This autumn, the Swedish Research Council has awarded research funds in the field of educational work at Karlstad University. Both for projects where Karlstad is the main applicant and projects where researchers in Karlstad are co-applicants.
Schooling, Development Paths, and School Experiences for Students with Neuropsychiatric Disabilities
Main applicant Åsa Olsson, Associate Professor in Educational Work, co-applicants from Karlstad University, Evelina Landstedt, Professor in Social Work, Fanny Gyberg, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, and Birgitta Ljung Egeland, Senior Lecturer in Swedish Language.
Do you have any idea of what the development paths for children and students with neuropsychiatric difficulties look like in school today?
”Knowledge about the conditions in school for children and students with disabilities is fragmented and has significant gaps. This was revealed in the investigation "Follow-up for Development – a Sustainable System for Comprehensive Knowledge about the Conditions for Children and Students with Disabilities in Preschool and School" (SOU 2023:95). Above all, it is difficult to follow how conditions develop over time and to follow up on how the interventions directed at the children and students work. This means that politicians, school principals, and other actors do not have sufficient knowledge to realize all children's and students' right to a good education.”
What are your own hopes for this research project? How/who do you think will take part in/use your research results when the project is finished?
”Statistics show that more than 30 percent of students with an NPF diagnosis lack eligibility for upper secondary school when they leave ninth grade. This is almost three times more than in the category of students without NPF. We hope that by analyzing data from the SOFIA study in combination with interviews, we can contribute knowledge about students' development and school experiences over time. How do different types of measures, interventions, and support prove to work in a long-term perspective? Our hope is that the results can be disseminated, for example, via the National Agency for Education and the National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools to schools so that students with neuropsychiatric difficulties can receive the support they are entitled to.”
Co-applicant for Additional Research Projects
Principals' Emotional Work in Challenging Times
Anette Forssten Seiser, Associate Professor in Educational Work and active in School Development, Organization, and Leadership (SOL), has received VR funds as a co-applicant together with Åsa Hirsh and Lill Langelotz, scientific leader of the project, at the University of Gothenburg.
”It feels good that I and two skilled colleagues from the University of Gothenburg have the opportunity to study the important area; "principals' emotional work in challenging times" for four years. Today, principals increasingly face threats and challenges in their professional everyday life. These are often linked to exceptional events such as drugs and shootings in and around schools. Another large part of principals' professional everyday life is countless meetings with guardians, police, social services, and other actors in the local area. In other words, what is called emotional work, i.e., the ability to manage one's own and others' feelings, has become a large part of principals' everyday life. As a principal today, you need to focus on being there for teachers and students, which requires commitment, drive, and a great interest in caring for people to manage the task. This part of the principal profession has been studied internationally to some extent, including in Australia, but rarely in a Swedish context, which motivates our study. Recently, we visited our colleagues in Australia to prepare for the project start at the turn of the year. It feels incredibly exciting. We will have to return with results in due course, and I believe that both principals' unions and principal training programs will be interested and use what we come up with as there is a high turnover of principals, and we need to understand why they leave their jobs and what we can do about it.”
Children in Preparedness: Swedish Preparedness Pedagogy in Transition 1945–2000
Johan Samuelsson, Professor of History, has received research funds as a co-applicant in collaboration with main applicant Björn Lundberg, Lund University, and Esbjörn Larsson, Uppsala University. The research project has a knowledge-historical approach and is interested in the knowledge produced around preparedness issues. The project takes its starting point in the Swedish government's decision to rebuild the civil part of total defense due to international threats. This has raised the question of the school's role in preparedness and what role children and youth should play in crises or war. After World War II, there was a strong focus on defense knowledge in schools, and children were encouraged to participate in defense.
”Previous research has focused on peace and international solidarity in schools, but not on defense education, says Johan Samuelsson. With this project, we want to fill this knowledge gap and provide historical knowledge about Swedish preparedness pedagogy for children and youth in schools and associations during the Cold War (1945–2000). The goal is to understand how schools and associations worked to prepare children and youth for crises and defense. We will also study children's rights in a preparedness pedagogical context and how schools and civil society can involve children in crisis preparedness.”
