, and write about the images.We wanted the students to comment on eachother images. We have just started trying outthis possibility and we are hoping that this e-learning application can be a new communicationtool for student design work.We also hope that we can use this interactivee-learning application in further exchange programbetween students from different UniversityColleges. One experience we noticed wasthat in publishing these digital images we lostthe tactile quality of the surface design. But werealized that this design portal could be a imageregistration tool in our research work. An interestingpoint was, that the possibility to writecomments in connection with publishing imagesin the e-learning design-portal application,made us aware of the way the students used artand design terminology when discussing designproblems. The students uses of art and designterminology, is an indicator of how the teacherhas focused on art and design terminology in thedesign study. This is a focus area we will continueto work with in our further project.Time as a problem?Time is a problem, when it comes to learningnew technology and also learning how to use thetechnology in art and design production. Thereis not enough time for the students to both learnthe techniques and spend enough time on theaesthetical processes. Anne Breivik said once;”...You do not become a writer by just knowinga word processing program, neither do you becomean artist by just knowing a graphical imageprogram. You have to experiment with theaesthetical qualities in relation with content andthe idea, in order to acquire certain qualities inrelation to innovation.” (Breivik, 2000)The problem is that the students appear tooreluctant to fully experiment with the possibletechniques in the software. ”All fine art, includingdigital art, is a creative exploration conceivedin the mind and skillfully realized withthe hand and eye.” (LeWinter, 1997) Many usethe program merely for cutting and pastingalready found photo images into new images145

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationwithout using the programs any further. Computerprograms offer a vast amount of effects,but after a while ”the public” will have seen itall. Although advancements in computer toolshave made digital imaging more intuitive thanever, the fundamental task remains the same.It is the student who has to make the designexpression.Scanning or uses of digital photographic imagescan lead to an easy approach to image making.It ends up in copy and pasting techniques withoutthinking about whether it is an originalapproach to image making or just a copyingapproach. The students therefore have to usetheir own photographs, and if they have usedthe internet or other sources for inspiration orinformation connected to the process it wasimportant that they used correct references.Ethics connected to digital image making becamevery important. The need for photographicmanipulation caused a renewed interestin photographic image making. The studentshave bought digital photo equipment and startedtaking more pictures in connection to theirassignments.Technology and process workingThe use of Photoshop has changed the verynature of the creative act, because the makingof digital paintings is no longer confined to alinear process. (LeWinter, 1997). You can saveyour image, regret actions and start again at alater stage of the image making process. Youcan close layers and work in a new direction,later you can open or delete layers according towhat you think the expression should be. Thepossibility of changing the direction of the workprocess, gives the students endless possibilitiesand it can be a problem as to deciding whenthe image is ”finished”. ”Finished” becomes aquestion of choosing when to stop the process.The difficulty lies in seeing the endless possibilitieshidden in the computer programs. It willbe a question of choosing and evaluating whatis the best. This is a new possibility availablethrough uses of technology. It is easier to evaluateand discuss images, if you have differentalternative solutions to the aesthetical problem.This is especially important when working withdesign were you can print out different exampleswith small variations either color, texture orcompositional differences etc.”The key to creating art, however, lies not intechnological prowess, but in the power of theimage and concept behind it. Digital printmakingworks best for art that is idea and informationbased.” (Schminke, 2004)146

Design and Digital Textile in higher EducationThe difference between design and concepts arenow small. In promoting the concept of the artifact,we have based our educational approachon an idea-based method. Marianne Heske definesconcept art as art based on an idea. Theidea is then made out of feeling or intuition,which is to be made out of different materialsand techniques. Content, idea, process, formand color have to coincide in a united whole.(Heske, 2000) The quality was judged fromhow the students had used color and form dueto the concept of the design. The question was,how could we get the students to be more criticalabout the aesthetical expression, withoutloosing the satisfaction from the time spent experimentingand trying out different materialand techniques. The student thought it wasfun to experiment, but in the design process,the product has to be measured. The process isimportant but it is the product that stands alonewith meaning and functions based on the ideain focus. The products varied from traditionalprototypes as interior artefacts, towards moreinnovative artefacts where the expressions weremore important that the function of the artefact.For example artefacts which belonged toa specific design concept.It is clear that there is a tension here betweenthe thrust of aesthetic judgement, atleast according to traditional theories whereit is always conceived as universalizing; anddesign judgment, which must articulate thefunctions of artefacts, where such functionsare ultimately historically and sociologicallydetermined.” (Palmer, 1996)We are still at the level of being charmed bythe photographic mixture of computer basedimages printed on different materials. We stillhave to examine the possibilities in the graphicalprogram tools we have available. Just as thestudent make beautiful textile, texture effects,we see the same possibility of using technicaleffects in graphic computer programs.Mixed attitudesThe design courses coincided with the mixedattitude towards design and technology, wherethe idea and the concept was the main focus,and the function could vary from a personal artifactto a functional object worth producing ina small number for sale. This was confirmed in2005, when the whole class was invited to sendin designed artifacts to the exhibition ”Schtilig”at the The Museum of Decorative Arts in Oslo.A jury judged the different artifacts. The objectswhich were selected by the judges were thosewhich were innovative, with good aesthetical,visual and technical qualities, plus good con-147

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationnections between the idea and the product. Theexhibition was a collaborative project betweenOslo University College and National Museumfor Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo. Thestudents work got good revues because of thequality of the combination between artworkand the design work and the actuality of thedesign work. Several of the design objects hadvisual expressions which only could have beenproduced with the help of a computer. Becauseof this connection between art, technologyand design focus, our faculty has been invitedto join the exhibition: ”Tingenes Tilstand”(The State of Things) 29/04–03/10 2006, inthe National Museum of Art, Architecture andDesign in Oslo.Evaluate imagesWhen we started using design instead of “formgiving”,we wanted to change the ”formgivingprocess” to a more design approach to gain amore professional approach to our surface andtextile printing courses. In our design approachit was important to evaluate the design productup against the student idea. We thoughtit was easyer to evaluate the student productswhen we had a set of evaluation criteria’s. Themain criteria was not merely what functionand purpose the design should serve. It did notmatter whether it was” big business” or a smallbusiness artifact or a more expressional designidea. The function itself could be an expression.Design and Art today combine knowledge,materials and techniques from severalareas. Design has therefore unlimited possibilitiesand effects. This is specially importantwhen we are dealing with all the possibilities inusing ICT, were there are endless expressions tochoose between, but if the design is steered bythe idea, the design chosen has to be measuredup against the idea.ConclusionWe have combined new technologies with oldtechniques and materials. This has opened upopportunities to new pattern and design productions.The students can try out the designon different virtual artefacts and evaluate theform, colour and texture and see if it fits the chosenobject. The differences between the subjectborders are less defined and the subject mattermore integrated. We are working with mixedmedia and borderless textiles. Uses of new materialshave changed the attitude from the idea oftextile as a female subject. Using textile printingtechniques onto different alternative materiallike concrete bricks and glass tiles has changedthe attitude towards textile as a more interestingsubject also for boys. One interesting phenomenawas that combining digital and textile148

