Silvia Edling’s research is based on a holistic and relational approach to teaching, in which questions about knowledge, equality and socialisation are intertwined and interdependent. More specifically, Edling studies educational environments with a particular focus on how ideas/perspectives and actions work together, the requirements and conditions for the teaching profession, terms and conditions, the content of teaching and its democratic dimension. Linked to these are interdisciplinary meetings and movements between proximity (qualitative interpretation of the mobile practice) and distance (meta/evidence-based studies), which are important for understanding education in depth and tackling the current challenges in educational practice.

Her research themes include: a) perspectives on sustainable development, b) the teaching profession, c) ethics/morals, d) violence and peace research, e) bullying and equal treatment, f) children’s rights, g) democracy, h) history didactics, i) policy and j) leadership. She has experience of scientifically scrutinising national and international journals, lecturing, organising conferences and symposia, taking part in examination boards and initiating and forming research groups and networks. At present she is the scientific manager of the higher seminary in educational sciences at the University of Gävle.

Examples of completed projects

Towards an integrated theory of historical consciousness and moral consciousness

Workshop and research networks: Towards an integrated theory of historical consciousness and moral consciousness has been financed by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation. Responsible for the workshop were: Associate Professor Jan Löfstedt, Professor Niklas Ammert, Associate Professor Silvia Edling, Professor Gudmundur Frimannsson and Associate Professor Liisa Myyryn. The workshop resulted in a special theme issue:

Read the article Bridging historical consciousness and moral consciousness at University of Helsinki homepage. External link. External link.

Children’s rights and violence at boarding schools

This project has been ongoing since 2013 and has studied the incidence of recurring violence at a boarding school in Sweden from different perspectives: methodological, leadership, student, teacher and policy perspectives. Several conference papers have been presented (e.g. AERA, ECER and AARE). An article has been published and a further article is about to be published. The project is financed by the University of Gävle.

A discursive analysis of media debates on teacher education between 2016-2017

The study was funded by the University of Gävle and carried out in collaboration with Associate Professor Johan Liljestrand at the University of Gävle. The study was presented at a conference and as a keynote lecture. An article is currently being planned.

The teaching profession and democracy

The aim of the project was to study student teachers’ understanding of the teaching profession in relation to 'democratic values'. The study was conducted with Associate Professor Johan Labrador and was financed by the University of Gävle. The project has resulted in a publication, a conference presentation and a book chapter commissioned by Routledge.

A comparative policy study of teachers' democratic professionalism of teacher education in Sweden and Ireland

The study was funded by the University of Gävle and carried out in collaboration with Associate Professor Geraldine Mooney Simmie at the University of Limerick. In addition to numerous conference papers at AERA and ECER, four articles have been published and a textbook for Routledge is in the making.