Artikeln har sin utgångspunkt i en aktionsforskningspraktik som fokuserar skolledarskap i svenska småkommuner. Med stöd i teorin om praktikarkitekturer och en modell för etiskt ledarskap analyseras om, och i så fall hur, aktionsforskning kan stödja och villkora en etiskt förankrad praxisutveckling. Resultatet visar att aktionsforskning inte bara fungerar som en metod för att förändra praktiken utan också som ett sätt att stärka rektorernas förmåga till kritisk reflektion och etiska ställningstaganden. Genom att skapa strukturer för gemensam reflektion möjliggjorde aktionsforskningsprocessen en rörelse från individuella överväganden till gemensamma reflektioner, där en mer medveten och värdestyrd praxis utvecklades. Genom att tidigare handlingar och rutiner ifrågasattes skapades en reflexivitet som bidrog till att bryta invanda mönster och öppna för förändring. Studien visar också hur rektorers förståelse för sitt ledarskap fördjupas när det sätts i relation till såväl lokala villkor som skolans värdegrund. Det finns därmed inte ett universellt sätt att leda, utan det måste anpassas till varje skolas specifika sammanhang, resurser och relationer. ENGLISH ABSTRACT Together for Praxis Development: An Action Research Study with Principals in Small Municipalities The article is based on an action research practice focusing on school leadership in Swedish municipalities with small populations. Drawing on the theory of practice architectures and a model for ethical leadership, the study analyzes whether, and if so how, action research can support and condition the development of ethically grounded praxis. The results show that action research functions not only as a method for transforming practice but also as a means of strengthening principals’ capacity for critical reflection and ethical decision-making. By creating structures for shared reflection, the action research process enabled a shift from individual considerations to collective deliberations, leading to the development of a more conscious and value-driven praxis. The process fostered reflexivity by questioning previous actions and routines, thereby helping to break entrenched patterns and open up possibilities for change. The study also highlights how principals’ understanding of their leadership deepens when it is related to both local conditions and the school’s value base. Thus, there is no universal approach to leadership; it must be adapted to each school’s specific context, resources, and relationships.
Faced with the task of decolonizing academia, more researchers are turning to participatory and action-oriented research, which does not come without its challenges. In this paper, I go through a less common challenge, where the participation failed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the action succeeded due to solidarity work that went beyond the academic project. The time frame was the main obstacle, while honesty about goals and expectations were strengths that perhaps explains why our collaboration continues despite the failures. This paper is based on a participatory action research collaboration with the Kenyan Peasants League (KPL). The KPL is a movement of small-scale farmers, pastoralists, and fisherfolk in Kenya and part of the global peasant’s movement La Vía Campesina. The project is based on a feminist decolonial ontology, which recognizes that all knowledge is situated, contextual, and relational, and recognizes social movements as knowledge and theory producers. The project had three goals: 1) To document the knowledge of the KPL members. 2) To co-create teaching materials for the KPL. 3) To write a PhD thesis based on this knowledge. The teaching materials did not turn out as hoped, but money was raised for the KPL Women Articulation Rescue Centre.
"Detta nummer av Forskning & Forandring fokuserar på olika betydelser av praxisnära forskning och de syften som forskningen har. Kunskapsutveckling inom praxisnära forskning sker lokalt, kopplat till en praktik som på ett eller annat sätt utforskas för att öppna upp nya horisonter. Hur långt sträcker sig då forskningens ansvar? Bör det ses som en möjlighet, eller till och med plikt, att forskningens resultat på något sätt bidrar till förändring i relation till de stora frågor som vi i dag står inför, såsom klimatförändringar, konflikter och demokratiförnekelse. Eller räcker det med att påverka i relation till lokala och specifika frågeställningar i de sammanhang vari forskningen bedrivs? Bör och kan i så fall även sådan forskning kopplas till ett större ändamål?" Läs hela ledaren av Anette Olin Almquist, Julie Borup Jensen och Janne Madsen här.
