Social Justice and Diversity in Education

The group is multi- and interdisciplinary and formed around research focused on diversity, multilingualism, minority perspectives, societal sustainability, social justice in education, democracy and teacher education.

The research group Social Justice and Diversity in Education aims to facilitate interaction and promote research at Nord University. The group is multi- and interdisciplinary and formed around research focused on diversity, multilingualism, minority perspectives, societal sustainability, social justice in education, democracy and teacher education.

The research in the group is ranging from early childhood education to adult and higher education studies. In our research, we use a variety of research methods like interviews, ethnography, discourse analysis, and different quantitative methods, video and photography. Our goal is to do socially relevant research, to have an impact on the development of educational research and practices and to take positions in societal debates.

The group has several ongoing research projects as well as collaboration with partner organisations outside the university setting. The main activities for the group are to organise seminars and to promote research at the faculty as well as to jointly apply for funding and to publish. The group organises several research meetings, summits and seminars per year. We are glad to invite all PhD students and faculty to be a part of our research group.

• MembersCopy linkCopied

  Heidi Katarina Harju-Luukkainen, head of research group
  Ingvill Bjørnstad Åberg
  Hege Myhre
  Ingrid E. Elden
  Karianne Berg
  May Line Rotvik Tverbakk
  Katharina Jacobsson
  Eirik Risberg
  Ingvild Mestad

  External:
  Jon Reitan

Research projects

• How to support language learners in South-Sámi language?Copy linkCopied

  A Study of Teachers’ Competence in Instructional Strategies (2019-2020)

  The project is led by Professor Heidi Harju-Luukkainen and Co-led by Associate professor Karianne Berg and Associate Professor Asbjørn Kollberg.

  The aim of this project is to identify how teachers are able to 1) recognize important instructional strategies as well as 2) use them in everyday communicational and pedagogical contexts with the language learners of South-Sámi. This will be studied in a school in Snåsa municipality providing education with South-Sámi, with the help of structured interviews and video-based observation methods.

  The project is funded by Regionale Forskningsfond.

  Feature Analysis Approaches in International Assessments.
  International Research Network (IRN) (2019-2020)
  The Network is led by Professor Eva Baker (UCLA) and Kilchan Choi (UCLA).

  As partner Nord University, Heidi Harju-Luukkainen.
  Member countries are Korea, China, Chile, Mexico, Finland, Norway, Germany and USA.
  The project is funded by WERA (World Education Research Association)

• Feature Analysis Approaches in International AssessmentsCopy linkCopied

  International Research Network (IRN) (2019-2020)

  Nettverket ledes av Eva Baker (UCLA) og Kilchan Choi (UCLA).

  Heidi Harju-Luukkainen, Nord universitet, er medlem av nettverket.
  Medlemsland er Sør-Korea, Kina, Chile, Mexico, Finland, Norge, Tyskland og USA.

  Prosjektet er finansiert av WERA.

  Om prosjektet:

  This International Research Network (IRN) will report the use of common qualitative measures on country-specific, large-scale tests in mathematics and language arts and PISA exams. Participants from the United States, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Germany, Finland, China, and South Korea will apply a feature analysis tool to at least one of their country’s accountability tests and PISA exams.

  Using feature analysis, qualitative ratings of content distribution, cognitive demands, and task elements (e.g., representation) will be systematically obtained. In subsequent quantitative analysis, the impact of such features on available quantitative indicators such as item difficulty is provided, moderated by phase of assessment development. The proximal intention of these metrics is to inform teachers about instructionally relevant inferences and to influence assessment design. An additional goal is to compare features and indicators across countries for similar, mediating patterns.

• A case study of childrens' language development and participation in a multilingual environmentCopy linkCopied

  Project leader: Hege Myhre

  The research project is about language development, democracy and citizenship and experienced participation of minority language students and parents at a school (grades 1-10), and how the school's management and teachers at the school can contribute to better language development and participation of both students and their parents. 

  The project has several sub-projects, including concept development in science, beginner reading and writing training, collaborative learning and school-home collaboration. The school is a university school, and the research and development projects at the school are part of the focus on university schools at Nord University. 

• Inequalities in access to preschool in SwedenCopy linkCopied

  Project Leader: Professor Susanne Garvis (University of Stockholm) 
  Partner Professor: Heidi Harju-Luukkainen (Nord University) 

  Early childhood education is considered a great "equaliser" to prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty and exclusion (Morabito et al. 2013). The potential of preschool to address inequality has motivated many governments, including Sweden to invest in preschool services. This is in part because accessible childcare allows parents to work, improving their overall economic situation and leading to better living conditions. 
  This pilot study will investigate the barriers of immigrant families to preschool access in Sweden. Thirty families will be interviewed in three kommuns who do not currently send their children to preschool. 
  Results will be compared with access barriers in other countries and provide working hypotheses that will be explored in a larger study across Sweden. By reducing inequality to access of preschools, better social outcomes can be achieved for the overall families (such as increased wealth, better integration) and children (increased school readiness and a better understanding of the Swedish language), regardless of their socioeconomic status. 

