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The global pandemic, COVID-19 shattered everyday life as we know it and disrupted education globally. In this study, we explore an initiated digital transformation accelerated by the pandemic from school leaders’ perspectives in the context of Swedish high schools. The data consists of a questionnaire with 105 school leaders containing both fixed and open-ended response types. The results reveal significant differences in school leaders’ views on how the transition has worked, whether they and their staff have developed their digital competence, and, how it will affect the school onwards. Contributions include theorising about school leaders’ experiences of navigating an accelerated digital transformation prompted by the pandemic. We introduce four school leader profiles: (a) the enthusiast, (b) the affirmative (c) the skeptical, and (d) the hesitant. These profiles serve to encapsulate the nuanced perspectives of school leaders, thereby enriching our comprehension of their diverse requirements and priorities. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This edited collection presents a Nordic perspective on intensified discussions concerning digitalization and digital competence in the current trends of educational work. Using a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, the book compares Nordic countries' attitudes towards the digitalization of education and demonstrates the Nordic region's position as digital front-runners in a European and global context. The book provides up-to-date cases and future-oriented perspectives on digitalization and digital competence in educational work. Chapters use empirical data gained from policy documents, interviews, and questionnaires to present nuanced discussions, theoretical perspectives, and implications for the future of digitalization in education. Ultimately, this book's reach far exceeds that of its Nordic contexts and will be of use to postgraduate students, researchers, and scholars across the globe involved with digital education, teacher education, and educational policy and politics more broadly . . .

During the autumn, winter and early spring of 2022/2023, Europe faced rapidly increasing energy prices and threats of power cuts. The situation was consequently labelled an “energy crisis”, and one sector that was severely affected was households. In response to the situation, European households made efforts to reduce and time-shift their energy use to mitigate the effects of the crisis. Considering that domestic energy practices are often difficult to change, particularly in the long term, we find this effect of the energy crisis on households important to understand more deeply. In this paper, we use social practice theory to investigate how Swedish households responded to the crisis and what changes they made in terms of re-configurations of their practices. The aim was to contribute knowledge on how households adapt to a changing energy system with volatile prices, limitations in electric power, and threats of energy crisis. We conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews with 9 households in single-family houses in the middle and south of Sweden during and after the crisis, in total 18 interviews, to examine what re-configurations of practices emerged and which persisted over time. The results show that significant changes were apparent in primarily the practice domains of heating and hygiene. While some of these changes were temporary, other re-configurations of energy practices persisted beyond the months of crisis and high prices, indicating that meanings of frugality and sufficiency were strengthened. Our results demonstrate that households were reminded of certain electricity use that is otherwise typically backgrounded in homes and that the energy crisis stimulated re-configuration and re-examination of norms as well as reflection on electricity use in general. Finally, we discuss the effects of the energy crisis on household practices in comparison with other crises and disruptions, and point to the importance of communicating clearly with househo

Purpose – The digitalization of schools has intensified in recent years. It is reflected in policy documents as well as in extensive investments in digital technology and professional development initiatives to promote digitalization. At the same time, attempts are being made to “tame” the same digitization sometimes by regulations banning smartphones in class. This study aims to examine how smartphones are interpreted by vocational teachers in Sweden using the theoretical lens of technological frames. Design/methodology/approach – The data consist of ten semi-structured interviews with vocational teachers, representing eight vocational programs in Sweden. Findings – The results show breadth in how teachers understand, interpret and relate to the smartphone in vocational education. The authors show how the smartphone often forms an integral part of professional work and is thus difficult to separate from vocational teaching and nurturing vocational competencies. Originality/value – The authors’ contributions include using technological frames to explore how smartphones are interpreted and understood by vocational teachers by demonstrating how they relate to the nature of the smartphone, the strategy for the smartphone and the smartphone in use. The theoretical framework is used to interpret restrictions on technology use, in this case a smartphone, in education. The results could be of interest to researchers as well as to teachers, school leaders and policymakers., CC BY 4.0

Hardly any organization remains unaffected by the digitalization of society and the whole global economy is shaken by disruptive digital innovations (DDI). This calls for strategic responses from incumbent firms to remain relevant in a changing environment. This study explores the phenomenon of digital transformation and the development of digital business strategy in the context of incumbent firms, in this case, the hotel industry. We address the following research questions: 1) How are hotel organizations disrupted by digital innovations? and 2) How do they respond strategically to these disruptions? The research approach consists of multiple longitudinal case studies of two international hotel chains, offering a rich dataset. “Strategy-as-practice” is used as a theoretical lens. The results show three overall organizational responses due to DDI including: 1) relating to a new digital business environment; 2) translating strategy to practices 3) renegotiating value. Contributions include extending the existing literature on digital strategies and responses to digital disruptions in incumbent firms as well as providing implications to practice., CC-BY 4.0

