Bør vi holde oss med norsk som pedagogisk fagspråk? I denne teksten skrives det frem noen mulige svar på dette spørsmålet. Men hvis ikke norsk, så engelsk? Svar på om, og hvorvidt, engelsk er å foretrekke som pedagogisk fagspråk, vurderes også i teksten som følger. Teksten er eller representerer en tankegang, det vil si en utvidet refleksjon, når det gjelder språkformen til norske pedagoger. Hovedspørsmålet som stilles, er: Hvorfor det ene – og hvorfor (ikke) det andre? Det fremkommer ikke så mange resultater (eller funn) i teksten; den er snarere en invitasjon til å tenke med, eller mot, noen av de oppfatninger som presenteres.
The purpose of this article is to examine the position of English, neighbor languages and the teaching of neighbor languages in the different levels of education. Also, the intention is to find out what status the neighbor languages and English have in research and teaching. To describe the co-existence of English and the Scandinavian languages, the article starts out by explaining the concepts of ‘parallel languages’ and ‘linguistic domain/domain loss’. In the continuation one finds chapters on the use of English and the Scandinavian languages in research and teaching. The article ends with a review on the teaching of neighbor languages in the primary and secondary schools. The main conclusion is that English has become the most important language in the publication of peer-reviewed research literature. However, the national languages still have an important role to play on different levels in the research process. Since the internationalization and globalization of the universities in the 1990s English has also become much more visible in university teaching. The number of international students has increased quite a bit which has prompted more courses and fields of study in English. As a counterpoise to this development the politicians in Denmark have sat a ceiling for the numbers of international students at the universities of Denmark. This resulted in a ‘de-internationalization’ and development of a specific language policy on the universities, where focus is especially on the use of parallel languages. In the Nordic region, the Scandinavian languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish) are understood as natural neighbor languages. In generations people from these countries have been able to understand each other using their own tongue. Today, it looks like it is not the case though the neighboring languages are taught as a mandatory subject in all three countries. On the contrary, it seems as if English is used as an important auxiliary language at the expense of the Scandinavian languages.
In this article one finds a short introduction to the articles in this special volume. In the continuation of the article is about important priorities made during the last 60-70 years implementing English as a lingua franca. With reference to the theory of Pierre Bourdieu about language as a symbolic power, one can understand the English language as a powerful language in the academic world. Especially when it comes to publication of peer reviewed materials as English today is the most preferred publication language. This fact raises a question about the quality of the text, as Scandinavian academics do not learn English as a mother tongue but as a foreign language. Writing an English text in an academic language does make it difficult for many Scandinavian academics. Today, one might find a solution to this by using new technology, e.g. digital translation programs and artificial intelligence. However, one must ascertain that by enforcing such digital solutions the foundation for text production, translation and teaching is changing fiercely. A situation that is challenging for both researchers and teachers. The last part of the article is about neighbor languages in the Scandinavian region and the necessity of developing a parallel language understanding both when using the Scandinavian languages and when using English.
An increasingly smaller proportion of scientific publications written by Norwegian researchers are published in Norwegian. In this essay, the authors argue that this is a problem – both for the Norwegian language and for research itself. They also claim that using, developing, and thereby preserving Norwegian as a research language has an intrinsic value that far outweighs the potential benefit of reaching a larger audience through English-language publishing. The argument rests on the idea that research and dissemination are two sides of the same coin, and that language and thought are inseparable: Without a language the researcher masters well, thought becomes hesitant and imprecise. According to the authors, both the subject matter and the context are decisive for which language is most suitable and for the text’s ability to reach interested and critical readers. The premise that English-language publications always reach a larger international audience is not taken for granted. When research addresses welfare arrangements that are locally rooted and politically enacted, the opposite may be true. The value of scientific texts having literary qualities is an additional argument for why researchers, whose mother tongue is Norwegian should publish research in Norwegian – not only in English.
This article explores how school leaders work to develop inclusive practices in a Norwegian municipality. Based on interviews and observations, the study uses a qualitative design and reflexive thematic analysis. Findings show that school leaders play a key role in creating a shared culture for inclusion through reflection, collective values, and professional collaboration. The study highlights tensions between policy and practice and shows how leaders may support inclusive education through cultural and structural initiatives.
The integrated five-year master’s program in initial teacher education was introduced in Norway in 2017 to promote the gradual development of students’ research and development (R&D) competence. The master’s thesis is designed to be research-based, profession-oriented, and closely linked to practice. This study explores how the integrated program influences students’ R&D competence and learning outcomes. Data were collected through group interviews with 15 students across four subjects: Norwegian, Christianity and other religious and ethical education (CREE), Natural Sciences, and Professional Pedagogy. Findings indicate that R&D-related learning activities are fragmented and that structural conditions constrain competence development. While the master’s thesis strengthens research-based knowledge, it appears to have limited impact on recruitment processes. The study suggests that when master’s work is firmly anchored in classroom practice, it can play a significant role in students’ professional development.
