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Differentiated Teaching in EFL Classrooms in Swedish Primary Schools: A qualitative interview study with a focus on teachers’ attitudes towards differentiation
University of Gävle, Faculty of Education and Business Studies, Department of Humanities.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (university diploma), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

Differentiated teaching could be a helpful tool for teachers to both support and challenge students. This study investigates how teachers in Swedish primary schools differentiate their EFL teaching and what attitudes they have toward this practice. It also explores the strategies teachers use to adapt instruction as well as factors they believe affects students’ motivation. The study is based on a qualitative research method, using semi-structured interviews with teachers from two primary schools. The interviews were transcribed, and the data was analysed using a combination of content and thematic analysis. The findings show that the teachers generally view differentiated teaching as something positive, considering it both valuable and necessary. However, a lack of time and access to suitable teaching materials are obstacles to consistent implementation. Moreover, the teachers described several informal strategies, but did not consciously identify and label these as differentiated teaching. Supporting struggling students was perceived as more manageable than challenging high-performing ones. Students’ motivation was seen as strongly linked to enjoyment and engagement. The study concludes that while teachers recognise the importance of differentiated teaching, and already use it in various ways, there is a need for increased support and resources to enable a more systematic implementation to be able to meet the diverse needs of all students.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 40
Keywords [en]
Differentiated teaching, Swedish primary schools, teachers’ perspective, students’ motivation, teaching strategies
National Category
Didactics Social Sciences Educational Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-47046OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-47046DiVA, id: diva2:1964351
Subject / course
English language education
Educational program
Study Programme in Education för the Primary School
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2025-06-05 Created: 2025-06-04 Last updated: 2025-10-02Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • harvard-cite-them-right
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • sv-SE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • de-DE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf