Honor-Related Problems in School - Teachers’ Strategies and Approaches for Prevention and Identification.

Abstract: Recent studies indicate that approximately 10- 20% of girls and boys in the 9th grade in Sweden are affected by honor-related problems (HRP). The results from these studies also show that these children tend to turn to their teachers with these specific issues. However, there is limited research concerning HRP and especially in a school context focusing on the perspective of teachers. Consequently, the aim of this thesis was to explore how HRP are approached by teachers in a school context, by focusing on their knowledge and experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the teachers’ ideas and perceptions of this issue. The five interviewed teachers had all taken part in a learning-opportunity about HRP. To understand why the teachers approached and understood HRP the way they did, the theory of coping was used. The result shows that the teachers feel as their learningopportunity was essential for identifying, discovering, and preventing HRP. Despite this knowledge, the interviewees experienced HRP as unfamiliar, sensitive, intimidating, and difficult to detect. Therefore, coping with HRP was perceived as challenging and threatening. This led to a cautious approach, where the teachers distanced themselves from the issue and tried to avoid dealing with it. Further, the result also showed that the teachers seemed eager to improve their preventive and identifying skills and will continue to raise awareness in the classroom. A crucial task for future research will be to identify effective strategies for the identification and prevention of HRP in a school environment.