Grade differences between junior high schools in Sweden : A qualitative studie focusing on how we can understand the final grades differences between poorer and better performing schools out of teachers and principals stories

The subject being studied is grade differences between upper secondary schools thatare geographically located in Sweden. Through public statistics, a great differencein the grades was discovered when we were able to identify that some schools hadmuch higher final grades even though they were placed within the same county. Theresults of the statistics inspired us to create a purpose of this study to build anunderstanding of the factors that affect results of the students in school, this is donebased on teachers' and principals' stories and perceptions. The research question thatthe study is based on is: How can we understand the differences in final gradesbetween poorer and better performing schools based on teachers and principals'stories? The method chosen to be used to conduct the study is a qualitative studywith interviews as collected material. Theory selected to analyze and understand theobject of study is Foucault's theories of power. In summary, the most outstandingaspects of the conclusion were how the different schools work through differentstrategies regarding the children's grades. Keywords that have been used areRelational Pedagogy, Power Relations, Leadership, School Environment and SchoolAbsence