| 1. |
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A school for all : Special issue
- 2020
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- A special Issue of Nordic Journal of Studies on Education Policy, with contributions of among others, Mel Ainskow, Peder Haug, Michel Knigge, Lise Roll-Petersson, Kajsa Falkner, Christian Ydesen, Daniel Östlund, Thomas Barow.
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| 2. |
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Autonomy in education: theoretical and empirical approaches to a contested concept : Special issue to Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy (NordSTEP)
- 2015
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- Autonomy is a widely used concept in education policy and practice. The etymology of the concept derives from the Greek autonomos ‘having its own laws’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2015). As such, the debates around the concept circulate around individuals’ or groups’ ability and capacity to self-rule, and the governance and/or constraints, which limit such a capacity. However, autonomy has also been widely contested in philosophy, and as suggested by Rawls (1980), for example, the concept has been defined in a variety of ways. In educational research too, the concept has been debated from varying viewpoints, as, for example, scholars engaged in education history (Smaller, 2015), education sociology and policy (Ball, 2006; Apple, 2002), legal issues (Berka, 2000) and pedagogy (Reinders, 2010; Little, 1995) have all problematised and defined its meaning in relation to education.When applied to educational practice, this nuanced and complex concept may indeed mean a variety of things. Take school-level autonomy as an example. Schools are complicated social systems in which multiple actors operate in different roles, and in which one's scope of action may affect the decision-making capacity of that of others. The question of who in a school community may possess autonomy (e.g. the teachers, the principals, or the learners) has fundamental implications for the ways in which the school operates. Also, the matters over which the members of the school community enjoy autonomy have important implications for what school autonomy means in practice. If we consider teacher autonomy more closely, it becomes apparent that teacher autonomy is often understood in terms of a dichotomous pairing of constraint vs. freedom (Wermke & Höstfält, 2014). It could be argued that teacher autonomy is always about constraint, and drawing from Gewirtz's and Cribb's (2009) work, we suggest focussing on the ways in which autonomy is constrained, as well as the matters over which autonomy is enjoyed and by whom. Therefore, teacher autonomy should be distinguished from other forms of autonomy, for example, school or local autonomy. Indeed, increased school autonomy, or local autonomy, as witnessed, for example, in relation to the Friskola movement in Sweden or Academies movement in England, does not automatically grant to teachers an increased scope of action (Kauko & Salokangas, 2015; Salokangas & Chapman, 2014; Wermke & Höstfält, 2014).Moreover, the teacher autonomy debate has been influenced by and reflects wider global education trends and international comparisons. Indeed, autonomy has been a central concept in education policy in Nordic countries (Frostenson, 2012) as well as elsewhere (Caldwell, 2008; Glatter, 2012). Recently, this could be seen, for example, in relation to ‘PISA envy’, and the ways in which Finland's consistent success in PISA has been explained, at least partly, through its highly educated and autonomous teaching workforce (Lopez, 2012; Stenlås, 2011). However, as the contributions in this issue highlight, international comparisons concerning teacher autonomy must remain sensitive to the national and local contexts in which teachers operate, and consider what autonomy actually means for teachers in those settings (Salokangas & Kauko, in press; Wermke, 2013).It is these complexities, inherent in the concept of autonomy, as well as its practical applications, that this edited collection was set to discuss and offer contributions to varied discourses concerning this important, widely debated, and contested concept. The special issue is divided into two sections. The first section presents three invited essays that offer theoretical perspectives on autonomy. The first two, by Gerald Dworkin and Evert Vedung, respectively, are not educational per se, but offer important conceptual contributions to the discussion. The third essay by Magnus Frostenson discusses the multidimensionality of the concept with a focus on education and teaching. The second section comprises empirical studies that discuss the concept of autonomy in different national and local contexts. The articles report on research conducted in Norway (Christina Elde Mølstadt & Sølvi Mausethagen), Germany (Martin Heinrich), Sweden (Sara Maria Sjödin, Andreas Bergh, Ulf Lundström) and England (Ruth McGinity).
