| 1. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Nyanlända studenters behov av utbildning : möjligheter och hinder
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nordisk forskningskonferens om miljö- och hållbarhetsutbildning 27 – 28 oktober 2016 Abstracts.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Fram till nu har högre utbildning för nyanlända främst betraktats utifrån möjligheter att komplettera tidigare utbildningar och snabbt få invandrade akademiker i arbete i Sverige. Men frågorna om hur man kan få in nyanlända i högre utbildning är även centrala utifrån ett hållbarhetsperspektiv. För att möta globala utmaningar kommer det att behövas kraftfulla dialogutrymmen mellan den globala norden och södern. Ur detta perspektiv blir de nyanlända oerhört värdefulla som framtida brobyggare i det globala arbetet för övergångar mot hållbarhet. En rad initiativ har påbörjats i Europa för att undersöka vilka åtgärder som behövs för att bättre möta utbildningsbehovet på högskolenivå bland nytillkomna flyktingar. Förslag omfattar bland annat särskilda stipendier, ändringar i formuleringen av inträdeskrav, eller upprättandet av ett kursutbud på engelska. I Sverige avser flera initiativ att påskynda inträdet i arbetslivet för de nyanlända. Validering i högre utbildning är en fråga som kräver särskild uppmärksamhet, liksom frågan om hur kvalificerade flyktingar kan få sin yrkeskompetens erkänd och anpassad till svenska krav. Bedömning av meriter och erkännandet av tidigare studier är också en nyckelfråga för antagning av studenter baserat på diplom erhållna i deras ursprungsland. Projektet Nyanlända studenter undersöker förutsättningarna vid Malmö Högskola både avseende antagningen och avseende möjligheterna att erbjuda skräddarsydda kurser, anpassade till behoven hos flyktingar i regionen. Såväl pedagogiska som administrativa konsekvenser av tänkbara åtgärder och insatser kommer att undersökas.
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| 2. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Transitions Towards an Unknown Future : Non-Formal Learning in Transnational Communities for a Sustainable Society
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The study makes an inventory of learning opportunities young people were offered in connection with CEI 2016, one of the annual international conferences organized by the NGO named Caretakers of the Environment International (CEI), which year 2016 took place in Aalborg in Denmark. The learning opportunities offered by this transnational learning community are discussed in relation to some essential learning qualities to meet the comprehensive sustainability challenges facing our societies - in particular youth, who can be seen as a target group per se, many times in transition-like situations: (1) learning for uncertain future, 82) dealing with complex cross-border issues, (3) ability to collaborate, (4) take initiative and act in society. These qualities are difficult to achieve in formal school systems that are essentially organized to ensure the transmission of a specific learning content and measurable abilities. The question in this study has been inspired by a previous study in a Swedish school context (Nordén, Avery & Anderberg, 2012, Nordén, 2016), about abilities that allow high school students to get an agency towards local and global sustainability challenges. The critical skills identified were: (1) Organization/self-regulation and independent decision-making skills (2) Development of Transnational Learning Communities (3) Democratic cooperation in action. There is widespread consensus that radical new educational approaches are needed to address the challenges of our time (Breiting & Wickenberg, 2010; Mochizuki & Yarime, 2016; Reid & Scott, 2013). Traditionally, focus has been placed on transmitting an existing knowledge base. The situations we face are changing at a staggering rate, and future developments are characterized by great uncertainty. Barnett (2012) therefore claims that preparation for the unknown should be guiding in education. Young people must not only be able to explore different complex situations, but also be prepared to take initiatives to act, find solutions to major environmental and social problems, and steer up their own learning during their life journey (Almers, 2013; Barrat, Barratt-Hacking, Scott & Talbot, 2006; Öhman, 2008). In this context, one has talked about sustainability literacy (Dawe, Jucker & Martin, 2005). CEI's activities are non-formal (Mocker & Spear, 1982) in the sense that they are organized for the purpose of promoting learning for sustainability and have a well-considered overall structure, but participants can independently define the issues and projects they work with . The transnational learning community could thereby support a challenge-oriented learning (UE4SD, 2015). The results indicate that the processes are supported when young people and their teachers experience a sense of community and having a place in the local-global context. This is done both through intensive work on their own projects prior to the conference, through participation in the physical meetings during the conference and the subsequent network activities in connection with it. In order for society as a whole to take advantage of the potential of non-formal learning, alternative educational approaches need to gain increased recognition and attention. The focus has to be shifted from a narrow performance splash that values isolated results, to reflect more widely on the learning opportunities offered by different forms of education in their entirety.
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| 3. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Heading Towards an Unknown Future : Non-Formal Learning Communities for Sustainable Societies – a Possible Pedagogy in Refugee Education?