Artikkelen tematiserer aksjonsforskning på egen arbeidsplass og reflekterer over hvilke styrker posisjonen kan ha i utviklingen av kunnskap samt hvilke utfordringer som kan oppstå. Som «innfødt» forsker (Eikeland, 2006b) og offentlig ph.-d.-kandidat ved en videregående skole i Norge har jeg i fellesskap med andre «innfødte» ved skolen prøvd ut strategier for å styrke voksne innvandreres språk- og fagkompetanse. Kunnskapsdannelsen har foregått i parallelle prosesser: for de voksne deltakerne, for lærerne og for meg selv som forsker. I artikkelen ser jeg nærmere på betydningen av etablerte relasjoner, bakgrunnskunnskap og erfaring samt noen utfordringer knyttet til forskningskvalitet og etikk. Kunnskapen som utvikles i prosjektet, er praksisnær og samtidig solidarisk overfor omverden. Gjennom erfaringsbasert immanent kritikk innenfra feltet vil systemiske skjevheter kunne synliggjøres og transformeres. Artikkelen argumenterer for at kritisk, «innfødt» aksjonsforskning har et potensial til å avdekke og motvirke ikke-bærekraftige strukturer innen utdanning på mikro- og makronivå. ENGLISH ABSTRACT A ‘native’ wearing many hats: critical knowledge generation from within an action research project in adult education The article addresses action research in the researcher’s own workplace and reflects on what strengths this position may have in the development of knowledge, as well as what challenges may arise. As a ‘native’ researcher (Eikeland, 2006b) and a public PhD candidate at an upper secondary school in Norway, I have, together with other ‘natives’ at the school, tried out strategies for strengthening adult immigrants’ language and subject competence. The knowledge generation has taken place in parallel processes; for the adult students, the teachers, and myself as a researcher. The article takes a closer look at the significance of relationships, background knowledge, and experience, and also at some challenges related to research quality and ethics. The knowledge developed in the project is practice-oriented while maintaining solidarity with the wider society. Through experience-based immanent critique from within the field, systemic inadequacies can be made visible and transformed. The article argues that critical, ‘native’ action research has the potential to uncover and counteract unsustainable structures in education at micro and macro levels.
Artiklen undersøger, hvordan relationen mellem forskning og forandring formes og udfordres i et praksisnært forskningssamarbejde i dagtilbud, som foregår i en hyper-politiseret kontekst. Med afsæt i et dansk følgeforskningsprojekt om mindre børnegrupper i fire daginstitutioner analyseres, hvordan forskningssamarbejdet præges af spændinger mellem forvaltningslogikker, pædagogiske vilkår og forskningsetiske hensyn. Artiklen trækker teoretisk på Axels begreb konfliktuel kooperation (2009, 2020) for at forstå samarbejdet som både nødvendigt og konfliktfyldt. I denne optik er tillid ikke fravær af konflikt, men en betingelse for at konflikter kan rummes og forhandles i en fælles praksis. Tillid (Løgstrup, 1969) bliver dermed en grundlæggende forudsætning for, at det pædagogiske samarbejde kan bære uenigheder og er åben som en undersøgende, responsiv praksis. Gennem empiriske eksempler vises, hvordan forskellige aktører – forvaltning, pædagoger og forskere – forfølger forskellige former for viden og forandring, hvilket gør forskningssamarbejdet til en kontinuerlig forhandling af mål, ansvar og legitimitet. Artiklen argumenterer for, at praksisnær forskning må rumme og reflektere de modsætninger og dilemmaer, der opstår i samspil med praksis, og at disse ikke kan forstås neutralt og entydigt, men må forhandles situeret med praksis. ENGLISH ABSTRACT Transformative potentials in conflictual research collaborations: ethics and politics in practice-based pedagogical research The article examines how the relationship between research and change is shaped and challenged within a practice-based research collaboration in early childhood education taking place in a hyper-politicized context. Drawing on a Danish research project on small group organization in four daycare centres, the article analyses how the collaboration is marked by tensions between administrative logics, pedagogical conditions, and research-ethical considerations. Theoretically, the article employs Axel’s concept of conflictual cooperation (2009, 2020) to understand collaboration as both necessary and inherently conflictual. From this perspective, trust is not the absence of conflict but a precondition for conflicts to be contained and negotiated within a shared practice. Trust (Løgstrup, 1969) thus becomes a fundamental prerequisite for pedagogical collaboration to sustain disagreement and remain open as an explorative and responsive practice. Through empirical examples, the article shows how different participants—municipal administrators, educators, and researchers—pursue different forms of knowledge and change, making the research collaboration a continuous negotiation of goals, responsibilities, and legitimacy. The article argues that practice-based research must reflect the contradictions and dilemmas that arise in interaction with practice, and that must be negotiated in a situated manner together with practice.
