Practice-near research has been on the agenda in education policy during the last few years in Sweden. The research is supposed to make the academy and school collaborate and the expectations are high. This article aims to give an account of different kinds of expectations of practice-near research, and the underlying perceived problems it is…

The past three decades have witnessed a sharp reduction in the rate of growth of public research funding, and sometimes an actual decline in its level. In many countries, this decline has been accompanied by substantial changes in the ways that such funding has been allocated and monitored. In addition, the institutions governing how research is…

The aim is to explore the absence or presence of, and motives for, research at centers for academic development and to problematize the research situation among academic developers. Boyer's and Healey's theories are used as lenses for the analysis based on the questionnaires that were used for data collection. The conclusion is that research is a…

Expectations around success in academia vary, and early career academics often receive conflicting messages about what they should concentrate on to achieve promotion or tenure. Taking a social constructionist approach, this paper considers the constructs of objective and subjective career success in academia and shares the perspectives of early…

In the context of higher education in Sweden, we see how major policy change is forming the field of Education Sciences. This change has promoted an increased focus on competitiveness, while reducing inefficiencies in mass-education. It has given legitimacy to specific recruitment strategies and career paths, but can also explain what determines…

In this article, based on a larger research project, the ambition is to critically discuss the first collaboration between students with intellectual disabilities and the Academy of Music in Sweden. The article presents an analysis of video observations of lessons in rhythmics, related to an encounter between the students with intellectual…

The authors investigate how Third Mission activities at universities, such as the outreach and technology transfer functions, are anchored in organizational structures and practices, and discuss the implications of this relationship for the success of the activities. They draw on case studies of two Swedish university colleges to illustrate the…

Feminist pedagogy implies performing some kind of feminist teaching practices, while at the same time contesting the very possibility of performing such practices. One needs to start out from the assumption that only what cannot be foreseen will enable one not just to overcome resistance to feminist knowledge and teaching but also to make such…

At the core of higher education is the experience of students whose focus for learning is often directed towards their future employability. In this paper, we explore the intersections between two large international research projects involving over 500 students. Interviews with students yielded their conceptions of learning and work in specific…

The Swedish National Board of Universities and Colleges' program of research on higher education is described, and data are given on the trends in grant distribution and related publications by research topic and discipline. (MSE)

Projects financed by the Office of the Chancellor of the Swedish Universities are surveyed that are either completed or still in progress. They are categorized in three separate groups: (1) the structure of higher education and its relationship to society as a whole; (2) the organization of teaching and learning; and (3) evaluation: function…

At Linkoping University in Sweden, research is organized with both interdisciplinary and problem-oriented approaches, organized in broad problem areas or themes instead of by discipline. The four themes are Public Health and Medical Care in the Community, Human Communication, Technology and Social Change, and Water in Nature and Society.…

The relationship between higher education and the division of labor was studied. The objective was to evaluate whether the establishment of affiliated universities has had the intended effects in terms of efficiency and equality. A main focus of "established educational research" has been the relationship between education and…

This project-in-progress is one of several stages of the National Swedish Board of Universities and Colleges followup of the national reform of higher education. The overall object of the project is to study the manner in which the higher education system has adapted to the principle of recurrent education. It will entail following Swedish and…

The state of a higher education evaluation project aimed at improving efficiency and increasing the capacity for self-renewal in higher education at the beginning of 1978 is described. The working methods of the project include: building up a knowledge base from literature and from foreign and Swedish universities and colleges; examining problems…