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is a wide consensus that radically different pedagogies are needed to deal with the challenges of our times (Reid &Scott, 2013). Barnett (2012) argues that preparing for the unknown should be a central principal in education. Not only do young people need to independently evaluate highly complex situations that will arise, but they also need to be prepared to take appropriate action, solve major social and environmental problems and organise their own learning throughout the life course (Öhman, 2008; Almers, 2009). School cannot provide a set of ready-made recipes, nor can education be limited to narrow national objectives. Increased mobility over the life course involves quickly getting our bearings in new surroundings, and learning to cooperate with people who may not share our culture, our language or our values. The challenge that transnational mobility poses to education is even more salient with respect to refugees and displaced populations. With the latest wave of refugees, this has become one of the most pressing questions on the European agenda (European Parliament, 2016). European Commissioner for Education Tibor Navracsics underlined in his speech of 29 September 2015 that education will play a key role in integrating refugees. A future rise in forced migration is a major concern also globally (British Council, 2016). Refugee education may be interrupted or altogether suspended at several points. Education systems differ across national borders, and validation of prior education is very limited. On each step of the journey, requirements and goals will differ. Language-in-education policies constitute a serious obstacle. Importantly also, refugees have a low status in the host countries, and young people are disempowered. Depriving this generation of access to education and preventing them from realising their dreams will have serious consequences. This paper argues that some of the pedagogies we find in transnational non-formal education networks can help to address these issues, building the competencies and capabilities young people need, more urgently than ever (Nordén & Anderberg, 2012). Such non-formal learning environments also have the potential of complementing formal schooling, which are focused on transmitting an existing body of knowledge, rather than learning to autonomously transform societies and shape the future. This case study analyses the development of learning processes among international network representatives meeting annually within Caretakers of the Environment International, CEI (Global Forum, 2013). What does it take to enable students to see the planet as one interdependent environment? CEI believes this occur through having students meet and work together. By organizing annual international conferences, making available a periodical for – and by – teachers and students, establishing national branches and organizing regional workshops, CEI tries to establish a worldwide network of actively concerned secondary school teachers and students, willing to prioritise challenging issues through their education and their action-taking. The network intends to be a podium for teachers and students to exchange concerns, ideas, strategies, actions and projects in the field of ESD. Teachers and Mentors have an important role in guiding the students in their project. Development of capabilities and competences has been researched in general and on the meta-level (Scheunpflug, 2014; Cotton & Winter, 2010; Rauch & Steiner, 2006). Communities of learning across borders considering projects and learning agendas not limited to national interests, but matching the different circumstances people are facing across the globe. Several characteristics of GLSD could be compared with what Dawe et al (2005) have called sustainability literacy. Nordén, Avery & Anderberg (2012) summarised the characteristics for transition skill competences, stressing that they involved by learners needed critical knowledge capabilities in (1) organising themselves and making decisions independently; (2) developing transnational learning communities and (3) democratic collaborative action. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used: It is common in educational research to focus on learning outcomes that are easily measured. By contrast, many of the learning outcomes relevant in Global Learning for Sustainable Development are highly complex (Scheunpflug, 2011), and do not easily lend themselves to measurement. The capability to work with multi-dimensional and changing sustainability challenges is by definition a moving target. Additionally, self-organisation and democratic deliberation (Biesta, 2004; Roth, 2006) are a question of setting goals independently, and outcomes of such projects are not measurable against standardised goal criteria. Similar arguments can be made concerning the ability to effect social change for sustainbility, which includes changing agendas in education systems. Rather than focusing on learning targets specified in advance, we have therefore found it preferable here to look at the possibilities offered by these non-formal learning environments in terms of learning affordances for developing and practicing competencies and capabilities for sustainable futures. The notion of learning affordances (Caldwell, Bilandzic & Foth, 2012) has mostly been used to discuss the opportunities various digital environments provide for learning. We will use it here to describe different characteristics of the transnational network studied in this case study, in terms of providing advanced learning opportunities for young people with different backgrounds. