A school principal's workload is recognised as being heavy, with an imbalance between demands and resources. This paper contributes to the development of collective leadership. The principalship constellations of six schools in Sweden were studied with the aim of strengthening the current knowledge about structures and experiences of shared…

This study focuses on the different ways in which teachers relate their situational agency and professional assignment to the national curriculum content and curriculum dilemmas. It builds theoretically on transactional realism and empirically on analyses of interviews with teachers, exploring the nature of teacher agency during the enactment of a…

A multitude of different technologies are used in school today. Some are provided by the school and others are brought by the individual teacher or student. In addition, different applications are available. In this study the focus is on student-initiated uses of technology and how it conditions learning. Based on a case study with surveys,…

A dominant conceptualization of empathy in social work practice and education, provided by Karen Gerdes and Elizabeth Segal, relies heavily on the simulation theory adopted directly from the cognitive neurosciences. The aim was to critically challenge such a view by reporting on some recent empirical findings from the field in which professional…

In Sweden, as in Western countries generally, most preschool teachers are women. This fact sometimes leads to the assumption that preschools are "feminine", and that this might be bad for boys. We challenge this assumption. Using a gender critical approach we have studied preschool student teachers. "Femininity" might be used…

In this article we have analysed the ways a discourse on individualisation is taking shape within adult education in Sweden, how it operates, and what effects it has in terms of shaping student subjectivity. Drawing on a post-structural theorisation we analyse interviews with teachers and students in municipal adult education and folk high schools…

Utilizing forest gardens as urban settings for outdoor environmental education in Sweden is a new practice. These forest gardens combine qualities of a forest, e.g., multi-layered polyculture vegetation, with those of a school garden, such as accessibility and food production. The study explores both the perceived qualities of forest gardens in…

The focus of this study has been to examine a number of municipalities that work to recruit more men to work in preschools. The aim of the study has been to identify ways of working conducted by municipalities aiming to recruit more men to work in preschools. The study includes seven municipalities, all included in one network specifically aiming…

We explore the experiences of school science teachers as they enact three linked national curriculum and assessment policy reforms in Sweden. Our goal is to understand teachers' differing responses to these reforms. A sample of 13 teachers engaged in 2 interviews over a 6-9-month period. Interviews included exploration of professional background…

This study presents an analysis of preschool teachers' reasoning about pedagogical goals. Of specific interest is how teachers in a Swedish and a Finnish context describe goals for children's learning and how they describe them implementing these goals into their practice. The research question is thus: How are pedagogical goals perceived and…

Purpose: This article describes the five-phase process of a leadership development programme conducted with agricultural entrepreneurs who own and manage dairy farms in Sweden. The programme primarily focused on leadership of employees and on self-leadership. The article's purpose is to present a template for leadership development programmes that…

Today, an increasing number of students are suffering from different kinds of mental health problems. Still, we know little about how professionals in secondary school and other professionals in society handle and collaborate around these issues. The findings from the present study make an important contribution to the research field regarding…

The aim of this article is to illustrate how Swedish schools construct different pedagogic identities in the way they marketize themselves. We examine through a Bernsteinian lens how upper secondary schools promote themselves; what identities are being called for by the schools and how these identities are expressed. Moreover, the article intends…

This paper aims to analyse and discuss the professional support staff at higher education institutions in Sweden in terms of how they view their roles and what the success factors for them are. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with support staff from the fields of business liaison, internationalisation and strategic research…

The study investigates the transdisciplinary teaching of education for sustainable development (ESD) with a global dimension at an upper secondary school in Sweden. The purpose was to analyse and describe variations in how nine teachers in different subject matters experienced collaborative teaching in the context of a whole school educational…