| 11. |
- Lindblad, Sverker, 1946, et al.
(author)
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Quality and Relevance in educational research assessments - Some reflections on the role of research in processes of expertizing educational change : Contribution to ECER 2014, Porto The Past, Present and Future of Educational Research in Europe
- 2014
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In: http://www.eera-ecer.de/ecer-programmes.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In accordance with the scientific enterprise at large, educational research is considered to be of increased importance - for the improvement of education and for the possibilities of social and economical developments. But as funding has its limits (Ziman,1994) this has also meant increases in demands and pressures on educational research to conduct according to what is needed and asked for – e.g. to be relevant (Besley, 2009). But how are decision over needs taken and how are the balance between research relevance and research quality handled, and with what consequences? These are questions addressed in this paper whose main aim is to reflect on the role of research in processes of expertizing educational change. Reflection means here to rethink (to reconceptualise) what already has been altered in a period of time where educational research and educational research policy are increasingly run by global agendas (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010) and where changes in epistemologies could be expected to follow changes in research assessments and research practices. Method The study addresses questions of research quality and research relevance from a perspective where images of differences between “external” and “internal” quality standards play a vital, but different, role in different forms of assessment of educational research (see Boaz & Ashby, 2003). This external/internal divide are here seen from a perspective of social epistemology (Fuller, 2002), and the paper analyse and exemplify the performativity and translations of these divides and its conceptual specificities as they are performed. Our analyses are based on different sources - selections of policy documents as well as selections of research assessment procedures from selected Research Councils. The paper is to be seen as an extension – and a conceptual rethinking - of our previous studies on the politics of assessments of educational research in Sweden (Foss Lindblad, Lindblad & Popkewitz, 2009), Norway (Lindblad, 2013) and Australia (Lindblad & Foss Lindblad, 2013). Expected Outcomes Our findings indicate, firstly, that the conceptual ambiguities of quality and relevance in educational research assessments are founded in epistemological terrains that mirror differences in the roles given to research in the processes of expertizing educational changes. While our empirical cases (Sweden, Norway and Australia) gives clear evidence for the fact that, secondly, such differences makes a difference also for the agenda setting of research priorities and the actual funding of research, the situation could also be seen as one where, thirdly, the external/internal divides conceptually hidden in ideas about scientific quality and scientific relevance demonstrates that struggles over different kinds of research has other dimensions than those addressed in the discussions on evidence-based research (Hammersley, 2007) and/or questions on qualitative vs. quantitative research (Denzin, Lincoln & Giardina, 2006). Disciplinary differences are important here – as are questions of the future of educational research (see Furlon & Lawn, 2011) and we will here take a clear stance for the importance of disciplines, and disciplinary crossings, in processes of expertizing educational change. References Boaz, A. & Ashby, D. (2003). Fit for purpose? Assessing research quality for evidence based policy and practice. Retrieved 2014, from ESRC UK Centre for Evidence Based Policy. Besley, T. (2009). Assessing the Quality of educational research in higher education: International perspectives. Sense Publishers. Denzin, N: Lincoln, Y & M Giardina,. (2006). Disciplining qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. Vol. 19, No 6. Pp. 769 – 782. Fuller, Steven (2002). Social Epistemology. Indiana University Press. Furlong, J. & Lawn, M. (2011). Disciplines of Education. The role in the future of educational research. London & New York: Routledge. Hammersley, M (Ed.) (2007). Educational evidence-based practices. London:Sage. Lindblad, S. ; Bergviken Rensfeldt, A. ; Jensen, B. et al. (2013). Evaluering av forskningsprogrammene PRAKSISFOU og UTDANNING 2020. Oslo: Norges Forskningsråd. Foss Lindblad, R. ; Lindblad, S. ; Popkewitz, T. S. (2009). Narratives on Educational Research Evaluation in Sweden. Besley, A.C (Ed): Asessing the Quality of Educational Research in Higher Education. s. 279-292. Rotterdam: Sense Publications Lindblad, S. & Foss Lindblad, R. (2013). Educational Research: the State of Sweden and the Australian 2.2 world. The Australian Educational Researcher. 40 (4) s. 527-534. Rizvi F. & Lingard, B. (2010). Globalizing Education Policy. New York: Routledge. Ziman, J.M. (1994). Prometheus Bound: Science in a Dynamic Steady State. Cambridge: University Press.
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| 12. |
- Lindblad, Sverker, 1946, et al.
(author)
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The governance of peers : Contribution to the symposium What is excellence? – Markets, the transnational turn and Nordic higher education policy.