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| 3. |
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Autonomy in education: theoretical and empirical approaches to a contested concept : Special Issue of Nordic Journal on Studies on Educational Policy, NordSTEP
- 2015
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- Autonomy is a widely used concept in educationpolicy and practice. The etymology of the con-cept derives from the Greekautonomos‘havingits own laws’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2015). As such, thedebates around the concept circulate around individuals’or groups’ ability and capacity to self-rule, and the gov-ernance and/or constraints, which limit such a capacity.However, autonomy has also been widely contestedin philosophy, and as suggested by Rawls (1980), forexample, the concept has been defined in a variety ofways. In educational research too, the concept has beendebated from varying viewpoints, as, for example, scholarsengaged in education history (Smaller, 2015), educationsociology and policy (Ball, 2006; Apple, 2002), legalissues (Berka, 2000) and pedagogy (Reinders, 2010; Little,1995) have all problematised and defined its meaning inrelation to education.When applied to educational practice, this nuanced andcomplex concept may indeed mean a variety of things.Take school-level autonomy as an example. Schools arecomplicated social systems in which multiple actorsoperate in different roles, and in which one’s scope ofaction may affect the decision-making capacity of that ofothers. The question of who in a school community maypossess autonomy (e.g. the teachers, the principals, or thelearners) has fundamental implications for the ways inwhich the school operates. Also, the matters over whichthe members of the school community enjoy autonomyhave important implications for what school autonomymeans in practice. If we consider teacher autonomy moreclosely, it becomes apparent that teacher autonomy isoften understood in terms of a dichotomous pairing ofconstraint vs. freedom (Wermke & Ho ̈stfa ̈lt, 2014). Itcould be argued that teacher autonomy isalwaysaboutconstraint, and drawing from Gewirtz’s and Cribb’s (2009)work, we suggest focussing on the ways in which auto-nomy is constrained, as well as the matters over whichautonomy is enjoyed and by whom. Therefore, teacherautonomy should be distinguished from other formsof autonomy, for example, school or local autonomy.Indeed, increased school autonomy, or local autonomy, aswitnessed, for example, in relation to theFriskolamove-ment in Sweden orAcademiesmovement in England, doesnot automatically grant to teachers an increased scopeof action (Kauko & Salokangas, 2015; Salokangas &Chapman, 2014; Wermke & Ho ̈stfa ̈lt, 2014).Moreover, the teacher autonomy debate has beeninfluenced by and reflects wider global education trendsand international comparisons. Indeed, autonomy hasbeen a central concept in education policy in Nordiccountries (Frostenson, 2012) as well as elsewhere (Caldwell,2008; Glatter, 2012). Recently, this could be seen, forexample, in relation to ‘PISA envy’, and the ways inwhich Finland’s consistent success in PISA has beenexplained, at least partly, through its highly educated andautonomous teaching workforce (Lopez, 2012; Stenla ̊s,2011). However, as the contributions in this issue high-light, international comparisons concerning teacher auto-nomy must remain sensitive to the national and localcontexts in which teachers operate, and consider whatautonomy actually means for teachers in those settings(Salokangas & Kauko, in press; Wermke, 2013).It is these complexities, inherent in the concept ofautonomy, as well as its practical applications, that thisedited collection was set to discuss and offer contribu-tions to varied discourses concerning this important,widely debated, and contested concept. The special issueis divided into two sections. The first section presentsthree invited essays that offer theoretical perspectives onautonomy. The first two, by Gerald Dworkin and EvertVedung, respectively, are not educationalper se, but offerimportant conceptual contributions to the discussion.The third essay by Magnus Frostenson discusses the multi-dimensionality of the concept with a focus on educationand teaching. The second section comprises empiricalstudies that discuss the concept of autonomy in differentnational and local contexts. The articles report on researchconducted in Norway (Christina Elde Mølstadt & SølviMausethagen), Germany (Martin Heinrich), Sweden(Sara Maria Sjo ̈din, Andreas Bergh, Ulf Lundstro ̈m)and England (Ruth McGinity).
