Didaktik Studies (DS)
Our Research
The activities of the research group can be framed through the classical didaktik questions: Why, What, How, Where, When, and Who.
Why
The why question captures the underlying motivation of the research, which is directed toward developing a multivocal didaktik [flerstämmig didaktik] for democracy in a wiser world. In a time marked by fragile societal development—where social cohesion, democracy, freedom of expression, and individual well-being are increasingly under pressure —there is a pressing need to safeguard democracy both nationally from within and through international exchange of democratic practices.
The core driving force behind Didaktik Studies is thus the ambition to contribute to a wiser world by promoting democratic values through education. In the complex realities of teaching, a multivokal approach—rather than a monovokal or one-dimensional one—can offer a way to avoid reductionism and instead open up for more nuanced understandings of educational practice. This complexity-oriented perspective allows for the development of more refined, sensitive, and responsive teaching practices, which may in turn foster conditions for a wiser, more democratic society.
What
The what question relates to the research profile of the group, which is defined by a multivocal didaktik that encompasses general didaktik (including teaching, responses, values, and democratic participation), content-focused or subject-specific didaktik (such as music, mathematics, literacy, translanguaging, literature didaktik, and digital competence), and special education didaktik. The group’s work also includes elements of comparative didaktik, creative listening, (neuro)didaktik, and philosophical metadidaktik among other evolving areas of inquiry.
How
The how question concerns the formats and practices through which the group engages in knowledge development. These include didaktik dialogues, advanced seminars, invited guest lectures, doctoral activities (such as dissertation launch events and project presentations), varied text seminars, conference participation (both collective and individual), researcher days, grant-writing seminars, collaborative writing workshops sometimes organized as “text potlucks,” and academic career development discussions.
The modes of presentation employed within the group are also multivokal in nature. In addition to traditional academic formats, the group explores alternative forms of communication, including narrative frameworks such as a multivocal “didaktik ship,” as well as musical and poetic elements, visual and movement-based expressions, synthesizing conversations, podcasts, films, and opinion pieces.
Where
The where question refers to the physical and digital spaces in which the group operates. These include rooms within the Orkanen building—frequently ORE110—as well as digital environments, and national and international venues such as conferences and meeting platforms.
When
The when question relates to the temporal rhythms of the group’s activities. Meetings are held approximately once a month, typically for two hours, and sometimes extend into full-day sessions in connection with conferences or special events.
Who
The who question includes the group's members, comprising doctoral students as well as lecturers, senior lecturers, associate professors, and full professors.
Voices about Didactic Studies
The driving force in my research is the collaboration between researchers and practitioners in preschool and preschool teacher education, and the mutual development this enables.
Ylva Holmberg
In Holmberg’s research, music often serves as the common thread, which has led to, for example, an ongoing collaboration and ULF network: Multivocal Didaktik Analysis of Music and Literacy Practices in Preschool.
My research interests concern how teaching about and with digital technology is designed in different school contexts, and the conditions that shape teaching.
Carolina Martinez
I am the vice director of the research center Sustainable Digitalization at Malmö University, where issues related to, for example, inclusion and human rights in relation to digital technology are central.
Special education didaktik is a didaktik voice under development, being proven in multivocal contexts of research, collaboration, and research-linked education. The driving force behind the exploration and development of special education didaktik relates to every child’s right to equitable education and teaching in preschool.
Linda Palla
Palla is a member of interdisciplinary international networks such as the Nordic Network of Documentation Researchers in the Education and Special Education Research field and Global childhood’s research group.
The driving force behind my interest in multivocal didactics relates to the potential in open life chances and well-being for all children, linked to teachers’ ability to create conditions through teaching proficiency and co-constructed knowledge formation.
Ann-Christine Vallberg Roth
Engagement in large-scale research and development programs, ULF networks, preschool teacher education, doctoral education and research schools, as well as national and international networks and publications, can create opportunities for and contribute to the pursuit of democracy in a wiser world.
