Students' challenges in learning mechanics are well documented from test situations, and group discussions are considered a fruitful way to meet these challenges. In this paper, we present a study from an authentic teaching setting where upper secondary students in groups solve the task of calculating the acceleration of an elevator by means of a…

This study explores the processes of collaborative teacher learning in a Lesson Study group at a lower secondary school in Norway. In this context, teacher learning is understood from a sociocultural perspective, as making sense of the world, solving problems and exploring new perspectives through social interaction. Audio-recorded teacher…

This paper is a case study of student discussions of rights and responsibilities, which contributes to filling the existing knowledge gap on the topic. Tenth grade majority students who participated in three group discussions on inclusive citizenship spoke of rights as belonging to the majority or to the minoritised Other. In line with earlier…

Background: Developing collective professional capacities in schools is important for school improvement, and principals can initiate such developments. That is, by initiating and leading professional group discussions on teaching and learning, principals can influence teaching practices and, thereby, indirectly affect student outcomes and school…

Developing collective professional capacity in schools is viewed as important for improving schools. Furthermore, principals are seen as being in a key position to promote the development of collective capacity. Although an array of studies report on what principals can do to support capacity development, such as by facilitating collective…

Political, legal, and educational documents present expectations for teachers who encounter pupils with experiences of domestic violence. Teachers say they lack competence and confidence and experience uncertainty about their role in this area. This study sheds light on teachers' experiences of uncertainty in their encounters with these pupils.…

Researchers into Literature and Education from Norway, Pakistan and the United Kingdom used William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" to explore the potential of a literary text to encourage intercultural dialogue, employing an innovative teaching method, Google Circles, to provide a platform for asynchronous online discussion among three…

To prepare student teachers for the diversity they will face in schools, they have to develop intercultural competence. This paper analyses an assignment in teacher education, where the purpose is to impart this competence to student teachers. Student teachers read and reflected on a novel related to a multicultural context, and we examined in…

Purpose: In recent decades, higher education institutions have been encouraged to develop their own internal management systems as a response to perceived quality challenges in the sector. These quality management (QM) systems have often been found to mainly reflect external accountability requirements, with less focus on coherent study programme…

The aim of this article is to investigate how case method can promote leadership learning and coping with stress. An exploratory qualitative investigation was undertaken to study 57 early childhood education centre directors' course evaluations from the National Leadership Program through an online survey done between 2020 and 2021. With respect…

Neoliberal ideology has transformed higher education timescapes in profound ways. However, research has given limited consideration to how pedagogical practices can create a space for students to reshape these timescapes. By drawing upon empirical material, I will first explore how students reflect upon timescapes in an interdisciplinary course.…

The focus of this chapter is a study of teacher educators' conceptions of the relationship between mathematics and creativity. A particular focus was on the apparent contradictions between the conceptions of mathematics and creativity found in schools, as opposed to conceptions found within the society of professional mathematicians. We…

Quantum physics describes light as having both particle and wave properties; however, there is no consensus about how to interpret this duality on an ontological level. This article explores how pre-university physics students, while working with learning material focusing on historical-philosophical aspects of quantum physics, interpreted the…

School development is often seen as a concerted (re-)action to educational policies, curriculum development, and change in education laws or regulations, and sometimes, as stakeholders' reactions to low school performance. Generally, school development incorporates organizational, managerial, and educational activities and measures. This is done…

This article reports on a study that investigated Norwegian upper secondary pupils' visual stereotypes, as well as their awareness of and willingness to challenge these stereotypes before and after participating in an educational intervention. In the intervention, critical visual literacy was introduced as one approach to teaching about culture in…