Maria Andrée Professor, Deputy Head of Department

Contact

Name and title: Maria AndréeProfessor, Deputy Head of Department

ORCID0000-0002-5574-8636 Länk till annan webbplats.

Workplace: Department of Teaching and Learning Länk till annan webbplats.

Visiting address Room P509Svante Arrhenius väg 20 A

Postal address Institutionen för ämnesdidaktik106 91 Stockholm

About me

I am Professor in Science Education at the Department of Teaching and Learning (Institutionen för ämnesdidaktik). I am also one of the scientific leaders of Stockholm Teaching & Learning Studies, head of the Graduate School for Teachers in Subject Didactics and project leader of the participation of Stockholm University in the national programme for research collaborations between schools and academia (ULF försöksverksamhet). 

I am also deputy head of the Department for Teaching and Learning.

During the 2023/2024 academic year I teach a seminar on comparative subject matter didactics in the Research School in Subject Matter Didaktik (ÄdFo, Ämnesdidaktiska forskarskolan). I am also director of the ÄdFo and supervise PhD-students.

My research focuses on cultural perspectives on science education and conditions for students’ participation and learning, particularly in relation to questions of science curriculum, scientific literacy and citizenship. Drawing primarily on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and socio-cultural theory, I mainly work with ethnographic and design-based research in science classrooms. For an introduction see this video clip.

I am lead editor of the journal Cultural Studies in Science Education (Springer) and have served on the editorial board of Research in Science Education (2017 – 2019). I am affiliated as scientific leader to Stockholm Teaching & Learning Studies (STLS) which is a platform designed to initiate, support and conduct small-scale classroom-based didactic research on teaching and learning. The research within STLS draw on a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches and aims at contributing to the development of theory relevant to teachers. I am currently guest professor in Science Education at Mid Sweden University.

I supervise doctoral students working with participatory research approaches in science and technology education:

Completed supervision:

Ongoing supervision:

  • Kristin Persson, PhD-student, ecological literacy. Planned defense spring 2023. (Main supervisor). Stockholm University.
  • Kerstin Danckwart-Lillieström (PhD-student), drama in chemistry education. Planned defense spring 2023 (Main supervisor). Stockholm University.
  • Charlotte Dunne (Licentiate student), middle school chemistry education. Planned defense spring 2022. (Assistant supervisor). Mälardalen University.

A selection of recent publications


Affiliations

I am Treasurer of IOSTE (International Organisation for Science and Technology Education) for the period 2018-2020. IOSTE was established to advance the cause of education in science and technology as a vital part of the general education of the peoples of all countries and to provide scholarly exchange and discussion in the field of science and technology education.

Outreach

Debate on teacher professional development in Almedalen, summer 2014. Read an article about it or watch it on SU-play (in Swedish).

Open lecture on imagination, play and science learning, spring 2013, watch the lecture on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClAuRe-LxLM (in Swedish).

Recruitment to Science Education: Actors, Initiatives, Messages

This is a project conducted in collaboration with Prof. Lena Hansson at Kristanstad University, Sweden.

Background and aim: Young people’s interest in pursuing science and science-intense educations has been expressed for years as a concern often put in relation to societal, economic and democratic development by various stakeholders. To date, empirical studies have had a focus on the individual student’s intentions and choices rather than on the recruitment campaigns as such. The ‘Recruitment to Science Education: Actors, Initiatives, Messages’ project aims to contribute to an understanding of the functioning of recruitment campaigns by scrutinizing what messages are conveyed by different actors to young students on why they should ‘choose’ a STEM-line of study.

In 2017 the project recived funding for a study focussing specifically on the engagement of industrial actors in STEM-education from the Swedish Research Council.

Andrée, M., & Hansson, L. (2022). Teachers’ negotiations of bias in relation to teaching resources offered to schools by industrial actors. Nordic Journal of Studies  in Educational Policy.

Andrée, M.& Hansson, L. (2021). Industry, science education and teacher agency: a discourse analysis of teachers’ evaluations of industry-produced teaching resource.Science Education, 105(2), 353-383.

Andrée, M.& Hansson, L. (2020). Industrial actors and their rationales for engaging in STEM education.Journal of Curriculum Studies, 52(4), 551-576.

Stockholm Teaching & Learning Studies (STLS)

STLS is a platform for teacher research. I am one of three scientific leaders.Within STLS research is conducted in subject didactics networks. The research in science and technology education focusses research on design of teaching and the relations between teaching and learning in science and technology education. For a detailed description of the work we do, see:

Andrée, M., & Eriksson, I. (2020). A research environment for teacher-driven research–some demands and possibilities. International Journal of Lesson and Learning Studies, 9(1), 67-77.

