Sofia Cedervall
About me
I am senior lecturer in drama and coordinator for Kulturskoleklivet. I have a PhD in drama and defended my dissertation in 2020 at the University of Chester with the thesis Crafting Collaborations of Art and School: Contextual Studies in Sweden. I also have a Master of Philosophy in Educational Science with a focus on Aesthetic and Practical Traditions of Knowledge, Bachelor of Arts with a major in Pedagogy, a university degree with a focus on cultural production and is an authorized drama teacher.
For several years, I have conducted projects of development at a national level with a focus on schools of arts, collaboration between art and school and questions of democracy and participation of children and young people. As a producer and project manager, I have worked in both artistic and educational projects. I have previously held positions at the Swedish Schools of Arts Council, the City of Stockholm and Malmö University.
Interests in the subject of drama
In the subject of drama, I am particularly focused on didactics and leadership. I am also interested in drama as a tool for developing individuals, groups and organizations, e.g. through role-playing, forum theatre, communication and group exercises. At SU, I teach within preschool teachers and teachers’ education, courses in the bachelor's program Arts Education – drama/theatre and Kulturskoleklivet. I am involved in the network "Drama in higher education" where I mainly deal with strategic issues regarding drama/theatre as a subject in school.
Research interest
In my doctoral thesis, I have investigated collaborative projects where schools and professional theatres collaborate for a longer period and where drama is part of the process. Three professions have been of particular interest in the survey; teachers, actors and drama pedagogues. The thesis describe the different professions' craftsmanship and communities of practice as well as how they approach creative processes that involve children and young people. Who chooses to work on such a project and why? What roles do the different professions get, are given or take on? What is generated and created in such a process? Read the thesis in its entirety here: https://chesterrep.openrepository.com/handle/10034/623326
I have a special interest in drama and other art forms as a research method and have investigated how role play and narratives in different genres can contribute to generating and analysing data.
Research
Monography
Cedervall, S. (2020). Crafting Collborations of Art and School: Contextual Studies in Sweden. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Chester
Reports
Grip, K., Cedervall, S., Österlind, E. (2019) Drama och teater i kulturskolan ur pedagogernas perspektiv. Enkätundersökningen. Report, Stockholm University.
Aggestam, J., Einarsson, A., Balic, S. (2009) Återkoppling av utvärdering - ett dramatiskt alternativ. Malmö Högskola
Book chapters
Balic, S. (2014) Rösträtts värdegrund. In Holmberg, Y. (red.). Rösträtt - musik på barns villkor. Stockholm: Gehrmans.
Conference papers and presentations
Cedervall, S. (2019). Praxisgemenskaper i möten mellan lärare, skådespelare och dramapedagoger. Paper presentation at NEÄL research conference, Nätverket för estetiska ämnen i lärarutbildning, Södertörn, Sweden, 11-13 November, 2019
Cedervall, S. (2019). Dramapedagogers Praxisgemenskap : Ett försök att beskriva en unik yrkesgrupps intresse, kultur, verksamhet, tradition, kunskap och repertoar. Paper presentation at research conference Dramaforskning i Sverige (DiS), Stockholm University, Sweden, 24–25 October 2019
Grip, K., & Cedervall, S. (2019). Drama och teater i svensk kulturskola – frihet i samma form? Resultat från enkätundersökning. Paper presentation at conference Cutting Edge Kulturskole, 2019: Kritiske perspektiver på og i kulturskole, Tromsø, Norge, 3–4 October, 2019
Cedervall, S. (2018). Drama och teater i Kulturskolan. En studie på gång med stora kliv. Paper presentation at research conference Dramaforskning i Sverige (DiS), Stockholm University, Sverige, 26 October 2018
Cedervall, S. (2017). Arts-based research. Drama som forskningsmetod. Workshop at research conference Dramaforskning i Sverige (DiS), Stockholm University, Sweden, 7 November 2017
Cedervall, S. (2017) Put them in play – a story about stories. Rollspel som analysmetod i ett forskningsprojekt. Paper presentation at research conference Dramaforskning i Sverige (DiS), Stockholm University, Sverige, 7 november 2017
Cedervall, S. (2017) Encounters as-if. Educational role play as tool for analysis. Paper presentation at the PGR conference 12 juli 2017, Chester University, UK, 12 juli, 2017
Balic, S. (2015) Three craftsmen. Skills and handling of teaching, artistry and drama. Paper presentation at Recap and Curious Minds Conference, Chester University, UK, 3 juli 2015
Balic, S. (2015) Vishetens vägval - Filosofiska perspektiv på metod. Paper presentation at research conference Dramaforskning i Sverige – DiS, Gothenburg University, Sweden, 17 April, 2015
Balic, S. (2014) On the stage floor. Mission and role of drama pedagogues working in professional theatres. Paper presentation at PGR Conference, Chester University, UK, 27 June 2014
Balic, S. (2014) What does research say about artists and schools in collaboration? A glance on 30 years of projects, policies, evaluation and research in Sweden and UK. Paper presentation at research conference Högre nationellt seminarium för dramaforskning, Stockholm University, Sweden, 2012.
Kupferberg, F. & Balic, S. (2008). Creative learning. Report on the evaluation of a drama educational project. Paper presentation at NFPF/NERA congress 2008, Nordic Educational Research Association.