Per-Åke Rosvall
Biographic Data
| ID | 3081322 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Per-Åke Rosvall |
| GIVEN NAMES | Per-Åke |
| FAMILY NAME | Rosvall |
| SIGNATURE | ROSVALL P |
| AFFILIATIONS | Umeå University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3737-3244 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 60 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Schooling for integration? Reception of refugees in discourse and practice in Swedish rural municipalities 2015–2022
This study explores the integration of migrants in education and the labour market from the perspectives of professionals working with young migrants in Swedish rural municipalities. It compares interview data referring to the situation during the refugee crisis in 2015 with data referring to the period 2019–2022. It addresses the organisation of teaching, how professionals talked about integration in relation to the local labour market and how i…
Educational stakeholders’ perspectives on educational transitions and future careers for young refugees in rural areas undergoing depopulation
There are high hopes that young refugees will help to counter population decline in Sweden’s rural areas. However, there is a need to better understand the factors and processes that facilitate or hinder their persistent integration and continued presence (including further education and work preparation). This article therefore explores the prevailing refugee reception practices and their consequences during and after the major refugee wave in S…
Civic education in VET: Concepts for a professional language in VET teaching and VET teacher education
This paper discusses how Bernsteinian concepts (‘pedagogic rights’, ‘discursive gaps’ and ‘pedagogic code’) from the field of sociology of education can be used as didactic tools to illuminate how different ways of organising teaching in VET has implications for citizenship preparation. The paper is based on results from a five-year research project investigating the extent and nature of learning processes that can be characterised as civic educa…
Sense of place in providers’ perspectives of school placement policies in relation to refugee settlement in rural Sweden
Vocational students’ experiences of power relations during periods of workplace learning – a means for citizenship learning
Students in vocational education may experience situations during on-the-job training in which power relations are strongly manifested, with considerable potential for learning about democracy that have been far from fully explored. Thus, here we analyse how Swedish vocational education and training (VET) students perceived and experienced power relations during their workplace learning periods in upper secondary education, and discuss their expe…
Globalisation in Swedish rural areas: Organisation of adult education and transitions to work for immigrants in times of depopulation
This article focuses on how local institutions in three rural areas in Sweden organised education and work to assist adult immigrants’ integration. We particularly analyse how local officials in educational institutions, employment offices and local governments attempted to support adult immigrants’ education-to-work transitions, using a theoretical framework rooted in the ecology of equity concepts. The results show that national policy is orien…
Being and becoming a female student and worker in gendered processes of vocational education and training
This article reports results of an ethnographic study of how girls are positioned, and position themselves, in relation to gender regimes in three vocational programmes in Swedish upper secondary education: Restaurant Management & Food, Health & Social Care, and Vehicle & Transport. The comparison shows that there are different possible feminine positions where the girls resist and comply to varying degrees both within and between the programmes,…
Counselling to stay or to leave? - Comparing career counselling of young people in rural and urban areas
Sweden may be wealthy, but uneven distributions of resources still affect students’ access to higher education and career choices. Some variation is linked to rural/urban divides, but myriads of other factors may also influence young people’s options in transitions. Here I explore these issues, using data collected from interviews with study and career counsellors in both rural and urban areas of Sweden, using a framework including Masseyian conc…
Socialisation and citizenship preparation in vocational education: Pedagogic codes and democratic rights in VET-subjects
Previous studies of citizenship preparation in upper secondary school, including studies on vocational programmes, have primarily focused on general subjects. Potential and actual roles of vocational subjects in this context have received little attention, so we have little knowledge of what is likely a significant part of the citizenship preparation that occurs in vocational programmes. Drawing on the work of Basil Bernstein and ethnographic dat…
A horizon circumscribed by norms? - five gay men discussing career and work
Sweden is known for strong traditions of gender equality and liberal attitudes to variations in sexual orientation. However, the Swedish labour market is strongly gender-segregated and LGB individuals have more difficulties finding employment than heterosexual peers. Thus, Sweden provides an interesting case for studying gender orders and sexual norms. Our aim in this study was to acquire a deeper understanding of reflections of Swedish gay men o…
Development of the Help Overcoming Pain Early (Hope) Programme Built on a Person-Centred Approach to Support School Nurses in the Care of Adolescents with Chronic Pain—A Feasibility Study
Chronic pain and its consequences are major global health challenges, and the prevalence is increasing worldwide among adolescents. Adolescents spend most of their waking hours in school; however, there is limited research available on how school nurses can address chronic pain among adolescents in the Swedish school context. Therefore, we designed a person-centred intervention, known as Help Overcoming Pain Early (HOPE), to enable school nurses …
Perspectives of students with mental health problems on improving the school environment and practice