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings: Findings suggest that the overall challenge in trying to enable this learning of those involved is keeping momentum between network structures and network processes. These informal settings teach awareness about how, not what, to think. The learning continuum advances as youth and their educators attain a sense of community and find their place within the local-global context by engaging in network activities. The results show similarities among examples of activities found in the CEI projects with those suggested by Cotton and Winter (2010), which are; stimulus activities, critical incidents, reflexive accounts, personal development planning, critical reading and writing, debates, group discussions, case studies, role plays and simulations, beside problem based learning. The ability to: think creatively and holistically and to make critical judgements; develop a high level of self-reflection; understand, evaluate and adopt values conducive to sustainability; bridge the gap between theory and practice; in sustainable development, only transformational action counts; participate creatively in inter-disciplinary teams; besides the ability to initiate and manage change. At a global level, there is a growing need to develop competencies and capabilities for transitions towards sustainability. Conflicts and climate change are drastically increasing the number of refugees and displaced people who need proactive preventive strategies, as well as skills that can be used across numerous contexts and in the face of changing circumstances. Increasingly, also young people need to manage their own learning processes in self-directed learning, regardless of where they are physically and where they may move in their lifetimes. As established social structures struggle to address global challenges, people across the planet need to be able to organise themselves and to take initiatives. Against this background, several aspects of the GLSD approaches investigated in this study appear highly relevant. References Anderberg, E., Nordén, B., and Hansson, B. (2009). Global learning for sustainable development in higher education : recent trends and critique. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 10(4), 368–378. Barnett, R. (2012). Learning for an unknown future. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(1), 65-77. European Parliament (2016). “The situation is getting worse.” by Avramopoulos, Dimitris, EU Migration Commissioner. Visited at January 21, 2016 at: http://www.euronews.com/2016/01/21/imf-proposes-prickly-solutions-for-europe-s-refugee-challenges/ British Council (2016-01-21). “Beyond aid: educating Syria's refugees.” By Bubbers, Joel, British Council Director Syria. Visited January 21, 2016, at: https://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/policy-insight-research/insight/beyond-aid-educating-Syrias-refugees Cotton, D.R.E and Winter, J. (2010) 'It's not just bits of paper and light bulbs': A review of sustainability pedagogies and their potential for use in Higher Education. In Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice Across Higher Education.(Editors: Jones, P., Selby, D. and Sterling, S.) Dawe, G., Jucker, R. and Martin, S. (2005) Sustainable development in higher education: current practice and future developments. A report for the Higher Education Academy. Global Forum for Enviromental Education (2013). Caretakers of the Environment International (CEI).A Global Network of Secondary School Teachers and Students Active in Environmental Education. Visited at 2016-01-20: http://www.caretakers4all.org Nordén, B., and Anderberg, E. (2012). Sustainable development through global learning and teaching. In (Eds.) Madu, Christian N. and Kuei, Chu-Hua. World Scientific Publishing.. Nordén, B., Avery, H., and Anderberg, E.(2012). Learning in global settings : developing transitions for meaning-making. Research in Comparative and Iinternational Education (7)4, pp. 514-529, Symposium Journals. Rauch, F. & Steiner, R. (2006): School development through education for sustainable development in Austria, Environmental Education Research, 12(1), pp. 115–127. Reid, A. and Scott, W. (2013). Identifying Needs in Environmental Education Research. In (Eds) St
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| 4. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Beyond incrementalism : Knowledge formation for transformative change in ESE
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Abstract: In this conceptual paper, we wish to argue that the commitment to transitions for sustainability has implications regarding the way knowledge is seen. Sustainability fundamentally implies a recognition of the interconnectedness of phenomena across sectors, disciplines and geographical locations (Avery & Nordén, 2017), as well as responsible decision-making linked to democracy and power distribution (Fine et al., 2012). All of these points have relevance to the connections between policy and research. The metaphor for truth in academia has long been one of disembodied contemplation of an absolute state of existence. By contrast, ’knowing-for-sustainable action’ is based on how the human and the societal relates to our modes of producing knowledge and competence, both with respect to what we need to know something about, and what we can do about it. This not only concerns questions of ontology and epistemology for individual studies, but also refers to how we collectively organise academic institutions (Aikens et al., 2016; Lysgaard et al., 2016; Payne, 2016; Avery & Nordén, 2017) and as societies, to develop the know-how needed for planetary survival (Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2017). By defining economic objectives independently of sustainability and letting non-sustainable conceptualisations of economics determine policies of research and education, we have condemned sustainability to function as an add-on to business as usual. Even more worryingly, when sustainability agendas do take the forefront in policy discourse, proposed solutions may be those pushed by powerful industrial lobbies (Peck et al., 2012). Another challenge is posed by fragmented aims underlying sustainability education, and supported by similar fragmentation in SDGs, or European climate commitments for instance (cf. COP23 Bonn). Although each goal is certainly important, the combined effect is to foster a belief that transition to sustainability can be achieved through incremental changes and without reconsidering the overall structures or drivers. Understanding is siloed into existing disciplinary framings (Mochizuki & Yarime, 2016). Measurement coupled with accountability has in many cases had impacts on administrative routines and structures. One