Research collaboration between University of Gävle and Hudiksvall municipality

The University of Gävle will advertise four doctoral student positions in Swedish with the specialisation Swedish as a second language, this coming autumn. One of the positions will be primarily financed by Hudiksvall municipality. In nature, the research projects aim to be close to practices and are to be carried out in collaboration with educational actors in the region.

“We see the need to develop and renew our ways of working to strengthen pupils and teachers in the teaching situation. The number of multilingual and newly-arrived pupils has increased, and this means new challenges in our work to ensure equity for all pupils in their education. We need to find new methods to create ways of working which develop language and knowledge for pupils a well as teachers,” says Inger Rauhala, Executive Director, Hudiksvall education authority.

“We would like to build up an integrated research environment around Swedish as a second language; it has become increasingly important when we consider the refugee migration of the last few years. As the educational actors, the schools, become involved in the project, it becomes a co-production, a win-win situation; the doctoral students publish articles in journals and dissertations, while the actors in the educational system can develop their teaching and their organisation on the basis of the latest research results. Yet another positive effect is that the University acquires lecturers in Swedish as a second language, which in turn also strengthens our teacher education,” Jaana Kurvinen, Head of Department of Humanities at the University of Gävle, says.

More doctoral students may be hired later, as a new research environment is in the process of being created.

For more information please contact:
Jaana Kurvinen, Head of Department of Humanities, Faculty of Education and Business Studies at the University of Gävle
Phone: 026-648267
Mail: Jaana.Kurvinen@hig.se

Text: Ove Wall