Stockholm university

Aron Schoug ÖhmanSenior lecturer

About me

I have a Ph.D. in education with interests in civil society, volunteering, democracy, collective learning, organizing and creativity. I have been a member of the Organizational Pedagogy research group since 2015. Prior to my doctoral studies, I worked in adult popular education (folkbildning), training study group leaders and managing cultural projects. In addition to my work as a lecturer, I work as an organizational consultant and lecturer for organizations in the non-profit, public and private sectors.

Through the links below, you can access popular science texts, interviews and media appearances I have made over the years.

2025

Det ska vara lätt att säga ja - försvarbart_nr2_2025

Hur skapar vi motivation för fackligt arbete? – Civilsamhällespodden

Jakten på kvaliteten och pedagogikens återkomst - Folkbildningsrådet

Använd metaforer för att utveckla studenters skrivande - Universitetsläraren

Nya-verktyg-for-starkt-engagemang-utan-tjat

2024

Engagemnag, kreativitet och dialog – Baslinjen.com

Så skapar du en framtidsresilient förening - Kansalaisareena

Föreningar, lärande och demokrati

Förutsättningar för storskaligt kreativt samarbete - Sveriges HR Förening (hrforeningen.se)

Forskarens tips för en kreativ arbetsplats | Magasin K

Så ökar du kreativiteten på din arbetsplats - Chefstidningen

2023

Så får du mer kreativa medarbetare – 3 viktiga nycklar — Vision

Hur kan vi vara kreativa tillsammans? ~ Organisation & Samhälle (org-sam.se)

OsteoporosNytt 2-2023 aron schough.pdf (su.se)

2022

42: Kollektivt lärande och lärande organisationer - Tealpodden

Äntligen! Dr. Aron Schoug och det storskaliga kreativa samarbetet - The Park

SFV_Magasinet_4_2022_lowres.pdf

Fem snabba med Aron Schoug Öhman – hur engagerar man medlemmarna? - Borätt Forum (borattforum.se)

”Flummigt” konstnärsprojekt inspirerar till innovation - Esbri

2021

Experten: ”Vem som helst kan bli en eldsjäl” | SVT Nyheter

Engagera fler – vårt verktyg för ideella! - Naturskyddsföreningen (naturskyddsforeningen.se)

Så stärker din förening det ideella engagemanget | Idrottsforskning.se

Avsnitt 115 - Alla kan bli en eldsjäl (Aron Schoug) by Här pågår föreningsidrott (soundcloud.com)

2020

Hur får man folk att jobba ideellt? 1 december 2020 - Nordegren & Epstein i P1 | Sveriges Radio

https://www.rf.se/Nyheter/Allanyheter/manniskorvillgoradetdearbrapa

Lärande i civilsamhället – en ovanlig bok om vanliga processer | EPALE (europa.eu)

2019

Satans demokrati – att använda konsten i samhällsförändrande syfte - Idealistas

2018

Hur en får fler att vilja vara med - Idealistas

idealistas.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/avsnitt21annumeramotivation.mp3

#38 Motivera Ideella - Civilsamhällespodden | Lyssna här | Poddtoppen.se

2017

Staden utan skuggor

2016

Engagemang kan påverkas - Riksförbundet frivilliga samhällsarbetare

Teaching

Engelska

I mainly teach at the HR-program, and at the Bachelor program for Leadership and Communication. Some examples of courses are Organization and Change, Leadership of Groups and Teams, Leadership in a Changing Society and Educational Leadership. I also supervise theses at bachelor's and master's level and am involved in higher education pedagogical courses, especially in supervision and academic writing. 

To spread my research beyond the academy, I lecture extensively in various organizations in the non-profit, public and private sectors. I also work as a consultant and help organisations in their development work. The external lecturs and consultating work gives me new ideas in input to research.

 

Research

My research interests revolve around understanding how people coordinate their actions in different organizations and the learning that takes place in these processes. I have examined these issues from a variety of perspectives, including motivation and commitment, democracy and power, and creativity and development. I have explored these different aspects in different organizational contexts, such as non-profit associations and creative activities.

An ongoing research project is about the Study Associations' transition to a new government grant system (2024) and various other challenges that these organizations face. 

In my thesis, I examined the conditions for large-scale creative collaboration, i.e. contexts where many people are expected to be creative together. Such contexts can be found, for example, in creative industries and organizations where innovation and development are important. By conducting an ethnographic study of a large-scale arts and theatre project, I have developed a theoretical model that contributes to the understanding of how large-scale creative collaborations in different contexts are held together and developed.

