This paper explores teachers' educational values and how they shape their judgements about physically active learning (PAL). Twenty one teachers from four primary schools in Norway participated in focus groups. By conceptualising PAL as a didaktikk approach, the findings indicated that teachers engaged with PAL in a way that reflected their…

Using participatory observations accompanied by video and audio recordings, this article investigates how negotiations about play scripts evolve during play in two Waldorf kindergartens. In particular, this study aims to examine how child-initiated play can contribute to the development of basic democratic skills in early childhood. The concept of…

This article investigates the moral outlooks and obligations that are intertwined in the teaching and learning processes of the traditional folk music community in Norway and how moral aspects affect the development of professional identities. Theoretically, we combine the concept of a community of practice with a moral economy perspective. This…

There has recently been an increasing focus on the inclusion of non-religious world-views in religious education (RE). An important concern for the legitimacy of an RE subject in public education in liberal democracies is that all traditions, whether religious or secular, are treated in an equal and inclusive manner. This article examines the…

The present article critically analyses the pedagogical efforts of two teachers to promote values education and intercultural reflection in their own educational practice. They teach in higher education in Norway and most of their students have majority backgrounds. Based on their teaching experiences with VaKE ("Values and Knowledge…

This article analyzes and discusses the professional values of prospective mathematics teachers. Theoretical approaches to the understanding of teachers' professional values, such as critical mathematics education and relational perspectives, are well developed. Still, there are few empirical contributions to the field. Here, professional values…

If students are to acquire deep learning in science, they need to know about the nature of science (NOS), particularly not only the cognitive-epistemic but also the social-institutional aspects of NOS. In this paper, we investigate the content of the Norwegian science curriculum in order to establish how NOS is represented, in particular to the…

Researchers into Literature and Education from Norway, Pakistan and the United Kingdom used William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" to explore the potential of a literary text to encourage intercultural dialogue, employing an innovative teaching method, Google Circles, to provide a platform for asynchronous online discussion among three…

For more than 40 years, health and physical education (HPE) academics in universities and teacher education colleges have drawn attention to issues of social justice specific to the context of PE and advocated for teachers in fields, gymnasiums and other physical activity spaces to do a better job of promoting more equitable outcomes for all…

The six papers in this special issue focus on how values and values education are embedded in the everyday life at Nordic preschools. The studies in this special issue provide stimulating theoretical and methodological knowledge to inform further study of values education internationally. A key contribution of the papers is that there is…

Literature on art education often emphasizes dialogue as a preferred approach and as a way of practicing democratic education in museums and galleries. Dialogue-based tours in such contexts are often characterized by a sense of harmony and agreement. In contrast, this article discusses the democratic aspect and political potentiality when…

The Norwegian folk high schools have a legally defined role in the national educational system as a value-based pedagogical alternative without grades, exams or pre-defined curriculums. The roots of the schools can be traced to the theologian N.F.S. Grundtvig and his ideals of a learning that develops not just the mind but the whole student. The…

Over the last 20 years, religious education in Norway has received massive public and academic attention, due in part to clashing opinions regarding the role of such education in a generally secular society. As a result, the subject's name and curricula have been changed or modified several times. Currently, the curricula for 'Knowledge of…

A multicultural society that equates Christian and humanist values with human rights denies pluralism, placing human rights culture at risk. We examine Norwegian education policy discourses, noting human rights as a key feature of national identity, said to underpin schooling. Education policy maintains distinctions between those who embody…

This open access book presents an in-depth analysis of data from ICCS. An international group of scholars critically address the state of civic and citizenship education in the four Nordic countries that participated in the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) in 2009 and 2016. The findings are of particular relevance to…