Mental health problems are increasingly common risk factors for chronic pain, while stressors in school are associated with persistent and recurrent pain among students, and negatively associated with educational achievements. Clearly, it is important to identify elements that influence frequencies or intensities of mental health problems. To assist such efforts, this study analysed views of interviewed upper secondary students, in terms of physi…
The academic–vocational divide in three Nordic countries: Implications for social class and gender
In this study we examine how the academic–vocational divide is manifested today in Finland, Iceland and Sweden in the division between vocationally (VET) and academicallyoriented programmes at the upper-secondary school level. The paper is based on a critical re-analysis of results from previous studies; in it we investigate the implications of this divide for class and gender inequalities. The theoretical lens used for the synthesis is based on …
Young people's career choices in Swedish rural contexts: Schools' social codes, migration and resources
Understanding career development amongst immigrant youth in a rural place
There is little research into the career trajectories and occupational aspirations of rural youth with immigrant backgrounds in Europe. This article presents new research based on field observations and interviews with five young immigrants of Persian descent in one rural town in Sweden. The findings highlighted gender differences in how the research participants felt their immigrant background would shape their future career plans and aspiration…
Vocational or academic track? Study and career plans among Swedish students living in rural areas
This ethnographic study explores how rural lower secondary school students reflect on study and career choices, focusing on the choice between vocational and academic upper secondary programs. Applying a spatial perspective, we analyze individual students’ reflections about study and career choices within a variety of rural regions, and compare patterns in the regions. The results indicate complex interactions between structural factors and indiv…
The vocational–academic divide in neoliberal upper secondary curricula: The Swedish case
A historical tension between a more general and a more specific focus in post-compulsory education is made visible in some educational systems by the division into more academic and more vocational programmes. Embedded in this tension are questions of social justice and the purposes of education. In addition, division into academic and vocational programmes has class dimensions since youth with working class backgrounds are often over-represented…
Lad’ research, the reproduction of stereotypes? Ethnographic dilemmas when researching boys from working-class backgrounds
Previous research presented in this journal and elsewhere has suggested that vocational education is highly gender segregated and it is the heavy industrial sectors such as industry, vehicle and construction programmes that mainly attract boys with an anti-school attitude who are not interested in academic school work. However, there are good reasons to also question the reproduction of these stereotypes and how they may operate in relation to yo…
Teachers’ silences about racist attitudes and students’ desires to address these attitudes
In this article, we use ethnographic data to explore school-based perceptions of racism. We draw on the findings of a one-year study conducted in two upper secondary classes in a Swedish school. The starting point of the analysis was student discussions of racism in the school and the surrounding neighbourhood, which prompted an examination of teacher and student responses to racist and nationalist ideas. We concluded that the school seldom acted…
Young people's career choices in Swedish rural contexts: Schools' social codes, migration and resources
Lad’ research, the reproduction of stereotypes? Ethnographic dilemmas when researching boys from working-class backgrounds
Previous research presented in this journal and elsewhere has suggested that vocational education is highly gender segregated and it is the heavy industrial sectors such as industry, vehicle and construction programmes that mainly attract boys with an anti-school attitude who are not interested in academic school work. However, there are good reasons to also question the reproduction of these stereotypes and how they may operate in relation to yo…
The vocational–academic divide in neoliberal upper secondary curricula: The Swedish case
A historical tension between a more general and a more specific focus in post-compulsory education is made visible in some educational systems by the division into more academic and more vocational programmes. Embedded in this tension are questions of social justice and the purposes of education. In addition, division into academic and vocational programmes has class dimensions since youth with working class backgrounds are often over-represented…
Understanding career development amongst immigrant youth in a rural place
There is little research into the career trajectories and occupational aspirations of rural youth with immigrant backgrounds in Europe. This article presents new research based on field observations and interviews with five young immigrants of Persian descent in one rural town in Sweden. The findings highlighted gender differences in how the research participants felt their immigrant background would shape their future career plans and aspiration…
Vocational or academic track? Study and career plans among Swedish students living in rural areas
This ethnographic study explores how rural lower secondary school students reflect on study and career choices, focusing on the choice between vocational and academic upper secondary programs. Applying a spatial perspective, we analyze individual students’ reflections about study and career choices within a variety of rural regions, and compare patterns in the regions. The results indicate complex interactions between structural factors and indiv…
Being and becoming a female student and worker in gendered processes of vocational education and training
This article reports results of an ethnographic study of how girls are positioned, and position themselves, in relation to gender regimes in three vocational programmes in Swedish upper secondary education: Restaurant Management & Food, Health & Social Care, and Vehicle & Transport. The comparison shows that there are different possible feminine positions where the girls resist and comply to varying degrees both within and between the programmes,…
