Biologiundervisningens metoder och innehåll : – en fråga även för elever?

According to the Swedish school law, pupils should have the possibility to influence their education – both in learning methods and content. However many teachers find it hard to operationalize the pupils’ influence in their teaching. The motive for this study was therefore to explore how pupils’ influence can be incorporated in education in relation to subject traditions, here exemplified in the discipline of biology. The data was analysed from a sociocultural perspective by using a model of the didactical triangle for natural sciences. Inclusive methods for pupils’ influence in biology was also used as an analytical tool. The analysed material was derived from interviews with nine pupils and five teachers and was categorized using an abductive thematic method. The results demonstrate that pupils’ influence was strongly expressed in the relationship between the pupils and their teachers. However, in the relationship between the pupils and the biology content it was considerably less expressed. Teaching traditions in biology are often textbook oriented and tend to affect the teacher’s possibilities for allowing pupils’ influence. Methods for pupils’ influence in biology can include more diversified and interactive teaching practises. Using modelleling is another possibility which liberate the biology content and provides examples for influencing biology education.