Texture and (Arts) Education -Encouraging Attention, Awareness and Sensitivity

In this article, the complexities of the concept of texture and its relationship to (arts) education, here with a specific focus on attention, awareness and sensitivity, are explored and elaborated upon. Texture can be described simply as the visual and tactile character of surfaces, which covers both nature and culture and, indeed, much of life itself. The overall aim of the article is to explore the following: (i) (arts) education through the lens of texture; (ii) texture, education and the arts as they relate to bodily and sensory experiences; and (iii) texture and (arts) education in relation to silence, silent spaces and repetition. The ultimate goal is to develop theoretical and philosophical insights into diverse understandings of texture as they relate to (arts) education as a way to illuminate and sharpen the sentience and appreciation of its meaning and importance for students in the classroom. The article is theoretically founded on the thinking of the French philosophers Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Mikel Dufrenne. The ways in which texture, education and the arts are related to bodily and sensory experiences are outlined and discussed, which is followed by an exploration of silence, silent spaces and repetition as essential elements of both texture and education. The discussion is exemplified by a narrative, here in the form of a paradigmatic case, of students examining texture in the classroom. To conclude, texture encourages or elicits attention, awareness and sensitivity, all of which are of significance not only for (arts) education, but also for the formation of society—for the formation of our lives

Democratic values and student participation in Swedish education : essentials for a sustainable and equal society

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The sense of place – voices from a schoolyard

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‘I miss the physical presence of the students’ : Swedish teachers’ experiences of online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Digitaliseringens begränsande gränslöshet – om lärande, rum och hemmahörande i högre utbildning

Digitaliserade lärandemiljöer och distansöverbryggande utbildningsformer har under en längre tid präglat högre utbildning, men den drastiska digitala omställningen i samband med covid-19-pandemin innebar en situation där lärare och studenter i än högre utsträckning kom att skiljas åt i tid och rum. Under våren 2021, när studenter och lärare vid universitet och högskolor under drygt ett år hade bedrivit dessa av regering och myndigheter föreskrivna distansstudier och interagerat i och med de digitaliserade utbildningsmiljöerna, inbjöds tre studentgrupper att delge sina erfarenheter av den digitala omställningen. Studiens övergripande syfte var att synliggöra, kritiskt granska och diskutera studenters erfarenheter av den hastiga och genomgripande digitala transformationen av undervisning och lärandemiljö. Sammanlagt deltog 39 studenter, vilka studerade vid två olika universitet: ett i Sverige och ett på Island. Studenterna fick skriftligt reflektera över ett antal öppna frågeställningar i anslutning till den digitala transformation som deras utbildning genomgått med fokus på upplevelser och erfarenheter av undervisningen, lärandet och rummet. Teoretiskt utgår studien från livsvärldsfilosofi, framför allt vad gäller Martin Heideggers och Gaston Bachelards tankegods, vilka speglas mot och genom studenternas erfarenheter. Resultatanalysen mynnade ut i sju olika teman som samtliga säger något signifikant om digitaliseringen i högre utbildning. Vidare synliggör dessa teman de dikotomier och spänningsfyllda förhållanden som konstituerar rumslighet och hemhörighet i en digitaliserad utbildningskontext.  Finitude unbound – on learning, space and belonging in digitalised higher education Digital learning environments and distance education have over time increasingly come to characterize higher education, and during the covid-19 pandemic the digital transition was radically accelerated. This led to an even more apparent temporal and spatial separation between teachers and students. In the spring of 2021, when students and teachers at universities and colleges had been experiencing this imposed form of online teaching and learning for just over a year, three groups of students were asked to share their experiences of the digital transition through written reflections. The overall purpose of the study was to visualize, critically examine and discuss students’ experiences of the rapid and pervasive digital transformation of the teaching and learning environment. A total of 39 students who studied at universities in Sweden and Iceland, participated. The students were asked to carry out written reflections on a number of open questions related to the digital transformation that their education had undergone, and with a certain focus on their experiences of the (class)room. Theoretically, the study is based on the philosophy of the lifeworld, mainly in accordance with the ideas of Martin Heidegger and Gaston Bachelard, which are reflected against and through the students’ experiences. The results are presented in the form of seven different themes, which together illuminate the students’ experiences of the digital transformation of teaching, learning and the (class)room in higher education. Moreover, the results also point out some of the dichotomies and tensions that constitute spatiality and belonging in an educational context.