Teachers’ silences about racist attitudes and students’ desires to address these attitudes
In this article, we use ethnographic data to explore school-based perceptions of racism. We draw on the findings of a one-year study conducted in two upper secondary classes in a Swedish school. The starting point of the analysis was student discussions of racism in the school and the surrounding neighbourhood, which prompted an examination of teacher and student responses to racist and nationalist ideas. We concluded that the school seldom acted…
Counselling to stay or to leave? - Comparing career counselling of young people in rural and urban areas
Sweden may be wealthy, but uneven distributions of resources still affect students’ access to higher education and career choices. Some variation is linked to rural/urban divides, but myriads of other factors may also influence young people’s options in transitions. Here I explore these issues, using data collected from interviews with study and career counsellors in both rural and urban areas of Sweden, using a framework including Masseyian conc…
Socialisation and citizenship preparation in vocational education: Pedagogic codes and democratic rights in VET-subjects
Previous studies of citizenship preparation in upper secondary school, including studies on vocational programmes, have primarily focused on general subjects. Potential and actual roles of vocational subjects in this context have received little attention, so we have little knowledge of what is likely a significant part of the citizenship preparation that occurs in vocational programmes. Drawing on the work of Basil Bernstein and ethnographic dat…
The academic–vocational divide in three Nordic countries: Implications for social class and gender
In this study we examine how the academic–vocational divide is manifested today in Finland, Iceland and Sweden in the division between vocationally (VET) and academicallyoriented programmes at the upper-secondary school level. The paper is based on a critical re-analysis of results from previous studies; in it we investigate the implications of this divide for class and gender inequalities. The theoretical lens used for the synthesis is based on …
Sense of place in providers’ perspectives of school placement policies in relation to refugee settlement in rural Sweden
A horizon circumscribed by norms? - five gay men discussing career and work
Sweden is known for strong traditions of gender equality and liberal attitudes to variations in sexual orientation. However, the Swedish labour market is strongly gender-segregated and LGB individuals have more difficulties finding employment than heterosexual peers. Thus, Sweden provides an interesting case for studying gender orders and sexual norms. Our aim in this study was to acquire a deeper understanding of reflections of Swedish gay men o…
Teachers’ silences about racist attitudes and students’ desires to address these attitudes
In this article, we use ethnographic data to explore school-based perceptions of racism. We draw on the findings of a one-year study conducted in two upper secondary classes in a Swedish school. The starting point of the analysis was student discussions of racism in the school and the surrounding neighbourhood, which prompted an examination of teacher and student responses to racist and nationalist ideas. We concluded that the school seldom acted…
Lad’ research, the reproduction of stereotypes? Ethnographic dilemmas when researching boys from working-class backgrounds
Previous research presented in this journal and elsewhere has suggested that vocational education is highly gender segregated and it is the heavy industrial sectors such as industry, vehicle and construction programmes that mainly attract boys with an anti-school attitude who are not interested in academic school work. However, there are good reasons to also question the reproduction of these stereotypes and how they may operate in relation to yo…
Understanding career development amongst immigrant youth in a rural place
There is little research into the career trajectories and occupational aspirations of rural youth with immigrant backgrounds in Europe. This article presents new research based on field observations and interviews with five young immigrants of Persian descent in one rural town in Sweden. The findings highlighted gender differences in how the research participants felt their immigrant background would shape their future career plans and aspiration…
Vocational or academic track? Study and career plans among Swedish students living in rural areas
This ethnographic study explores how rural lower secondary school students reflect on study and career choices, focusing on the choice between vocational and academic upper secondary programs. Applying a spatial perspective, we analyze individual students’ reflections about study and career choices within a variety of rural regions, and compare patterns in the regions. The results indicate complex interactions between structural factors and indiv…
The vocational–academic divide in neoliberal upper secondary curricula: The Swedish case
A historical tension between a more general and a more specific focus in post-compulsory education is made visible in some educational systems by the division into more academic and more vocational programmes. Embedded in this tension are questions of social justice and the purposes of education. In addition, division into academic and vocational programmes has class dimensions since youth with working class backgrounds are often over-represented…
The academic–vocational divide in three Nordic countries: Implications for social class and gender
In this study we examine how the academic–vocational divide is manifested today in Finland, Iceland and Sweden in the division between vocationally (VET) and academicallyoriented programmes at the upper-secondary school level. The paper is based on a critical re-analysis of results from previous studies; in it we investigate the implications of this divide for class and gender inequalities. The theoretical lens used for the synthesis is based on …
Young people's career choices in Swedish rural contexts: Schools' social codes, migration and resources
Development of the Help Overcoming Pain Early (Hope) Programme Built on a Person-Centred Approach to Support School Nurses in the Care of Adolescents with Chronic Pain—A Feasibility Study
