Arve Mathisen
NORENSE funding: 116.000 NOK in 2014
Background and motivation for the project
Education in time’ is an interview based Nordic research project studying time, timing and the experience of time in schools. Very little research has been done on time and time experience in education. Therefore, the interviews will cover the most general aspects of time in relation to teaching and learning. Altogether 16 teachers from the grades 4-6 (5-7 in Norway) will interviewed; eight from public schools and eight from Waldorf schools. We want to know how teachers experience the organisation of time in their work, and how they experience the timetables that frame their teaching and their pupils’ learning. We also want to hear something about how teachers are planning their teaching and how they use repetitions and evaluations to look back on their teaching afterwards. Variations, change in topics or activities, rhythms or patterns in teaching and learning is another important aspect of time. We will ask teachers about their experiences with bringing variety into their teaching. We are also interested in who decides over time in the classroom and what do teachers think about how the ’future’ is presented to today’s children and youth. The project is hosted by Rudolf Steiner University in Norway, and its research team counts members from Nordic Waldorf higher educational institutions as well as from state universities in Norway and Denmark.
Research question
What experiences and reflections have primary school teachers in Nordic Waldorf and public schools on time, temporality and time use in education?
Methods of research
This project will be conducted as a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Interviews are chosen because the research question asks for teachers’ experiences and reflections. Semi-structured interviews allows for a good balance between thematic focus and openness towards new or unpredicted information. The analysis will utilise coding, memoing and data display, and proceed according to well-documented qualitative strategies. All ethical standards pertaining to educational research will be followed, and the project is reported to the Privacy Ombudsman for Research, Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD).
Intended form of publication of results
As a first step, one research article will be written in the name of all participating researchers. This article will report the main findings from the study. The intention is to present this research at an appropriate educational research conference and to publish it in a peer-reviewed academic journal. The project will also be reported in the form of a popular article suitable for the Nordic Waldorf educational magazines. During the course of the study, it will be clear if further articles can be written and published. Arve is currently working on a theoretical paper on rhythms in education.
Publications
Mathisen, Arve. (2015). Rhythms in Education and the art of life: Lefebvre, Whitehead and Steiner on the art of bringing rhythmical transformations into teaching and learning – Part I. Research on Steiner Education (RoSE), 6(2), 52-67. Link to pdf.
Mathisen, Arve. (2015). Rhythms as a pedagogy of becoming: Lefebvre, Whitehead and Steiner on the art of bringing rhythmical transformations into teaching and learning – part II. Research on Steiner Education (RoSE), 6(2), 52-67. Link to pdf.
Mathisen, Arve. (2016). Ekte skole: Hva er engasjement og hvordan oppstår det? Steinerskolen (3). Link to pdf.
Mathisen, Arve og Birkeland, Ingrid. (2017). Læreren som rytmekunstner – Om variasjon og gode overganger i undervisningen. Steinerskolen (4). Link to pdf.