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Curriculum versus Didaktik revisited: towards a transnational curriculum theory : A special issue of Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, NordSTEP
- 2015. - 1
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- This special issue collects papers presented at the Fifth Nordic Curriculum Theory Conference that took place at Uppsala University, Sweden, on 23 and 24 October 2013. Around 60 researchers from all the Nordic countries gathered to discuss the challenges presented by the emergence of curriculum theory over the past 20 years. This issue is devoted to approaches which theorise curriculum from both novel and revitalised perspectives. In doing so, it aims to elaborate on analytical instruments for the understanding of our object of study in a globalising world. There have been explicit expressions of desire for a transnational curriculum theory which might satisfy a need for devices that contribute to an under- standing of how public education is reshaped, at a time when earlier reference frames, such as the nation state systems which took a Westphalian form, are undergoing transformation within highly interdependent transna- tional spaces. This issue presents, in particular, approaches that on the one hand provide possible analytical as well as empirical means which have the potential to sharpen our arguments and deepen the discussion on curriculum from a transnational perspective. On the contrary, the ap- proaches illustrate the value of curriculum theory to other fields of research, such as comparative and international education.
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| 5. |
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Curriculum versus Didaktik revisited: towards a transnational curriculum theory : Special Issue to Nordic Journal of Studies on Educational Policy, NordSTEP
- 2015
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Proceedings (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- First, we focus on the relation between the phenomena of curriculum theory and didaktik, which in some way recalls the origins of our field, a recollection of the rela- tionship between curriculum and didaktik, or as further on and synonymously, called Didaktik, as interrelated research interests. Both betray the complexity of the phenomenon on which they focus, that is, public educa- tion. In recent years, there have been several endeavours which have attempted to contribute to the understanding of the political factors which influence public education. We have witnessed the ongoing observation of transna- tional spaces and fields, the expression of a convergence, a reassembling of the world, built on the foundations of transnational policy, and indeed scientific networks (Nordin & Sundberg, 2014). However, a complementary focus on Didaktik also reminds us that while policy might change, the practice often remains static, and vice versa (Anderson-Levitt, 2007). The Didaktik versus Curriculum Network was established over 20 years ago by Stefan Hopmann, Ian Westbury, Bjo ̈rg Gundem and colleagues to improve understanding and to develop analytical instruments concerning the relation between the organisa- tion of schooling in its nation-specific context. Their ideas and their subsequent development were a primary focus of the conference.Education takes place through curriculum enacted in specific classrooms in specific schools and universities, in specific neighbourhoods in specific municipalities. We must therefore conceptualise curriculum in relation to the different sites where it takes place. Here, we can also return to a historical recollection of the Nordic field, in particular, of curriculum theory, which draws significantly on the work of Basil Bernstein. His thoughts on how instruction is controlled by pace, sequence and selection (Bernstein, 1971) relate to the idea of didactical planning (Klafki, 2000). Moreover, the reasoning of Bernstein (1971) on code and message systems, that is, pedagogy, curriculum and evaluation can contribute to a further understanding of how different sites, from a national and transnational perspective, are interrelated.The ideas of Bernstein (1971) about framing and classifying finally lead us to the second theme of this special issue: the matter of spacing and scaling. In times where, through globalisation, the space of schooling is apparently being stretched and extended, our theorising needs to demonstrate a deep awareness of the concepts and devices which we apply when we consider this issue, in particular, the spatial aspects of the term ‘transnational’. Stated differently, we need strong analytical devices to theorise where public education takes place, where it is governed from, or where it takes its inspiration from. However, we must also consider how spaces are con- structed beyond a transnational policy sphere (cf. Nordin & Sundberg, 2014), which also points to the relational aspect of ‘transnational’, who decides in favour of whom, about what and why?One final aspect of this issue should also be mentioned here. We are not concerned with the question of whether certain modes of coping with transnational curriculum issues are more or less sophisticated. We theorise rather how something takes form: which problems are identified, which solutions are preferred in which contexts and why? The use of the term context here covers all the levels, spaces, fields and spheres of public education: transna- tional, national, municipal, school or university level.The issue is divided into three sections: First we present the keynotes of the conference (Section 1), followed by Section 2, which concerns the revitalisation of the curricu- lum/didaktik relations. Section 3, Space reconsidered: Reframing curriculum theory, is the final part of this issue.For the sake of clarification, the terms Didaktik and didactics are used synonymously in the articles of this issue.