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationimage making led to an even greater technicaleffect making, which have led to new expressions.The qualities of these expressions are stillto be evaluated.Using a design approach has lead to a need tolearn to communicate about the production andthe product. We found that using an interactivedesign database system with the opportunity towrite down comments and discussions enabledus to see and evaluate how we were using art anddesign terminology. This has became a problemarena we shall continue to work with. We haveused learning management system and other e-learning applications, in which the students havecommunicated. This has lead to an expandingof the classroom border to include communicationwith other college universities. The studentscan cooperate and collaborate in art and designquestion together with students in other countries.They can learn about design issues related tocultural differences. They can gain knowledge,inspiration and evaluation from others with thewhole world as an arena. We have started tryingout student exchange program through internetin Denmark, and are seeking further universitycollege cooperation partners.We have worked with small digital formats, butwith combination of different printing methodswe have made larger products. We hope to cooperatewith other institutions until we can buyour own machines, in order to print out largerartifacts. By working in art and design education,we have not focused on the size of artifactsbut have tried to find out what qualitiesnew technology could give and how we couldbreak traditional borders. Uses of ICT haveopened new technical and visual possibilities.But evaluating the digital image result from thestudents design products, we mean that we cannottake the technology for granted; we haveto educate students in how to use the computerdesign programs and how to use the technologyto produce art and design artefacts.”What is clear though is that our twentiethcenturynotions of the digital will berapidly transformed by the development oftechnology we have not yet experienced.”(Farren, 2004)The technology will not only be used as toolsfor image making which will be printed ontothe artefacts. The technology will be integratedinto the artefact; and we will talk about electronicor digital textiles. Digital clothes are alreadya reality. It is also possible to experiment withdifferent digital display products. We have receiveda grant so we can contact the Oslo Uni-149

Design and Digital Textile in higher Educationversity of Engineering and see if we can cooperatein a further design and technology project.We see the future technology and design as acooperative project between different facultiesand subject arenas.It has been interesting to see that the idea ofintroducing design as early as in the 1990s hasbecome an attractive subject today, but we arestill not seeing the next step in the development.We see that this is just the beginning of changesin the attitudes towards Design. Design has becomean important issue in our life, and this alsoinfluences the curriculum in our schools. We arenow in the middle of reorganizing the curriculumfor the primary and the secondary schoolsin Norway. We are meeting terms like ”Designand architecture” and entrepreneurship” in thenew plans. The focus on entrepreneurship canlead us into a new focus on the production ofproducts connected to economical functionalpurposes. We mean that in our education westill want to combine artistic and design methods.This means that we have to discuss andrearrange our curriculum.LiteratureBreivik, A. (2000) Grafiker, Atelier NordBertelsen, O. W. (1999) Digital Sunshine: From shadingto scripting – From retouching to rendering. Danmark,Viborg: Kunsthallen Brandts KlædefabrikBjørnstad, P., Håberg, K. R., Skjeggestad, E. B. & Øveraas,A.H. (2004). Design og tekstil. Vollen: Tell forlagLeWinter, R. (1997) Computer Artist; Jun/Jul97, Vol. 6Issue 4, p35, 3p, 4 diagrams, 12cFarren, A. Hutchison, A. (2004). Digital Clothes: Active,Dynamic, and Virtual textiles and Garments, Textile,2(3), (290–307)Friedman, K. (1993) Design i Norge. Oslo: Norsk FormHauffe, T. (1996). Design. Oslo: J.W. CappelenHeske, Marianne (2000) http://www.kunstiskolen.no/heske2.htmlHögkvist, S. (2005) TingenesTilstand. ( Evolution will notbe televised – ProjectProgram, Nasjonalmuseet for kunstog Arkitektur og design)Kieffer, S. M. (2004) Fiberarts Design Book 7. New York:Lark BooksKoch, M. Aggebo, M. (2005). Grænseløse tekstiler: Enrapport om hvordan dansk, svensk og norsk tekstildesigner blevet knyttet tættere sammen. Stagis a/s. København.Norsk Form (6 desember, 2005) Om Design uten grenserhttp://www.norskform.no/default.asp?V_ITEM_ID=272Oslo: Nasjonalmuset for kunst, arkitektur og design (25.januar, 2006) ”Scandinavian Design beyond the Myth”http://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/index.php/content/view/full/128Palmer, J. & Dodson, M. (1996) Design and Aesthetics: Areader. London: RoutledgePaul, C. (2003) Digital Art. London: Thames & Hudson150

Design and Digital Textile in higher EducationSchminke, K., Krause, D. S. & Lhotka, B. P. (2004)Digital Art Studio: Techniques for Combining, InkjetDesign and Digital Textile in higher Education Printingwith Traraditional Art Materials. New York: Watson-Guptill PublicationTreadaway, C. (2004). Digital Imagination: The Impact ofDigital Imaging on Printed Textiles, Textile, Volume 2,Issue 3, pp.256–273.151

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The work in theclassroom for sloydMarléne JohanssonAbstractThe article takes as its starting point the practiceof sloyd [slöjd] in the Swedish comprehensiveschool. There has been little scientific documentationof the work in the classroom for sloyd.The lack of research results contributes to looseassumptions and unfounded opinions about thesubject. The issue of this article is firstly to givean account of how pupils, teachers and parents,within the Swedish Board of Education’s nationalevaluation perceive sloyd work and thesubject sloyd. Secondly, the issue is, based onresearch carried out in the classroom for sloyd,to provide an insight into what pupils to someextent do and thereby can learn in sloyd whenthey work in the classroom. Within the frameworkof this article – and by ’Opening the doorto the classroom for sloyd’ – I will describe thework in words will, hopefully, contribute to agreater insight into what learning is possible.On Sloyd work in the Swedishcomprehensive schoolThe Swedish Board of Education was responsiblefor a large evaluation of the comprehensiveschool, NU-03 (Skolverket, 2004, 2005). Theevaluation was carried out in 2003 for the 9thgrade with a nationally representative selectionof schools. The aim was to obtain knowledgeof the comprehensive school’s development inthe 1990s until today and to give an overallpicture of the goal attainment in the comprehensiveschool by subject and from an overallperspective. The evaluation instruments werelargely similar to those used in the previousevaluation in 1992, NU-92 (Johansson, 1994,1995; Skolverket, 1994). During the two evaluationsof the subject Sloyd, a process study ofthe pupils’ and teachers’ diary entries was alsocarried out together with a follow-up pupil questionnaire(Hasselskog, 2004; Johansson, 1994,1995; Skolverket, 1994, 2004, 2005). Below, isa summary of how pupils, teachers and parents,153Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning, nr 2–3 2006 s 152–171 Umeå: Fakultetsnämnden för lärarutbildning. Printed in Sweden

The work in the classroom for sloydin their answers to questionnaires in NU-03,perceive the subject sloyd in comprehensiveschool and the work in the classroom for sloyd(Skolverket, 2005).In NU-03, the pupils’ opinion of the subjectsloyd is by and large very positive. Sloyd isregarded as one of the most enjoyable subjectsat school at the same time as both parents andpupils say that sloyd is one of the subjects theyconsider to be least useful. The pupils say thatthey are very committed, are very interestedand feel that they have great influence. Theylike the lessons, take pleasure in the work andstate that they have built up their self-esteem,they have developed personal qualities duringthe sloyd lessons. The teachers feel that theirrole as teacher is fun, developing and interesting,but at the same time they feel stressed.Sloyd is a subject where the pupils on the otherhand seldom feel stressed. In sloyd, they canwork at their own pace, they feel that they canwork without being compared with each other,and that failure is permitted. The pupils try todo their best in sloyd and they think that theyare allowed to show what they can do (Skolverket,2005).Compared with other subjects, the subject ofsloyd has a unique position in the Swedishcomprehensive school when it comes to pupilinfluence. They state that they are allowed totake their own initiatives and responsibilityin sloyd. In the results for the subject sloyd inthe previous evaluation (NU-92), the analysesshowed that different levels of influence had animpact on the prerequisites of learning (Skolverket,1994). Furthermore, pupils’ influenceof their sloyd work has increased in NU-03(Skolverket, 2005).In NU-03, the teachers state that they focus onreadiness to act while the pupils disagree. On onehand society development have resulted in ourincreased dependence on other people’s knowledge.We have become spectators, watchingwhat other people do in magazines and TV.We have in stead developed a need for knowledgeand the readiness to act is to a large extenta matter to be able to choose, value, evaluatedifferent alternatives and reach a decision. Onthe other hand there is a greater interest in clothes,furnishing and do-it-yourself in the home.Then readiness to act is to be able to use toolsand machines and materials and utilising one’sown experience in new situations. Readiness toact is, of course, not only connected with thesubject sloyd, it is also developed in the schoolas a whole and in the pupils’ everyday life (Skolverket,2005).154

