The research group Philosophical Studies of Education (PSE) organises researchers who engage in foundational questions concerning education and pedagogy in their widest sense. Through historical and philosophical perspectives, we aim to study and elucidate central questions, controversies and subjects concerning educational processes and relations.

About the research

Working with the history of educational ideas, philosophy, philosophy of science and pedagogy from both continental and analytical positions we work towards exploring the metaphors, examples and vocabulary available to pedagogues, teachers and educational researchers.

Members of the research group are active participants in international philosophy of education conferences and networks such as the annual conference of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain, the annual meeting of the Philosophy of Education Society, and the philosophy of education network at ECER.

The research group publish articles in journals such as Journal of Philosophy of Education, Studies in Philosophy and Education, Educational Philosophy and Theory, Educational Theory and Ethics and Education.

The research group is based at the Department of Childhood, Education and Society (BUS).

Examples of projects carried out within the research group are

  • investigations of the conceptual boundaries of educational theory,
  • explorations of the role of the teacher,
  • investigations into the relationship between politics, ethics and education,
  • investigations of the aims of education and conceptual studies of the institutional frameworks of schools and preschools.

Open seminars

The research group welcomes new members with an interest in the philosophy of education and educational theory.

Open seminars Spring 2022

Zoom-link to the seminars

16 February

13.15-15.00 – Text seminar. Johan Dahlbeck: "The pedagogy of as if" and Hanna Sjögren: "Escaping from the prison of privacy: Placing school choice between the private and public". (Room: OR: C232)

Please contact presenters or the coordinator to receive the texts in advance of the seminar.

25 February

12:05-13.00 – Lunch talk, Theme: ‘Relevance/irrelevance in educational theory” (Room NI: B314 and Zoom)

4 March

13:15-16:00 – Christian Norefalk. Doctoral defence: Title:  ”What the right to education is, and what it ought to be: towards a social ontology of education as a human right”
Faculty examiner: Professor Tristan McCowan, UCL Institute of Education
Contact Christian for the manuscript, christian.norefalk@mau.se

(Room Faculty of Health and Society Auditorium, Jan Waldenströms gata 25, or via Zoom)

9 March

15:15-17:00 – Tone Sævi ‘Title: “The philosophy of learning’’ (Room: OR: D331)

1 April

12.05-13.00 – Lunch talk ‘Theme: ‘’Are the Sophist’s really the bad guys? Part 2’ (Room: NI: B314 and Zoom)

Postponed: 1 April

13:00-15.30– Joint seminar with Laboratory for Education and Society, KU Leuven (On Zoom)

Please note that the seminar is postponed and a new date will be announced later on.

20 April

15.15-17:00 – Text seminar: TBC (Room: OR: B231c)

20 May

12.05-13.00 - Lunch talk ‘Theme: ‘Intention/attention in education’ (Room: NI: C205 and Zoom)

31 May

15:15-17:00 – Nushin Husseini-Eckhart: 'Exemplarism In The Semantics Of The Fragment. Philosophical Reflections And Didactical Practices' and Douglas Yacek: ‘Transformative Education’. (Room: NI:A0513).