PhD project The purpose of my dissertation project is to analyze the collaboration between the municipality and the university in matters related to practice-based research and school development. I am studying various collaborative projects involving stakeholders from the municipality and the university to understand how educational collaboration evolves over time and how experiences of collaboration are managed in both organizations.
In the various sub-studies, I shed light on collaboration from both an individual and organizational perspective, and the expected outcome is to contribute knowledge on how long-term collaboration structures between universities and municipalities can be created.
Educational collaboration between municipalities and universities has been ongoing for a long time and in various forms. However, the wording of the Education Act emphasizing an education based on scientific foundation and proven experience (SFS 2010:800) has served as an incentive for deeper collaboration, often in the form of practice-oriented research and development projects involving both teachers and researchers. Collaboration is a concept that often carries positive connotations, but it is also complex and gives rise to new challenges. I am particularly interested in the ideas and expectations that different actors have regarding collaboration activities, the outcomes of these activities, and the knowledge that collaboration can generate. I also explore what actors perceive as hindering or promoting factors when it comes to realizing their ideas and expectations. To elucidate the complexity of collaboration, I adopt an activity-theoretical perspective.