Arctic teacher education and educator training : a postcolonial review of online approaches and practices

This manuscript has been written as part of a project, titled: Distance Teaching and Learning in the Arctic Communities (DistARCTIC). The project is funded by UArctic project funding for Network Activities on Arctic Research and Education, allocated by the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education (DAFSHE) and administered by the UArctic International Secretariat. The project period is 9/2020-12/2023.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Some reflections on time as a phenomenon within school

'What time is it?', 'When are we going to have a break?' These questions are probably recognised by most people who are working in the school. The questions demonstrate clearly how time controls a large part of the everyday life of the school. Time is linked to one of the most basic questions of philosophy, and several philosophers in the course of history have discussed questions concerning time. The present paper tries to elucidate time as a phenomenon, and especially to focus on the school's relation to time. To provide a historical background, the paper begins with a short retrospective survey of what certain philosophers have thought and written on the subject of time. Does time exist in itself? Or does time exist only through people's experience of it ? We can pause to reflect on the thesis that time, considered from one perspective, exists through people's being-in-the-world and through their experience of the same. Within different organisations, for example the school, time must be regarded as being under strict chronological control. This time-control influences, of course, the experience of time within the school, and the subject experience of time can be called 'subjective time', or rather - lived time.Godkänd; 2004; 20070506 (ysko

To catch a thought : a phenomenological study of the thinking of children and young people about the environment

This thesis attempts to clarify the way in which young people think about our envíronment, based on their experiences as the starting point. The aim is to make the thinking of people available and to interpret the meaning of these thoughts, whose content comprises the environment. The theoretical roots of the study are to be found within the phenomenology of the lifeworld. I also use the phenomenological method as a type of analysis method to use as inspiration when analysing the empirical material. The children and young people who are included in the study are between the ages of 7 and 16. The data collection is based on two partial studies. In one partial study, empirical material is analysed consisting of the production of drawings by 105 children and young people with attached oral comments, and in the other partial study interviews which were conducted with 16 children and young people are analysed. These two studies are partially connected and partially dependent on one another. The drawing study is aimed at developing an understanding of the thinking of the children and young people and also forms the basis for the selection of subjects for the interview study. The interview study for its part is aimed at further deepening the understanding of the thinking process and the interviews took place on two occations with each person. In the drawing analysis four themes of thoughts were crystallised which focus on: the good world, the bad world, the dialectics between the good and bad world, and symbols and actions promoting the environment. In the interview analysis eight themes emerged of thoughts which focus on: pragmatic perspectives, emotional perspectives, future and visionary perspectives, philosophical perspectives, aesthetic perspectives and romantic perspectives. It can be stated that the results which emerged in the form of the thinking of the children and young people on the environment reflect their thinking as having many nuances. If these many-faceted thoughts are to be taken seriously it is necessary in the teaching and learning situation to take into account the thinking of young citizens. Teaching and learning situations should therefore create time and room for conversation and thinking. This is to stimulate the growing power which the experiences of young people have, experiences which are in turn requirements for thinking: thinking which is constituted by beeing-in-the-world.Godkänd; 1998; 20060921 (cefa

Knowledge as a ‘body run' : learning of writing as embodied experience in accordance with Merleau-Ponty's theory of the lived body

What significance does the body have in the process of teaching and learning? In what way can the thoughts of a contemporary junior-level teacher in this regard be connected to the theory of the lived body formulated by the French phenomenologist philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961), and vice versa? The aim of this paper is to illuminate, enable understanding and discuss the meaning of the body in the learning process, with specific focus on the learning of writing as embodied experience. In the process, the boundaries of learning are also explored. While understanding the significance both of learning as embodied experience and of the boundaries of learning is essential within the educational field, in this paper the discussion is limited to exploring how learning as embodied experience and the boundaries of learning can be viewed by taking Merleau-Ponty's notions as theoretical starting points. In an attempt to answer the aim and connect the paper's theoretical point of departure with a voice from a teacher, an interview with a junior-level teacher was conducted. The paper thus offers a theoretical contribution to the field of educational research, but one in which the theory is exemplified by, and connected to, a teacher's voice. Accordingly, the paper concludes by summarising the common understandings of learning held theoretically by Merleau-Ponty and made real in the activities of the contemporary junior-level teacher.Validerad; 2009; 20091209 (ysko)</p

About silence : a matter for educational settings

”… if we know more about silence, we will know more about ourselves”, states Jaworski. What then do we know about silence? Sometimes people are silent of their own free will, while others have silence thrust upon them. Others are perhaps silent to demonstrate their position of strength or superiority with regard to others. To have understanding of and insight into the meaning and different aspects of silence is of importance to life itself, as well as to different educational settings. Within the framework of this paper, the significance of silence for educational settings will be highlighted and discussed. The discussion will be based on the recently published book ”Om tystnad - i pedagogiska sammanhang” [About Silence - in educational settings] (Alerby, 2012).The presentation will deal with issues like - is it accepted for students to be silent? Or is this seen as a problem? Some students are experienced by others or by themselves as silent. Perhaps they are neither given, nor do they take, the silent space that is required for participation in the conversation. They remain silent even though the ongoing discussion wakens thoughts and opinions, and they continue to be silent even though they know the answer to the question which the teacher has just asked. Most silent students probably have an opinion to add to the discussion or an answer to give to the question, but they choose for some reason not to express this, and therefore remain silent in the eyes (or ears) of others. But are they really silent? One way to approach these issues is to take the phenomenological movement as a point of departure. To be more precise - this paper will discuss silence in educational settings using a phenomenological life-world approach.Godkänd; 2012; 20120327 (ysko