The work in the classroom for sloydThe evaluation shows that the focus in today’steaching of sloyd as regards knowledge of sloyd ison techniques, tools and materials. However, thepupils find it difficult to see the importance ofknowledge in sloyd. The pupils state that sloydis one of the subjects they consider to be leastuseful. One of the contributions of the subject isthat the pupils can acquire knowledge of materialsand tools and that they have to experiencethe whole production process during the workon transforming materials from ideas into finishedsloyd objects. The pupils’ work from ideato finished object can offer unique opportunitiesfor discussion, understanding and concreteaction based on environmental and resourcemanagement aspects (Skolverket, 2005).NU-03 focuses less on areas such as equality,economic and environmental perspectives aswell as aesthetic and functional values. Thepupils’ work from idea to finished object canoffer unique opportunities for discussion, understandingand concrete action based on environmentaland resource management aspects.Gender questions have a special position in sloydas a subject. The teachers do not see any differencesbetween girls and boys when it comesto the pupils’ interest in sloyd. The pupils feelthat the sloyd teacher treats boys and girls in thesame way. The teachers feel that sloyd as a subjectcontributes to increased equality. The Sloydsubject is usually divided into two types of sloydwith only female teachers of textile Sloyd andonly male teachers of wood- and metal work.In their teaching, the teachers meet pupils who,when they are allowed to influence the choiceof type of sloyd, are mainly of the same sex asthemselves. The pupils’ state that the learningenvironment in sloyd is open and tolerant, irrespectiveof ethnicity, sex and cultural or socialbackground (Skolverket, 2005).In NU-03, considerable importance is attachedto the sloyd process and the pupils’ creative,independent work. The work starting from thepupil’s own ideas arriving at finished objectsthrough the whole production chain is a characteristicway of working for sloyd as a subject.The pupils state that they have developed whenit comes to solving problems and that they havelearnt to reflect on their own work. Problemsolving in sloyd is based on problems that areunique to each pupil in every assignment. Sloydis the subject where most pupils answered thatthey ”work independently” (Skolverket, 2004,2005). Pupils are allowed to talk while they areworking together, and they can help each other.Analyses of the diaries in NU-92, NU-03 andresults from video recordings made while thepupils are working in the sloyd classroom (e.g.155

The work in the classroom for sloydthe video extract concerning laying out patternsin this article) show that considerable interactiontakes place even though the pupils are workingon their own sloyd objects (Hasselskog, 2004;Johansson, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005;Skolverket, 1994, 2005).However, despite these positive references tohow pupils experience the sloyd subject, the legitimacyof the sloyd subject seems to be weak. InNU-03, when parents were asked to rank the fivesubjects most important for their childs developmentand learning, only 4,2 percent chosesloyd as one of these. Sloyd and chemistry arethe school subjects least valued by the parents(Skolverket, 2004, 2005). The parents’ answersin NU-03 can be compared with Johansson’sstudy (Johansson, 2002), which also concernedparents’ conceptions of their children’s knowledgeof sloyd. When the parents in the studywere asked to comment on the usefulness ofthe knowledge their children had acquired insloyd at comprehensive school, they answerede.g. ”hopefully, purely practically useful”, ”goodcomplement to more theoretical subjects” or”the practical teaching is important as it balancesthe theoretical teaching”. A dominatingconception of knowledge of sloyd held by theparents was that the knowledge was consideredto be ’practical’ and functioned as a complimentor counterbalance to ’theoretical’ knowledge.Unfounded assumptions have been built intothe words. In comparison with other school subjects,the parents said that what characterisedsloyd was that the pupils learned to work withtheir hands. The parents in the study linked theuse of knowledge of sloyd to specific professionssuch as pre-school teacher, sloyd teacher andcarpenter, but not to other so-called ’practical’work such as in a dental practice, a kitchen orround an operating-table or in a car repair shop.According to the parents, the contexts for utilisingthe knowledge and experiences gainedfrom sloyd lessons were mainly in the home andthey said that the knowledge might possibly beuseful later in life. In addition to the collectiveview in which the knowledge is emphasised asbeing ’practical’ and a complement or counterbalanceto ’theoretical’ knowledge, the parentsreferred to their own opinions and experiencefrom school and sloyd lessons.Pupils and teachers write aboutwork in the classroom for sloydWhen the pupils in NU-03 were asked todescribe the subject sloyd in no more than threewords to somebody else, they used words such as”free, nice, social”, or ”tough, fun, exciting” or”different, fun, not too easy or difficult” (Skolverket,2005). In answers to open ended ques-156

The work in the classroom for sloydtion, the subject was described as being ”a freesubject where you don’t just sit in front of theblackboard”, or ”I think it’s a fun subject. You’reallowed to decide what you want to work with.It’s also fun working with one’s hands”.In diary texts, written over a period of time,pupils and teachers describe in more detail thework done in the classroom. Writing a diaryabout the work done in the classroom duringthe sloyd lessons was introduced in conjunctionwith the Swedish Board of Education’s evaluationof the comprehensive school in 1992.Today, writing a diary during the sloyd lessonsis common in school and the method has alsobeen used in research and in NU-03 (Hasselskog,2004; Johansson, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2002;Skolverket, 1994, 2005).Karin, 6th grade, who is going to woodwork andmetal work lessons, writes in her diary duringthe lessons about her work on a pedestal for aflowering plant (Johansson, 2005, p. 104):Lesson 1.Today, I’ve been sanding my pedestal withsandpaper. I helped Regina to glue her piecesof plank for her stool. Regina put glue on theoutside so we got very sticky but we managedin any case.Lesson 2.Today, I measured the legs for my pedestal. I’dthought of having it a bit higher, but it wouldhave been wobbly. Malin wanted me to painta bird on a piece of wood for her because shecouldn’t do it herself. So I did it for her. I alsoshowed Regina how to plane her stool.Lesson 3.Today, I’ve been sanding my pedestal legsand drilling holes in the in the seat and Ifound screws. I helped some of the others withsmall things. I also didn’t do it in the sameas the teacher showed Linda. But it workedout OK too.Lesson 4.Today, I drilled large holes in the stool so I canpush the legs into place. First, I glued the legsand then I screwed them. Since glue has driedon the top, I’ll have to sand a bit more.Lesson 5.Today, I finished sanding the stool and it’sfinished. So now I’m thinking about what todo. While I was thinking, I helped Regina tosand her stool legs so that they fit in the holesdrilled. By the way, I’ve sanded the legs formy stool smooth too.157

