Resultatinriktad individualisering i skolans inre arbete. En grundad teori om utvecklingssamtal, skriftliga omdömen och individuella utvecklingsplaner på grundskolans högstadium

Result-oriented individualization in schools’ internal work : A grounded theory of personal development dialogues, written assessments and individual development plans in Swedish secondary school

The aim of this study is to generate a grounded theory that explains the content of teachers’ and students’ work with personal development dialogues and individual development plans using written assessments, all regulated in the national result-oriented curriculum for the Swedish compulsory school. Two secondary schools participated and data was collected on two occasions. Data consists of recorded personal development dialogues, which are informed by written assessments, and copies of the individual development plans written as a conclusion stating agreements between the teacher and student. All data was continuously compared and analyzed by using a grounded theory method. Underpinning the study are the premises of pragmatic philosophy and transactional theory that are assumed to shape the focus of the grounded theory approach and hence of teacher and student transactional strategies. It is argued that teachers’ and students’ primary concern is to establish result-oriented individualization. This is a means for cooperation in a mutual endeavor to establish improved results, guided by the phases of visible accountability and responsible awareness. By using strategies for planning, guiding, auditing and reflecting, new ways of managing individualization are developed. It is also suggested that a new professional approach has been developed, where teachers and students work in collaborative teams, continuously focusing on improving student results.