”Är det någon som har en katt?” –En kvalitativ intervjustudie som ämnar undersöka hur lärare på anpassade gymnasieskolan arbetar för att befästa kunskapen i elevernas långtidsminne.

Abstract

This study is the first in it’s field and aims to investigates how religious education (RE) teachers within special education settings plan and structure their instruction to support students with intellectual disabilities in understanding and retaining abstract content. Given the cognitively demanding nature of religious education, the study focuses on pedagogical strategies aimed at facilitating comprehension and long-term memory consolidation. Empirical data were collected through six semi-structured digital interviews with seven RE teachers working with students aged 16–20 in the Swedish special education system. Thematic analysis was employed, guided by the theoretical framework of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). CLT offers pedagogical principles for managing the mental effort required during learning, with the aim of enhancing knowledge retention. The findings suggest that while teachers occasionally apply strategies consistent with CLT, such approaches are often used reactively when initial instruction proves ineffective. The study indicates that instruction grounded in students' prior experiences from the outset may increase the likelihood of successful knowledge transfer to long-term memory. However, teachers frequently encounter a pedagogical dilemma, needing to balance the demands of academic content with the social and cognitive needs of their students.