the one side measurement has valuable functions in documenting a status quo, raising visibility of sustainability dimensions and providing a starting point for discussions across national borders. But on the other side, it has limited potential on its own to drive transformative changes and there is a real risk that it can lock our understanding into uncontroversial expressions of the problems at stake, preventing strategic long-term reflection. In the Symposium: The Opportunities and Limitations of ESD/GCE/ESE Monitoring Approaches - Knowledge Production within and beside Standardization Chair: Mandy Singer-Brodowski (Freie Universität Berlin) Discussant: Jutta Nikel (University of Education Freiburg) In the context of globalized educational policies (Rizvi/ Lingard 2010) and the international Agenda 2030, evaluation and monitoring approaches are gaining increasingly political relevance and public visibility. While there existed differentiated indicator sets for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) during the UN Decade (e.g., UNECE 2005), the current strategies focus on defining one indicator to capture progress (SDG 4.7). Although there are only few studies about the systematic integration of ESD on the level of national policies (Læssøe/ Mochizuki 2015: 28), there is a trend of using indicator-based research projects to measure the state of ESD in specific regions and also push the further integration of ESD (i.e. in sustainability strategies, educational reports). Nevertheless, the monitoring of ESD, GCE (Global Citizenship Education) or ESE (Environmental and Sustainability Education) holds not only opportunities for communicating progressive educational approaches in the light of global challenges, but also the risk to reduce, de-contextualize and oversimplify the research objects. Based on the assumption, that ESE is not only influenced by international policy trends but also by the cultural and socio-political conditions and the landscape of actors in local contexts (Blum et al. 2012, Feinstein et al. 2013), the question arises how suitable standardized and indicator-based evaluation and monitoring approaches are for capturing the multi-facetted practices of ESD. On the one side there is the risk that standardized approaches based on international indicators and strategies are leading to a narrowing of the very specific and context sensitive understandings and practices of ESD, GCE and ESE in local contexts. On the other side, the potentials of these approaches can be seen in measuring, communicating and thereby mainstreaming the approaches through evidence-based policy strategies. Further questions emerge with the dynamics of gaining policy-relevant evidence at the science policy interface, i.e. looking at the level of independence of monitoring reports in ESD (Nazir et al. 2009). During the symposium, the opportunities and limitations of ESD/GCE/ECE monitoring approaches are discussed against the background of general trends in educational and sustainability policies. The overall question is what kind of knowledge is used as a base for monitoring approaches in the context of ECE/ ESD and GCE and how this knowledge is adapted (or not) by policy-makers. Three presentations will focus on this question from different perspectives and different countries (Chile, Germany and Sweden). The first presentation highlights tensions between local knowledge about environmental related education and the National ESD policy strategy of Chile. A main result of the presented research project is that Chilean teachers are using contextualized approaches stemming from traditional concepts of environmental related education but are measured by a standardized environmental management approach in their schools. The second presentation focusses on the results of the ESD monitoring in Germany that are communicated and used at the science policy interface. It reflects how the policy relevant knowledge is used i,.n various ways and which kinds of chances and risks can be seen in it (e.g., by reducing complexity). The third presentation focusses on the changing conceptions of policy relevant knowledge (production) in the background of the global trend of economization of educational policies. This trend seems to support a fragmented and isolated mode of standardization for incremental change in sustainability and educational policies rather than the fundamental transformation that is needed regarding global sustainability problems. The symposium wants to combine different perspectives on how policy-relevant and standardized knowledge about ESD/GCE/ECE monitoring is produced, communicated, critized and sometimes even rejected. Thus, it wants to open up discussions about a critical and reflected engagement of researchers at the science policy interface (Læssøe et al. 2013).
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| 5. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainability dilemmas in preschool teacher training : Engaging students' experience in the local place
- 2017
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The European Commission has since 2012 been working on setting out the priorities for early childhood education and care, seen as an important condition for improving learning at school, reducing social inequity and supporting social inclusion. Provision of high quality preschool education and care is in turn linked to adequately trained staff, and the Council of the European Union has decided on ”supporting the professionalisation of ECEC staff, with an emphasis on the development of their competences, qualifications and working conditions” (European Council, 2011). Forms of preschool education differ widely across European countries today (European Commission, 2015), and the training of preschool teachers is also very diverse (Eurofound, 2015). In Sweden, preschool education is part of the general education system, with a national curriculum (Lpfö98). Swedish teacher training of preschool teachers is regulated, and is - just as teacher training for compulsory school - provided at universities and university colleges. The competence of preschool teachers is strategic for sustainability work in preschool settings. This study analyses the learning