This article explores how absence influences children’s participation during the transition from kindergarten to school. Using a critical realist framework, the study draws on interviews with four children and their mothers, conducted across different settings and times during the first school year. The findings reveal that absence – of play, materials, movement, relationships, and perceived competence – shapes children’s experiences. While absence can drive learning through curiosity and desire, it can also limit participation and foster alienation. The study concludes that recognizing and addressing these absences is essential for supporting children’s well-being and engagement during educational transitions.
This article explores the research question: How is change management practised in adult education? The findings indicate, first, an ongoing professionalisation of adult education (AE); second, issues related to security and tensions of meaning; third, processes of identity affirmation and culture-building within the collegium; and fourth, the empowerment of and communication with staff. The discussion illustrates how leaders navigate between structural and cultural factors within the organisation. By strengthening teachers’ autonomy and professional identity, leaders can facilitate constructive change processes. Consequently, change management in AE emerges not merely as a tool for incremental implementation, but as a dynamic practice aimed at developing sustainable, professional, and resilient adult education environments for the future.
The study explores three challenges: the gap between theoretical education and practical training, the lack of digital didactics in teacher education, and the tension between offering meaningful leisure time and achieving educational goals in SAEC. The study explores how SAEC teacher students can be prepared to design scientifically based hybrid learning activities. Grounded in Design for Learning theory, students participated in theoretical and practical lessons and designed hybrid learning activities at a SAEC center. Data from written reflections and interviews show that students were able to connect theory to practice and expressed a willingness to design similar activities in their future careers, as they viewed these activities as a way to integrate planned learning activities with pupils’ interests. These findings highlight the importance of preparing SAEC teacher students, both theoretically and practically, to design hybrid learning activities.
This study examines how early childhood teacher students experience and evaluate the relevance of their education. The study has a qualitative approach and is based on nine focus group interviews with a total of 30 students. The study shows that students experience that education prepares them well for working life. The material also reflects two different attitudes students have related to how they evaluate education on a more general level; the students who see working life as a benchmark for education, and the students who have a critical view of what they describe as an education with an instrumental character.
Based on a discussion of Nordic research literature on environmental and sustainability education (ESE), this article explores the understandings of sustainability, purposes of ESE and curricular content characterising the research field. The study draws on Nordic studies identified in a scoping review of ESE research studies and presents a critical discussion of specific features and gaps in Nordic ESE research, encompassing the underrepresentation of economic dimensions of sustainability. It furthermore finds that there is a tension between Nordic ESE research perspectives emphasising democracy and political formation and Nordic sustainability policy for the educational sector emphasising competitiveness and economic growth.
This study examines how Norwegian first-year students in teacher education experience the subject of pedagogy and its importance for their professional development. The subject is to contribute to an understanding of teaching as a relationship-oriented profession and the development of knowledge about decision-making processes. In the study, 136 students reflected on the subject in a questionnaire. The results show that students consider the subject of pedagogy to be central, but not always useful. The study raises questions about how teacher education can better integrate students’ experiences in the development of teacher education to promote a deeper understanding of the teacher role and the need for continuous development of professional competence.
This article explores how arts-based programs in Danish schools and daycare centers support educators’ professional development through collaboration with professional artists. Although such programs primarily aim to enhance children’s creative engagement in arts, our data from the Danish KUMULT! initiative – a cultural arts-based program involving professional artists and children from daycare centers to 9th grade – reveal that teachers and pedagogues also experience unexpected professional development. Drawing on interviews, surveys, observations, and teacher reflections from institutions across six municipalities, we identify a phenomenon of unintended apprenticeship, where educators informally adopt new methods and perspectives through practice-based collaboration with artists. Using situated learning theory, we show how such programs revitalize teaching and support creative, practice-driven professional development.
This article examines how the organizational framework of the full-day school (years 1–4) conditions teachers’ professional development. We combine Klafki’s (2004) inner–outer distinction with Hargreaves & Fullan’s (2012) ‘professional capital’ to analyze how extended pupil time, meals, and activities shape teachers’ collaboration and planning. Based on eight individual interviews with teachers in a full-day school pilot (two school years), we applied a Stepwise-Deductive Inductive (SDI) analysis. Two themes emerged: (1) opportunities for collaboration, and (2) planning of practice. Our contribution is twofold: Conceptually, we integrate an inner–outer perspective with professional capital to illuminate how organizational expansion can unintentionally narrow pedagogical deliberation; empirically, we specify how time structures and team composition affect the development of social and decisional capital. Findings show that externally driven structural changes do not by themselves yield desired professional growth; rather, a careful coupling of external (organizational) and internal (pedagogical) design is required. A limitation is that we did not interview external stakeholders (e.g., leaders, assistants, policymakers); the analysis thus centres on teachers’ experiences. We discuss implications for school leadership and sustainable professional communities in full-day school settings.
