The prominent place given to theses in Swedish primary teacher education is the result of continuous teacher education (TE) reforms, in 1977, 1988, 1992, 2001, 2007 and 2011. Each of these reforms had different aims, but one consistent goal was to make primary teacher education a university-based education, with an emphasis on research, critical thinking, and analytical skill (Furuhagen et. al.  2019; Stolpe et al., 2021). This development of Swedish TE is part of a larger international trend of professionalisation of primary school teaching, which can be understood in relation to increasing societal demands on school education in a more complex society (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005; Kröökö et al., 2024). The development of Swedish TE has been thoroughly researched (Andersson, 1995; Alvunger & Wahlström, 2018). However, there is lack of knowledge regarding how thesis work in TE has been conceptualised in relation to various goals (se though, Råde, 2016). Using public documents, programme curricula and course syllabi, as empirical materials, this article seeks to highlight how theses have been conceptualised in relation to the different dimensions of the teaching profession.

 In 1977 Swedish primary TE was integrated in the higher education system (SFS 1977:218). This started the transformation of primary education TE from a vocational education to university-based education with a larger focus on research and analytical skills. The 1988 reform introduced that student teachers must write a final report. With the 1992 reform of higher education, which regulated the final thesis for 13 professional educations, it was regulated that a thesis should be included in TE programmes (Råde, 2016). The amount of ECTS allocated to the thesis was not regulated until the 2001 reform, then the thesis was allocated 15 ECTS in TE (Prop. 1999/2000:135). In connection with the Bologna reform of Swedish higher education in 2007, the TE thesis in the first cycle (three years) was regulated to 15 ECTS, and in the second cycle (after three years) to a thesis of either 30 ECTS or two theses 15 ECTS each (Prop. 2004/05:162). Following this the 2011 TE reform stipulated that 30 ECTS (as one 30 ECTS thesis course, or two 15 ECTS thesis courses) should be allocated to thesis courses in the four-year primary teacher education programme (tracks K–3 & 4–6). Considering that the method courses in TE mainly prepare for thesis work, one could argue that theses and courses related to theses, are large part of the Swedish primary TE programme (Mattsson, 2008; Råde 2016). The argument that theses have had a prominent role in Swedish TE since the 2000s, are also supported by the fact that the quality of theses for were seen as the main indicator of the quality of TE in the governmental evaluations (Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, 2006; Svärd, 2014). In recent years the final thesis has not been the only quality indicator in these evaluations, as they are combined with self-evaluations by universities; but it is still the case that if final theses are seen having low quality in government evaluations of TE, and if this is not improved in a satisfactory manner, the university can lose the right to operate the programme. This gave strong incentives to TE departments to focus on scientific literacy and research skills in TE during the 2010s (Råde, 2014, 2016).

The aim of this study is to identify different orientations, conceptualisations of thesis work in Swedish TE in programme curricula and thesis courses syllabi documents in Swedish primary teacher education.

• What TE orientations can be identified in 18 programme curricula and 5 course syllabi in relation to theses in Swedish primary teacher education?

The empirical materials analysed in this article consist of programme curricula and course syllabi. We chose programme curricula at 18 universities or university collages that give primary TE, tracks F–3 and 4–6 (U1–U18), and course syllabi from 5 of these 18 universities (U1, U2, U3, U5, U13). The programme curricula and course syllabi are public documents, so they were accessible at each university or university collage. The programme goals for the thesis courses were the same for tracks K–3 and 4–6, so in total 18 programme curricula and 5 course syllabi are included in the empirical material. Most universities (15 out of 18) chose the model where the 30 ECTS allocated for thesis courses were divided two 15 ECTS thesis courses. Thesis 1 in the first cycle on basic level (Independent work 1, 15 ECTS), and thesis 2 in the second cycle on advanced level (Independent work 2, 15 ECTS). One university (U7) offered the model of one final thesis, 30 ECTS on advanced level in the second cycle and last year of the programme. At two universities (U5 & U16), students could choose to do either two theses (15x2 ECTS) or one final thesis (30 ECTS). A content analysis was made using the four orientations described above as analytical lenses to identify the underlying ideas relating to these orientations present in the documents (Boréus & Bergström, 2017). As programme curricula covers the whole primary teacher education programme, we analysed only the parts of the curricula relating to Independent work 1 and Independent work 2 courses in the document. The selected five course syllabi were all final thesis courses in primary teacher education programmes, and they were analysed in their entirety. Both programme curricula and course syllabi entail the learning goals, under separate headings, which follows the Swedish national model for curricula text in higher education, “Knowledge and understanding”, “Competence and skills” and “Judgement and approach”. In some programme curricula “Local goal” exists as an additional heading. In the programme curricula a short description is given of knowledge and skills under each heading. Concerning the procedure of the analysis, starting with a holistic reading of the documents, in the first step of the analysis we identified key words in the documents relating to the orientations

The analysis revealed that the academic orientation was most prominent, 16 programme curricula contained items with an emphasis on subject-matter. This was followed by the vocational orientation, about half of the curricula (10 of 18) contained items that underline that theses should have a relevance for teacher practice. The educational science orientation could be identified in a third (6 of 18) of the programme curricula, which emphasised knowledge and skills related to independent research (such as theory and analysis). Few programme curricula (2 of 18) highlighted aspects of the applying research orientation, such as the ability to find relevant research in relation to a specific problem. Conversely, the five syllabi showed a different profile, here the educational science orientation was most prominent, followed in the order of number of items categorised to each orientation, by the vocational, applying research and academic orientations. The most striking result when comparing orientations identified in programme curricula and course syllabi is the discrepancies between these documents. The dominant orientation in the programme curricula, the academic, was the least prominent orientation in the course syllabi. Likewise, the most prominent orientation in the course syllabi, educational science, was the second least prominent orientation in the programme curricula. Only the vocational orientation, is about equally prominent in both programme curricula and course syllabi. During the presentation, we will go into further detail about this.

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