The global pandemic, COVID-19 shattered everyday life as we know it and disrupted education globally. In this study, we explore an initiated digital transformation accelerated by the pandemic from school leaders’ perspectives in the context of Swedish high schools. The data consists of a questionnaire with 105 school leaders containing both fixed and open-ended response types. The results reveal significant differences in school leaders’ views on how the transition has worked, whether they and their staff have developed their digital competence, and, how it will affect the school onwards. Contributions include theorising about school leaders’ experiences of navigating an accelerated digital transformation prompted by the pandemic. We introduce four school leader profiles: (a) the enthusiast, (b) the affirmative (c) the skeptical, and (d) the hesitant. These profiles serve to encapsulate the nuanced perspectives of school leaders, thereby enriching our comprehension of their diverse requirements and priorities., CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEEDPublished online: 24 Nov 2023Taylor & Francis Group an informa businessCONTACT Sara Willermark sara.willermark@hv.se

Ett av skolans uppdrag är att utveckla elevernas digitala kompetens. Lärande i en digitaliserad värld, som är en konkret och undervisningsnära handbok, är tänkt att stödja läraren i arbetet med detta. Enligt Skolverket omfattar arbetet med digital kompetens fyra övergripande punkter, som alla behandlas i boken. Dessa är att förstå digitaliseringens påverkan på samhälletatt kunna använda och förstå digitala verktyg och medieratt ha ett kritiskt och ansvarsfullt förhållningssättatt kunna lösa problem och omsätta idéer i handling.Bokens författare konkretiserar och problematiserar vad lärande i en digitaliserad värld innebär i praktiken. I varje kapitel ges konkreta exempel på hur lärare kan designa undervisningen så att eleverna ges tillfälle att använda digitala verktyg för att söka kunskap, bearbeta information, lösa problem, skapa, kommunicera och lära. Boken riktar sig till verksamma och blivande lärare inom grundskolan. Även lärare på gymnasium och vuxenutbildning kan ha glädje av bokens innehåll. [Förlagets bokinformation]

Purpose – This study aims to explore virtual leadership work within educational settings in the light of social disruption. In 2020, a global pandemic changed the way we work. For school leaders, that involved running a virtual school overnight. Although there is a stream of research that explores leadership in solely virtual communities, there is a gap in the literature regarding practices that transition from analog to virtual practices and the changes in leadership in those types of work practices. Design/methodology/approach – The data gathering method constitutes a questionnaire to explore school leaders’ experiences of virtual work and virtual leadership in light of social disruption. One hundred and five Swedish school leaders answered the questionnaire covering both fixed and open questions. Findings – The results show that school leaders’ general experiences of transition to virtual school have worked relatively well. We show how the work changes and shift the focus in the virtual workplace. Originality/value – The author’s contributions include theorizing about leadership affordances in virtual schools and providing implications for practice. The authors summarize our main contribution in five affordances that characterize virtual leadership, including a focus on core activities, trust-based government, 1:1 communication with staff, structure and clarity and active outreach activities. The results could be interesting for understanding the radical digitalization of leadership in the digital workplace.

Purpose Due to the global outbreak of Covid-19, Swedish teachers in upper secondary education were forced to conduct emergency remote teaching. As of today, there is a stream of research that addresses digitalization in education in light of the pandemic. Previous studies show that the challenges with the sudden intensification of digitalization have been particularly challenging in practical and aesthetic subjects. The research question is as follows: What challenges did vocational teachers experience during the emergency remote teaching caused by Covid-19 and what emergent tactics can be identified invocational teaching practice? Design/methodology/approach The empirical data consists of (1) interviews with two vocational teachers and, (2) workshops with 25 teacher students from different vocational programmes that addressed vocational teaching during the Covid-19 crisis. Findings Emergency remote teaching meant challenges due to the changed socio-material environment that cannot easily be transformed to a vocational teaching setting. The challenges were related to authentic situations and material, problem solving and dexterity. Tactics that emerged as a response to the challenges were mainly connected to attempts to mimic vocational practices. Originality/value Contributions include explaining specific challenges and possibilities in developing vocational competence when teaching is digitalised. Furthermore, it increases the understanding of the relationship between theory and practice in vocational education. By adopting a socio-material perspective onvocational competence, the authors enhance the understanding of the importance of a shared socio-material environment, CC BY 4.0

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Hardly any organization remains unaffected by the digitalization of society and the whole global economy is shaken by disruptive digital innovations (DDI). This calls for strategic responses from incumbent firms to remain relevant in a changing environment. This study explores the phenomenon of digital transformation and the development of digital business strategy in the context of incumbent firms, in this case, the hotel industry. We address the following research questions: 1) How are hotel organizations disrupted by digital innovations? and 2) How do they respond strategically to these disruptions? The research approach consists of multiple longitudinal case studies of two international hotel chains, offering a rich dataset. “Strategy-as-practice” is used as a theoretical lens. The results show three overall organizational responses due to DDI including: 1) relating to a new digital business environment; 2) translating strategy to practices 3) renegotiating value. Contributions include extending the existing literature on digital strategies and responses to digital disruptions in incumbent firms as well as providing implications to practice. © 2022 The Author(s).