Undervisningsmultiversum – flerstämmig didaktisk samanalys för demokrati i en klokare värld. Uppgifterna från medverkande i tidigare FoU-program och ULF-nätverk, tillsammans med en kunskapslucka i tidigare forskning, indikerar ett behov av att utveckla kunskap om analys av undervisning i förskola, vilket motiverar denna artikel. Syftet med studien är att utifrån ett framträdande undervisningsmultiversum bidra med kunskap om vad som kan känneteckna analys av undervisning i förskola genom att samskapa en flerstämmig didaktisk samanalysmodell i ett ULF-nätverk. Den teoretiska ansatsen fokuserar didaktik och behandlar didaktiska frågor och nivåer. Metodologiskt tillämpas en abduktiv-didaktisk ansats. Resultaten fogas samman i en flerstämmig didaktisk samanalysmodell som omfattar tre analyssteg: 1) Aktionsnivå: Analys utifrån didaktiska frågor i samvärdering kopplad till samplanering och genomförande. 2) Teoretisk nivå: Analys av empiri med begrepp i förgrunden. 3) Metateoretisk nivå: Abduktiv pendling mellan empiri/praktik och teori/vetenskaplig grund, vilken kan utmynna i prövande av samskapade begrepp, såsom "abduktiv samanalys". Kunskapsbidraget består av en flerstämmig didaktisk samanalysmodell som kan bidra till att belysa undervisningsprocesser och undervisningsskicklighet för att utveckla undervisning i strävan efter varje barns öppna livschanser och välbefinnande i varje nu. Flerstämmighet prövas i relation till demokrati och samanalysmodellen kan leda till finstämd undervisning, vilket i sin tur kan bidra till en klokare värld. ENGLISH ABSTRACT Teaching multiverse – multivocal didaktik co-analysis for democracy in a wiser world The statements of participants in previous R&D-programmes and ULF-networks, together with a knowledge gap in earlier research, indicate a need to develop knowledge about the analysis of teaching in preschool, which justifies the present article. The aim is to contribute knowledge about the characteristics of teaching analysis in preschool by trying out a co-created multivocal didaktik co-analysis model, drawing on an emerging teaching multiverse. The theoretical approach focuses on didaktik, addressing didaktik questions and levels. Methodologically, an abductive-didaktik approach is applied. The results are consolidated into a multivocal didaktik co-analysis model comprising three analytical levels: 1) Action level – Analysis of didaktik questions through co-evaluation linked to co-planning and implementation of teaching. 2) Theoretical level – Analysis with concepts in the foreground. 3) Metatheoretical level – Abductive oscillation between empirical data/practice and theoretical/ scientific foundations, leading to the trying of co-created concepts such as abductive co-analysis. The knowledge contribution consists of a multivocal didaktik co-analysis model that can help illuminate teaching processes and pedagogical competence, aiming to enhance each child’s open life opportunities and well-being in the present moment. Multivocality is proven in relation to democracy and the co-analysis model can lead to finely tuned teaching, which in turn can contribute to a wiser world.
Artiklen undersøger vilkår og dilemmaer i praksisnær uddannelsesforskning i den danske grundskole med fokus på relationen mellem forskere og praktikere. Med afsæt i et selvstudie analyserer forfatterne to ph.d.-projekter, hvor de som forskere har samarbejdet med lærere i dansk grundskolekontekst. Artiklen belyser, hvordan ønsket om at skabe forandring i praksisfeltet kan udfordres af manglende ligeværdighed og gensidig forståelse mellem forskere og praktikere. Med teoretisk inspiration fra Wenger-Trayner og Wenger-Trayners begreb om sociale læringsrum fremhæves tre centrale faktorer for værdiskabelse i forskningssamarbejder: Ønsket om at gøre en forskel, engageret usikkerhed og opmærksom tilstedeværelse. Gennem analyser af to real-life-cases peges på, hvordan manglende inddragelse og kommunikation kan føre til mistillid og modstand fra praktikere. Forfatterne argumenterer for, at praksisnær forskning kræver en bevidst og reflekteret tilgang til relationer og rollefordeling. Artiklen bidrager med ny viden om, hvordan forskere kan styrke samarbejdet med praktikere gennem ligeværdige og tillidsfulde relationer, og peger på behovet for løbende refleksion og dialog i forskningsprocessen. ENGLISH ABSTRACT Practice-Oriented Educational Research – Conditions and Dilemmas in the Encounter Between Researchers and Practitioners in Danish Primary Schools This article explores the conditions and dilemmas of practice-oriented educational research in Danish primary schools, focusing on the relationship between researchers and practitioners. Based on a self-study approach, the authors analyze two PhD projects involving collaboration with schoolteachers. The study highlights how the ambition to create change in educational practice can be challenged by a lack of mutual understanding and equality between researchers and practitioners. Drawing on Wenger-Trayner & Wenger- Trainers’ concept of social learning spaces, the article identifies three key factors for value creation in research partnerships: Caring to make a difference, engaging uncertainty, and paying attention. Through case analyses, the authors show how insufficient communication, and involvement can lead to mistrust and resistance from practitioners. The article argues that practice-oriented research requires a reflective and relational approach, where roles and expectations are made explicit. It contributes new insights into how researchers can foster more equitable and trust-based collaborations with practitioners, emphasizing the importance of ongoing dialogue and mutual recognition throughout the research process.
This study examines how a multidimensional framework can support instructional analysis and competence development in preschool teacher education. Conducted as a two-year action research project, it involved eight practising preschool teachers and 83 student teachers who analysed instructional sequences filmed during their teaching practicum periods. These analyses, carried out in seminars led by the practising preschool teachers, used the three dimensions of the framework – ‘what’ (learning object), ‘how’ (instructional methods), and ‘when’ (relational timing and pedagogical tact) – as an analytical lens to explore how participants understood and applied these dimensions and what opportunities and challenges emerged. The findings show that the framework helped participants articulate intentional learning objectives, distinguish activities from learning objects, and align instructional methods to specific aims. It also made visible aspects of professional judgement that are often tacit, particularly the situational responsiveness captured by the ‘when’ dimension. Although socio-emotional considerations were frequently highlighted, their cognitive significance was less explicitly recognised, indicating a need for frameworks that connect affective and cognitive dimensions of teaching. The study demonstrates that the structured analytical framework, when combined with video-based reflection, can strengthen learning during practicum and support continuous professional development. The framework balances intentional instruction with responsive, child-centred pedagogy and provides a shared language for discussing the interrelation of the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘when’ dimensions in preschool teaching.
