”Är det här pösigt eller?” – en observationsstudie om ämnesspråket i Hem-och konsumentkunskap

Sammanfattning: Literacy is about the transformation from written text to practice. Our language is one of the most important tools we possess to acquire knowledge in school regardless of the subject. Words are linked to different topics and can have different meanings, depending on the context in which they are being used. There are quite a lot of studies about subject areas in the theoretical subjects, but in the practical ones, like domestic science, it is hard to find any relevant research. To examine how creation of meaning takes place within the subject area of domestic science, an ethnographic observation study is implemented in this essay. The study is based on three lessons of domestic science. The results of this study show that knowledge specific to the subject area is needed during the lesson when the students read the recipe in order for them to know what to do next. The results also show that it doesn´t matter that the teacher walks the students through the recipe in the beginning of the lesson. The problems occur when the student must perform the task of following the instructions themselves.