Dagmar HedmanPhD student

About me

Dagmar Hedman began her PhD studies with Stockholm University’s Department of Education (IPD) in the autumn of 2016. Dagmar came to Sweden from Canada to study International and Comparative Education and to expand beyond her pervious academic training in Political Science and International Relations.

Dagmar’s research interests are shaped by her assorted academic and employment experiences. She has taken part in an exchange programme with Japan and worked as an English teacher with a Japanese rural board of education. She has spent time with a Sri Lankan United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) field school and directed and taught in a Vocational Education and Training (VET) programme in Saudi Arabia. These experiences, in addition to others, influenced Dagmar’s interest in exploring the role of national education systems within an increasingly globalised, diverse and complex world. More recently, the increasing importance of digital competencies and 21st century skills for today's interconnected knowledge economies has spurred an interest in the evolution of educational research into the informal Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) maker cultures that compliment formal science and engineering education.

Dagmar's current research project aims to examine the interplay between knowledge and 21st-century skills within project-based STEM activities with special attention placed upon understanding the roles of mentoring and making in collaborative learning contexts. Dagmar’s interest in the evolution of learning analytics within the field of educational research will also play a role in the application of sensor and multimodal data collection strategies. The goal of this approach is to push beyond the current limits of traditional data collection and analysis regarding authentic and complex face-to-face networked learning environments. Beyond these modern data collection methods, this research project will contribute to the expanding interest of 21st-century skills in STEM learning at all levels of education, and especially at the tertiary level, by providing a learning model that can better foster collaboration and practical skills development within expanding mentorship and maker networks of multidisciplinary lay and professional learners.

Prior to joining IPD as a doctoral student, Dagmar worked at Stockholm University’s Office of the Vice-Chancellor on issues and projects related to internationalization. Her work during this time has heavily influenced her desire to seek and establish international and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Supervisors: Tore West and Ulf Fredriksson.