A curriculum is a complex system shaped by educational values, institutional structures, and policy priorities. Within these systems at the compulsory level, spatial ability—the mental capacity to visualise, manipulate, and transform visual-spatial information—is inconsistently addressed, which translates to inconsistencies in classroom practice as well. While research increasingly acknowledges its significance, spatial ability is rarely positioned as an explicit learning goal within national curricula. Its development is often left to implicit interpretation, creating systemic ambiguity that affects equitable access to spatial ability development opportunities, particularly during the foundational years of schooling.

This thesis investigates how spatial ability development is positioned at the intersection of curriculum policy and teaching practice, with a specific focus on primary and lower secondary education in Sweden. The central research question is: How is the development of spatial ability situated within the national curriculum and supported through educational practice? Subquestions explore how spatial ability is represented and structured in curriculum documents, and how teachers perceive and implement its role within their teaching.

Framed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, which situates human development within interacting layers from policy to classroom practice, the study explores how these levels shape spatial ability development. Guided by an interpretivist paradigm, it adopts a qualitative, multi-method design incorporating grounded theory and a phenomenological approach. The research is primarily situated in the Swedish education system, with Ireland serving as a secondary, comparative context. The thesis comprises five interlinked papers, collectively exploring curriculum and teaching from both systemic and practitioner perspectives. Paper A establishes a foundational understanding of system-level enablers and barriers that influence spatial ability development. Paper B focuses on how spatial ability is embedded in Swedish Technology and Craft education. Paper C develops a structured analytical framework to evaluate curriculum representation. Paper D extends this analysis across the broader Swedish national curriculum beyond Technology and Craft. Finally, Paper E brings in teacher perspectives, contextualising curriculum findings within classroom practice and comparing implementation between Sweden and Ireland.

Findings are interpreted through Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model. At the macrosystem level, national curricula in both Sweden and Ireland do not explicitly define spatial ability as a learning objective, limiting coherent policy support. At the mesosystem and exosystem levels, subject organisation, interdisciplinary structures, and assessment frameworks shape whether and how opportunities for spatial ability development are constructed within curriculum pathways. At the microsystem level, teachers consistently acknowledge the value of spatial ability and attempt to integrate it into their practice. However, such efforts remain informal, uncoordinated, and dependent on individual initiative, resulting in uneven experiences for learners.

This thesis reveals a disconnect between curriculum policy and classroom practice, where the development of spatial ability depends heavily on teacher agency in the absence of systemic support. The thesis argues that bridging this gap requires more intentional integration of spatial ability into curriculum frameworks, alongside institutional supports that align policy, practice, and pedagogy. In doing so, it contributes to broader discussions on how national education systems can better support foundational cognitive development through both policy and practice.

Läroplanen består av flera policydokument som tillsammans bildar ett

komplext system, format av utbildningsideal, institutionella strukturer och

politiska prioriteringar. Inom detta system behandlas spatial förmåga – det vill

säga förmågan att mentalt visualisera, manipulera och omforma visuospatial

information – på ett inkonsekvent sätt vilket också speglas i

klassrumspraktiken. Trots ett växande forskningsstöd för spatial förmågans

betydelse, är den sällan formulerad som ett explicit lärandemål i de nationella

styrdokumenten. Ansvar för undervisningen lämnas i stor utsträckning till

lärarens tolkning av kursplanen, vilket riskerar att skapa en ojämlik

undervisningspraxis där vissa elever ges möjlighet att utveckla denna förmåga i

skolan – medan andra inte ges den möjligheten. Denna variation är särskilt

problematisk i de tidiga skolåren, då grunden för kognitiv utveckling läggs.

Denna avhandling undersöker hur spatial förmåga positioneras i

skärningspunkten mellan utbildningspolitik och pedagogisk praktik, med

särskilt fokus på de tidiga skolåren i svensk grundskola, det vill säga låg- och

mellanstadiet. Den övergripande forskningsfrågan lyder: Hur är utvecklingen

av spatial förmåga situerad i den nationella läroplanen, och hur stödjs den i

den praktiska undervisningen? Avhandlingen bygger på delstudier som dels

analyserar hur spatial förmåga formuleras och representeras i

läroplansdokument, dels belyser hur lärare uppfattar dess betydelse och

integrerar den i sin undervisning.

Studien är teoretiskt förankrad i Bronfenbrenners ekologiska systemteori, som

förstås som en modell där mänsklig utveckling formas genom interaktioner

mellan flera ömsesidigt påverkande nivåer – från utbildningspolitik till

klassrumspraktik. Forskningsansatsen är interpretativ och bygger på en

kvalitativ, blandad forskningsdesign med metodologiska inslag av både

grounded theory och fenomenologi. Forskningen är huvudsakligen förlagd till

det svenska utbildningssystemet, med Irland som ett jämförande kontext för

att belysa likheter och skillnader i läroplansutformning och

undervisningspraktik.

Avhandlingen består av fem sammanlänkade artiklar som undersöker

läroplanen och undervisningen utifrån både ett system- och praktikperspektiv.

Artikel A ger en grundläggande förståelse för strukturella möjligheter och

hinder som påverkar undervisningen kring spatial förmåga. Artikel B fokuserar

på hur utveckling av spatial förmåga är integrerad i den svenska

teknikundervisningen. Vidare utvecklar artikel C ett analytiskt ramverk för att

utvärdera hur spatial förmåga integreras i läroplanen. Artikel D breddar sedan

analysen till att omfatta hela den svenska nationella läroplanen utöver

teknikämnet. Slutligen tillför artikel E ett lärarperspektiv som kontextualiserar

läroplansstudierna i en klassrumspraktik och jämför hur detta görs i en svensk

respektive irländsk kontext.

