Research groups
Areas of responsibility
Project Manager for project School-In (2017-2020). An innovation project for the development of an inclusive learning environment focusing on the importance of expectations for changing school culture. The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway, by the FINNUT- program and is one of the first projects within Innovation in the public sector. Five municipalities in Agder have initiated the project and, the research team is people from the University of Agder. The project aims to find answers to a common challenge for municipalities and school research; that measures and reforms differ in different schools in different places (OECD, 2015). School-In uses findings from the Learning Regions project (The Research Council of Norway), which shows that school culture is developed through the school's connection to the local environment's expectations (Midtsundstad and Langfeldt, 2020). The idea of the project is to change the school's expectations structures and investigate the process through a pre-post control group design. The research will give answers to how school culture can be reinforced by changing the expectations structures vertically in the school and influence expectations horizontally in the municipality. The School-In project is inspired by innovation research in the German school development program 'SINUS an Grundschulen'.
Research stay at Lynch School of Education, Boston College, MA, USA invited by Professor Dennis Shirley, recognized school researcher and editor in chief of the international journal: Journal of educational change (JCS). The Research Council of Norway funded the research exchange through the FINNUT- program, autumn 2015. The stay abroad was part of the research project 'Learning regions' and 'Project School-In' to be able to publish internationally on local, national research findings. In collaboration with Dennis Shirley and the editors of JEC, we arranged a symposium for my research colleagues in Norway at the University of Agder and in the US at Boston College: International Research Symposium. Toward the Fusion of Horizons. "Critical Dialogue for Increased Understanding: Beyond Epistemological Nationalism" Boston College, MA USA; 2015-10-22 - 2015-10-23.
'The meaning of the matter in classroom context'. A research project within the project 'Learning regions (2012-2014) - developing better necessary skills through the better understanding of local culture', funded by the Research Council of Norway and led by Professor Gjert Langfeld (PRAKUT program). The project qualitatively investigated what characterizes teaching methods and teaching communication between pupils and teachers in secondary schools in the regions of Aust-Agder and Sogn and Fjordane.
Post.Doc: 2014-2016: A universal didactic theory of school development (School-In).
PhD dissertation (2010). The title is A school theoretical framework for comparative studies. Theoretically systematized and empirically applied to Danish and Norwegian schools. Trondheim: PhD dissertation in pedagogy. Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
The project: "Collaboration for the child's total dividend (2008-2010). Kindergarten children with disabilities"- funded by the Research Council of Norway through the program: Research and development in practice. The project was a collaboration between Agder Research and the University of Agder, led by Professor David Lansing Cameron at the University of Agder.
ASSIGNMENTS
Invited keynote (20.04.20) by the Department for Education Policy from the Chamber of Labour in Vienna. (Cancelled due to the pandemic)
Lecturer at the UniversityofVienna, Autumn 2010.
Reviewer for theJournal of Curriculum Studies, from 2010.
Opponent at University of Aalborg, Doctoral dissertation, 2014.
Reviewer for theJournal of Educational Change, from 2014
Research
Academic interests
Lectured in the teacher educations, bachelor and masterprograms at thee University of Agder.
Publications:
Editor:Willberg, I. and Midtsundstad, J.H. (2012). Et bidrag til profesjonell identitet for opplæringsansvalige (A contribution to professional identity for teachers). In: Willberg, I., Midtsundstad, J.H., Kristiansen, A., Langfeldt, G. and Skagen, K. (Eds.). (2011).Opplæring i arbeidslivet. En didaktisk innføring.Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.
Midtsundstad, J. H. (2012). Organisasjonsdidaktikk (Organisational Didactics). In: Willberg, I., Midtsundstad, J.H., Kristiansen, A., Langfeldt, G. and Skagen, K. (Eds.). (2011).Opplæring i arbeidslivet. En didaktisk innføring.Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.
Midtsundstad, J.H. (2012).Patient or participant?How professionals construct the child with special needs. In: Tobias Werler, David L. Cameron, Nils R. Birkeland (Eds.): When Education Meets the Care Paradigm. Waxmann Münster/New York/München/Berlin.
Editor: Midtsundstad, J.H. & Werler, T.(2011).Didaktikk i Norden(Didactics in the Nordic Countries).Kristiansand: Portal forlag.
Midtsundstad, J.H. & Werler, T. (2011). Nordisk didaktikk – et spørsmål om perspektiv. (Nordic didiactics – a question of perspective?). In J.H. Midtsundstad & T. Werler.Didaktikk i Norden.Kristiansand: Portal forlag.
Midtsundstad, J.H. (2011).Skandinavisk skoleforståelse i møte med OECD (The Scandinavian understanding of school encounters the OECD). In J.H. Midtsundstad & T.Werler.Didaktikk i Norden. Kristiansand: Portal forlag.
Midtsundstad, J.H. & Hopmann. S. T. (2011). Didaktiske posisjoner i et nordisk perspektiv (Didactic positions in a Nordic perspective).In J.H. Midtsundstad & T. Werler.Didaktikk i Norden.Kristiansand: Portal forlag.
Midtsundstad, J.H. (2011). School Performance and Diversity. In: Werler T. (Ed): Heterogeneity. General Didactics Meets the Stranger. Münster:Waxmann.
Diversity and School Performance.Paper presented at the internationalWorkshop:Heterogeneity. General Didactics Meets the Stranger.University College Volda, 14-15 June.
Editor: Midtsundstad, J. H., & Willbergh, I. (2010).Didaktikk – nye teoretiske perspektiver på undervisning (Didactics – new theoretical perspectives on teaching). Oslo: Cappelen Damm.
Midtsundstad, J. H., & Willbergh, I.(2010). Introduction. In J. H. Midtsundstad & I. Willbergh (Eds.),Didaktikk – nye teoretiske perspektiver på undervisning (Didactics – new theoretical perspectives on teaching).Oslo: Cappelen Damm.
Midtsundstad, J.H. (2010).Elevenes muligheter for kultivering og kvalifisering Pupils’ opportunities for cultivation and qualification).In J. H. Midtsundstad & I. Willbergh (Eds.),Didaktikk – nye teoretiske perspektiver på undervisning. Oslo: Cappelen Damm.
Midtsundstad, J.H. (2010).Lærerutdanningens allmenndidaktikk (General didiactics of teacher training).In J. H. Midtsundstad & I. Willbergh (Eds.),Didaktikk – nye teoretiske perspektiver på undervisning. Oslo: Cappelen Damm.
Midtsundstad, J.H. (2010).Et bidrag til læreres kunnskapsgrunnlag (A contribution to teachers’ knowledge foundation).In J. H. Midtsundstad & I. Willbergh (Eds.),Didaktikk – nye teoretiske perspektiver på undervisning.Oslo: Cappelen Damm.
Midtsundstad, J.H. and Hopmann, S.T. (2010). Diversity United.The Scandinavian Traditions of Lesson Planning.In:Bildung und Erziehung. Unterrichtsplanung iminternationalen Vergleich. Bøhlau Verlag Køln WeimarWien. 63/4, (p. 431-450).