Over the past decade, Swedish sloyd educators have grappled with the challenge of integrating "aesthetic and cultural expressions" into their teaching practice. As part of a larger research endeavor focusing on discourses surrounding sloyd pedagogy, this article examines the evolution of the concept "aesthetical and cultural…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how principles from variation theory can contribute to the planning of teaching and learning beyond learning study. Design/methodology/approach: We study whether and how principles from variation theory contributed to a group of teachers' planning of teaching and learning about decimal…

The historical roots of what is now a modern Swedish school-age educare (SAEC) were formed from a social pedagogical starting point in which children's social development, freedom and well-being were prioritized. SAEC has now become more focused on an educational pedagogical assignment and has been incorporated into the Swedish curriculum. SAECs…

The many challenges faced by instructors in distance education have been extensively documented in current literature. Nevertheless, the relative importance of such challenges has not been researched to the same extent. As instructors and institutions face limitations in terms of time and budget, the ability to effectively prioritise challenges…

Purpose: This paper presents a qualitative systematic review of Swedish research on vocational education and training (VET) at the upper secondary school level over the past 20 years. The review is based on a theoretical model on curriculum making as social practice that may serve as model for comparative studies between countries. By introducing…

In which ways do curricula recognize existential questions of compulsory school students, and what direction is given regarding how to address them? By asking these two questions, this study analyses syllabi for the school subject of religion education and its equivalents in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and in the two German regions of Bavaria and…

During the twentieth century, an increasing amount of data was collected in connection with engineering of the modern states including their education systems. In the Nordic welfare states post WW2, such data were also generated in experimental projects aiming at reforming curriculum and education, and the data were accumulated either as…

The aim of this article is to discuss how a multimodal approach to meaning-making can contribute to language education and how multimodal meaning-making is supported in the Swedish curricula. Considering the rapid digitalization of contemporary communication, the aim and content of language education has been challenged. The article describes…

Engineers of today require a holistic understanding of the lifecycle of products and processes, from conceptualization to operations. Maintenance and reliability are areas receiving increased attention due to the contribution to sustainable industry practices. The related literature describes ways to strengthen the education with respect to…

This paper reports on a research-based mathematics curriculum program development project in Sweden, whose educational context is currently characterized by multiple reform initiatives. Current reforms include a repositioning of the teacher as central for students' learning, but also a trend toward initiatives and teacher resources that are more…

This article studies issues of coloniality in so-called capacity-building projects between universities in Africa and Scandinavia. Even fifty years after independence, the African higher education landscape is a product of the colonial powers and subsequent uneven power relations, as argued by a number of researchers. The uneven geography and…

National goals and performance standards were introduced in Sweden during the 1990s as part of a curriculum reform. The intention was to detect shortcomings among students and provide support to those students who did not reach the passing grade in one (or several) subject/s. Despite this reform, approximately one-fourth of the students do not…

The OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 (E2030) project's overall goal is that of looking to the future in terms of how school curricula should evolve given the technological advances and other changes that societies are now facing. Towards that end, the E2030 project centres on the idea that education needs to equip students with the…

This special issue examines curricula and their histories as they have evolved throughout the 21st century as part of transnational and national education policies. With a specific focus on the policy transitions that are taking place in Europe, the articles demonstrate how curriculum making processes move in different directions, following their…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the test of a pedagogical intervention to enhance students' entrepreneurial mindset on a university course. Design/methodology/approach: The course where the authors tested the new course design is a mandatory one in the business school's undergraduate business program. Pre- and post-evaluations…