New research school to strengthen the digitization work of teacher education programs

Jönköping University (JU), together with nine other Swedish universities, received SEK 40 million from the Swedish Research Council to develop a new research school. The money will be used to strengthen the teacher educators' ability to teach digital technologies in education. “Inspirational and evolving,” says Ylva Lindberg, head of research at the School of Education and Communication (HLK) at Jönköping University, who has been the university's representative in the work on the application.

ScienceSchool UPGRADE - Teacher Education and School Digitization, is a national research school that will accept at least nine postgraduate students in the coming years. The research school is funded by the Swedish Research Council and the aim is to strengthen the digital competence in teacher education and increase the proportion of teacher educators with postgraduate education. This is to strengthen research links and create better conditions for expanding teacher education and managing the shortage of teachers.

- For HLK and Jönköping University, this means that the research group CCD - Communication, Culture, and Diversity will be included in the research school. CCD contributes to the research school with its already established research in digitalisation linked to learning, language and literature. The graduate school also becomes a development area within JU's strategic investment project LeaDMe - Learning, Digitalization, and Media. The graduate school creates new opportunities for research in collaboration between academia and practice, which HLK actively develops in the areas of Learning and Communication, says Ylva Lindberg.

At HLK, a doctoral student will be placed at present, but there may be more when opportunities are opened for co-financing of further doctoral students with municipalities or private actors. Through participation in the research school, access to networks and the research conducted within the framework of the research school at other universities are offered.

- We already have a recipe for success in the Graduate School, which we received funding for in 2018 and UPGRADE is a natural continuation. Together they form a whole with a focus on digital technologies in both teacher education and in the school system as a whole, says Ola J. Lindberg, professor at Umeå University and coordinator of the two research schools.

Apart from Jönköping University, KTH, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Gävle, Halmstad University, West University, Linnaeus University, Mid Sweden University and Umeå University, which is the host university and coordinator of the project.

2019-11-27