This study develops and pilots the Attitudes towards Inclusive Education (AtIE) survey, addressing the need for comprehensive measurement of both implicit and explicit attitudes towards the conceptual ideals of inclusive education (IE). Adapting two well-evaluated measures for the AtIE, it is piloted with 46 Norwegian IE teacher-students. Results demonstrate psychometric quality and notable differences between implicit and explicit attitudes towards IE. Novel evaluations of the implicit measure show promise but areas for refinement. Through critical discussion and extensive appendix use, the AtIE may be valuable for understanding the complex nature of attitudes towards IE, benefiting both research and teacher education.
We have investigated the dynamics of Norwegian teacher educators’ professional digital competence at two teacher education institutions, using a mixed methods approach (online survey and follow-up interviews). Teacher educators use digital technology to enhance the pedagogical quality of learning activities, strengthening pre-service teachers’ professional digital competence, and efficiency. Teacher educators showed positive attitudes towards pedagogical use of digital technology and have high self-reported knowledge and skills regarding the use of digital technology. However, our findings indicate that there is a need to strengthen teacher educators’ professional digital competence regarding teaching about digital technology, rather than focusing on the use of digital technology. The quantitative survey data show that “knowledge & skills” is a significant predictor of teacher educators’ use of digital technology, and the qualitative interview data are used to explain why the teacher educators’ attitudes only serve as a predictor of digital technology use at one of the two teacher educator institutions in our study. Here, our study reveals a tension in the teacher educators’ agency, as the structure of study programs can alter their autonomy towards digital technology use, and we discuss this in relation to teacher educators’ application of professional digital competence within online education.
The purpose of this study was to gain insight into kindergarten principals’ and parents’ understanding of bullying and how they experience cooperating against it. In-depth interviews with three kindergarten principals and six parents in Norway were completed, and the material was analysed in light of Honneth’s theory of recognition and infringement. The principals and parents agree that bullying is a social exclusion process. At the same time, they associate bullying with characteristics of the individual, and they view the children’s experiences of bullying differently. The principals and parents experience challenges in their cooperation against bullying. In particular, the obligation of confidentiality is considered an obstacle.
This study investigated parents’ experiences of home–school collaboration in grades 1–9 via the digital platform Wilma, comparing the experiences between primary and lower secondary education. Parents (N = 558; 32.6% of whom were parents of pupils receiving special educational support) answered an online questionnaire. Pupils receiving special educational support got more daily Wilma markings than expected by chance alone. Parents, regardless of support and school level, found the markings rather beneficial. Wilma was perceived as a good technical tool, but as an ambiguous pedagogical tool that lacked common practices. The need for common guidelines for using Wilma is discussed.
This study from the National School Leadership Programme in Norway reports on digital coaching meetings in a session that included students who are school leaders, superintendents, and university supervisors. The aim was to investigate, through action research, how superintendents’ attendance at a digital coaching meeting contributed to both the students’ and the superintendents’ learning. According to the findings, both groups enhanced their learning in several ways. The findings thus provide insight into the potential for coaching as a new learning approach in collective knowledge building. A prerequisite is that the meeting must be well prepared and have a protocol.
Assessment literacy is an essential part of a teacher’s pedagogical competence in Finland, but is an area of challenge and tensions. It develops during the teacher’s entire career, and is both context-independent and linked to internal factors. Multidisciplinary learning in schools promotes learning based on student interests, and stimulates active student participation through the exploration of real-world phenomena. Assessment during multidisciplinary learning requires teachers to utilise active assessment practices, including a wide range of assessment competencies to ensure that module assessment corresponds with curriculum aims, enables student participation, and is carried out in a varied and ethically sustainable way. This type of future-focused competence in assessment practices is a challenging area where teachers need more essential knowledge. This study examines Finnish primary school teachers’ perceptions of assessment literacy, in the context of multidisciplinary learning in schools. The data was collected using a phenomenographic approach, and was based on semi-structured interviews (n = 15). According to the findings, solidly competent assessment literacy safeguards the ethics of assessment, and contributes to professional development, the management of assessment knowledge, and the implementation of varied assessment. The results of this study contribute new insights to the debate on assessment literacy. The results can be used to develop primary education and increase understanding of the assessment literacy of teachers and student teachers in both national and international contexts.