The work in the classroom for sloydCarl, who teaches woodwork and metal work,writes in his diary about the work in a sloydgroup in the 6th grade (Johansson, 2002, p.112):Mattias took the shelf and set off for the paintingroom. He so wants to get it finished now.But I was forced to ask him to sand the backpiece. The girls with the enamel are managingjust fine now. Jonny got started with aCD rack after a short discussion. The two boysbuilding a CD rack are really independent;today, they soldered and have begun to installthe engine. ... The girls with the mirrors havebeen plugging the joints and have sawn theback piece. I discovered I didn’t have enoughmirror glass. Has to be fixed, without money.Must talk to the caretaker, they sometimesfind some in the refuse storage room.Sandra, 6th grade, who is going to textile craftlessons, writes about her work on a ”vest dress”in her diary (Johansson, 2002, p. 153).Today, I started on a vest dress. We had tomake it a bit shorter because otherwise itwould have been too low-cut. I hope I’ll getit finished next time. It wasn’t specially difficult.I haven’t anything learnt new, not thatI’ve noticed.The above three diary excerpts are only examplesof how pupils and teachers can describesloyd work in their own words. Each situationis unique and each person writes about his orher experience. The first diary excerpt aboveshows that Karin’s work on her own pedestal isaccompanied by considerable interaction withother pupils. In the diary texts, we can followthe pupils’ reflections about their work, althoughthey seldom write about what they have learnt.In the third diary excerpt, Sandra writes: ”Ihaven’t learnt anything new, not that I’ve noticed”,but even for a person familiar with patternsand sewing, the work on ”making shorter”because of the low neckline using a paper patternor part of a pattern involves the coordinationof several abstraction processes. Sandra’s comment,that she hasn’t ”learn anything new”, isinteresting in relation to both the results fromthe national evaluation and to the excerpts fromthe diaries above. It raises a question as to whatis it that parents and pupils related to when theyanswered the questionnaire from NU-03. Theissue of this article is to explore what it is thatpupils do – and thereby are given opportunity tolearn – in a school subject that is highly appreciatedbut not educationally valued by pupilsand parents.158

The work in the classroom for sloydVideo documentation of workin the classroom for sloydDiary entries give a rich picture of how pupilsand teachers describe their work during sloydlessons, but what the pupils write that they dodoes not necessarily correspond with what theyin fact do. One goal of my research was to ingreater detail study what pupils do and how theywork during sloyd lessons (Johansson, 1996,1999, 2002). With the help of video recordingsof the work in the classroom for sloyd, the integrationbetween both verbal and non-verbalactivities such as eye contact, gestures, bodylanguage and movements can be documentedand analysed (Atkinson & Heritage, 1996;Erickson, 1992; Goodwin, 2000; Silverman,1995). Video recordings enable the complexityin interactions to be documented and utilisedfor repeated and detailed analyses.Detailed analyses of video-recorded sloyd activitiesin school show that a large amount of verbaland non-verbal interaction (body language, gestures,facial expressions and joint actions) takesplace during pupils’ work in the classroom forsloyd. The pupils solve the problems by meansof social interaction, even though they are workingon their own projects. Several pupils participateand interact in sloyd activities, taking astheir starting point their own and each other’sknowledge and experience. The pupils talk,watch and show when they switch betweenhelping and being helped. Sloyd activities offerunique opportunities for learning via participationwith elements of the sort of communicationthat characterises master-apprentice situations.The master is not always the teacher, the pupilsthemselves take turns assuming the role of beingknowledgeable. The activities are developed ininteraction between persons, the situation andthe surroundings both in and outside the schooland between the lessons over time. To a largedegree, the communicative aspects of sloydshare an unconscious form of knowledge, whichboth teachers and pupils can be made aware of(Johansson, 1999, 2002, 2005).An example of pupils’ work in the practiceof sloyd is given here in the form of parts ofan excerpt, Laying out a pattern, from a videorecording in 8th grade (see Johansson, 1999, p.103–108, and 2002, p. 79). The excerpt is takenfrom work in a textile craft group of 15 pupils.The activities taking place in the classroomfor sloyd are intensive and varying. The pupilsmove about freely and talk a lot with each other.Nevertheless, the impression is one of a calmgroup of involved pupils. The pupils are workingon varying assignments and are at differentstages. Some of the pupils are sewing an article159

The work in the classroom for sloydof clothing such as a blouse, a skirt, a dress ora simple jacket. Other pupils are knitting andcrocheting and one pupil is doing patchwork.During each sloyd lesson, all the pupils help inreadying a common warp for a loom.Malin, who, according to her diary, is goingto ”sew a dress in sloyd”, has cut out her paperpattern (the pieces of the pattern for the frontand back sections). Malin is standing at theback of the classroom at a large cutting-boardand is going to fasten the pieces of the patternto the fabric, which is folded in two, with pinsbefore cutting. Another pupil, Anna, is cuttingout her pattern for a skirt at her workplace at thefront of the classroom. The teacher (LÄR) goesto the cutting-board. Maria, goes to the cutting-boardand waits for help from the teacher.In the following two parts of the excerpt fromLaying out a pattern, Malin’s and the teacher’swork are described in Part 1 (a–b) and Malin’sand Anna’s work in Part 2 (a–d).Excerpt: Laying out a patternPART 1:aWho Does what Says Other1:1 Malin Holds and pulls at her tapemeasure1:1 LÄR Moves the box of pins(which consists of a weightwith a magnet holding thepins)How do I measure?Why do I have to measure?The thing to do now, this,getting things grain lineThe teacher is standing onone side of the cuttingboard1:2 Malin Pulls at the tape-measure So that ...What is it?1:2 LÄR Shows with her hand alongthe length of the fabric.Points along the grain lineof the fabric1:3 LÄR Points with her hand acrossthe fabricWell. In this fabric, you havethe grain line going like this.Like a warp, just like on thatloom thereThen you have the weft,which goes like this, in theother directionMaria comes up160

The work in the classroom for sloydWho Does what Says Other1:3 Malin Looks at the teacher’s hand1:4 LÄR Points at the arrow, printedon the piece of the pattern,show the direction of thegrain of the fabric.1:4 Malin Points with her finger alongthe fabricNow we have to get thisarrow you’ve drawn in themiddle here.It must be the same as thegrain lineIt’s the arrow showing thegrain of the fabric1:5 LÄR Yes, exactly1:6 LÄR Shows with her hand overthe arrow on the patternshowing the grain of thefabric1:7 LÄR Shows with her hand alongthe outside edge of thefabricSo now this line has to ...... must be parallel with thisline1:5 Malin I see1:8 LÄR Keeps her hand on the outsideedge of the fabricDo you know what parallelis?1:6 Malin Yes, we do it in maths1:9 LÄR You do it in maths?1:7 Malin Points at the arrow printedon the pattern. Takes a stepbackwards and waves herhands back and forthA pupil is whistling in thebackground1:10 LÄR Shows, measuring with herthumb and forefinger, thebeginning and end of thearrow printed on the pieceof the pattern comparedwith the outside edge ofthe fabric.Same measurement there...... as there161

The work in the classroom for sloydWho Does what Says Other1:8 Malin Picks up the tape-measure Should I measure the seamallowance, or what?1:11 LÄR Place the palm of her handon the pattern1:12 LÄR Lifts and places the weightwith the pins on top of thepattern1:1 Anna Stretches across and takessome pins from the weightwith the pinsYes. First, you fasten it withpins… and then ...... you do the seamallowanceAnna comes up and beginsto work on the cuttingboardAnna has moved from where she was workingbefore to the cutting-board and is now standingthere fastening the pieces of the patternfor her skirt to a piece of fabric; she is facingAnna on the other side of the cutting-board. Athird pupil, Maria, is helping Anna to fastenthe pieces of the pattern to the fabric whileshe is waiting for the teacher. The teacher andMalin continue:162