- 2013
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In: Nordic Educational Research Association, Congress 2013. Paper presented at a symposium What is excellence? – Markets, the transnational turn and Nordic higher education policy? Organized by John Benedicto Krejsler and Sverker Lindblad.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Swedish case in a globalized context; This paper address governance by performances in Higher Education Institutions by discussing two strategies for assessing research quality, PeerReview systems and systems of performance indicators. While systems of performance indicators are of later date and has its origin in newer forms of governance, it has nevertheless usually been discussed as a system that operates on the same rationalities as the Peer-review system. Research excellence is for example still considered based on principles and norms such as those of originality and rigour, only translated into quantified figures. However, the translation of values between the two system is, we will argue, far from neutral and its significance has more to do with governance than with values per se, and, as we will argue, changes in governance includes the governance of peers. This will be the radical difference. We will here refer to the history of reviews of educational research in Sweden and to a context of changing research policies in a higher education and research system (Parliament bill 2012/13:30) that is based on increased competition of research funds. This we will put into the context of higher education and research as a system of different higher education institutions, such as university colleges and universities with large research funds.
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| 13. |
- Goodson, Ivor, et al.
(author)
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Developing a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Professional Knowledge
- 2011
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In: Professional Knowledge and Educational Restructuring in Europe. - Rotterdam : Sense Publishers. - 9789460913778 ; , s. 99-110
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Our conceptual framework tries to capture the complexities which arise when different national and regional contexts intersect with different professional settings and generational and historical periodisations. To try to interrogate the complexities of this juxtaposition we have focussed on two levels of analysis – what we call systems narratives, the policy discourses which emanate from governing agencies and work life narratives, the viewpoints presented by practitioner teachers and nurses. By collecting and analysing these two kinds of narratives we can provide a specific snapshot of the complexities of context, profession and generation. Since our objective is to develop a complex conceptual framework we chose this narrative focus very carefully. It built on the strengths of the research team which included international experts on life history studies and generational analysis. Moreover it provided crucial insights into how restructuring initiatives emanating from governments intersect with the work life perceptions and narrative accounts of practitioners in the field. We judged that this intersection is crucial in developing our conceptual understanding of how restructuring works in the zone of professional knowledge.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Hansen, Michael, 1964, et al.
(author)
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Educational Research Communication and Research Organization: International Research Arenas in a Scandinavian Welfare State Context
- 2011
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In: Paper presented at the AERA-meeting in New Orleans, April 7-13, 2011.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The study analyzes publication patterns in Swedish educational research. The aim of the study was to capture the total publication output of a sample (N=653) of educational researchers in order to analyze the wide variety of publication work in education. The researchers in the study were identified as educational researchers through their applications for funding of educational research, at the two largest bodies for funding of research in Sweden. A total of 4172 publications have been categorized into ten publication types or formats (e.g, books, research articles, newspaper articles). The peer-reviewed articles were found to be distributed across a large number of journals. The articles were analyzed in terms of the prestige level of the publishing journals.
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| 16. |
- Hansen, Michael, 1964, et al.
(author)
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Forskningskommunikation och publiceringsmönster inom utbildningsvetenskap: En studie av svensk utbildningsvetenskaplig forskning vid tre lärosäten (Vetenskapsrådets Rapportserie Nr 10:2010)
- 2010
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Rapporten redovisar en undersökning av forskningskommunikation inom utbildningsvetenskap. Utgångspunkten är de drygt 2200 forskare som 2001- 2007 medverkat i minst en ansökan om forskningsanslag hos Vetenskapsrådets utbildningsvetenskapliga kommitté eller på annat sätt sökt medel hos Vetenskapsrådet, för pedagogisk forskning. Drygt 650 av dessa forskare var knutna till något av universiteten i Göteborg, Linköping eller Umeå under perioden. En stor andel av forskarna kommer från ämnen eller institutioner som förknippas med utbildningsvetenskap, d.v.s. pedagogik och didaktik (ca 40%). Signifikanta andelar av de sökande hör emellertid hemma utanför det traditionella utbildningsvetenskapliga fältet. För de ca 650 forskarna i urvalet har vi inhämtat uppgifter om deras publicering under perioden 2004-2008. Drygt 4000 publikationer har identifierats. Vetenskapliga och fackgranskade artiklar svarar mot 23 procent av publikationerna, medan böcker och bokkapitel utgör närmare 30 procent. Knappt 25 procent utgörs av konferensbidrag i någon form, medan olika typer av rapporter utgör åtta procent och doktorsavhandlingar knappt två procent. Vi finner små skillnader mellan mäns och kvinnors publiceringsmönster. För två lärosäten har vi kartlagt publiceringens internationella orientering. Rapporten redovisar urvalets publicering i vetenskapliga tidskrifter. Det rör sig om nästan 1000 artiklar fördelade på mer än 500 tidskrifter. Vi har undersökt tidskrifternas ämnesinriktning, indexering i Thomson/ISI:s databas Web of Science samt deras nivåklassning enligt den s.k. norska modellen. Det stora antalet tidskrifter kan ses som ett uttryck för att svensk utbildningsvetenskaplig forskning har breda kontaktytor inom forskarsamhället. Men man kan också misstänka att det finns tendenser till fragmentering inom detta forskarsamhälle. Vi påvisar viktiga brister hos de bibliometriska index som ligger till grund för kvalitetsbedömning av utbildningsvetenskaplig forskning och för fördelning av forskningsresurser, framför allt Thomson/ISI:s citeringsdatabas Web of Science. För pedagogik/utbildning, humaniora och samhällsvetenskap är 30-60 procent av de använda tidskrifterna indexerade. Rapporten avslutas med en diskussion av villkoren för vetenskaplig kommunikation inom utbildningsvetenskap. Förslag ges till fortsatta analyser av publiceringsmönster och forskningskommunikation inom området.
