The Research Council of Norway (NFR) has allocated 124 million kroner from the Ministry of Education and Research's budget for research on education and learning in June 2023.
"In the development of the Norwegian education system, we constantly need new knowledge. We must understand our greatest challenges and know what works to solve them. These research projects will make important contributions to the knowledge-based development of Norwegian education," says Minister of Education Tonje Brenna in connection with the allocation of funds.
Developing Pedagogical Methods
The project "Developing Human Rights Values in Mathematics Teacher Education: Education with and by Youth" (ViMTE), led by USN Professor Yasmine Abtahi, was among the 13 projects that were successful in the competition for funding.
The goal of her project is to develop theory and pedagogical methods to strengthen knowledge about ethics, human dignity, and democratic participation in mathematics education.
"We are aiming to link the voices of youth with the Norwegian curriculum values of human dignity, ethical awareness and democratic participation.
By putting youth expertise into dialogue with pre-service teachers and teacher educators, we aim at the deliberate incorporation of human rights values in Norwegian mathematics teacher education programmes and hence in the practices of future school mathematics teachers, in Norway", Abtahi says.
Abtahi co-leads USN's Mathematics Didactics Research Group and works at the Department of Mathematics and Science Education at USN's Faculty of Humanities, Sports, and Educational Sciences (HIU).
In her work, she focuses on ethics in mathematics education, and her research is linked to social sustainability in relation to values such as ethical awareness, dignity, and human rights.
"More Important Than Ever"
"Society is becoming increasingly knowledge-based. Succeeding in school and education is more important for each of us than ever before and crucial for Norway to manage restructuring and contribute to solving the major challenges we face," says Mari Sundli Tveit, CEO of the Research Council.
The Research Council of Norway (NFR) is the national organization for funding research and experimental development (R&D) and R&D-supported innovation. The Research Council aims to be a prominent research and innovation policy actor nationally and internationally, a strategic investor, a visible and inclusive societal actor, and a knowledge-based advisor.