affordances of a task about conflicts of interest in sustainability issues. This task was given to students on a university preschool teacher programme, and aimed to develop their ability to reflect on values and interests in change towards sustainable societies, and to work with these issues in their practice as preschool teachers. The intention with the task was above all to challenge the student teachers’ reflection on dilemmas and conflicts (cf. Öhman & Öhman, 2012) in sustainability work. Teacher education is of particular interest in developing competences required for societal changes towards sustainability (Rauch & Steiner 2013; UNESCO 2005; Wals 2014). School reaches most children and contributes to shaping a foundation for their development as adults. It influences the way they see knowledge paradigms, values and expertise. While later years tend to be structured in separate school subjects, preschool and primary school can shape the basis for a more integrated transdisciplinary understanding of society and the world. The early years are decisive for children’s perception of self and the way they see their place in the world. Experiences in the early years affect the child’s relationship to other life forms (Askerlund & Almers, 2016). Among the aspects which determine to which extent teacher education can provide affordances for student teachers to develop competences in teaching for sustainabiity are: links to sustainabiity research environements; the ability to work across the divide between social and natural sciences; action-oriented knowledge (Avery & Nordén, 2015, 2017). Adequate teacher training in sustainability work for preschool teachers is not unproblematic, however, since preschool aims to strengthen the child’s development and socialisation through play-based pedagogy (Thulin, 2011; Edwards & Cutter-MacKenzie, 2013). It is not clear how preschool teachers can in practice satisfy the curriculum’s ambition to shape a foundation for understanding highly complex sustainability issues in preschool. Deep knowledge about causal relationships is needed if sustainability education is to form the basis for responsible democratic action (Lundholm, 2011). An additional problem is therefore that knowledge in preschool relating to the natural sciences is mediated by teachers who do not themselves have a strong basis in science (Nilsson, 2012). It will here be argued that a possible approach to deal with these challenges is to work on practical questions of local relevance, where preschool teachers can to a greater extent draw on their own experience. Contextualising learning by relating to place has been identified as a significant element to increase engagement for sustainabiity (Beery & Wolf-Watz, 2014). However, place-based education can also be limiting, unless connections are also made to global interrelationships (McInerney, Smyth & Down, 2011; Nordén, 2016). Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used The investigated task took its point of departure in a local place, giving students the opportunity to use their experience and knowledge of local conditions to design pedagogical activities for preschool children that would be relevant to sustainability issues. The task relates to Swedish national curriculum aims (Lpfö98) concerning preschool children’s understanding of scientific phenomena and causalities, and also addresses the aim to familiarise chilldren with their surroundings and the locality (Curriculum for the Preschool, 2016). The curriculum notably states that preschool should ”develop their interest and understanding of the different cycles in nature, and how people, nature and society influence each other” and that preschool teachers should ”give children the opportunity of understanding how their own actions can have an effect on the environment”. Data for the study consisted of observations of students preparing , carrying out and discussing their projects for the task. Additionally, the student course evaluationis of the task were analysed, to gain a picture of the student teachers’ own perceptions of the learning affordancesthe task offered and its relevance for their future professional practice. The analysis used as a point of departure conclusions of University Educators for Sustainable Development mapping studies (UE4SD, 2015), and two critical axes (Avery & Nordén, 2015, 2017) with respect to offering spaces for transdisciplinary and integrating reflection for the student teachers on sustainability issues, and linking their theoretical training to practice oriented work. The task the students worked with was firstly considered with respect to the learning affordances (Caldwell, Bilandzic & Foth 2012) it offered, through different elements of its design, and secondly with respect to the students’ own perceptions and reflections on their learning, presented in the course evaluations. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings Student course evaluations pointed to a perceived tension between the advanced content and working with preschool children. The course evaluations also displayed a tension between what students felt was useful scientific knowledge, and the social dimensions in sustainability. It thus appeared that working with dilemmas and place-based pedagogy was a promising approach to teach future preschool teachers ways of working with sustainability issues with young children. However, to achieve greater understanding and engagement, these approaches would require a more solidly established prior understanding among the preschool student teachers of transdisciplinarity (Mochizuki, Y. & Yarime, 2016) as well as of the significance of social dimensions of sustainability. The analysis of student presentations and observations suggests that the fact that students could choose the conflict of interests that they wanted to work with and that it was situated locally did in fact enable them to relate to issues they were familiar with. This meant that they had a deeper understanding of the questions, and they could draw on richer contextualised , emboided and emotionally engaging resources from their own experience to develop activities for the children. The fact that the task was placed in an outdoor environment and related to specific known places made it possible to connect the learning activities to concrete circumstances and lived experiences, thereby also making the scientific causalities and implications clearer than if they had only been represented verbally.