The work in the classroom for sloydPART 1:bWho Does what Says Other1:13 LÄR Places her hand on thepiece of the pattern for thefront1:14 LÄR Moves the piece of the patternfor the backThe smart thing to do is tobegin with this and placeit firstBut then we might have tomove this later1:9 Malin OK, so there’s room for it1:15 LÄR Points to the arrow on thefront section1:16 LÄR Pushes and moves the pieceof the pattern forwards1:17 LÄR Holds the pattern in placewith her hand1:10 Malin Slides her fingers along thetape-measure. Takes a pinStart measuring there. Thenyou can take the secondoneThen you should have aseam allowance of 1 cmBut you have to fasten itwith pins hereShould it be marked withchalk?1:18 LÄR Yes ... you mark it1:11 Malin Takes a piece of tailor’schalk from the drawer in thecutting-board1:19 LÄR Points to and moves thepieces of the pattern1:12 Malin Holds up the tailor’s chalkand throws it onto the tableAlthough you’ll have to fastenthese with pins firstYeah, yeah ... I just ...Malin holds the tapemeasurewhile the teacheris talkingAnother pupil is singing inthe backgroundMaria and Anna are talkingMaria is helping AnnaThe teacher now leaves with Maria, who hadbeen helping Anna while she was waiting forthe teacher to help her. Malin begins to fastenthe piece of the pattern for the back to thefabric with a pin on the bottom edge of theback section. Anna leaves the weight with pinson Malin’s piece of the pattern, which meansthat she has to stretch across the table everytime she wants to get a pin. Malin drops hertape-measure on the floor after the first pin and163

The work in the classroom for sloydcontinues to fasten the piece of the pattern, butwithout measuring. The fabric is folded doubleand placed lengthwise on the cutting-board, butnot parallel with the edge of the table. Annagoes off to fetch a pair of tailor’s scissors. Whenshe returns with scissors, she begins to discussthe arrow showing the grain of the fabric withMalin. After Malin’s and the teacher’s work(part 1:a–b), Malin continues to work withAnna (part 2:a–d):PART 2:aWho Does what Says Other2:1 Anna Points with the tailor’s scissorsat the grain line arrowon the pattern and points ata fold in the paper patternThat line ...?Or this line ...?2:1 Malin Laughs and points It’s this one…No, it’s which…Anna is about to begin cuttingher fabric, but stopsAnna starts discussing with Malin again. Malincontinues to measure at the bottom of the paperpattern for the back section. Anna starts to cutout the parts of her skirt. Malin talks to herselfwhile measuring:PART 2:bWho Does what Says Other2:2 Malin Measures at the bottomof the pattern for the backsection with the tapemeasure2:3 Malin Measures at the top of thepattern for the back sectionwith the tape-measure... 23 ... Anna is cutting... 29 ...Malin continues to talk to herself. Anna is cutting.Anna stops cutting, looks and interestsherself in Malin’s work once again:164

The work in the classroom for sloydPART 2:cWho Does what Says Other2:4 Malin Measures to the edge ofthe table2:5 Malin ”Gives up” and leans overand lies on the table, lookingat the rest of the class2:2 Anna Stops cutting and takes thetape-measure from Malin.Measures at the bottom ofthe paper pattern with thetape-measure... 33 and a half ...Is this the line?2:6 Malin Leans forward Uh ..., I think so ... Yes.2:3 Anna Points at the bottom of thepaper patternIs there supposed to be aseam allowance here?2:7 Malin Yes, it should be 1 cm2:4 Anna Points at the bottom Is there supposed to bea hem here? ... It shouldprobably be 4 cm ...2:8 Malin Covers her mouth with herhandAh right ...2:5 Anna Looks at Malin There probably should be ahem at the bottom2:9 Malin Calls to the teacher Is there supposed to be ahem at the bottom?2:1 LÄR Answers Yes, There should be a hemat the bottomAnna is cuttingAnna and Malin look up atthe teacher, who is standingsome distance awayMalin is talking with some other classmates, butAnna pokes Malin’s shoulder to get her attention.Anna sets out the paper pattern ”in the rightway”, along the grain line allowing for a seamallowance of 1 cm from the edge and a seam allowanceof 4 cm for the hem and measures:165

The work in the classroom for sloydPART 2:dWho Does what Says Other2:6 Anna Shows and measures withthe tape-measure from theTrådriktnings arrow on thepattern to the edge of thefabric... 28 and a bit ... Malin is watching2:10 Malin Looks at Anna What? I measured all theway down to the tableThey both stop what they are doing and look.They check the measurements and alter andfinally, together, fasten the pieces of the patternwith pins.Contributing, participatingand creating meaning in the workThe activities involving how the different partsof the pattern are fastened along the grain lineand with space for the seam allowance areaccompanied by mutual interpretation. Pupilsand teachers contribute and participate on thebasis of their own experience, for example, byreferring to maths lessons (1:8 Lär; 1:6 Malin).The teacher communicates both verbally andnon-verbally by talking and, at the same time,instructing with her hands (1:3 Lär; 1:10 Lär).Gestures and actions are coordinated, forexample, when the teacher uses the pincushionas a weight to hold the piece of the pattern inposition so that it remains aligned with thegrain line (1:1 Lär). The pupil Anna observesthis action, with its built-in knowledge (that amagnetic weight with pins, in addition to storingpins, keeps the thin piece of the pattern alignedwith the grain line by virtue of its weight). Shethen has to stretch with some discomfort acrossthe table to get pins (1:1 Anna). Malin is partiallyaware that she has to take into account spacefor the seam allowance and she tests this withthe teacher (1:8 Malin). Despite the teacher’stalk and instructions as well as reference to thewarp being set up in the loom in the classroomfor sloyd (1:2 Lär), Malin begins to fasten thepattern haphazardly with pins and withoutconsidering the fabric’s grain line and the grainline arrow on the pattern when the teacher hasleft. Malin finds it difficult to coordinate thegrain line arrow on the paper pattern with thefabric’s grain line, instructions to take seamallowance into account (1:16 Lär; 1:8 Malin166

The work in the classroom for sloydand 1:9 Malin) together with using the tapemeasureas an aid to achieve this (2:2-5 Malin).Malin knows that there should be a 1 cm seamallowance (2:7 Malin), but Anna’s questionconcerns a wider seam allowance for the hem[4 cm] (2:3 Anna; 2:4 Anna). The teacher isnearby and answers that there should be a hemat the bottom (2:1 Lär), but she does not sayhow many cm the hem should be. Not untilAnna measures (2:7 Anna) does Malin realisethat she has measured out to the edge of thetable (2:10 Malin) instead of to the edge of thefabric and the problem is then solved togetherwith Anna. The pupils help each other, Mariahelps Anna (see the comments after part 1:a)who, in turn, helps Malin (part 2). Anna takesthe initiative to involve herself in Malin’s work(2:1 Anna), but Malin at the same time invitesother pupils to contribute and participate whenshe, for example, leans over the table and lieslooking out over the class (2:5 Malin). What islearnt, and who learns what in the work?The pattern-laying situation is complex inseveral respects. The activity should be seen asa situation involving a group of 15 pupils andin a classroom for sloyd with its artefacts andlanguage. It contains both physical and linguistictools, resources that are mediated throughinteraction when the actors discuss, exchangeexperiences and create a collective understandingin the work. Experience is reproduced andrecreated through verbal and non-verbal communicationin the form of words and actionstogether with the physical tools, the situationand the surroundings (Johansson, 1996, 1999,2002).The transcribed video excerpts above serve solelyas an example of what pupils do in in the practiceof sloyd, which is one of the aspects focusedwhen analysing social practices. This activity isonly a small part of the work process – from ideato finished sloyd object – involving ”sewing adress in sloyd”. Research on the practice of sloydin the school (Johansson, 1996, 1999, 2002,2005) shows that sloyd activities are characterisedby the coordination of several abstractionprocesses and decisions. One example ofthis is when Anna helps Malin with the grainline and when laying out the pattern. In sloyd,there are several tool such as a pair of scissors, aplane, an iron or material as such, which I callphysical tools; but when I use the word tool, Ialso mean mental, intellectual tools (Kozulin,1998, 2003; Säljö, 2000, 2005). In my research,tools are all the tools, resources, utilised whenpupils learn sloyd. Sloyd’s physical tools mediatethoughts in acts and the pupils communicatewith the help of tools when they share their167