Teaching and learning design theory are challenging tasks. To solely teach design theory through rules or codes of conduct, could be seen as a static way of approaching a complex phenomenon. In this paper, we argue for the importance of engagement in sensitive design situations, an approach that entails a process of de-emphasizing objectivity and promoting subjectivity through real-life sensitive cases to learn from, to foster reflectiveness for the future designers. This study aims to explore how sensitive design situations can be used when teaching and learning design theory. The research approach consists of a case study in a Nordic university, and a course in interaction design in a software engineering program. The sensitive design situation involves designing a digital artifact that can help children that have been diagnosed with cancer, cope with their cancer treatment. The main contribution is a teaching method for cultivating ethical design, which includes the application of sensitive design situations when teaching ethics to students. We illustrate that by forwarding three characteristics that can be used when teaching and learning ethical design through sensitive design situations.

Introduction When digital technology is introduced into work practice, it means that vocational practice develops and changes (Castells, 2011). New methods, tools, and processes in working life require vocational teachers to develop fundamental vocational competencies and preparedness for this change for their pupil's employability (Persson, 2020). The concept of vocational competencies is understood in different ways (Billett, 2001) yet is often described as tacit and situated (Gåfvels and Paul, 2019). Vocational competence can be described as a symmetric relationship between knowledge, skills, and attitudes (Hiim, 2020, Baartman and De Bruijn, 2011). As working life changes, it places new demands on vocational competence and the use of different technologies. Various attempts have been made to elaborate on the competence needed for teaching in a digitalized society and a digitalized school (Ferrari, 2012, Hatlevik and Christophersen, 2013, Howell, 2012, Kivunja, 2013, Krumsvik, 2008). Vocational practices are intimately associated with physical materials such as objects, bodies, technologies, and these settings permit some actions and prevent others (Carlsson et al., 2022; Fenwick, 2015). In this study, we explore vocational teachers' perspectives on preparing students for future working life and how they relate to teaching in a digitalized society. Theoretical perspective The TPACK framework, expressing Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge, has arisen as a theoretical framework that specifies what knowledge is required for teaching with technology. It emphasizes that teaching involves developing an understanding of the complex relationship between technology, pedagogy, and content and using this understanding to develop suitable context-specific strategies and representations (Mishra and Koehler, 2006; Willermark, 2018; Willermark and Pareto). In this study, we use TPACK as an analytical lens to explore vocational teachers' perspectives on preparing st, The general theme of the conference is: “WIL in the service of society”

Teaching and learning design theory are challenging tasks. To solely teach design theory through rules or codes of conduct, could be seen as a static way of approaching a complex phenomenon. In this paper, we argue for the importance of engagement in sensitive design situations, an approach that entails a process of de-emphasizing objectivity and promoting subjectivity through real-life sensitive cases to learn from, to foster reflectiveness for the future designers. This study aims to explore how sensitive design situations can be used when teaching and learning design theory. The research approach consists of a case study in a Nordic university, and a course in interaction design in a software engineering program. The sensitive design situation involves designing a digital artifact that can help children that have been diagnosed with cancer, cope with their cancer treatment. The main contribution is a teaching method for cultivating ethical design, which includes the application of sensitive design situations when teaching ethics to students. We illustrate that by forwarding three characteristics that can be used when teaching and learning ethical design through sensitive design situations.

COVID-19 changed the educational landscape as we know it. Due to the radical transformation of schooling, there is an imminent question of what lessons have been made and which transformations ‘will stick’ and become the ‘new normal’ after the obvious threats of the pandemic subsided [1]. There is a stream of research that addresses experiences from the pandemic [2-4]. In this study, we focus on the experiences of upper secondary schools in Sweden. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize teachers' and school leaders' experiences from the pandemic and, based on that, address implications for practice for future schooling. We conduct a meta-analysis of four studies within a research project in Sweden [5-8] where the data consists of surveys and workshops with teachers and school leaders and explores their experiences of the pandemic. The results show that Sweden has worked well in an international context, at the same time there are distinct differences regarding teachers' and school leaders' perceptions of what work effort was required, the result of the teaching, and its consequences. Contribution includes synthesizing experiences from the pandemic and pointing out its implications for future education.