Resultaten tolkas med stöd av Bronfenbrenners ekologiska systemmodell. På

makrosystemnivå visar studien att läroplanerna i både Sverige och Irland

saknar tydlighet kring utvecklingen av spatial förmåga som ett uttalat

lärandemål. Detta begränsar möjligheterna till en samordnad och målinriktad

policy inom respektive utbildningssystem. På exo- och mesosystemnivå

påverkar faktorer som ämnesstruktur, ämnesövergripande organisering och

bedömningspraxis i vilken utsträckning undervisningen faktiskt skapar

utrymme för utveckling av elevers spatiala förmåga. På mikrosystemnivå

framhåller lärare vikten av spatial förmåga och försöker därför integrera

träning av denna i sin undervisning. Dessa insatser är dock ofta informella,

osystematiska och beroende av enskilda individers engagemang, vilket leder

till ojämna elevupplevelser och en bristande likvärdighet i undervisningen.

Avhandlingen synliggör därmed glapp mellan önskad effekt, policy och

klassrumspraktik, där utvecklingen av spatial förmåga i hög grad vilar på

lärarens eget initiativ i frånvaro av systematiskt stöd. För att överbrygga dessa

glapp argumenterar avhandlingen för en tydligare och mer medveten

integrering av spatial förmåga i läroplanen, i kombination med institutionellt

stöd som samordnar policy, praktik och pedagogik. På så sätt bidrar studien till

en bredare diskussion om hur nationella utbildningssystem kan främja

grundläggande kognitiv utveckling genom både policyutformning och

undervisningspraktik.

Extensive research has established that spatial ability is a crucial factor for achieving success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). However, challenges that educators encounter while teaching spatial skills remain uncertain. The purpose of this study is to develop a research framework that examines the interrelationships, barriers, and enablers amongst various educational components, including schools, teachers, students, classrooms, and training programs, that are encountered when teaching for spatial ability development. A thorough examination of international research, in combination with a detailed review of the primary Science and Mathematics curricula in Ireland, Latvia, Sweden, and the Netherlands, is undertaken to acquire a more concentrated comprehension of the incorporation of spatial components in the curriculum. The review seeks to establish the fundamental factors that enable or hinder teachers in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, pedagogical content knowledge, and spatialized classroom practices.

Feedback provided by peer reviewers plays a pivotal role in any journal peer-review model. Peer-review feedback helps authors reconsider their manuscripts in a new light and improve their work before it is published. While there is a wealth of knowledge and empirical evidence focusing on effective feedback practices in educational settings, there is a dearth of research on journal peer-review feedback, especially in some academic disciplines including the social sciences and education. To better understand ‘good’ and ‘bad’ peer-review feedback practices across academic disciplines, we conducted a systematic literature review, informed by grounded theory, that aimed to identify the feedback features and factors that exert an impact on quality of peer-review feedback. Findings from 20 publications indicate a list of good and bad features of peer-review feedback pertaining to content, language, tone, structure and timeliness. We also identified a number of internal and external factors that influence how peer reviewers provide feedback such as academics’ expertise, language skills, motivation and seniority, as well as external influences such as anonymity in peer-review, and interactions between editors and peer reviewers. Implications for researching and practising peer-review are discussed.

There exists a plethora of studies that have related pupils’ spatial ability to their academic achievement and problem-solving skills, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. However, little is known about how spatial ability could be presented in a national curriculum. To increase the awareness and intention to develop pupils' spatial ability within the national curriculum, the compulsory curriculum document from the Swedish National Agency for Education which details all subject syllabi is examined and analysed using a content analysis method. The results show that two major dimensions could be used to locate the potential spatial ability development within the curriculum. The first is a visual dimension, which manifests as three different visual components: graphical, pictorial, and manufactured. The second is an epistemic dimension, which describes how pupils' different types of spatial knowledge can be nurtured, and inductively described as conceptual, procedural, and spatial citizenship knowledge. A three-by-three matrix framework is created based on the above dimensions and components. Policymakers and educators in Sweden, as well as in other countries, may draw insights from the framework created by this study and adapt it to educational practice, particularly in the realm of developing students' spatial ability through curriculum design and classroom instruction.

Spatial ability has been demonstrated to be a significant predictor of students’ achieve- ment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. While several stud- ies have focused on offering supplementary or isolated spatial training interventions, this study focuses on spatial ability development through embedded interventions within tech- nology curricula. Specifically, document analysis is adopted in this study to identify the potential areas for spatial ability development within the Swedish compulsory Technology and Craft curricula. A framework consisting of two dimensions has been established by a qualitative coding approach. The first dimension, termed the “visual dimension”, encom- passes graphical, property, and manufactured components, reflecting the spatial nature of the information that students engage with. The second dimension, termed the “epistemic dimension”, comprises conceptual and procedural knowledge, representing the types of knowledge students acquire. The framework allows educators to identify potential areas for developing spatial ability within technology curricula. Additionally, it is envisioned that this framework could increase awareness of how to spatialise curriculum and pedago- gies among various stakeholders, including policymakers and teacher trainers. 

As Computational Thinking (CT) becomes an increasingly necessary skill, it is crucial to examine how CT can be taught in the classroom. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is a practical concept to examine how CT education can be developed. This systematic literature review presents the discussion of K-8 teachers' PCK in the implementation of CT- related activities in the classroom. Studies were extracted from Google Scholar's database. Among these studies, 14 articles were deemed to be relevant for a more in-depth examination. Findings from this preliminary literature review suggest that teachers have clear purposes and goals for teaching CT and various instructional strategies for teaching CT. However, the existing studies lacked information about teachers' knowledge and beliefs regarding the methods for assessing students' CT. Practical implications and future directions to enhance K-8 teachers' PCK on CT are discussed in this study.