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| 6. |
- Forsberg, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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Knowledge sources and autonomy : German and Swedish teachers’ continuing professional development of assessment knowledge
- 2012
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Ingår i: Professional Development in Education. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1941-5257 .- 1941-5265. ; 38:5, s. 741-758
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article presents a comparative study of German and Swedish teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) in relation to student assessment. It investigates the sources teachers use to improve their knowledge about assessment and the relationship this has to different national contexts. Assessment, as well as evaluation, defines what counts as valid knowledge and how this can be measured. As such, assessment is a major focus of teaching and specifies constraints and possibilities for teacher practice in the classroom. Teachers are seen as agents in a regulated CPD marketplace, and within this framework teachers make decisions about the knowledge sources they use to educate themselves about assessment. These choices can be seen as expressions of what they perceive as important and relevant in relation to assessment. We argue that this expression of opinion can contribute to an understanding of teachers’ professional autonomy, especially in relation to their decisions about a crucial aspect of their profession. In this way, we propose a way to conceptualize the impact of the national context on teachers’ CPD.
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| 7. |
- Freier, Ronny, et al.
(författare)
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Juridification and regulative failures. The complicated implementation of international law into national schools
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of education policy. - 0268-0939 .- 1464-5106. ; 39:1, s. 83-104
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper starts with the increasing discussions on juridification in education. Concerning theorizing on such processes, we examine the poor implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD (2008) in the school sector of Germany. The paper considers the reasons for this failed endeavor by analyzing the complex, multilevel relations between policy and law in different national and historical contexts. With this, aspects of juridification as a process in education policy can be illuminated. In this regard, we suggest crucial aspects regarding juridification in public education: a focus on regulative failures in juridification processes, juridification's contexts, the mandate for putting it into action, the allocation of resources, and finally, its objective and subjective rights dimensions, i.e. how an individual can claim rights within the machinery of public education.
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| 9. |
- Kauko, Jaakko, et al.
(författare)
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The Contingent Sense-Making of Contingency : Epistemologies of Change in Comparative Education
- 2018
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Ingår i: Comparative Education Review. - : University of Chicago Press. - 0010-4086 .- 1545-701X. ; 62:2, s. 157-177
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article we set out to broaden the scope of comparative education in relation to change. Following what various scholars have already shown, we argue that the world we are exploring is contingent, as too is comparative research, reflecting particular epistemological perspectives. We use this dual focus on contingency and analyze the differences among epistemological understandings of change in a strategic sample of three theoretical traditions in comparative education: borrowing and lending (specifically cross-national attraction), the world culture approach, and the functional-cum-configurational model. We argue that the borderlines of the different traditions emerge from their different epistemological starting points, relating to how they cope with complexity and resulting in different methodological consequences. We conclude that comparative education should both be more aware of the contingency of its sense-making and bolder in theorizing complex contexts.
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| 10. |
- Kirsten, Nils, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Governing teachers by professional development : State programmes for continuing professional development in Sweden since 1991
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Curriculum Studies. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0022-0272 .- 1366-5839. ; 49:3, s. 391-411
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this article is to analyse how teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) contributes to the government of the teaching profession. This is done by examining the CPD initiatives organised by two Swedish national educational agencies since 1991 involving the school subjects of Swedish (standard language education) and mathematics. Four programmes of professional development are identified in the investigated material, each motivated by specific conceptions of teachers and professional development. One important trend is that agency engagement in teachers’ CPD and school development has increased over time and that CPD programmes have become more prescriptive and elaborate in their use of evaluations. While this may result in a more standardised and centrally governed teaching profession, centrally governed initiatives could also provide teachers with professional arenas for developing ideas without being influenced by local school management.
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