Artiklens formål er at diskutere, hvordan kulturelle prober som kunstnerisk og kreativ forskningsmetode kan anvendes til at forstå samt understøtte organisatorisk udvikling og forandring i en videnøkologi i det landsdækkende program Naturfagsakademiet (NAFA). Artiklens empiriske genstandsfelt er NAFA-aktørers postkortproduktioner, der er skabt på nationale netværksmøder, som samler naturfagsundervisere fra Danmarks seks professionshøjskoler. Fremgangsmåden i brugen af kulturelle prober følger nogle designprincipper om, hvordan produktioner, interaktioner og kommunikation orienterer sig mod at være behagende, legende, æstetiske, visuelle og ruskende. Artiklen introducerer til tidligere og nyere forskning samt metodologi om kulturelle prober, bidrager med nye perspektiver på kreative forskningsmetoder set i relation til organisatorisk forandring og argumenterer for relevansen af metoden til også at udvikle de naturfaglige professionelle læringsfællesskaber på læreruddannelsesområdet. Artiklen bidrager med ny viden om, hvordan kunstbaserede forskningsmetoder såsom kulturelle prober generelt og postkort mere specifikt kan anvendes til at stimulere og forstå forandring og udvikling samt stimulere til refleksion over samarbejde og videndeling i naturfaglige professionelle læringsfællesskaber i NAFA forstået som en videnøkologi. English abstract Cultural Probes and Experiences of Organizational Change The purpose of the article is to discuss how cultural probes, as an arts-based and creative research method, can be used to understand and support organizational development and change within a knowledge ecology, as exemplified in the nationwide program Naturfagsakademiet/Danish Academy of Science Education (NAFA – https://nafa.nu). The article’s empirical focus is on postcard productions by NAFA participants, created during national network meetings that bring together science educators from Denmark’s six university colleges. The use of cultural probes in this context follows some design principles emphasizing that productions, interactions, and communication should aim to be pleasing, playful, aesthetic, visual, and thought-provoking. The article introduces earlier and recent research as well as methodologies related to cultural probes and contributes with new perspectives on arts-based research methods in relation to organizational change and argues for the relevance of this method developing professional learning communities in science teacher education. The article offers new insights into how arts-based research methods, such as cultural probes in general and postcards more specifically, can be used to stimulate and understand change and development, while also fostering reflection on collaboration and knowledge sharing within NAFA, understood as a knowledge ecology.
I denne artikkelen utforsker vi hvordan kreative og kunstneriske metoder kan brukes til å skape makt til å endre. Gjennom kreativ anvendelse av utopiske fremtidsverksteder ble underutnyttede arealer på en universitetscampus i Norge omformet for å bidra til mer sosial, estetisk og ressursmessig bærekraft. Med utgangspunkt i Mary Parker Folletts forståelse av makt gjennom integrasjon, og George Herbert Meads og John Deweys forståelser av meningsutvikling forankret i amerikansk pragmatisme, viser vi hvordan deltakernes ulikheter ikke bare åpnet for innovative løsninger i campusområdene, men også skapte nye ideer der ingen enkeltaktør alene kunne styre utfallet. Det empiriske materialet viser hvordan forskningsbasert praksis kan integreres i slike endringsprosesser, og hvordan samarbeid mellom ulike aktører kan skape varige organisatoriske og kulturelle endringer. Slik bidrar artikkelen med ny kunnskap om samspillet mellom forskning og praksis i bærekraftige omstillingsprosesser. English abstract Creative Collaboration for Change: Repurposing Space Through Utopian Thinking and Participatory Design This article explores how creative and artistic methods can be used to generate agency for change. Employing the method of utopian future workshops, underutilized areas on a Norwegian university campus were reimagined and transformed physically to foster social, aesthetic, and resource-based sustainability. Drawing on Mary Parker Follett’s understanding of power through integration and George Herbert Mead and John Dewey’s understanding of meaning-making as a social process of becoming, rooted in the tradition of American pragmatism, we show how participants’ differences not only opened new possibilities for innovative solutions in the campus areas but also stimulated a continuous development of new ideas in which no single actor could control the outcome. The empirical material demonstrates how research-based practice can be integrated into such change processes, and how collaboration between multiple stakeholders can generate lasting organizational and cultural transformations. In this way, the article contributes new insights into the interplay between research and practice in sustainable transformation processes.