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| 6. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Hållbarhetsdilemman och platsbaserat arbete i förskolelärarutbildningen (Sustainability dilemmas and place-based work in preschool teacher education)
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Förskolelärares kompetens är strategisk för hållbarhetsarbete i förskolan. En kursuppgift om intressekonflikter kring hållbarhet för studenter på förskolelärarprogrammet presenteras här. Uppgiften tar sin utgångspunkt i en plats i närområdet. Studenter får därigenom både problematisera och använda sin erfarenhet och kännedom om den lokala platsen i utformandet av relevanta pedagogiska aktiviteter. Utvidgat abstrakt: Hållbar utveckling i högre utbildning är ett brett fält som inbegriper såväl formuleringar i övergripande måldokument som konkreta handlingsplaner på institutionsnivå, gällande allt från miljöanpassning av universitetet som fysisk verksamhet, till frågan om hållbarhetsperspektiv i utbildningarnas eller forskningens innehåll (ue4sd outcomes). Bland de utbildningar som ges har lärarutbildningarna (Rauch & Steiner 2013; UNESCO 2005; Wals 2014) ett särskilt intresse avseende att utveckla kompetenser för samhällets övergång till hållbarhet. Skolan når de flesta medborgare och bildar grund för ungas fortsatta utveckling, men påverkar även deras syn på kunskapsparadigm, värderingar och expertis. Medan utbildning och yrkesutövning efter grundskolan delas upp i olika specialiseringar, kan elever i skola och förskola bilda grund för en integrerad transdisciplinär syn på samhället och den värld vi lever i. Avseende förskola och yngre barns introduktion till hållbarhetsfrågor har det argumenterats att de tidiga åren har stor betydelse för barnets syn på sig själv och på sin plats i världen. De tidiga åren är också viktiga för barnets relation till andra livsformer (Askerlund, Almers, Hyltse-Eckert & Avery, 2014). Samtidigt är det inte helt oproblematiskt att introducera högkomplexa hållbarhetsfrågor i förskolan, eftersom denna syftar att stärka barnets utveckling och socialisering genom lek-baserad pedagogik (Thulin, 2011; Edwards & Cutter-MacKenzie, 2013). Ytterligare problem är att naturvetenskaplig kunskap förmedlas genom lärare som inte själva har en stark utbildning inom naturvetenskaper (Nilsson, 2012). En möjlig ansats för att undvika några av dessa risker är att arbeta praktiskt med lokala frågeställningar, och därigenom koppla reflektioner till lärarstudenternas erfarenheter. Relaterade till plats har identifierats som väsentlig i engagemang för hållbarhet (Beery & Wolf-Watz, 2014), samtidigt som det är viktigt att knyta till förståelse av globala samband (McInerney, Smyth & Down, 2011). Avgörande för utsträckningen i vilken lärarutbildningar skapar utrymme för lärarstudenter att utveckla kompetens i utbildning mot hållbarhet är även: kopplingar till forskningsmiljöer som fokuserar hållbarhetsfrågor; möjligheter att arbeta på tvärs över samhälls- och naturvetenskaper; handlingsorienterad kunskap (Avery & Nordén, 2015). Som exempel presenteras här en uppgift som gavs till studenter på förskolelärarprogrammet inom kursen Naturvetenskap och teknik i förskolan. Uppgiften handlade om hållbar utveckling och intressekonflikter (Öhman & Öhman, 2012). Studenterna skulle utifrån en plats i närområdet med hjälp av omgivningen gestalta och problematisera en intressekonflikt kring hållbarhet. Uppgiften syftade att utmana studenternas och andras tänkande kring hållbarhetsperspektiv, eftersom värderingar av vad som ses som hållbart kan bero på vilket perspektiv som antas, och för vem det skall vara hållbart. Studenterna skulle också fråga sig vilka prioriteringar och bortprioriteringar vi kan bli tvungna att göra för att fatta beslut som på sikt kan ge ett mer hållbart sätt att leva för människa och miljö. Diskussion och problematisering var i fokus i uppgiften. Genom att studenterna kunde välja vilken intressekonflikt de ville arbeta med, hade de möjlighet att relatera till frågeställningar som de själva hade kunskap om. Övningen var placerad i en utomhusmiljö, vilket gjorde att syftningar och de naturvetenskapliga implikationerna blev konkreta och mer entydiga än om de hade enbart representerats verbalt. Flera element i uppgiftsupplägget skulle kunna användas för andra kurser för hållbarhet.
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| 7. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Africa and beyond : Supporting collaborative networks for transnational refugee higher education
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Refugees and forcibly displaced populations have needs and aspirations in higher education just as other groups, but often experience conditions that severely limit access. Refugee HE can also involve additional challenges (eg. language of instruction, validation of previous qualifications, developing relevant content, funding or issuing diplomas to work in regulated professions in different countries). Current refugee HE provisions are fragmented, such as scholarships or programmes in refugee camps, limited to educating professionals needed in the camp itself. In emergency situations, HE may be viewed as less urgent than humanitarian needs (Dryden-Peterson, 2016). But although we cannot foresee who will be the next victims, we do know that situations of forced migration are likely to increase dramatically. Not addressing the specific constraints and challenges of refugee HE, is tantamount to permanently disqualifying entire populations, thereby creating an easily exploitable underclass. It means placing entire countries and regions in a state of underdevelopment and dependency (Avery & Said, 2017). In the long term, it leads to large-scale social, economic and geopolitical imbalances, potentially sowing the seeds for future successions of conflicts. Impacts of this neglect are thus serious, both for countries of origin of the refugee flows, and for the host countries.