The work in the classroom for sloydexperiences. Contemplated work is altered anddeveloped by virtue of the choice of materialand tools and changed conditions. Ideas andimagination are formed in activities involvingthe material, in interaction with others and thesituation that is created. Sloyd activities are characterisedby complexity involving several activitieswhen the pupils work on transforming amaterial into a sloyd object. Experiences in themanufacturing process and through the sloydobject, as an artefact, are given meaning in therelationship created between objects, situationand context and the individuals who interact(Johansson, 2002).In my research, a sociocultural frame of referenceis used as an aid in analysing and puttingwords to activities in sloyd lessons a socioculturalperspective of knowledge and skillsmeans, among other things, that human activities,which include dialogues, different types ofinteraction, reasoning and the use of tools andartefacts, are focused on. The activities couldbe carried out in large or small groups or byindividuals in social practices. A socioculturalapproach is based on Vygotsky’s ideas, whichhave been further developed by a large numberof researchers (Chaiklin & Lave, 1993; Säljö,2000, 2005; Vygotsky 1978, 1986; Wenger,1998; Wertsch, 1998).Reflection on the workin the classroom for sloydAlthough the above presented excerpts representonly a minimal part of the data, they still showthat sloyd as a school subject offers rich situationsfor learning what various tools, techniquesand methods that pupils are given opportunityto learn when working with the materials. Theassignments given in school will result in objectsor clothes that the pupils (or their family, friendsetc.) will use themselves. In their work, the studentscommunicate with each other about whatthey are doing. In these communicative situations,they become involved not only in theirown work but also in other pupils’ work. Theybecome part of the resources afforded in solvingeach other’s problems. Occasionally, they alsosubstitute the teacher in supervising on how awork should be done. What is further important– within sloyd, it is not regarded as cheatingwhen two or more pupils help each other in solvinga problem. In fact, sloyd is a subject wherethe learning situations are very similar to suchsituations out of school.Despite the largely positive picture of sloyd asa subject given in the national evaluation, thepupils find it difficult to see its usefulness as aschool subject. The pupils are working towardsgoals that must be reached both in the syllabus168

The work in the classroom for sloydfor sloyd and in the overall curriculum, butknowledge in sloyd as a subject is not regardedas important for development and learning.Nor are the pupils’ knowledge and experienceacquired in sloyd considered to be importantfor continued studies or a future working life.Qualities such as self-confidence and taking initiativeand responsibility are described by thepupils as something covered by sloyd as a subject,but these qualities do not seem to be takeninto account when the pupils answer questionsabout knowledge acquired in sloyd activities.Knowledge and skills are institutionalised indifferent activities, which develop their ownways of communicating and using physical tools(Wenger, 1998). The pupils are part of manysocial practices and learn how to act in them,as in the school’s practice of sloyd (such as theextract about laying a pattern in this article).How and what pupils do and learn while workingin the classroom for sloyd is, however, toa large extent hidden and unexpressed.The attitude towards sloyd as a subject is causefor worry. The fact that the subject’s knowledgequalities are not generally known is a problemthat needs to be bridged before sloyd as a subjectcan become an important resource in theschool’s work as a whole. If this does not happen,sloyd risks becoming an auxiliary ’bric-à-brac’subject as activities at the comprehensive schoolbecome more multidisciplinary in nature. Inorder raise awareness, and make learning visiblethrough doing, teachers and pupils need to setwords to sloyd work in the classroom.The scarcity of research results has contributedto reasoning about knowledge acquired in sloydlesson being based on assumptions and experienceof sloyd lessons rather than on researchresults concerning sloyd as a subject and learning.Existing research is relatively unknownand has difficulties in gaining acceptance andbeing applied in a practical context. The existingresults of research on sloyd as a subject andwork in the practice of sloyd can be utilised in abetter way in order to clarify and bring out thecontribution of sloyd as a subject in the Swedishcomprehensive school. An important taskfacing researchers is to make known the resultsof research in this subject field. A newly startedlarge research project, Communication andlearning in sloyd practices, will enable continuedinvestigation into the practice of sloyd (Borg,Johansson, Lindberg & Lindström, 2003).Documented results of more detailed studies ofsloyd activities can contribute to the developmentof sloyd as a subject and to the role of theknowledge area in the comprehensive school.169

The work in the classroom for sloydReferencesAtkinson, J.M., & Heritage, J. (Red.). (1996). Structures ofsocial action. Studies in conversation analysis. Cambridge,NY: Cambridge University Press.Borg, K., Johansson, M., Lindberg, V. & Lindström, L.(2003). Communication and learning in Sloyd practices.Research programme funded by the Swedish ResearchCouncil, Committee for Educational Sciences.Chaiklin, S., & Lave, J. (Red.). (1993). Understandingpractice. Perspectives on activity and context. Cambridge,MA: Cambridge University Press.Erickson, F. (1992). Ethnographic microanalysis of interaction.In M.D. LeCompte, W. L. Milloy & J. Preissle(Red.), The handbook of qualitative research in education(pp. 201–225). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Goodwin, C. (2000). Action and embodiment withinsituated human interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 32,1489–1522.Hasselskog, P. (2004). Elevers dagböcker som empirisktmaterial vid utvärdering av slöjdämnet i grundskolan.[Using pupils’ diary notes as empirical material in theevaluation of the sloyd subject]. In C. Nygren-Landgärds& K. Borg (Red.), Slöjdforskning. Artiklar från forskarutbildningskursenSlöjd och bild i en vetenskapsfilosofiskoch metodologisk kontext (ss. 53–61). (Publikation frånPedagogiska fakulteten vid Åbo Akademi, Nr 9/2004).Vasa: Åbo Akademi, Institutionen för lärarutbildning.Johansson, M. (1994). Slöjdprocessen. Arbetet i slöjdsalen.Dagboksanteckningar [The work processes in sloyd. Thework in the classroom for sloyd. Diary notes] (Researchreport no 11). Göteborg: Göteborg university, Departmentof Hand Crafts and Home Economics.Johansson, M. (1995). Dagboksmetod; kvalitativ analysoch tolkning [The diary method; qualitative analysisand interpretation]. In L. Lindfors & J. Peltonen (Red.),Slöjdkompetens i nordisk kultur. Del I (Techne serien:Forskning i slöjdpedagogik B:1/1995, 104–111). Vasa:Åbo Akademi, Institutionen för lärarutbildning.Johansson, M. (1996). Craft and design [Slöjd] – socioculturalreproduction and new creation. In L. Lindfors & J.Peltonen, Porko, M. (Eds.), Sloyd Competence in NordicCulture. Part III (Techne series: Research in Sloyd Educationand Crafts Science B:2/1996, 56–77). Vasa: ÅboAkademi University, Faculty of Education.Johansson, M. (1999). Sociokulturella praktiker i slöjden[Sloyd as sociocultural practices]. Nordisk Pedagogik[Journal of Nordic Educational Research], 19(2),98–115.Johansson, M. (2002). Slöjdpraktik i skolan – hand, tanke,kommunikation och andra medierande redskap [Sloyd inschool – hand, mind, communication and other mediatingtools] (Göteborg Studies in Educational Science, 183).Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.Johansson, M. (2005). Kommunikation och konstruktioni slöjdverksamhet. [Communication and constructionin the practice of sloyd]. In Kullas, S. & Pelkonen,M-L. (Red.), The relationship of Nordic handicraftstudies to product development and technology (Techneseries: Research in Sloyd Education and Crafts Science,B14/2005, 114–128). Rauma: University of Turku,Department of teacher education in Rauma.Kozulin, A. (1998) Psychological tools. A socioculturalapproach to education. Cambridge, Massachusetts: HarvardUniversity Press.Kozulin, A. (2003). Vygotsky’s educational theory in culturalcontext. Cambridge, Massachusetts: CambridgeUniversity Press.Skolverket, [Swedish Board of Education], (1994). Craftand Design, Slöjd. The work processes in craft and design– working methods and knowledge (The Swedish Boardof Education, report, 58). Stockholm: Liber. (Johansson,M., co-author)170