Aesthetic suspension as a methodological approach in action research is introduced in this article, emphasizing the potentially both facilitating and frictional role of embodied, organisational, sensory knowing in co-researching change processes. Aesthetic suspension is a reflective, sensory process inspired by artistic practices, enabling participants to critically examine and reinterpret taken-for-granted assumptions and practices in an organised context. Grounded in traditional action research values of participation, democracy, and co-creation, the aesthetic, methodological approach fosters co-researching by integrating aesthetic awareness into practical contexts such as early childhood education and dementia care. Through two empirical examples, video-based explorations in ECEC and LEGO Serious Play® in dementia care, the article illustrates how aesthetic suspension can reveal organisational issues of pressing concern and encourage change worthwhile pursuing. The examples highlight how sensory engagement and reflection can enable participants to discover taken-for-granted practices, support collective learning, and facilitate meaningful change. Drawing on phenomenological theories, particularly the work of Løgstrup, the discussion emphasizes the interplay of sensory experience and organisational interpretation in professional practice. The findings lead to a discussion of integrating aesthetic methodologies into action research to address societal and organisational challenges, fostering collaborative knowledge creation. By enabling participants to immerse in sensory experiences and delay immediate judgments, aesthetic suspension provides a critical foundation for discovering new perspectives and achieving transformative outcomes in diverse fields.
Denna artikel undersöker hur narrativt och lekfullt lärande kan användas för att stärka ungas framtidstro, kreativitet och kritiska tänkande i relation till hållbarhetsfrågor. Med utgångspunkt i teorier om föreställningsvärldar (Langer, 1995), flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), immersiva lärmiljöer och utopiskt berättande analyseras ett pilotprojekt genomfört med gymnasieelever inom ramen för forskningsprojektet Utopian Storyline (2024–2026). Projektet kombinerar storyline-metodik med kreativt skrivande för att skapa en fiktiv gemensam värld där elever får anta en egenskapad roll, samarbeta och gestalta visioner om det goda framtida livet. Resultaten visar att elevernas engagemang fördjupas när de får använda sin fantasi och reflektera över framtiden genom en lekfull och konstnärligt inramad struktur. Artikeln diskuterar även den förändrade forskarrollen i interventionsbaserad undervisning samt metodens potential att fungera som ett stöd för både elevers emotionella bearbetning av klimatrelaterad oro och deras utveckling av handlings- och framtidsorienterade kompetenser. Utopian Storyline föreslås som ett didaktiskt verktyg för att integrera hopp, handlingsberedskap och värderingsreflektion i undervisningen om hållbarhet. English abstract Utopian Storyline: New Perspectives on the Creation of Envisioned Worlds This article explores how narrative and playful learning can support young people’s imagination, creativity, and critical thinking in relation to sustainability. Drawing on theories of envisionment (Langer, 1995), flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), immersive learning environments, and utopian storytelling, we analyze a pilot intervention conducted with upper-secondary students as part of the Utopian Storyline research project (2024–2026). The project combines the Storyline method with creative speculative writing, allowing students to collaboratively construct a fictional world in which they take on roles, solve problems, and imagine visions of a good and sustainable life. Findings suggest that student engagement deepens when they are encouraged to explore future scenarios in a playful and artistically framed learning environment. The article also reflects on the evolving role of the researcher in intervention-based pedagogy and discusses how the method can support students in processing climate-related anxiety, while also strengthening their sense of agency and future competence. Utopian Storyline is proposed as a pedagogical approach for integrating hope, action readiness, and value-based reflection into sustainability education.
Denne artikel er et metodebidrag indenfor aktionsforskning og organisatorisk læring og undersøger, hvordan narrative og æstetiske tilgange kan bidrage til at skabe fællesskab, udvikling og læring i ledergrupper. Artiklen diskuterer indledningsvist potentialet i anvendelsen af narrative og æstetiske tilgange i arbejdet med aktionsforskning. Dernæst præsenteres en case med afprøvning af to udvalgte metoder baseret på en kombination af narrative og æstetiske elementer fra en procesdag med en gruppe mellemledere i en større offentlig organisation som led i et toårigt aktionsforskningsprojekt. Herefter præsenteres evalueringen af denne afprøvning, og som afrunding redegøres for det samlede læringsudbytte. Resultaterne af forsøget med de narrative-æstetiske metoder har været yderst positive. Deltagerne påpegede, at de havde fået opbygget et stærkere kendskab til hinanden og styrket fællesskabet i ledelsesgruppen, og at aktiviteterne havde åbnet op for nye perspektiver og nye måder at tænke på. Det æstetiske og narrative har hidtil været underkendt i studier af organisatorisk læring, og artiklen belyser således et relativt ny forskningsområde. Det er vores håb, at vi herigennem kan bidrage til metodeudvikling indenfor både organisatorisk læring og aktionsforskning. English abstract Developing and Trying Out Narrative and Aesthetic Approaches to Action Research This article is a methodological contribution to the fields of action research and organizational learning and studies how narrative and aesthetic approaches can contribute to creating community, development and learning in groups of leaders. The article initially discusses the potential of using narrative and aesthetic approaches to action research. Thereafter, a case is presented with two selected methods based on a combination of narrative and aesthetic elements from a process day with a group of midlevel managers in a large public organization as part of a two-year action research project. Then the evaluation of this process is presented, and as a conclusion, the overall learning outcome is explained. The results of the process with the narrative-aesthetic methods have been extremely positive. The participants pointed out that they had built a stronger understanding of each other and strengthened their experience of community in the leading group, and that the activities had opened up new perspectives and new ways of thinking. The aesthetic and narrative have so far been underlit in studies of organizational learning, and the article thus sheds light on a relatively new research area. It is our hope that through this article we can contribute to methodological development within both organizational learning and action research.