Vocational education is crucial for providing the labor market with professional vocational competence in a time of societal change, especially considering a technological change (Belaya, 2018). One of the challenges that vocational teachers face is to find, select and sometimes create appropriate teaching material for the pupils' learning (Persson 2020). Although vocational teaching constitutes an under-researched field of study, there is a stream of research that has explored a variety of e-learning tools such as blogs, video-based instructions, e-portfolios, workplace simulations, and hyper-videos (e.g., Belaya, 2018; Hamid et al., 2020; Jossberger et al., 2015;) and identify several possibilities. Thus, it is of interest to explore how vocational in-service teachers select teaching material and if they design their own teaching material. This study aims to explore the use of various teaching materials in vocational teaching in a Swedish context. A qualitative survey was conducted with a total of 22 teachers connected to a vocational teacher education in Sweden. Work-place pedagogy is used as a theoretical concept that can be understood as; “Guidance by others, situations, and artifacts are central to learning through work because the knowledge to be learned is historically, culturally, and situationally constituted” (Billett, 2002, p. 27). Early findings indicate that, what vocational teachers conceptualize as learning material, are varying and are both consisting of analog and digital tools. Vocational teachers also tend to create their own teaching material because of the need for scaffolding for their pupils as well as the need for mimicking the authentic working life. Contributions include identifying what teachers design and what aspects they consider in the design process.

Pop-ups have been widely used to control users’ attention, causing a high degree of irritation and dissatisfaction. We explore so-called ‘polite’ pop-ups, i.e., pop-ups implemented into the interface eliminating the intrusive and surprising factors. We hypothesize that: H1) Users pay less attention to, and interact less with, polite pop-ups than traditional pop-ups, and; H2) Users perceive a higher degree of trust in applications with polite pop-ups compared to traditional pop-ups. The research approachincludes: i) comparative user tests with 88 participants; ii) observations of user tests; iii) assessment questionnaire, and; iv) data-driven analysis of interaction patterns. We analyze the data through the theoretical lens of trust and show that users pay less attention to, yet perceive a higher degree of trust. Our contributions include conceptualizing ‘polite’ design elements and the research agenda of Polite Interaction Design that aims to capture users’ attention without causing unpleasant experiences or decreased trust

The outbreak of the global pandemic COVID-19 meant an extreme intensification of digitalization in education. Around the world, technology became a prerequisite for continuing education, as schools were to switch to distance education. Drawing on an institutional logics perspective, this paper aims to explore school leaders' experiences and insights from running a virtual school overnight. Data includes a survey of105 school leaders in Swedish high schools. The results show clear challenges for schools as institutions, yet most of the school leaders perceived that the shift to virtual classrooms went well and can lead to lasting value for the school. Still, when facing a new situation, organizational problems are uncovered, and the importance of brick-and-mortar schools becomes visible. Contributions include analyzing an extreme case of digitization in schools and conceptualizing two faces of digitalization, that constitute both a preservative and disruptive force in institutional logic.

We make an abundance of choices daily and an increasing proportion of those choices are in an online context. Digital nudges refer to the use of design elements that guide the decision-making process towards a predefined goal. An important consideration when designing digital nudges is the ethical implications. In this study, we examine how future designers perceive ethics and the use of digital nudges as design elements in interaction design. We conducted a case study with 72 design students at two Nordic universities with a focus on the future designers’ perception of ethics and the use of digital nudges as design elements. We show that ethics and reflection on responsibility are highly important aspects of choice architecture design and future designers understand ethics as crucial for design work, yet few reflect on whether a specific design or a nudge is ethical or not. Moreover, when it comes to nudging as a design element, both positive and ambivalent attitudes are common. Our main contribution consists of an in-depth understanding of future designers’ perspectives on nudging, and we forward four fundamental questions which have implications for teaching the ethics of choice architecture to future designers.

In an increasingly digitalized society cyberbullying of children and young people constitutes a high-profile problem yet there are also reports where teachers become vulnerable in the digital environment. This study aims to explore teachers' experiences of what we introduce as digital vulnerability concerning the teaching profession. An online questionnaire was developed and distributed to teachers via teachers' Facebook groups. The questionnaire was based on open-ended questions where teachers were asked to tell in their own words about their experiences of digital vulnerability, including in which situations, how they affected them, and what support they received. The data analysis was conducted based on an iterative process by qualitative content analysis and the use of ideal type situations. The purpose of the analysis was to create narratives that reflect a reduction to the most important characteristics of different experiences of teachers vulnerable in the digital environment. The contribution of the paper includes empirical examples and a theorization about teachers' digital vulnerability by ideal type situations.