Det eviga betygsproblemet En kvalitativ studie om hur lärare i matematik förhåller sig till sin roll vid betygssättningen

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how six different teachers of mathematics experience grading in Swedish upper secondary school with focus on the borderline between passed and not passed. The empirical material is based on six interviews about teachers’ personal work experience. The theoretical frame of the study is hermeneutic phenomenology and the job demands- resources model. This means that grades are understood as phenomenon and that grading is considered to be a demanding job task. The results show that Swedish teachers of mathematics find grading problematic and exhausting. Furthermore, this study shows that teachers’ grading is influenced by their relationship with the pupils and that it is affected by other external factors such as the study program they work with and headmasters. Finally, Swedish teachers of mathematics seem to consider written tests the most important, if not only, way to test students’ mathematics knowledge. This study shows that Swedish teachers’ grading experience is very complex, and that grading is not an unequivocal action. This implies that grades are not as objective as they should be since they are used as a selection tool to get into university.