The relationship between "stability" and "change" is a central paradox of administration that pervades all forms of organizing. Evaluation is not unfamiliar with paradoxical objectives and roles, which can result in tensions for evaluators and stakeholders. In this article, paradoxes between stability and change in the…

This article presents the insights from an evaluation of a transformative policy experiment, in the food domain, conducted at the Swedish Agency of Innovation (Vinnova). To be consistent with the principles and objectives of these policies, it was necessary to implement a formative evaluation approach developed in the Transformative Innovation…

Today, adult individuals must be able to continuously learn and adapt to the rapid changes occurring in society. However, little is known about the individual characteristics, particularly personality traits, that make adults more likely to engage in learning activities. Moreover, few studies have longitudinally and objectively investigated the…

Background: Restrictive measures (RM) are prevalent in services for people with intellectual disabilities. This study investigates managerial awareness of RM and the nature of organisational supports required to reduce their use. Method: A survey asked front-line managers and staff what (RM) were used, their purpose, impact and importance (10-item…

For decades, cluster initiatives and funding programmes have been used as instruments of industrial and innovation policy--addressing system failures by strengthening linkages among actors, fostering innovation, and developing more effective innovation systems. More recently, a growing segment of these initiatives are also focused on driving…

This longitudinal study investigated identity development across early adulthood. To examine both stability and change in identity development, an explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. First, patterns of identity status development across early adulthood were examined, followed by an in-depth qualitative approach to understand more about…

This article draws on the efforts to enhance and incentivize the humanities in the Nordic countries in the last quarter century, with a main focus on Sweden. During this period, bibliometric methodologies and a series of 'crisis debates' have formed an image of Nordic humanities as provincial, parochial, and not performing on a par with relatively…

Launched in 1975, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (AEHE) is a prominent international journal that focuses on assessment and evaluation within higher education. This bibliometric analysis of AEHE aims to gain insights into its evolution since its expansion in 2012 and identify its critical contributions to higher education.…

Research on the transition from teacher education to beginning to teach have focused on the ability to teach, as well as on classroom practices, and how complicated socialisation processes impede developing skills when starting to teach. The aim of the study was to investigate emotionally challenging situations during teacher education and when…

The purpose of this study is to present the need for stakeholders to share an agreed-on Theory of Change (ToC) during the various phases of an implementation process. To this end, we draw on the Swedish Boost for Mathematics (BM), a large-scale national educational initiative, and its intrinsic 'algebra' instructional module. More precisely, we…

This article analyses the role of plants in three well publicised Nordic climate fictions for young adults: "Memories of Water" by Emmi Itäranta, originally published in 2012, "The World According to Anna" (2013) by Jostein Gaarder, and "Bouvetøya 2052" (2015) by Lars Maehle. Departing from the wider scholarly field…

What pupils learn in school should ideally be useful throughout their whole lives. It should help them in further studies, in working life, and when acting as responsible citizens in democratic society. This is challenging for all subjects, including technology. Technology develops fast. It is most likely that wheels, wedges, and inclined planes…

The aim of this study is to explore senior high-school teachers' beliefs about the role of emotions in climate change education and their perception of how they deal with emotional reactions in the classroom. The theoretical framework consists of meta-emotion philosophies, teachers' beliefs, and critical emotion theories. Sixteen Swedish teachers…

This qualitative study utilized episodic narrative interviews to investigate assessment thresholds involved in the development of assessment literacy. The goal of the study was to inform efforts toward quality improvements in higher education. Thirty-five academic staff from universities in Australia, Canada and Sweden shared stories of…

This article analyses a specific part of the actions taken to improve the quality of Swedish education, namely the expectations formulated in national policy documents for the quality work that local authorities, schools and teachers are supposed to undertake. For the empirical analysis of how these expectations have changed over the last two…