The work in the classroom for sloydSkolverket, [Swedish Board of Education] (2004). Nationellautvärderingen av grundskolan 2003. Sammanfattandehuvudrapport. [National Evaluation of the compulsoryschool in 2003. A summary main report] (A summary ofreport 250, 2004). Stockholm: Fritzes.Skolverket, [Swedish Board of Education] (2005). Nationellautvärderingen av grundskolan 2003. Ämnesrapport Slöjd[National Evaluation of the compulsory school in 2003.A report on the sloyd subject (Slöjd)]. (Ämnesrapport tillrapport 253). Stockholm: Fritzes. (Johansson, M., &Hasselskog, P. authors)Silverman, D. (1995). Interpreting qualitative data. Methodsfor analysing talk, text and interaction. London:SAGE Publications.Säljö, R. (2000). Lärande i praktiken. Ett sociokulturelltperspektiv. [Learning in practice]. Stockholm: Prisma.Säljö, R. (2005). Lärande och kulturella redskap. Omlärprocesser och det kulturella minnet. [Learning andcultural tools. On learning processes and cultural memory].Stockholm: Norstedts Akademiska Förlag.Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development ofhigher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press. (original 1930–1935)Vygotsky, L. (1934/1986). Thought and language (A.Kozulin, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice – Learning,meaning, and identity. Cambridge, MA: CambridgeUniversity Press.Wertsch, J.V. (1998). Mind as action. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press.171

AuthorsAuthorsKajsa Borg, PhD, Assistant professor inEducational work, Department of CreativeStudies, Umeå University, Swedenkajsa.borg@educ.umu.sePer-Olof Erixon, PhD, Professor inEducational Work, Department of CreativeStudies, Umeå Universityper-olof.erixon@educ.umu.seBent Illum, PhD, Assistant professor,Centre for Further Education, Copenhagenand North Zealand and DPU, Copenhagen,Denmarkbi@sloejd-kbh.dkMarlene Johansson, PhD, Assistantprofessor, Faculty of Education, GöteborgUniversity, Swedenmarlene.johansson@ped.gu.seKirsten Klaebo, Assistant professor, Facultyof Art, Design and Drama, Oslo UniversityCollege, Norwaykirsten.klabo@est.hio.noViveca Lindberg, PhD, Assistant professor,Stockholm Institute of Education, Swedenviveca.lindberg@lhs.seLars Lindström, PhD, Professor of ArtsEducation, Stockholm Institute of Education,Swedenlars.lindstrom@lhs.seRagnar Ohlsson, PhD, Professor inPhilosophy, Department of Philosophy,Stockholm University, Swedenragnar.ohlsson@philosophy.su.seMia Porko-Hudd, PhD, Assistant professorin textile sloyd didactics, Faculty ofEducation, Åbo Akademi University,Vaasa, Finlandmia.porko-hudd@abo.fiBodil Svaboe, Assistant professor, Facultyof Art, Design and Drama, Oslo UniversityCollege, Norwaybodil.svaboe@est.hio.noHans Thorbjörnsson, MA, PhDhd,author of school-books, Swedenhansth@glocalnet.net172

Notes on the submission of manuscriptsTidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskningJournal of Research in Teacher EducationNotes on the submission of manuscripts1. One electronic version of the article should be submitted.2. Articles should not normally exceed 5-6000 words. Theyshould be typed, double-spaced an A 4 paper, with ampleleft- and right-hand margins, author’s name and the paperonly. A cover page should contain only the title, author’sname and a full address to appear on the title page of thepaper.3. An abstract not exceeding 150 words should be includedon a separate sheet of paper.4. Footnotes should be avoided. Essential notes should benumbered in the text and grouped together at the end ofthe article.5. Diagrams and Figures, if they are considered essential,should be clearly related to the section of the text to whichthey refer. The original diagrams and figures should besubmitted with the top copy.6. References in the text of an article should be by theauthor’s name and year of publication, as in these examples:Jones (1987) in a paper on…; Jones (1978c:136) states that;Evidence is given by Smith et al. (1984)…; Further explorationof this aspect may be found in many sources (e.g.White, 1981a; Brown & Green, 1982; Jackson, 1983).7. All works referred to should be set out in alphabeticalorder of the author’s name in a list at the end of the article.They should be given in standard form, as the followingexamples:Cummins, J. (1978a) Educational implications of mothertongue maintenance in minority-language groups. TheCanadian Modern Language Review 34, 395-416.Cummins, J. (1978b) Bilingualism and the developmentof metalinguistic awareness. Journal of Cross-CulturalPsychology 9, 131-49.Genese, F., Tucker, G.R and Lambert, W.E. (1976) Communicationskills of children. Child Development 46,1010-14John, V.P and Horner, V.M. (eds) (1971) Early childhoodBilingual Education. New York: Modern Language Associationof America.Jones, W.R. (1959) Bilingualism and Intelligence. Cardiff:University of Wales Press.Karmiloff-Smith, A. (1986) Some fundamental aspects oflanguage development after age five. In P Fletcher andM.Garman (eds) Language Acquisition:Studies in FirstLanguage Development (2 nd edn). Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.FörfattarvägledningTidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning står öppen för publiceringav artiklar och recensioner av arbeten inom områdenalärarutbildning och pedagogisk yrkesverksamhet1. Artikeln ska sändas till redaktören i en elektronisk version.2. Artikeln får till omfånget inte innehålla mer än cirka 5000– 6000 ord. Manuskriptet ska vara skrivet med dubbeltradavstånd med stora höger- och vänstermarginaler. Ettförsättsblad ska innehålla uppgifter om författarens namnoch adress.3. En abstract av artikeln ska finnas på en egen sida ochomfatta cirka 150 ord.4. Fotnoter ska undvikas. Nödvändiga noter ska numrerasi texten och placeras i slutet av artikeln.5. Diagram och figurer ska i de fall de anses nödvändigaplaceras i anslutning till den text de referera till.6. Referenser i löpande text anges med författarens namnsamt tryckår för den publikation som hänvisningen görstill, som i detta exempel:Jones (1987) menar att…; Jones (1978c:136) hävdaratt; Bevis på detta ges av Smith et al. (1984)…; Dessaaspekter utreds ytterligare i andra studier (e.g. White,1981a; Brown & Green, 1982; Jackson, 1983).173

Notes on the submission of manuscripts7. Referenser ska ordnas i alfabetisk ordning efter författarnamni slutet av artikeln. Dessa ska anges i standardformatenligt mönstret ovan:174

