Purpose: This study identifies gendered disparities among women students participating in work-integrated learning and explores the effects of the disparities on their perceptions on perceived opportunities, competencies, sense of belonging, and professional identity. Design/methodology/approach: A series of semi-structured focus groups were run…

In this article, we study how meritocratic systems and gender equality concerns are negotiated across different organisational spaces in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Based on a case study of the organising of a tenure track system in a Swedish university, we suggest that the intersection of meritocratic processes and gender equality work…

Purpose: This study aimed to identify and describe how mentoring influences the mentor, by operationalising and specifying learning outcomes involved in mentoring. Design/methodology/approach: This study used an action research approach, by uniting theory and practice to explore new ways of learning and evolve the field of practice in education.…

Classical ballet training has been criticized for prioritizing technical excellence over creativity, despite 21st century dancers needing to be strong in both aspects. The aim of this study was to investigate professional choreographers' views on (a) how ballet training inspired vs. inhibited their creativity and (b) potential gender differences…

Which gender equality measures do Nordic universities use, and to what extent are the measures effective in increasing the share of women in top academic positions? Based on theories that distinguish between actor and structure-oriented measures, and between strategies of inclusion and transformation, we identified four types of measures: career…

Utilizing the Survey of Adult Skills from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and the OECD database, this study investigates the role of gender inequality and public social spending in the gender gap in Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET) risk across various age cohorts. The research identifies a…

This study analysed how preschool teachers differently enacted the same mathematical activity for preschool children to discern numbers, and how this affected the children's learning opportunities during the activity. The analysis was based on variation theory and Chi's taxonomy of learning activities. Two Swedish preschool teachers' enactment of…

This study explores how policy discourses on academic career are articulated in Swedish higher education. Discourses on academic career are often expressing meritocracy and the necessity of competition, but also include demands for flexibility and global participation. Recent decades of higher education policy have also stressed the importance of…

Purpose: The aim of this article is to examine the role of formal and informal leadership for advancing gender equality in forestry education. Methodology: The article builds on empirical material from focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews with students, teachers and leaders at an agricultural university in Sweden. Findings: The…

There is growing interest in the underlying mechanisms affecting female leaders in Higher Education (HE). This article compares four countries -- Germany, Norway, Poland and Sweden to identify key structural conditions (enablers and barriers) for female representation in academia by studying the regulative framework of government policy. Two…

The aim of this article is to critically explore and analyse opportunities and obstacles faced by highly skilled migrants in rural areas seeking to re-enter their profession, focusing on the lived experiences of migrants residing in northern Sweden. Analysis of their stories focusing on intersections of temporal and spatial positionings reveal…

Engineering curricula need to integrate global competence learning to ensure that graduates can succeed in globalised labour markets. In this context, this study examines disciplinary engineering courses, focusing on the key characteristics of globally competent educators and teaching approaches in terms of learning environments and course…

This article reports results of an ethnographic study of how girls are positioned, and position themselves, in relation to gender regimes in three vocational programmes in Swedish upper secondary education: Restaurant Management & Food, Health & Social Care, and Vehicle & Transport. The comparison shows that there are different…

Purpose: This paper presents a qualitative systematic review of Swedish research on vocational education and training (VET) at the upper secondary school level over the past 20 years. The review is based on a theoretical model on curriculum making as social practice that may serve as model for comparative studies between countries. By introducing…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible factors related to transfer of knowledge and skills from two leadership development courses to the work environment and its maintenance for two years post training. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 12 leaders in two different types of courses were interviewed at least two years…