Research subjects

We conduct research in two research areas, pedagogy and didactics. Within didactics, we focus on general didactics, in contrast to subject didactics which concerns school subjects.

Pedaogogy deals with how we learn and develop in different situations, environments, and phases of life and about external factors which impact learning and the process of acquiring knowledge. Our research areas encompass, among other things, diversity and inclusion, issues related to schools, leadership, learning in organisations, study and career counseling, health perspective on learning, learning in high education, life-long learning, and personal development. Our research captures both societal, international, and historical perspectives on learning and education.

General didactics focuses on the relation between teaching, learning and assessing in formal and non-formal settings. Studies consider educational policies, learning objectives, learners’ learning processes and outcomes to develop educators’ competences in teaching and assessment. In formal settings, our research involves citizenship competencies, vocational curricula, cross-curricular objectives like sustainability, and study plans in municipal adult education and higher education as well as folk high schools. In non-formal settings, the research includes study circles, training and learning in working life and learning in museum activities. Didactical research thus concerns the teaching aspects of learning and asks ‘what, why and how’ questions.

Research

Our research areas

Didactics

Tänkande figur sittande på ett frågetecken.

Pedagogy

When you hear the word pedagogy, you may think of school, teaching, and how children learn. However pedagogy as a research area is about so much more. It is about how we learn and develop in different situations, environments, and throughout all phases of life. From school to higher education, in daily life, during leisure time, and in working life.

Research subjects

Didactics for responsible and sustainable societies

Central to the subject is how teaching, learning and abilities develop in the encounter between people in different environments and contexts. We investigate didactic issues from a broad, societal perspective, which does not necessarily take its starting point in school with its subject division.

Nationaldagsfirande - ung tjej i slöja bredvid äldre personer med svenskt utseende

Diversity and Inclusion in Education, Working-life and Society

In Sweden, everyone should, despite background and ability, have equal opportunity to education and a career. But how does society tackle this challenge? What are determining factors in school performance? Research within the field take on some of our times greatest challenges such as equality, integration, and migration.

Educational Philosophy

Educational philosophy is about philosophical foundations for pedagogical issues. It can be about epistemological, moral-philosophical and aesthetic studies regarding learning, teaching, school and education in national and international contexts.

Student som ser nöjd ut sitter mot vägg inomhus.

Education and migration

Education and migration is a joint effort in developing research-based knowledge concerning how education can best be organized and conducted in order to provide equal opportunities in a time of societal and demographic change. The initiative is made possible by a new grant of SEK 32 million from the Swedish Research Council.

Health, Pedagogy, the Individual, and Society

Within this theme, our researchers are interested in health as a societal and cultural phenomenon. The research includes, amongst others, studies of the concepts and norms surrounding health, illness, and functionality, as well as how they are constructed and the influence they have on people’s lives.

Historical and Sociological Perspectives on Education

In this theme we look at how education and teaching is formed from a sociological and historical perspective. What are the connections between education and societal change? How is inequality perpetuated or thwarted? What role do class, gender, and ethnicity play in different contexts?

International and Comparative Education

Within this theme, we aim to better understand differences between education systems, globally, as well as international educational issues. The research is interdisciplinary, aiming at holistic analyses of educational concerns from an international and comparative perspective, both current and historically.

Grupp av människor sittande i skog, ser ut som att de lär sig något tillsammans.

Life-Long Learning, Knowledge Acquistion, and the Development of Civil Society

Researchers within life-long learning, knowledge acquisition, and the development of civil society are interested in learning as a life-long process, which is not exclusive to formal education.

Organisation Pedagogics - Learning and Leadership in Working-Life

Within this field we are interested in how individuals learn and develop, as well as leadership in a constantly changing working life. Central to these questions are influencing processes and processes of change, as well as skill, professional, and organizational development.

Research in Higher Education

Research within higher education has the ambition to understand and analyse learning processes and their result on both students, university teachers, and groups or higher education organisations.

School Governance, Organisation, Development, and Leadership

What happens in our schools affects many and involves almost everyone. We have a special interest in how schools are run, how they are organized and managed, but also how they develop in step with a changing society. We approach the field with from both a contemporary and educational historical perspective.

Transitions and Turning Points in Education and Working-life

As education systems and working life become increasingly fragmented, varying, and transnational, the journey from education and into workplace has become both more complex and more demanding. Conditions are created and critical choices are made long before entering workplace, where secure careers and long-term employment are no longer a given.

Vocation, Vocational Education, and Professional Development

Within this theme, we are interested in how people learn their vocation and how they develop in various vocational fields. Central to vocational education is both upper secondary and municipal adult education (komvux).