Dette nummer af Forskning og Forandring sætter fokus på kreative forskningsprocesser og undersøger, hvordan æstetik, kunst, leg og fantasi kan berige og udfordre den videnskabelige praksis. Med udgangspunkt i et åbent call har vi modtaget en række spændende artikler, der på forskellig vis belyser kreativitetens rolle i forskning – fra metodiske greb og analytiske perspektiver til teoretiske refleksioner. Bidragene viser, hvordan kunstneriske og legende tilgange kan åbne nye veje for viden, forandring og udvikling i både praksis og teori.
Formålet med artiklen er at udvikle og undersøge kreative og æstetikbasserede interview-analysemetoder med henblik på at udvide tolkningsmuligheder, skabe rum for indlevelse og understøtte forskningens praksisimpact. Artiklen tager afsæt i forskningsprojektet ’Pædagogisk entreprenørskab’ (Boysen et al., 2025), der undersøger, hvad der former og fremmer pædagogisk handlekraft. I projektet er udført 15 interviews med pædagogiske entreprenører, og forskningsgruppen har i forbindelsen med analyse af disse interviews udviklet en række kollaborative, kreative og æstetikbaserede analysemetoder, som er afprøvet og forfinet i iterative processer sammen med pædagogstuderende og med afsæt i designbaserede tilgange og selvstudieforskning. De iterative forløb omfatter online og face-to-face-sessions i forskergruppen samt face-to-face-analysesessions med pædagogstuderende. I artiklen argumenteres for æstetikbaserede analysemetoders potentialer udfra en teoretisk diskussion af æstetikteori, kreativitetsteori og legeteori. Den empiriske undersøgelse indikerer, at de æstetikbasserede analysemetoder er velegnede til at tilvejebringe mangfoldige perspektiver, tydeliggøre implicitte forforståelser, fremme indlevelse og understøtte forskningsprocessers forandringspotentiale. De kreative analysemetoder har derfor potentiale både i forhold til at kvalificere forskning og i forhold til at skabe forandring. Undersøgelsen viser dog, at disse formål ikke nødvendigvis går hånd i hånd, hvorfor det kan være nødvendigt at afklare, hvilket formål der prioriteres. English abstract Pedagogical Entrepreneurs in Imaginative Scenographies: Developing and Examining Arts-Based Analytical Strategies for Collaborative, Visual, and Immersive Research Processes The purpose of this article is to develop and examine creative and arts-based methods for interview analysis with the aim of expanding interpretive possibilities, fostering empathy and imaginative engagement, and enhancing the practical impact of research. The study is situated within the research project Pedagogical Entrepreneurship, which investigates the conditions that shape and promote pedagogical agency. As part of the project, fifteen interviews were conducted with pedagogical entrepreneurs. In the process of analyzing these interviews, the research group developed a series of collaborative, creative, and arts-based analytical approaches, which were tested and refined through iterative cycles in collaboration with students from the Danish Pedagogue Education. The methodological development draws on design-based research and self-study methodologies. The article discusses the potential of arts-based analytical methods through theoretical perspectives on aesthetics, creativity, and play. The empirical findings suggest that such methods are well suited to generating multiple perspectives, making implicit assumptions visible, fostering empathy and imaginative understanding, and supporting the transformative potential of research processes. Consequently, creative analytical methods hold promise both for enhancing the quality of research and for contributing to change in practice. However, the study also indicates that these purposes do not necessarily align, highlighting the need to clarify which aim is prioritized in a given research context.
I artiklen foretages en udforskning af læringsmiljøet blandt studerende med afsæt i frafald som en udfordring på en erhvervsakademiuddannelse på Københavns Professionshøjskole. Artiklen tager udgangspunkt i et aktionsforskningsprojekt, som undersøger de studerendes læringsmiljø og deres tilhørsforhold til uddannelsen med elementer fra æstetisk performanceteori. Forskningsprojektet udforsker, hvad æstetisk performance skaber af muligheder for at overskride iboende magtstrukturer og positioneringer i læringsmiljøet og dermed et frirum for de studerende, men også hvilke begrænsninger denne tilgang har. Artiklen bidrager i den sammenhæng med ny viden om, hvordan tilhørsforhold og læringsmiljø kan formes i samspil med de studerendes egne erfaringer gennem æstetisk-performancebaserede tilgange koblet med aktionsforskning. English abstract The Body in Space – Learning Environment and Sense of Belonging in a Professional Academy Program The article explores the learning environment among students in relation to the challenge of dropout in a professional academy program at Copenhagen University College. The article is based on an action research project that investigates students’ learning environment and their sense of belonging to the program, drawing on elements from aesthetic performance theory. The research project examines the opportunities that aesthetic performance creates for transcending inherent power structures and positionings in the learning environment, thereby offering students a space of freedom, but also the limitations of this approach. In this context, the article contributes new knowledge on how sense of belonging and learning environments can be shaped in interaction with students’ own experiences through aesthetic performance-based approaches combined with action research.
