Project

How do teachers of English in Norway approach controversial topics that may stir disagreements among their students? What kind of controversial issues do they include in their teaching and why are they deemed controversial by teachers and learners? What characterizes teachers’ (negative and positive) experiences with including controversial topics in the classroom? What learning potentials reside in the deliberation of controversial topics? 

These are all central questions that the PhD project Controversy in Classrooms seeks to answer.

This page will contain updated info about my project, blogs, vlogs, and publications. 

Publications:

Complete list of publications is available from CRISTIN (Current Research Information System in Norway)

Research groups and affiliations

• CultNet: Intercultural Community for Researchers and Educators
• Research and Teaching on Controversial Issues (website in English tba)
• Religion, Values, and Society (RVS)
• Western Norway Graduate School for Educational Research
• TELL – text-based English Language Learning 

Research bio

I am interested in divisive discourses surrounded by controversy and polarization. Being able to communicate with people who hold different worldviews, attitudes and beliefs is an absolute necessity in a globalized, multicultural and complex world – and a useful democratic skill. This is why I am interested in how teachers approach controversial topics and disagreements in the teaching of English – a school subject that invites multicultural and global perspectives into the classroom and where intercultural encounters constitute the very bedrock of the curriculum. 

I have previously researched forces shaping the discourse on gender-neutral pronouns in the English language. I have also been concerned with the current debate surrounding this linguistic phenomenon in Norway. Previously, I worked as a research assistant and Communications Coordinator for the H2020 project PROTECT, which studies refugee and migration policies. 

In addition to disseminating my own research and expertise, I also frequently participate in and chair debates and talks on research dissemination.