Scientific literacy and citizenship in science education

One of the themes in my research concerns aspects of citizenship and scientific literacy in science education. Two dissertations were conducted related to this topic focussing critical examination and assessment of scientific literacy. Ongoing dissertation work is conducted by Kristin Persson on ecological literacy and education for sustainable development.

  • Developing students capability to critically reason when encountering conflicting health information online (in collboration with Ph.D. Jonna Wiblom). Given an increased use of digital devices, Internet has become one of the main sources for information retrieval about topics concerning body and health. In this project we explore what the capability to critically reason might entail in students’ encounter with conflicting health information online. 
  • Assessing scientific literacy as readiness to deal with civic issues concerned with science (in collaboration with Ph.D. Jens Anker-Hansen). This research explores possibilities for assessing scientific literacy in a Vision II-perspective.

The latest publications:

Persson, K., Andrée, M., & Caiman, C. (2022). Down-to-earth ecological literacy through human and nonhuman encounters in fieldwork. The Journal of Environmental Education.

Wiblom, J., Andrée, M., & Rundgren, C.-J. (2021). Self-examination, compassion and narrative imagination in students’ critical examination in science education. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 29. E-publication ahead of print.

Wiblom, J., Andrée, M., & Rundgren, C.-J. (2020). Navigating alarming media messages about nutrition and health: how students engage in critical examination of science in news media.Science & Education, 29, 75–100. 

Anker-Hansen, J. & Andrée, M. (2019). Using and rejecting peer feedback in the science classroom: a study of students’ negotiations on how to use peer feedback when designing experiments. Research in Science & Technological Education, 37(3), 346-365.

Wiblom, J., Rundgren, C.J. & Andrée, M. (2019). Developing students' critical reasoning about online health information: A Capabilities Approach.Research in Science Education, 49, 1759–1782.

A selection of recent publications.

  • Att lära om naturen från naturen och i naturen

    Article
    2025. Sara Planting-Bergloo, Emma Rova, Charlotte Lennartsdotter, Per Rohlin, Maria Andrée.

    Den här studien fokuserar systematiskt undersökande inom ramen för skolans fältundervisning i biologi. Tidigare forskning visar att fältundersökningar inom skolämnet biologi ofta utgår från deskriptiva kunskapsintressen, till skillnad från mer experimentella undersökningar som är vanliga i skolans naturvetenskapliga undervisning. Fältundersökningar är alltså en central biologisk praktik som eleverna behöver möta för att utveckla förståelse för biologi som vetenskap. Syftet med studien är att undersöka i vilka avseenden fältundervisning i ekologi kan bidra till att stödja elevers förståelse för biologiämnets fältpraktiker, som en del av skolans undervisning om systematiskt undersökande. Den övergripande forskningsfrågan är: Vilka kunskapsintressen framträder i samtal mellan elever vid fältstudier i biologi på högstadiet? Studien genomfördes i årskurs 9 på tre olika högstadieskolor inom Kunskapsskolan Sverige. Elevernas samtal under arbetet i fält dokumenterades med film och ljudupptagning, transkriberades och analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Analysen av elevernas samtal kan sammanfattats i tre kategorier. Dessa är kartläggning av arter, metoddiskussion och resultatdiskussion och beskriver de val och utmaningar som eleverna ställdes inför under det praktiska fältarbetet. Kategorierna visar också vilken typ av fältpraktiker som eleverna får möjlighet att delta i under fältstudierna i ekologi. Till exempel behöver eleverna både kunna identifiera och bestämma arter, behärska olika metoder för själva genomförandet, veta hur arbetet bör dokumenteras och dra slutsatser utifrån både mätbara resultat och om mer övergripande ekologiska samband. Studien kan vidare fungera som ett stöd för lärare hur man explicit kan adressera dessa fältpraktiker i undervisningen – inför, under och efter genomförande av fältstudier.

    Read more about Att lära om naturen från naturen och i naturen
  • Aesthetic experience in technology education – the role of aesthetics for learning in lower secondary school robotic programming

    Article
    2024. Maria Andrée, Per Anderhag, Sebastian Björnhammer, Niklas Salomonsson.

