Bildung in education and society
Short description
Within the research theme Bildung in education and society (BESt), the focus is on adult education in a broad sense, and on Bildung and teaching and learning in formal and informal settings. A primary interest concerns the free and open search for knowledge that characterizes Bildung and self-education in a democratic society. In addition, the research interests include studies of lifelong learning and continued education in different settings.
About the research theme
Researchers involved in BESt conduct research in a range of intersecting fields in the area of adult education. The research interests include voluntary and continued education within the broad range of institutions that are referred to as “folkbildning” in the Swedish context, and issues addressed concern lifelong learning, professional and workplace learning, and teaching and learning in higher education. Ongoing research projects include studies of the transition of folk high schools to digital teaching to reach new groups and to cope with the pandemic, democratic pedagogy in the context of adult education, folkbildning within the Swedish sports movement, and research on the role and responsibility of leaders working in civil society with activities aimed at young people. The uniqueness of different traditions and ideals of Bildung is also explored within the theme, for instance with respect to the role and function of higher education in contemporary society. In this sense, the research theme represents a continuation of the interest in folkbildning and Bildung as educational ideals, which has characterized the University of Gothenburg since it was founded in 1891.
Colloquium and seminar
BESt currently organizes one colloquium, one seminar and one study circle.
Democracy and Folkbildning
The annual one-day conference on Democracy and Folkbildning is attended by representatives of institutions engaged in regional folkbildning activities as well as by staff and students at the university. The conference is organized as a collaboration between GU, VGB and Föreningen för Folkbildningsforskning. In connection to the conference, a seminar is held for doctoral students linked to the research theme.
Contact: Hans-Åke Höber, PhD student.
National and international collaboration
BESt participates in the PhD School for Folk High School teachers, an externally funded activity conducted in collaboration with Jönköping University and Linköping University. Researchers connected to the theme collaborate with local, regional and national actors in adult and continuing education such as Västra Götalands Bildningsförbund, Folkbildningsrådet, Riksidrottsförbundet, Studieförbunden i samverkan and Rörelsefolkhögskolorna (RIO) as well as other institutions in civil society, for example Fryshuset.
The members of the research theme have extensive contacts and collaborations with researchers, research programmes and institutes nationally as well as internationally. These networks include Encell - National center for lifelong learning, Jönköping University; European Bildung Network; FHS - The Swedish National Defense College; Mimer - National program for public education research, Linköping University; RISE - Research Institute of Sweden and with researchers at Åbo Akademi University, Columbia University and the University of Cambridge.