The issue of learning in civil society is another focus of my research. In this area, I have explored what characterizes this learning, including by examining normative notions and, drawing on research in the field, nuancing and problematizing these notions. Together with his colleague Tobias Malm, I made an analysis of the music activities of popular education and related them to the democratic goals. These various studies are presented in the anthology Lärande i civilsamhället (learning in civil society), for which I also was an editor. I have also written a book on democracy education in the civil society.

In previous research projects, I have also studied voluntary engagement from a motivational perspective, which he wrote about in his book Motivera ideella (motivating volunteers). In this book, I presents a framework that can help researchers and organizations understand the mechanisms of volunteer engagement.

Publications 

Schoug, Aron & Malm, Tobias (2024). Studieförbund i förändring: Ett forskningsprojekt om folkbildningens anpassning till en ny tid. Mimers forskarkonferens, 5-6 november 2024, Marie Cederschiöld Högskola, Stockholm.

Schoug, Aron & Ohlsson, Jon (2024). Developmental collective learning: A synthesized framework. The 13th Researching Work & Learning (RWL) International Conference Series, RWL13, 17-19 juni 2024, Linköpings University, Sweden.

Robertsson, Karin., & Schoug, Aron. (2024). A framework to comprehend the recruitment, organization, and retention of civic engagement within the context of Scandinavian civil society. Conference on Civil Society Studies 2024 18-19 April 2024, Aalborg University, Campus Copenhagen. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:esh:diva-10841

Schoug, Aron, Harding, Tobias, Arriaza Hult, Maria & Mufic Johanna (2024). From Study Circles to "Local Digital" - Study Associations in Transition. Conference on Civil Society Studies in Copenhagen 18 - 19 April 2024; Copenhagen.

Schoug, Aron (2023). What can we learn from artistic collaborations? Shared purpose through creative space and a sense of belonging. 1st Malmö Work Science meeting. Malmö, Sweden.

Schoug, Aron, Avby, Gunilla, Rubin, Viktoria & Ohlsson Jon (2023). Collective creativity as outcomes of and conditions for learning in practice. 4th International Process Symposium, Crete, Greece (PROS 18-21 Jun).

Schoug, Aron, Rubin, Viktoria., & Ohlsson, Jon (2022c). Sidas interna förändringsarbete – tre organisationspedagogiska perspektiv I Östlund, Númi & Forss, Kim (Eds.). Hur förändra världen? En antologi om förändringsteorier i biståndet (p. 392-428). Stockholm: EBA. 

Schoug, Aron (2022b). Den lärande föreningen: berättelsen om Blå rummet. Stockholm: Trinambai.

Schoug, Aron (2022a). Storskaligt kreativt samarbete: Organisering och kollektivt lärande i ett konst- och teaterprojekt [doctoral disseration]. Stockholm: Stockholms univeristy.

Hill, Niklas. & Schoug, Aron (2020). Lärande i civilsamhället. Stockholm: Trinambai.

Malm, Tobias, & Schoug, Aron (2020). Studieförbundens populärmusikverksamhet –En plantskola för vad? In Hill, Niklas & Schoug, Aron (Eds.) (p 81-120), Lärande i civilsamhället, Stockholm: Trinambai.

Schoug, Aron (2018). Motivera ideella - om ledarskap, människors behov och drivkrafter. Stockholm: Idealistas.

Schoug, Aron & Wilhelmson, Lena (2015). Att leda de engagerade. In Segnestam Larsson, Ola. (Ed.). Förtroendevald: åtta forskare om möjligheter och utmaningar för förtroendevalda i ideell sektor. Stockholm: Idealistas. http://idealistas.se/bocker/fortroendevald/

Publications

Schoug, Aron (2022). Storskaligt kreativt samarbete: Organisering och kollektivt lärande i ett konst- och teaterprojekt [doctoral disseration]. Stockholm: Stockholms univeristy.

Hill, Niklas. & Schoug, Aron (2020). Lärande i civilsamhället, Stockholm: Trinambai.

Malm, Tobias, & Schoug, Aron (2020). Studieförbundens populärmusikverksamhet –En plantskola för vad? In Hill, Niklas & Schoug, Aron (Eds.), Lärande i civilsamhället, Stockholm: Trinambai, 81–120.

Schoug, Aron (2018). Motivera ideella - om ledarskap, människors behov och drivkrafter. Stockholm: Idealistas.

Schoug, Aron & Wilhelmson, Lena (2015). Att leda de engagerade. In Segnestam Larsson, Ola. (Ed.). Förtroendevald: åtta forskare om möjligheter och utmaningar för förtroendevalda i ideell sektor. Stockholm: Idealistas. http://idealistas.se/bocker/fortroendevald/

Collective learning, organizing, organizational learning, voluntary work, third sector, popular education, leadership

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