Previous issuesInnehåll i nummer 2-3 /2000:Liisa Ängquist: Kreativitet – ett historiskt perspektivLiisa Ängquist: Vygotskijs kreativitetsbegreppEivor Neikter: Kreativitetens vara eller inte varaBengt Malmros: Kreativiteten och kritdammetAnders Marner: Kreativitet – i fenomenografiskt,konstvetenskapligt och semiotiskt perspektivTommy Strandberg: Kreativitet och musikLiisa Ängquist: Dans, rörelse och kreativitetAnders Marner: Kreativitet och bildundervisningKerstin Hägg: Seeding for Change in Educational PraxisPeter Emsheimer: Lärarstudenten som subjekt och objektKritiskt tänkande och disciplinering i lärarutbildningenBrodow, B. , Nilsson, N-E. och Ullström, S-O.:Retoriken kring grammatiken. Didaktiska perspektiv påskolgrammatiken.Mads Hermansen: Lärandets universumInnehåll i nummer 4 /2000:Monika Vinterek: Fakta och fiktion i historieundervisningenPer-Olof Erixon: Pedagogiskt arbete i romanens prismaUlla Lindgren: Mentorskap i undervisning– en mångfasetterad företeelse:Viveka Rasmusson: Drama – konst eller pedagogikKampen om ämnet speglad i den nordiska tidskriftenDramaInnehåll i nummer 1 /2001:Märta Tikkanen: det bidde en tumme…Disparata synpunkter på lärarutbildningen vidUmeå universitetCarol A. Mullen & Dale W. Lick (Eds.) New Directionsin Mentoring: Creating a Culture of Synergy.Mia Maria Rosenqvist: Undervisning i förskolan?– En studie av förskollärarstuderandes föreställningar-KonferensrapportInnehåll i nummer 2 /2001:Joan Solomon Open University: Home-SchoolLearning of ScienceJohn Siraj-Blatchford: Girls in SciencePer-Olof Erixon: Matematikdidaktisk forskningLena Tibell och Christina Bergendahl: Vardagslivets fenomenMaria Nikolajeva: Bilderbokens pusselbitarGunilla Lindqvist: Historia som tema ochgestaltningMonica Reichenberg: Röst ochkausalitet i lärobokstexterKonferensrapport ”Du och naturvetenskapen”Nationellt centrumInnehåll i nummer 3/2001Sara Lidman: ...brevid ämnet ...och dock!Lydia Williams: Understanding the Holocaust?Fiction in EducationAnita Malmqvist: När orden inte räcker till.Anders Marner: Vetenskap och beprövad erfarenhet –kollision eller möte?Monika Ringborg: Platon och hans pedagogikHans Åhl (red): Svenska i tiden – verklighet och visionerHillevi Lenz Taguchi: Emancipation och motstånd:dokumentation och kooperativa läroprocesser i förskolanInnehåll i nummer 4/2001Carin Jonsson: Barnbildens livfulla vinkandeIngaMaj Hellsten: Lärarkunskap och IKT med genusperspektivConny Saxin: Geografiska NotiserHedersdoktorernas föreläsningarKarl-Georg Ahlström: Gäckande effekterLena Hjelm-Wallén: Politiska visioner och skolans vardagMargareta Söderwall: Att skapa med Shakespeareoch andra klassiker175

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Previous issuesInnehåll i nummer 1-2 2005Tomas BergqvistIT och lärande – i skola och lärarutbildningJonas CarlquistAtt spela en roll. Om datorspel och dess användareElza DunkelsNätkulturer – vad gör barn och unga på Internet?Johan Elmfeldt och Per-Olof ErixonGenrer och intermedialitet i litteratur- ochskrivundervisning– teoretiska utgångspunkter och empiriska iakttagelserAnnBritt EnochssonEtt annat sätt att umgås – yngre tonåringar i virtuellagemenskaperAnders Gedionsen, Else Søndergaard, Jane Buus SørensenNår moderniteten i læreruddanelsen mødervirkelighedenYlva Hård af Segerstad och Sylvana Sofkova HashemiSkrivandet, nya media och skrivstöd hosgrundskoleeleverPatrik HernwallVirtual Society: skillnad, tillgång, frånvaro– om villkoren för inträdet i cybersamhälletBertil RoosExamination och det lärande samhälletEva SkåreusDu sköna nya världInnehåll i nummer 3 2005Christina Segerholm:Productive Internationalization in Higher Education:One ExampleCharlotta Edström:Is there more than just symbolic statements?Alan J. Hackbarth:An Examination of Methods forAnalyzing Teacher Classroom Questioning PracticiesCamilla Hällgren:Nobody and everybody has the responsibility– responses to the Swedish antiracist website SWED-KIDBrad W. Kose:Professional Development for Social Justice:Rethinking the ‘‘End in Mind”Mary J. Leonard:Examining Tensions in a ‘‘Design for Science” ActivitySystemJ. Ola Lindberg and Anders D. Olofsson:Phronesis – on teachers’ knowing in practiceConstance A. Steinkuehler:The New Third Place:Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming in AmericanYouth CultureBiographiesNotes on the submission of manuscripts178

Previous issuesInnehåll i nummer 4 2005Håkan AnderssonBedömning ur ett elevperspektiv:– erfarenheter från ett försök med timplanelösundervisningSylvia BenckertVarför väljer inte flickorna fysik?Lena Boström & Tomas KroksmarkLearnings and StrategiesPer-Olof Erixon & Gun MalmgrenLiterature as ExplorationInterview with Louise M Rosenblatt (1904–2005)– Princeton, NJ, USA, April 25, 2001Daniel LindmarkHistoriens didaktiska bruk: Exemplets och traditionensmaktAgneta LinnéLärarinnor, pedagogiskt arbete och modernitetEn narrativ analysInnehåll i nummer 1 2006Lovisa BergdahlOm gemensamma värden i ett pluralistiskt samhälle– Lärarutbildarens syn på och arbete med gemensammavärden i den nya lärarutbildningenElza DunkelsThe Digital Native as a Student– Implications for teacher EducationMaria Elmér & Hans Albin LarssonDemokratiutbildningen i lärarutbildningen– Några jämförelser och tolkningarBodil Halvars-FranzénMed fokus på lärares yrkesetik i den nya lärarutbildningenGun-Marie FrånbergLärarstudenters uppfattning om värdegrunden i lärarutbildningenMargareta Havung”Du, som är kvinna – du kan väl ta det, det där omgenus”– Om jämställdhet och genus i nya lärarutbildningenBritta JonssonLärarstudenters värderingar och kvaliteter179

Tidskriftför lärarutbildning och forskningCONTENTSEditorialArticlesHans ThorbjörnssonSwedish educational sloyd – an international successKajsa BorgWhat is sloyd? A question of legitimacy and identityLars LindströmThe multiple uses of portfolio assessmentMia Porko-HuddThree teaching materials in sloyd – An analysis of the makers’ thoughts behind the visible surfaceViveca LindbergContexts for craft and design within Swedish vocational education: Implications for the contentBent IllumLearning in practice – practical wisdom – the dialogue of the processRagnar OhlssonA Practical Mind as an Intellectual VirtueKirsten Klæbo & Bodil SvaboeDesign and Digital Textile in higher Education:The Impact of Digital Technology on Printed Textile and Surface DesignMarléne JohanssonThe work in the classroom for sloydFAKULTETSNÄMNDEN FÖR LÄRARUTBILDNINGTHE FACULTY BOARD FOR TEACHER EDUCATIONPrinted in Sweden ISSN 1404-7659