This study examined active Swedish preschool teachers’ thoughts and perceptions in terms of read-alouds as a tool to support children's language and literacy development. The research question was ‘How and for what purpose do preschool teachers say that they organize read-alouds in preschool?’ Three focus group interviews were conducted with five preschool teachers from different preschools in each group. The findings reflect traditions that influence preschool education, and the general picture is that teachers’ personal and practical knowledge informs their daily teaching. The informants try to organize read-alouds but do not always succeed as a result of logistical and practical challenges. Teachers describe external factors, such as large groups and the requirement to teach maths and science, as obstacles in the planning and implementing of read-alouds. Teachers that have received in-service training and professional development say that they have daily read-alouds followed by text talk. The need for professional development is discussed.

Reading amount is decisive for individual students' academic success as well as for the general strength of democratic societies. Still, the amount of both leisure‐time and school‐related reading is decreasing. To reverse this trend, more knowledge of what drives students' school reading is needed. Drawing on Self‐Determination Theory (SDT), the study is based on structured interviews with 259 students in Grades 6 and 9 from 14 different schools. Descriptive statistical analyses were made to map students' perceptions of themselves as readers and their school‐related reading practices and to find out what regulates students' motivation for in‐class reading. Although students express a strong will to become good readers, our data indicate that students are mainly driven by controlled motivation for their school‐related reading; autonomous motivation was only expressed by a minority of students in Grade 6. What would make students read more are mainly text and instruction related factors such as more interesting texts and more time allocated to reading. Our results point to a great potential for more in‐class reading across the curriculum, reading sessions that need to be regularly scheduled using carefully selected texts. In line with SDT, our findings highlight the importance of fulfilling students' need for competence, relatedness, and autonomy in order for them to develop more self‐determined behaviour, such as leisure‐time reading – which in turn will boost their reading self‐concept.Highlights: What is already known about this topic Students who practice reading more tend to become more competent readers and therefore develop a more positive relationship with reading and themselves as readers (reading self‐concept). Autonomous motivation strongly predicts reading achievement, whereas controlled motivation negatively predicts reading outcomes. The amount of both leisure‐time and school‐related reading is decreasing in many parts of the western world, highlighting the need for schools to find new ways of engaging students in reading practices. What this paper adds Students want to be good readers and know that they need to read more to become good readers. In contrast to leisure‐time reading, students' school‐related reading practices are driven far more by controlled than autonomous motivation, especially by the time they reach secondary school. Students would read more if they were provided with more interesting texts, the possibility to choose, and if more class time were allocated to reading. Implications for theory, policy or practice Autonomy‐supporting reading sessions need to be regularly and amply scheduled across the curriculum to ensure reading practices that can develop reader competence. Schools need to ensure that students have access to a variety of texts to choose from according to both personal interest and level of difficulty. Educators need to design reading practices that fulfil students' need for competence, relatedness, and autonomy in order for them to develop more self‐determined behaviour and a more positive perception of themselves as readers.

Preschool teachers’ read-aloud and writing practices were investigated using a questionnaire about how activities were planned and organized, and what their purpose was. The results indicate that early literacy practices were not planned systematically. Most of the preschool teachers (77%) reported having storybook read-alouds at least three times per week. A large minority (45.5%) reported never or seldom using writing activities, and rarely in play. The main aims of read-alouds were to promote learning and development, create a sense of community, and regulate group activities. The main aims of writing practices were to learn about letters, understand the function of print, and arouse interest in writing. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to a need for a didactic approach, where play is the core of early literacy practices.

Even though the importance of extensive reading practice is well documented, as are students’ changing leisure-time reading habits, knowledge of how much students read at school is still limited. Therefore, this study investigates how many pages of continuous text, nonfiction as well as fiction, students in middle (Grades 4–6) and lower secondary (Grades 7–9) school read during an ordinary school day. Comparing data from two large-scale surveys, in 2007 and 2017, our analyses indicate that the proportion of students who read one full page or more has decreased significantly. More students in middle school compared to lower secondary still read nonfiction, whereas the reading of fiction is now equally low. We conclude that the growing achievement gap among Swedish students on reading literacy tests is mirrored in the widening divide between students who still read extensively at school and those who do not read at all.

In the Swedish educational system, there has been a recent push for digital technology in different school subjects. This paper investigates what regulates Swedish physical education teachers’ perceptions of digital technology in outdoor education. The results is reflected in a number of rules that govern Swedish physical education teachers’ perceptions and use of digital technology in outdoor education. Findings suggest that teachers’ views on the relevance of digital technology in outdoor education depends partly on curriculum formulations, but of significant importance are also other factors such as: the addressed knowledge area, grade level, choice of digital device, needs of students, and teachers’ ideological beliefs. These rules are discussed in relation to the construction of outdoor education as knowledge area within physical education and in relation to the ways in which Swedish physical education teachers relate to curriculum changes.

The difficulty recruiting competent teachers is widespread, and the status of the teaching profession is on the decline. Sweden is just one country with these problems. Using longitudinal register data for every teacher in Sweden born between 1972 and 1998, the present study investigates changes in teachers’ own school grades to clarify patterns of recruitment to the teaching profession. The main methods were regression analysis and descriptive statistics. Results showed a significant decline in teachers’ grade average between 1996 and 2016, with certified teachers having a higher grade average than uncertified teachers throughout this period. Grades of primary school teachers were lower compared with those of secondary school teachers. Higher grade average for secondary school teachers of natural science subjects compared with teachers of other subjects was also observed. The decline in teachers’ grades is a factor characterising changed recruitment patterns and one likely to affect teacher quality.