  Funded by Forte (Sweden).

• Transformative teacher educationp (TTE) for the Sustainable North (2019-2020)Copy linkCopied

  ​Professor Heidi Harju-Luukkainen is a partner in the project.

  The funded project will contribute to a better understanding of the contextual and cultural issues in education via engagement with local communities through institutional and research collaboration. As the year 2019 is being celebrated as a UN International Year of Indigenous Languages, the project will concentrate its activities to the theme of indigenous languages and education.

  The project organised a summit in Levanger in January 2020.

• University school project - School improvementCopy linkCopied

  Project leader: Associate professor Katharina Jacobsson, Nord University.

  Participants in the project: Senior lecture Arve Thorshaug, doctoral student Ingrid Elden, doctoral student Elise Arnsby and associate professor Katharina Jacobsson.

  A process study which focuses on collaboration between teacher education and school participants - also with a dual mission; to develop the teacher education and the students students' mastery of their education. The study will specifically study professionally-oriented guidance and supervisor eduction and examine the extent to which guidance practice can contribute to the student's experience. The theory part will consist of theories of guidance and professional education and theories of change and innovation in organisations. The project has two doctoral students attached to the research. The University schools are Nesheim and Ytterøy skole.

• Distance teaching and learning in the Arctic communities (DistARCTIC)Copy linkCopied

  UArctic Thematic Network on Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity is focusing on three themes formed collaboratively within the Network: indigenous education, inclusive education and rural education. The project DistARCTIC aims to open new horizons on rural education, especially what kind of pedagogical practices could be used in online/distance teaching and learning to secure equal educational possibilities and high-quality education for all, regardless of their location. In the current situation of COVID-19 virus, developing online/distance teaching and learning practices has become essential. Pandemic has highlighted the importance of quality online pedagogical models. It has become evident, that not all teachers have knowledge and skills to use online possibilities in their everyday work.

  Project partner is Professor Heidi Harju-Luukkainen

  Other partner institutions are University of the Faroe Islands, University of Lapland, Leeds Beckett University, Luleå University of Technology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Murmansk Arctic State University, Nord University, Northern Arctic Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Sámi University of Applied Sciences, The Arctic University of Norway, University of Aberdeen, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Iceland, University of Oulu and University of Prince Edward Island.

PhD projects

• Parent engagement in the Swedish preschoolCopy linkCopied

  Research fellow: Tina Yngvesson
  Main supervisor: Professor Susanne Garvis (Göteborg University, Stockholm University) 
  Co-supervisor: Professor Heidi Harju-Luukkainen (Nord University, Göteborg University). 

  Children in Sweden are usually introduced to preschool between fifteen to eighteen months of age and commonly attend more than forty hours a week. The assumption is that children (with exceptions) will attend preschool during parents working hours, making the fostering of children a shared task between the state and the individual family. Promoting child agency, the curriculum states that "the preschool should reflect the values and rights expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)" (Lpfö 18, p. 5). Thus, the preschool assumes a holistic approach to the child with the ambition to enter into close partnership with the home in order to promote the healthy development of children. In reality however, how this is to be achieved is a matter of interpretation of the curriculum on both the home- and the preschool's behalf.

  This study examines the construct of children's, parents and preschool teachers understanding of parent engagement in the Swedish preschool by investigating the phenomenon of parent engagement through the child's proximal processes (PPCT) and against the CRC. The overarching aim of the study is to surface the children's voices and the central research questions to be answered in this study are:

  How does this interconnection affect the child's meaning-making in preschool and overall understanding of parent engagement?

  How does this understanding align with the preschool's holistic approach to the child as well as the Convention of the Rights of The Child?

  By assuming a narrative approach from three perspectives (child, parent and teacher), this study explores the interconnectedness and tri-directional understanding and execution of parent engagement in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in an effort to promote the children's voices and identify discrepancies between adults and children's lived teachers lived experience.

  Publications:

  Parent engagement in Swedish preschool: What do the children say?

  Parental Involvement in ECEC in Finland and in Sweden.

  Towards a test driven early childhood education: Alternative practices to testing children.

  Parent engagement in Swedish preschool: A narrative inquiry through the conceptual lens of proximal processes (Master thesis)

Research collaboration

• UArctic Thematic NetworkCopy linkCopied

  The research group collaborates actively with UArctic Thematic Network Teacher Education For Social Justice and Diversity as well as organises a joint programme​​​.

• Associated membersCopy linkCopied

  The group takes part in research collaboration both in national and international settings. Our research group consists of 14 faculty members as well as of six honorary associate members from other institutions. They are  

  • Professor Susanne Garvis (university of Gothenburg),  
  • Professor Arniika Kuusisto (University of Stockholm),  
  • Associate Professor Alicja R. Sadownik (BARNEkunne center, Høgskolen på Vestlandet),  
  • Professor Joao Maroco (ISPA - Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida), 
  • Director, Professor Eva Baker (University of California, Los Angeles) and 
  • Director, Professor Nele McElvany (Dortmund Technical University).