Chronic pain and its consequences are major global health challenges, and the prevalence is increasing worldwide among adolescents. Adolescents spend most of their waking hours in school; however, there is limited research available on how school nurses can address chronic pain among adolescents in the Swedish school context. Therefore, we designed a person-centred intervention, known as Help Overcoming Pain Early (HOPE), to enable school nurses …
Perspectives of students with mental health problems on improving the school environment and practice
Mental health problems are increasingly common risk factors for chronic pain, while stressors in school are associated with persistent and recurrent pain among students, and negatively associated with educational achievements. Clearly, it is important to identify elements that influence frequencies or intensities of mental health problems. To assist such efforts, this study analysed views of interviewed upper secondary students, in terms of physi…
Being and becoming a female student and worker in gendered processes of vocational education and training
This article reports results of an ethnographic study of how girls are positioned, and position themselves, in relation to gender regimes in three vocational programmes in Swedish upper secondary education: Restaurant Management & Food, Health & Social Care, and Vehicle & Transport. The comparison shows that there are different possible feminine positions where the girls resist and comply to varying degrees both within and between the programmes,…
Counselling to stay or to leave? - Comparing career counselling of young people in rural and urban areas
Sweden may be wealthy, but uneven distributions of resources still affect students’ access to higher education and career choices. Some variation is linked to rural/urban divides, but myriads of other factors may also influence young people’s options in transitions. Here I explore these issues, using data collected from interviews with study and career counsellors in both rural and urban areas of Sweden, using a framework including Masseyian conc…
Socialisation and citizenship preparation in vocational education: Pedagogic codes and democratic rights in VET-subjects
Previous studies of citizenship preparation in upper secondary school, including studies on vocational programmes, have primarily focused on general subjects. Potential and actual roles of vocational subjects in this context have received little attention, so we have little knowledge of what is likely a significant part of the citizenship preparation that occurs in vocational programmes. Drawing on the work of Basil Bernstein and ethnographic dat…
A horizon circumscribed by norms? - five gay men discussing career and work
Sweden is known for strong traditions of gender equality and liberal attitudes to variations in sexual orientation. However, the Swedish labour market is strongly gender-segregated and LGB individuals have more difficulties finding employment than heterosexual peers. Thus, Sweden provides an interesting case for studying gender orders and sexual norms. Our aim in this study was to acquire a deeper understanding of reflections of Swedish gay men o…
Vocational students’ experiences of power relations during periods of workplace learning – a means for citizenship learning
Students in vocational education may experience situations during on-the-job training in which power relations are strongly manifested, with considerable potential for learning about democracy that have been far from fully explored. Thus, here we analyse how Swedish vocational education and training (VET) students perceived and experienced power relations during their workplace learning periods in upper secondary education, and discuss their expe…
Globalisation in Swedish rural areas: Organisation of adult education and transitions to work for immigrants in times of depopulation
This article focuses on how local institutions in three rural areas in Sweden organised education and work to assist adult immigrants’ integration. We particularly analyse how local officials in educational institutions, employment offices and local governments attempted to support adult immigrants’ education-to-work transitions, using a theoretical framework rooted in the ecology of equity concepts. The results show that national policy is orien…
Civic education in VET: Concepts for a professional language in VET teaching and VET teacher education
This paper discusses how Bernsteinian concepts (‘pedagogic rights’, ‘discursive gaps’ and ‘pedagogic code’) from the field of sociology of education can be used as didactic tools to illuminate how different ways of organising teaching in VET has implications for citizenship preparation. The paper is based on results from a five-year research project investigating the extent and nature of learning processes that can be characterised as civic educa…
Sense of place in providers’ perspectives of school placement policies in relation to refugee settlement in rural Sweden
Schooling for integration? Reception of refugees in discourse and practice in Swedish rural municipalities 2015–2022
This study explores the integration of migrants in education and the labour market from the perspectives of professionals working with young migrants in Swedish rural municipalities. It compares interview data referring to the situation during the refugee crisis in 2015 with data referring to the period 2019–2022. It addresses the organisation of teaching, how professionals talked about integration in relation to the local labour market and how i…
Educational stakeholders’ perspectives on educational transitions and future careers for young refugees in rural areas undergoing depopulation
There are high hopes that young refugees will help to counter population decline in Sweden’s rural areas. However, there is a need to better understand the factors and processes that facilitate or hinder their persistent integration and continued presence (including further education and work preparation). This article therefore explores the prevailing refugee reception practices and their consequences during and after the major refugee wave in S…
Sociology (16 works) · Political science (14 works) · Psychology (14 works) · Pedagogy (11 works) · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics (9 works) · Vocational education (8 works) · Global Educational Policies and Reforms (7 works) · Ethnography (6 works) · Gender Studies (6 works) · Politics (6 works)