Vildana Basic
Doctoral student

Presentation

My interest in research grew out of a question that has stayed with me for many years: How can we create teaching that feels meaningful to students and helps them see why the knowledge they encounter in school matters beyond the classroom? After many years as a teacher and lead teacher, I have carried this question into my research as a PhD student at the RelMaS Graduate School.

In my research, I explore what happens when students encounter people, knowledge, and perspectives beyond the traditional boundaries of school. I am particularly interested in transdisciplinary collaboration and co-creation between students, teachers, and professionals working with science. Through these encounters, I explore how students can be given new opportunities to learn, ask questions, test ideas, and understand the significance of science in relation to their everyday lives and broader societal issues. A particular focus is on how such processes may influence students’ learning, interest, and motivation in science, as well as their perceptions of its relevance.

This interest is closely connected to my experiences in school. During my years as a teacher and lead teacher, I developed a strong interest in school development, sustainability education, and collaboration between schools and the world of work. I have worked with teaching where students encounter societal issues, professionals, and authentic problems, and where learning develops through the meeting of different perspectives and experiences. This is also where I see a clear connection between my background as a teacher and my research: a curiosity about what happens when students become active participants in the learning process and when teaching connects to questions that matter beyond school.

My research is grounded in pragmatism and draws on perspectives on co-creation and participatory research. These perspectives help me understand learning as something that develops through people’s encounters with one another, with knowledge, and with the situations in which they find themselves.

My engagement with sustainability and collaboration has also extended beyond my own teaching. I have, for example, planned and organised international conferences for Caretakers of the Environment International and been involved in national and Nordic initiatives focusing on sustainability and learning. I have contributed to the development of educational materials for UR, including Uppdrag framtid and Klimatkompis, and written the teacher’s guide for Klimatkompis. I have also contributed to WWF Sweden’s MOOC on leading a school for sustainable development and given lectures on the Sustainable Development Goals and collaboration between schools and the world of work.

Together with the Centre for Collaboration and Coordination at the Faculty of Education and Society, I have also organised seminars for teachers and educators on how the Sustainable Development Goals can be used as a resource for interdisciplinary learning. These different experiences have given me the opportunity to work at the intersection of research, teaching, and educational practice – an area that remains central to my work.

Another important part of my academic development has been international research collaboration. I have undertaken research visits and exchanges at University College London, King’s College London, the University of Reading, Heidelberg University, and the University of Sarajevo. I have also collaborated with Uppsala University and Stockholm University, including through the RelMaS Graduate School. In addition, I have represented Malmö University in Nordic collaborations in teacher education focusing on sustainability in local communities.

Alongside my research, I teach in teacher education at Malmö University. My teaching includes science and technology, ecology and sustainable development, geography, Teaching for Sustainability, and scientific knowledge and proven experience. Combining research and teaching is important to me, not least because encounters with students and future teachers continue to challenge and develop my own perspectives on teaching and learning.

What connects my research, teaching, and previous work in schools is an interest in learning as something that develops through encounters between people, knowledge, and real-world situations. I believe education becomes particularly interesting when it creates space for questions that do not have simple answers – and when students are given opportunities to explore, think, create, and have an influence on the world around them.