Utgangspunktet for artikkelen er et materialseminar med forskningsgruppa Materialitet, teknologi, berekraft (MaTecSus) ved Høgskolen på Vestlandet (se HVL, 2025b). Deltagerne er forskere knyttet til utdanningsfagene forming, kunst og håndverk i barnehage- og grunnskolelærerutdanning. Vi er opptatt av kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid, materialitet og profesjonspraksis. Seminaret springer ut fra et ønske om å utvikle forskningsgruppas forskningskultur gjennom gjensidig medvirkning i praktisk skapende forskning, og med det bidra med forslag til mulige endringer knyttet til kunstfaglig forskning i lærerutdanningene. I artikkelen undersøker vi hva som kan påvirke utviklingen av forskningsideer i en verkstedskontekst, der vi møtes til handling og samskaping. Vi ser på verksted som fenomen, sted og arbeidsform i utviklingen av forskningsideer og prosesser med materialer som felles omdreiningspunkt. Hva oppstår når vi samles utenfor vante lokaler og kontekster? Nye forskningsideer skapes for videre arbeid med en mer praktisk forskningsprosess, og et nytt og innovativt forskningsmiljø i estetiske fag utvikles. English abstract Collective Growth Potential in Creative Research: The Workshop's Potential as a Research Generator and Agent of Change The article originates from an artistic materiality seminar by Materiality, Technology, Sustainability (MaTecSus) at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. The participants are researchers in visual arts education for early childhood and primary/lower secondary teaching. They focus on artistic research, materiality, professional practice, and practical knowledge. The seminar aims to explore a more participatory, practical and artistic research environment. The workshop serves as both a teaching space and a research generator, fostering new research ideas through co-creation with materials and the environment. The article examines the workshop as a phenomenon, place, and strategy for developing research ideas. It questions what occurs when meeting outside traditional spaces. New research ideas emerge for more practical projects, and a new and innovative research environment emerge for artistic research.
Denne artikel bevæger sig indenfor en postkvalitativ ramme og metodologi og undersøger, hvordan perspektiver knyttet hertil bidrager til at tænke anderledes og mere kreativt om det at skabe viden og være forsker i felten. Konteksten er et pilotprojekt om børns undergrundsliv i en specialklasse. Med inspiration fra posthumane teorier og diffraktiv analyse foretages en ”re-turning” til blandet og mangfoldigt empirisk materiale, og samlæsninger af dette skaber indsigt i, hvordan viden skabes i komplekse intra-aktioner. Her er forskeren selv sammenfiltret i relationer, empiri, data- og vidensproduktion og står altså ikke udenfor. Dette fordrer lydhørhed og kreativitet hos forskeren og kalder på en affektiv etik. Ved at forstå børns undergrundsliv som material-diskursive praksisser viser læsningerne, at materialer, børn og forskere alle er agentiale aktører med kroppe. Således bliver forskning og viden om børns undergrundsliv til gennem sammenfiltrede og vibrerende processer mellem mange slags kroppe – også mobiltelefonens kamerakrop. Samlet set bidrager disse indsigter til at forandre vedtagne dikotomier som materialitet/mennesker og børn/voksne og peger på, at forskning og viden ikke handler om at repræsentere verden, men om open-ended og aldrig færdige tilblivelsesprocesser. Nøgleord intra-aktioner; materialitet; fotos; affekt; postkvalitative perspektiver; skolens specialklasser English abstract When Research and Children’s Underground Life Vibrate and Create Changes – About Camera, Bodies, and Creative Powers The study presented in this article moves within a post-qualitative framework and methodology and investigates how this approach creates opportunities and attention to knowledge production and researcher position. The context is a pilot project about children’s underground life taking place in school classes for children with special needs. With inspiration from post-human theories and diffractive analysis, a re-turning to a wide and complex bundle of empirical material is made, and readings show how knowledge is produced through complex intra-actions. Within this, the researcher is entangled in relations, empirical material, data- and knowledge production. This entanglement requires sensitivity and creativity from the researcher and calls upon an affective ethics. Readings show that understanding children’s underground life as material-discursive practices promote materials, children, researchers as agential agents with bodies. As such, research and knowledge production are becoming-with, entangled, and vibrant processes involving many kinds of bodies – including the mobile phone’s camera-body. Summed up, this insight contributes to changes in dichotomies such as humans/materiality and children/adults and to understanding research not as representations, but as open-ended and never finished processes of becomings.
