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Today's mathematics education has an impact even outside the confines of the classroom, not least through the relevance of mathematics in culture, economics, politics and in relation to power. Sociopolitical perspectives in mathematics didactic research provide insights into how education in mathematics is social and political. Research based on these perspectives suggests both critical questioning and not-yet-imagined possibilities for content, teaching, policy and further research. This book introduces, for a larger Swedish audience, the research orientations and strategies that sociopolitical perspectives have to offer. In the book, this is illustrated in several ways. The chapters describe current research on the socio-political challenges of mathematics education in several different contexts, e.g. classrooms, after-school programs, curricula, mathematics teacher education and even mathematics education research. In this way, perspectives are broadened to groups of people, institutions and forces, which constitute a network of mathematics education practice. The chapters present different philosophical and empirical studies, based on theoretical tools from philosophy, social science and cultural studies, critical studies of education and socio-cultural-political studies of mathematics education. Methodological and analytical strategies such as text and discourse analysis and case studies of practice are used. In this way, opportunities to research mathematics education based on socio-political perspectives are illustrated. The chapters use various writing styles which invite the reader into the world of research. Thus, the reader will encounter different ways of thinking about the role of mathematics education in the creation of modern Swedish society.

This book is an introduction to postqualitative methodology. It situates postqualitative methodology in feminist and posthumanist theories, where research is a worlding practice. Through addressing the relationality of inquiry, the book considers knowledge production as both material and discursive and proposes experimenting with research practices. Rather than offering instructions on how to conduct research, the book invites the reader to explore questions on how to form research problems, address research ethics and construct and analyze empirical material. By focusing on methodological as well as theoretical elaborations it can be inspirational within a range of different research areas, and work as a companion both for students and researchers.

"To analyze the emergence of a professional field means to understand the social processes that take place in the formation of professions in society such as. knowledge, power and social order. Why does the medical profession have such a high status? How come some professions have power over others? What does medical science contribute to professional knowledge? These are some of the questions that this book seeks to answer through a professional sociological analysis.
The book is about the growth and professionalization of the Swedish medical field from the Middle Ages to the 1990s, with a focus on three of its professions that have been active there, namely doctors, nurses and biomedical analysts (former laboratory assistants). Books about professions often focus on a profession or an important institution, but there is no book that describes the larger social professional medical field over time.
By becoming aware of the field-specific change and development processes and their inertia, one understands that change is very slow and that there are many parameters that must work in the same direction for a real change to take place and be noticed. Other important insights are that the professions themselves are not so strong and dynamic, but that they are dependent on opportunities being opened and closed by external forces, in many cases without their intervention. The book sheds light on how to understand the world around you in a new way, with a critical holistic perspective and with terminology that can help to put into words what is experienced."

The book deals with the rise of the professional medical field in Sweden during Middle Ages to 1990s with special focus on the professions which have been active in the field, doctors, nurses and biomedical analysts (previous laboratory assistants). Often books about professions focus on one profession or one important institution but there are none covering the wider professional medical field over time.;The analysis of the professional field departs from acknowledging the social processes which are profound in the development of professional knowledge, power and social order. Why has the medical profession such high status? How come that certain professions have powers over others? What kind of professional knowledge does the medical science contribute with? These are some of the questions this book is aiming to answer, using theory from the tradition of sociology of professions. ;The book gives an overview of the development of the Swedish state and the healthcare system in particular. In addition, it analyses how early organizational traditions, social mobilization and the creation of a common cognitive base both stimulate and limit opportunities for occupations and their professionalization within the field. It contributes to a deepened knowledge about professions which extends the everyday meaning of an occupation. Potential readers are researchers within sociology of professions, university students and professionals within the medical field who have interest in professions and power structures.