    Introduction: Within the technology education research field, aesthetics has primarily been treated as either related to artifacts, design processes and innovation, or as related to students’ enjoyment, appreciation, and participation in technology and technology education. This study focuses on the role of aesthetics in technology learning more specifically the learning of programming. Previous research has pointed to aesthetics as important for the learning of programming, e.g., that programming activities in higher education typically involve experiences of frustration. While previous research is primarily based on student reports, there is a need for further exploration of processes of learning to program. The aim of this study is to explore the role of aesthetics for student learning to program in and what these processes may mean in relation to a disciplinary aesthetics of the technology subject.Methods: The study was part of a design-based study with the overall purpose to develop the teaching of programming in lower secondary school. Data was collected from a programming task designed and implemented in school-year 9 (the students were aged 15–16) in Technology in two lower secondary classes. In total, three teachers participated in the implementation. The students pair-programmed Lego robots that should perform specific movements, such as following a curved line. Each group recorded their coding process along with audio, resulting in videos that documented the gradual evolution of their programs. These videos, capturing the real-time programming and associated student and teacher conversations, serve as the data for this study. In order to analyze the role of aesthetics in classroom conversations a Practical Epistemology Analysis was applied.Results: The results show that aesthetic judgments were important for orienting learning toward (1) the movement of the robot and (2) the ways to be in the programming activity. During the programming activity, the students expressed feelings of frustration but also joy and humor.Discussion: The findings concur with previous research and contribute to further understanding the role of negative and positive aesthetic experiences in the teaching and learning of programming. The importance of the objects of aesthetic experience found in this study are discussed as part of a disciplinary aesthetic of programming.

    Read more about Aesthetic experience in technology education – the role of aesthetics for learning in lower secondary school robotic programming
  • Becoming-with the bog born

    Article
    2024. Kristin Persson, Maria Andrée, Cecilia Caiman.

    Fieldwork in ecology education does things. By employing Donna Haraway’s concept becoming-with companion species and Cathrine Hasse’s emotional collectives to explore fieldwork practice on a bog in Sweden, a piece of the doings will be told. The aim of this study is to explore how ecology fieldwork affords emotional engagement and facilitates growth of ecological literacy in the emotional collectives of students, teachers and nonhumans to become-with each other. The study is based on an overnight field trip with upper-secondary students experiencing black grouse lekking and the ecology of a bog. The empirical material consists of video and audio recordings. In the study, becoming-with is operationalised through the notion of emotional collectives. The result shows three orientations of becoming-with: mimetic, anthropomorphic and fact oriented. Overall, this is a story of fieldwork as a practice of producing companion species; how becoming-with companion species works in practice, how companion species come to matter as emergent ecological literacy.

    Read more about Becoming-with the bog born
  • Den praktiknära forskningens bidrag till läraryrkets kunskapsbas

    Article
    2024. Per Anderhag, Maria Andrée, Sebastian Björnhammer, Camilla Gåfvels.

    Denna studie fokuserar hur praktiknära forskning kan bidra till att utveckla lärarprofessionens kunskapsbas; genom att undersöka vilka slags kunskapspro-dukter som genereras i didaktisk undervisningsutvecklande forskning där lärare och forskare arbetar tillsammans. Datamaterialet består av vetenskapligt publice-rade artiklar från forskningsmiljön Stockholm Teaching & Learning Studies (STLS). Genom en innehållsanalys har fyra (i−iv) kategorier av kunskapsprodukter identi-fierats: (i) Beskrivningar av kunnanden, (ii) Undervisningsdesign, (iii) Didaktiska exempeloch (iv) Metodologiska redskap. Beskrivningar av kunnandensynliggör vad som kännetecknar kunnanden inom olika ämnesområden. Undervisningsdesign preciserar relationer mellan undervisningens utformning och elevers lärande. Didaktiska exempel innefattar rika beskrivningar av undervisning och elevers lärande som grund för didaktisk reflektion. Metodologiska redskap fokuserar på att kombinera och pröva metoder för planering och analys av undervisning. Resultatet kan ses som en typologi över vilka olika slags kunskaper som praktiknära forskning kan bidra med.

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  • Inviting the petrochemical industry to the STEM classroom

    Article
    2024. Maria Andrée, Lena Hansson.

    This article reports from a study of what messages concerning industry–society–environment are communicated to secondary students when they participate in webinars with representatives from the petrochemical industry. The webinars are conceptualised as part of an arena for governing science education and the messages as companion meanings. Empirically, the study is set in a context of online webinars on the topic of careers in the petrochemical industry. The webinars target students across the European Union (EU). The analysis reveals two main themes of companion meanings concerning what relations between industry–society–environment are communicated: a) the petrochemical industry as safeguarding modern life, and b) the petrochemical industry as essential for the solving of environmental problems. The companion meanings conveyed are not at all neutral but instead a means to influence the attitudes and choices of young people. The themes are discussed in relation to the overall democracy and citizenship aims of education. That the webinars claim to address the topic of careers and that they are part of an initiative sanctioned by a governmental authority (the EU) might contribute to teachers and students lowering their guard in relation to potentially biased messages. 

    Read more about Inviting the petrochemical industry to the STEM classroom

Forskningsprojekt

Contact

Name and title: Maria AndréeProfessor, Deputy Head of Department

ORCID0000-0002-5574-8636 Länk till annan webbplats.

Workplace: Department of Teaching and Learning Länk till annan webbplats.

Visiting address Room P509Svante Arrhenius väg 20 A

Postal address Institutionen för ämnesdidaktik106 91 Stockholm