Research Areas

• Educational Policy and History
• History of Educational Theory and Science
• Foundational Questions in Education
• History of Child Welfare and Childhood
• Homeschooling and private education in historical perspective
• National Socialist ideology and civil resistance during World War II

Visiting Professor

• Visiting Scholar at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College, USA (6 months, Spring 2025). Sponsor: Professor Martin Scanlan.
• Visiting Scholar at the Berkeley School of Education, University of California, USA (6 months, Spring 2022). Sponsor: Professor Daniel Perlstein.
• Fulbright Award, U.S.–Norway Fulbright Foundation for Educational Exchange, 2021. 

Editorial Roles in Scholarly Journals

• Editor of Nordic Journal of Pedagogy & Critique (NTPK) (2017-3023)
• Editor of Yearbook for Norwegian History of Education (2010-2015)

I have been engaged in teaching and supervision within the higher education sector since 2004, with experience spanning teacher education programs for primary and lower secondary school (AL and GLU), upper secondary teacher education (PPU and integrated programs), as well as bachelor's and master's level studies in education. Since 2017, I have held a primary position at the University of Bergen. From 2018 to 2024, I also served as Professor II at NLA University College.

Currently, I teach courses in the history of education, education policy, and foundational issues in education at both the bachelor's and master's levels (PED110, PED111, PED311, PED321).

I was awarded the 2023 Faculty Teaching Award at the Faculty of Psychology (University of Bergen), granted by the faculty based on student nominations. I was also nominated for the same award in 2020.

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

The most significant contributions have been published as scholarly monographs. In addition to book chapters and articles in national and international journals, the research provides insights across five selected thematic areas.

1. Historical and intellectual history perspectives on European educational thought and policy, with particular emphasis on the development of primary schooling and the teaching profession, and with reference to American ideological currents and reform traditions.
2. Critical analysis of the relationship between public and private education sectors from the early 17th century to the present. Within this field, political goals of social integration through public education are examined in light of international human rights frameworks (e.g. UN conventions) and the principles of liberal democracy.
3. National Socialist ideology and civil resistance in the field of education in Germany and Norway during World War II, with emphasis on secondary schooling and the teaching profession.
4. History of child protection and special education in Europe up to 1900. This area explores the relationship between child welfare, special education, religion, state power, and changing conceptions of childhood (European perspective).
5. Philosophical and methodological contributions to debates on pedagogy as an academic discipline. This includes reflections on the nature of educational research, its possibilities and limitations, and its role in developing improved pedagogical practice (International perspective)