Sammanfattning Syftet med denna artikel är att diskutera hur den statliga interventionen Samverkan för bästa skola (SBS) styr rektorer i svensk grundskola. SBS är ett regeringsuppdrag till Skolverket som pågått sedan 2015 och vänder sig till skolor med låga resultat, vilka inte på egen hand förväntas kunna vända denna trend. Artikeln bygger på intervjuer med rektorer i grundskolan som deltagit i SBS. Ett resultat i studien är att rektorerna generellt är osäkra i sitt ledarskap och välkomnar det statliga stödet som handlar om att utveckla det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet. Enligt Foucault (2008) innebär detta att staten genom olika maktteknologier styr och reglerar rektorernas beteende i syfte att elevers kunskapsutveckling ska öka och ge högre resultat. Idén om effektiv intervention är en central aspekt inom den evidensbaserade praktiken, dvs. att administrera en behandling för att uppnå en viss effekt (Biesta, 2007). Denna rörelse är ett internationellt fenomen som bygger på ett tayloristiskt synsätt som vuxit fram sedan 1990-talet med sanktionssystem och offentlig rangordning av utbildning (Uljens, 2021a, 2021b). Forskning om tänkbara konsekvenser av SBS är ännu begränsad varför denna studie kan bidra genom analys av insamlat empiriskt material. ENGLISH ABSTRACT “It was like hacking with a machete in the beginning – now we are refining it” – A study of Collaboration for Best School as a governance technology The purpose of this article is to discuss how the state intervention Collaboration for the Best School (CBS) governs principals in Swedish compulsory schools. CBS is a government assignment to the Swedish National Agency for Education which has been ongoing since 2015, and targets schools with low results that are not expected to be able to reverse this trend on their own. The article is based on interviews with compulsory school principals who have participated in SBS. One result of the study is that the principals are generally insecure in their leadership and welcome the government’s support, which especially focuses on developing the systematic quality work. According to Foucault (2008), this means that the state through various technologies of power controls and regulates the principals’ behavior, in order to increase students’ knowledge development and produce higher grades. The idea of effective intervention is a central aspect within evidence-based practice, i.e. administering a treatment to achieve a certain effect (Biesta, 2007). This is an international phenomenon based on a Taylorist approach that has emerged since the 1990s with sanction system and public ranking of education (Uljens, 2021a, 2021b). Research on possible consequences of CBS is still limited, therefore this study can contribute in this field through analysis of collected empirical material.
Transdisciplinär forskning understryker att komplexa problem inte kan lösas inom ramen för ett enskilt expertområde. I stället krävs en integrering av olika kunskapsfält och praktiker. Denna artikel behandlar den oundvikliga osäkerhet som uppstår inom sådana samverkansprocesser kring komplexa frågor. Olika forskningsområden har identifierat sätt att förstå och praktiskt överbrygga den osäkerhet som uppstår när olika perspektiv möts och behöver integreras. Vi menar dock att osäkerhet förvisso verkar som ett hinder men också som en möjlighet i samverkansprocesser. Utifrån erfarenheter av interaktiva forskningsprojekt har fyra sätt som vi här kallar för ”dimensioner” framträtt som speciellt betydelsefulla för att osäkerhet ska utgöra en kreativ resurs snarare än ett hinder. Syftet med den här artikeln är att visa på hur dessa dimensioner av det vi kallar för ”förändringsrummet”, såsom liminalitet, resonans, metaforer och scaffolding, kan bidra till att samverkansprocessers osäkra tillstånd kan öppna upp för utvidgad perspektivmedvetenhet och kollektiv förändringsförmåga. Genom att reflektera över vår tidigare forskning i form av vinjetter vill vi peka på hur dessa dimensioner har, eller inte har, verkat i samklang. Därmed visar vi på hur de fyra dimensionerna behöver närvara på ett sammansatt sätt så att osäkerheter i samverkansprocesser i stället gör möjligt för en transformativ utveckling. Denna artikel är ett bidrag till den transdisciplinära forskningslitteraturen såväl som till praktik och teori kring interdisciplinär samverkan. ENGLISH ABSTRACT A space for change in four dimensions: Navigating uncertainty and enabling transformative co-production Transdisciplinary research emphasizes that complex problems cannot be solved within one area of expertise but instead require the integration of different fields of knowledge and practices. This article addresses the inevitable uncertainty that arises in such collaborative processes around complex issues. Different research fields have identified ways to understand and in practical ways to overcome the uncertainty that arises when diverse perspectives meet and need to be integrated. However, we believe that while uncertainty certainly acts as an obstacle, it also presents opportunities in collaborative processes. Based on experiences of interactive research projects, four ways, or “dimensions”, have emerged as particularly important for uncertainty to act as a creative resource, rather than an obstacle. The purpose of this article is to show how these dimensions of what we call the “space of change”, such as liminality, resonance, metaphors, and scaffolding, can contribute to the uncertain state of collaborative processes opening for expanded perspective awareness and collective capacity. By reflecting on our previous research in the form of vignettes, we want to point out how these dimensions have, or have not, worked in harmony. In doing so, we show how the four dimensions need to be present in a composite way so that uncertainties in collaborative processes instead enable transformative development. This article is a contribution to the transdisciplinary research literature as well as to the practice and theory of interdisciplinary collaboration.
