Elisabeth Bjørnestad

Elisabeth Bjørnestad is a professor II in Pedagogy at Nord University, Norway. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational pedagogy from the University of Oslo and has extensive experience in research, teaching, and policy development within the field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Her work emphasizes inclusive, research-informed, and child-centered pedagogies, with a particular focus on transitions from kindergarten to primary school, and quality in ECEC.

Bjørnestad has led several major research projects, including:

Better Provision for Norway’s Children from Early Childhood Education through Primary School (BeProS) (2020–2025)

Evaluation of the Educational Reform for Six-Year-Olds (Seksårsreformen) (2020–2024)

Better Provision for Norway’s Children in ECEC (2013–2019)

The Norwegian study in the European Quality Seal (EQS) project (2018–2020)

Co-leadership of the SAMBA research group on coherence between ECEC and primary school (2018–2022)

Co-coordinator of strand 11 in the evaluation of Reform 97 (2001–2004)

Her research interests include quality and continuity in ECEC, children’s agency and participation, inclusive pedagogical practices, and professional development for ECEC staff. She has served on multiple scientific evaluation committees and advisory boards in Norway and Denmark, and she actively supervises PhD and master’s students.

Bjørnestad teaches across all levels of higher education and has developed PhD courses on ECEC research and methodology. She maintains strong ties to practice and collaborates with educators to ensure that research findings inform pedagogical development.