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| 8. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Future-oriented Methodology : Distinctive horizons for and contributions to new materialist and post-qualitative research methodologies in and from ESE
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The distinction local-global has been widely discussed in geography and human geography as time-spaced compression, in relation to the conceptual and material changes brought about by virtual realities, and the ability to communicate, act and interact across geographically separated locations. Further dimensions of this discussion have been opened by research on social space, socially constructed space, and at other levels by the challenges of mobility, mass migration, and transnationality. Although these conversations may seem diverse in many ways, they build on an assumption that local-global could mean something as such, in other words a decontextualised and a-historic reification of the concepts. Another shared characteristic is their geneaology which continually derives new layers of meaning, but implicitly or explicitly drawing on origins of conceptualising the local-global as a matter of geographical location. Consequences of such traces can be for instance maintaining the deictic binary of ”here” and ”there”, which in turn feeds into other binaries of in-groups and out-groups, or co-citizens as opposed to the others - the foreigners who need to be understood, empathised with, learned about, collaborated with or not discriminated against. In this conceptual paper, drawing on some of the discussions in ’new materialisms’, we wish to contest some of the assumptions underlying much of the conversation on the local-global binary, and in particular the forms it takes in ESE teaching. We wish to argue that using the distinction local-global can only have a meaning in relation to particular contexts or purposes, and that greater attention needs to be devoted to what implications various conceptualisations have for action-in-the-world. In other words, what affordances do they offer of responsibility, agency or knowledge. In education for sustainability, one of the basic axioms has long been ’act local, think global’. From the angle adopted in this paper, making the distinction local-global means something quite different if we are talking about ESE, if we are talking about climate negotiations in Bonn, or if we are thinking of consequences of globalisation (see Tomas Hylland Erikson, Overheating: An Anthropology of Accelerated Change). Thus in ESE the narrative is frequently that awareness needs to be raised, so that citizens can exert pressure on governments in democratic ways, or buy the right products, or change their lifestyles. Other narratives are gaining knowledge to make informed and wise decisions, or distinguishing between credible information and misinformation. Finally, notions of global citizenship build on international exchanges and gaining understanding of global challenges – that is, the disturbing issues which take place ”out there, in the (rest of the) world. This can also be framed as a difference of scale – individual action locally, which can be ”scaled up” to have an impact globally. Such narratives assume that ”economy” functions according to market mechanisms of supply and demand, or that governance takes place in the fora of national governments. What is omitted in such narratives is that the dominating dynamics follow quite different economic mechanisms, where for instance the strength of currencies, legislation on intellectual property, public procurement or trade agreements play a much more determining role. The other major issue is which technologies are developed, and for which purposes. The basic binary is thus not the difference in location understood in the local (here, this nation) versus global (there, the planet) arenas. Rather, the fundamental difference is between the vast majority of the inhabitants of the planet, and the limited group of people who have access to decisions concerning the conditions for trade, or who can decide on which technologies they believe will give them greater control over resources and future developments. In this sense, the local-global distinction, and the narratives attached to it, can be understood as what Barad terms agential cut (Hollin et al. 2017). Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used This is a conceptual paper, which will draw on some of the conversations being held in the field of 'new materialisms', relevant to the endeavour of supporting transitions to sustainability. The arguments will be illustrated with examples taken from a course on Global challenges taught to future teachers (upper secondary school, n=125) highlighting the complex interaction of the three perspectives of Citizenship, Interculturality and Sustainable Development from a didactic point of view. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings If ESE aims at transformative change, a conclusion would be that students need knowledge and competences that enable global citizenship in the sense of acting on these closed arenas. This would include a deeper understanding of the economic mechanisms that drive world trade and globalisation. It would also include tools that enable them to estimate consequences of different technological developments. Ultimately, this places the acquisition of a different set of methodologies at the center of ESE. Future teachers are taught in HE courses according to a narrative where a global perspective focuses on people as citizens and in their consumer roles. They are subjectified as actors in society and change agents taking on the global challenges. At the same time, it appears in supervision situations that the students do not have conceptual instruments to evaluate or measure "global challenges on the go". Nor do they have the tools to understand and influence decision-making locally or globally. In this paper, it is argued that sustainability education aims at action-in-the-world, and this in turn depends on unravelling constructions of responsibility, agency and knowledge. From the perspective of agency, "global" could refer to decision-making arenas with global impacts, while local would be understood as arenas that may have such impacts, but where decisions cannot be made. If we adopt the dimension of responsibility instead, or that of knowledge formation, different arenas would be designated as global or local. For various purposes, different dimensions would be significant to include as criteria for distinctions.
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| 9. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Learning in global settings : developing transitions for meaning-making
- 2012
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Ingår i: Research in Comparative and International Education. - : Symposium Journals. - 1745-4999. ; 7:4, s. 514-529
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global teaching and learning for sustainable development reaches from the classroom to the world outside, and is therefore a particularly interesting setting for practicing transitions skills. The article suggests a number of features perceived as crucial in developing young people’s capability to act in a changing world and under circumstances that are difficult to predict. The suggestions are based on an empirical study of the Lund Calling project, which aimed at implementing a web-based international programme for teaching preventive environmental strategies in Swedish secondary schools. The article first touches on some of the conditions in Sweden that particularly impact young people’s transition to adulthood. Related research in sustainability education is also briefly outlined. Knowledge capability theory is used to discuss results from the empirical study of the Lund Calling project, where interviews were conducted with secondary school students, teachers and headmasters. Based on these interviews, features that appear to be particularly relevant as transition skills in global learning for sustainable development include transdisciplinary action, democratic collaborative action, as well as self-directed and independent initiative. The article concludes that young people today cannot, as in earlier periods of history, base their actions entirely on the traditions of the family or community. Instead, they also need to learn to form their own communities, capable of acting on both local and global levels. Education here plays an important role, to develop necessary transition skills that enable young people to be prepared for a rapidly changing and uncertain world.