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| 17. |
- Hansen, Michael, 1964, et al.
(author)
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On the social and intellectual organization of educational research communication in Sweden. : A contribution to the SWERA symposium at the NERA Congress in Copenhagen, March 2012
- 2012
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In: http://nera2012.au.dk/scientificprogramme.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study deals with changing communication patterns in relation to changes in governance of higher education. Vital for research organization and development is research publication and communication. How is educational research in Sweden dealing with these issues and what are the implications of that for the positioning of research at education departments? The present study aimed to analyze publication patterns in Swedish educational research by capturing the total publication output of a sample of Swedish researchers in education. The researchers in the study were identified as researchers- from different disciplines and faculties - through their applications for funding for educational studies at the two largest bodies for funding of research in Sweden. Of these were 42 percent from educational research in a more precise meaning, i.e. from education departments or from teacher education. Thus, we can compare publication patterns in educational research (e.g. in pedagogic, didaktik, pedagogisktarbete etc.) comparared to research in other disciplines (political science, sociology, history) doing research in education as a field of study. A total of more than four thousand publications were categorized into ten publication types or formats (e.g. books, research articles, newspaper articles) and the articles were analyzed in terms of the prestige level of the journals. The results are showing that educational research is using a number of publication genres, having a rather unfocused journal publication pattern (though with Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research and Pedagogisk Forskning i Sverige as most frequently selected journals), using more of Swedish as a publication language, and rather seldom using ISI web of science journals in their publications. This publication pattern is discussed in relation current changes in research policy and in relation to different strategies in research communication in order to change the social and intellectual organization of Swedish educational research in an Nordic and international context.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Houtsonen, Jarmo, et al.
(author)
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Welfare State Restructuring in Education and its National Refractions Finnish, Irish and Swedish Teachers' Perceptions of Current Changes
- 2010
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In: Current Sociology. - : SAGE Publications. - 0011-3921 .- 1461-7064. ; 58:4, s. 597-622
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The governance of the welfare state is going through profound transformations in many western countries. Similarly, reforms, influenced by neoliberal ideology, are being applied particularly in the field of education all over Europe. However, it is likely that there are divergent outcomes as these widely shared models are adapted in historical and local particularities. The aim of this article is to examine how Finnish, Irish and Swedish teachers perceive change in professional control and autonomy, and the influence of documentation and evaluation on daily work. Correspondence analysis on survey data (N = 2304) shows that whereas the Finnish teachers regard that the new regulatory measures do not influence their daily work much, the Irish teachers, and also the Swedish teachers, tend to feel the increasing influence of control and accountability. Obviously, despite the similarities in formal policy and education acts, there are different kinds of restructuring operating in Finland, Ireland and Sweden.
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| 20. |
- Jarl, Maria, 1973, et al.
(author)
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Studying the political in communication on school results and school organization
- 2011
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In: Presenterad på NERA 2011 (Nordic Educational Research Association), Jyväskylä, Finland, 10-12 mars..
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During the last decades the Swedish educational system has undergone a ‘performative turn’ (Lindblad, 2010). However, it is yet to be empirically investigated if, and if so in what ways, this performative turn has an effect on the organization of schools. This paper deals with the politics of school results and student performances as a communicative system (cf. Luhmann, 2006). It is part of an ongoing project, “School results and the lived curricula in contemporary society” at Gothenburg University. The main aim of the paper is to discuss how schools manage school results and student performances. More specifically, we want to elaborate on a system theoretical framework (Luhmann, 1995) for understanding the implications of governing by results on organizational structure and behavior within schools (cf. Hacking, 2004). We refer to both formal and informal aspects of information systems within schools: Which are the central documents and forms developed in order to keep track of student performances? Which routines and practices for dealing with student performances are institutionalized within the school (c.f. Power, 1999)?
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