Politics in Education
Short description
Educational phenomena are political as they provide different opportunities for knowledge and learning aimed at societal change. The Pedagogy and Politics (POP) research group studies these change processes and how they shape our understanding of the world. We examine the political, social, and ideological aspects embedded in pedagogical processes, focusing on how knowledge and learning are transferred and made available across different social groups. Our research draws from curriculum theory, professional studies, comparative pedagogy, and educational systems analysis.
Network: Research on Doctoral Education in Educational Research
The research group Politics in Education is a part of WERA-IRN network Research on Doctoral Education in Educational Research. Convenors are Sverker Lindblad, Britt-Marie Apelgren and Gun-Britt Wärvik, together with Pam Denicolo, University of Reading, England Alebachew Kemisso, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia and Thomas Popkewitz, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
About the research group
The Politics in Education (POP) group was established in 2004 by researchers, teachers and doctoral students with an interest in theoretically and methodologically better understanding knowledge policy issues in the field of education. Research questions within POP concern the interaction between politics and educational processes such as governance and control of education systems. We study curricula, ideologies and values that create or hinder the conditions for participation in society and its institutions. We study both formal education and learning processes that occur outside traditional academic settings, such as workplace learning. While we examine broad education policy and classroom management methods, our primary focus is on how welfare state institutions are being transformed through deregulation, school choice initiatives, market competition, and privatization.
Today, there are a number of forms of governance and regulation that have come to be associated with structural changes in society. These are variously referred to as audit societies, knowledge societies, network societies, risk societies or similar. POP thus studies how educational systems, processes or tools operate in contexts such as these.
Our research has different thematic approaches:
- Pedagogy in working life, including teachers' work
- Higher education including postgraduate and teacher education
- Profession
- Special Education
- Educational system
- Adult education.
Projects
Externally funded
Research careers in fragile contexts – The effects and potentials of doctoral education. Swedish Research Council/UVK (2025–2028). Participants from POP are Aimee Haley (project leader) and Gun-Britt Wärvik, together with Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, Alebachew Kemisso.
Simulator-assisted teaching in vocational education and training (YRKSIM). Swedish Institute for Educational Research. (2024-2026). Participants from POP are Giulia Messina Dahlberg, together with Susanne Gustavsson (project manager).
Teacher Creation and Teacher Education: Studies of Complex Systems of Societal and Scientific Wishes, Hopes and Promises (TEDU) Swedish Research Council/UVK (2024–2027). Participants from POP are Sverker Lindblad, Katarina Samuelsson and Gun-Britt Wärvik, together with the University of Gävle, Daniel Pettersson (Project Manager) and Tatiana Mikhaylova.
Other ongoing projects
History of Women's Vocational Education. Participants from POP are Gun-Britt Wärvik, together with Åsa Broberg, Stockholm University (project leader), Sarojni Choy, Griffith University, Australia and Viveca Lindberg, Stockholm University.