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| 10. |
- Nordén, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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New in Sweden : Experiences from Preschool Reception and Newly Arrived Families
- 2017
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In Sweden of today and Europe, there is a lively debate about the reception and education of migrating children, young people and adults (Nilsson & Bunar 2015; Nilsson Folke 2015). The educational challenges have often been conceptualized and explained as a problem of difference in culture, ethnicity and language of the migrant children (León-Rosales 2010; Lunneblad 2013; Nilsson & Bunar 2015). Bouakaz, (2009), for instance, shows that in meeting the newly arrived families, it is the differences that are conceptualized as problematic. The position of the child’s mother tongue is a basic factor affecting access to education and school success (Ball 2011). Intercultural school development is a fundamental condition for democratic societies, and a priority in European policy today (Council of Europe 2007, 2015, 2016). The project at hand aims to address the demands of a changing educational landscape and broaden the picture of the situation of children and families with an immigrant background from a civic perspective. The project focuses newly arrived children’s first encounter with the Swedish educational system in the context of preschool. There are few studies on newly arrived children in the Swedish preschool. According to Tallberg Broman et al. (2015) focus on diversity, migration and ethnicity is also limited in relation to preschool. The forms of early childhood education and care vary greatly across Europe (European Commission, 2015). In Sweden, preschool is part of the overall education system. It has its own national curriculum, as well as formal university level training requirements for preschool teachers. Since the 1970s, preschool has played an important part of Swedish integration policy (Lunneblad 2013), and today an intercultural approach is emphasized (Skolverket 2010). In 2011, one in five preschool children had a different first language than Swedish and this number is increasing. Only in 2015, more than 16,000 children between one and six with the right to attend preschool and preschool class arrived in Sweden (Skolverket 2016; Migrationsverket 2016). In this process preschool as an organisational and educational setting has an important role to play. As Persson (2012) has pointed out, in an increasingly segregated society, and in the case of creating intercultural and multilingual education, the preschool can provide solutions and make a difference. This is why the project’s objective is to develop ways of organising spaces in preschool for successful learning and teaching through a participatory approach. The preschool teachers and other actors, as well as the children and their families take part in and collaborate in the research project from their perspectives and in a manner where their experiences and knowledge are seen as assets. The aims of the project in this respect correspond to the principles set forward by the Working group of the European Commission, which stress that quality depends on ”relationships between ECEC providers and children’s families; relationships and interactions between staff and children, and among children; (...) the involvement of parents in the work of the ECEC setting and the day-to-day pedagogic practice of staff within an ECEC context;” (European Commission, 2014, p. 6) ”A professional role is one which is regulated and requires individuals to develop and reflect on their own practice and with parents and children, create a learning environment which is constantly renewed and improved.” (European Commission p. 70) The participatory research design, in which different actors co-operate to organize preschool as a setting and civic instrument will also constitute a knowledge contribution in itself. Besides the participant’s knowledge development, the objective is to strengthen the scientific base and proven experience as support to professional knowledge. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used The project is carried out in a preschool in southern Sweden, where one of the sections is an introduction class for children 3-5 year who do not speak any Swedish at all or very little. In the section there are 20 children and the activities focus on strengthening the children's identity and language, both the Swedish and the first language. The project is carried out mainly at the introduction section, but the study will also include the preschool as a whole, because the children after about a year's stay in the introduction section, move to another department at the present preschool or to a preschool closer to their home. A participatory approach is used, involving head teachers, teachers and other preschool staff members, the children and their families. We lean on the action research tradition (McNiff 2002; Norton 2009; Kemmis 2009). The approach implies that teachers, teams and institutions, together with researchers, are encouraged to systematically explore their work to develop the pedagogical knowledge and teaching. Much of the implemented research within educational action research has the teachers in focus, although educational action research implies a process in which all involved should be included, also the students (McNiff 2002). In the project, we will involve researchers and teachers, as well as the children and their families (Gallacher & Gallagher 2008; Clark 2010). The staff at the participating preschool have accepted to work in a participatory way, where researchers together with staff, children, care takers, and preschool management investigate strengths and challenges regarding how the preschool can reinforce language development. The model for the implementation of the project follows the typical participatory action research cycle, which includes planning, action, observation and reflection (McNiff 2002). The function of PAR is here taken as Braye and McDonell (2013, 269) argue, to “get the people affected by a problem together, figure out what is going on as a group, and then do something about it”. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings During the spring of 2017, the project will have run its first phase. In this phase of the project, the families, the prechool teachers, the children, preschool leaders and members of the municipal administration will have had the opportunity to formulate their concerns and discuss them in groups. For adults, focus groups with participants from each category will be carried out, that is, one with staff, another with management and a third with families. To get an insight to the children’s perspectives, we will use suitable methods adapted to the specific group of children. This presupposes a child-centred approach that fits within the children’s play and daily activities. The approach of using groups will give the participants in each category the opportunity to share and formulate problems, which in turn will give the project perspectives and experiences from the various groups of participants. An anticipated challenge is that the families live in different neighbourhoods, which limits opportunities for informal contacts between them. The staff and management of the preschool have identified some challenges and problems, but also strengths that the section and the preschool face in relation to the children’s learning and development. They see that although multilingualism can be considered an asset, the multilingualism in itself doesn’t create the dynamics in which learning opportunities and development can take place, something that also Kultti (2014) has observed in her research on how to deal with newly arrived children with a first language differing from the majority language.
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