To solve two enduring problems in education--unacceptably large variation in learning opportunities for students across classrooms and little continuing improvement in the quality of instruction--the authors propose a system that centers on the creation of shared instructional products that guide classroom teaching. By examining systems outside…

Our paper traces the history and progressive development of environmental education and education for sustainable development (ESD) in Sweden and Denmark. Our main focus is on work in primary and lower secondary schools as part of a search for trends of international interest related to the conceptualisation and practice of environmental education…

From 2000 to 2009 Umeå University had a genuine faculty board for teacher education that was responsible for both first-cycle teaching and research training. The board itself was an innovation in the Swedish high school system and introduced a new practice-oriented subject for the doctoral degree, "pedagogiskt arbete" ("Educational…

This paper discusses school development as collaboration between local schools and universities based on complementary needs. I examine a 10 year case study of a long-term relationship between an elementary school and a university in a town in Sweden. The relationship is jointly constructed and mediated by local, national, and international…

Do some forms of student (and school) assessment hinder the introduction of innovative educational practices and the development of innovation skills in education systems? This report focuses on the impact of high-stake summative assessment on innovation and argues that it is possible to reconcile high-stakes assessments and examinations through…

In this article, the authors report on a study that was carried out at the University College of Boras. Teachers using an online learning platform (WebCT) were surveyed to see to what extent they made use of the various features available to them on the learning platform. The extent to which teachers employed all the features was low. The article…

With growing international interest in diversifying sites for pedagogical work within the doctorate, doctoral programmes of different kinds are being developed in different disciplinary, institutional and national settings. However, little is known about how the pedagogical work of these programmes is designed and enacted, and with what effects.…

The number of doctorates being awarded around the world has almost doubled over the last ten years, propelling it from a small elite enterprise into a large and ever growing international market. Within the context of increasing numbers of doctoral students this book examines the new doctorate environment and the challenges it is starting to face.…

This research review reports on articles presenting empirical research in the area of how teacher-training institutions work on preparing future teachers for the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in their future classrooms. It was conducted mainly in English and French and covers research in 11 OECD-countries during…

From October to December 2005, six biology associates were employed to progress the connection between curriculum implementation and the continuing professional development of teachers at regional level. The associates worked with one hundred biology teachers in Teacher Design Teams (TDTs) and together they produced eighteen innovative classroom…

The purpose of this paper is, first, to highlight the role of the relationships between universities, institutions and firms in different regional development processes working towards a knowledge economy, and, second, to draw some implications for local policy makers. Adopting the regional innovation system (RIS) approach, the authors analyse …

The level of funding made available for pedagogical innovation, a function of external policy context, is important but not sufficient for effecting lasting change in higher education teaching.

Purpose: This study aims to consider the complexities of planning and implementation of a reform in the Swedish system of higher vocational education and training (VET). The study object of this article is the Swedish reform with advanced vocational education (AVE). The two main questions the study aims to address are: "What are the main…

Reviews the school reform efforts that took place in Sweden between the mid 1940s and late 1960s. Draws four conclusions regarding school reform efforts, among them that: (1) reforms must be conceived in a wider socio-economic context and may not substitute for social and economic changes, and (2) reforms must take into consideration educators'…