Public Defence: Marie Møller-Skau

Marie Møller-Skau will defend her PhD degree in Educational Sciences. Her dissertation is about the transdisciplinary topic of aesthetic learning processes in generalist teacher education.

19 Mar

Practical information

  • Date: 19 March 2025
  • Time: 10.00 - 15.00
  • Location: Porsgrunn, Auditorium A271 og Zoom
  • Download calendar file

    • Programme 

    Link to digital participation on Zoom.

    10.00 Trial lecture: Aesthetic Learning Processes as a Cross-Curricular Theme in Teacher Education – Theoretical Understandings and Didactic Implications.

    12.00 Public Defence: 

    The public defence will be led by Tine Sophie Prøitz.

    Assessment committee

    • First opponent: Professor Emeritus Sven-Erik Hansén, Åbo Akademi

    • Second opponent: Professor Kristin Helstad, OsloMet

    • Administrator: Professor Sigrun Svenkerud, University of South-Eastern Norway.

    Supervisors

    • Main supervisor: Professor Eva Bjerkholt, University of South-Eastern Norway
    • Co-supervisor: Professor (qualifying) Fride Lindstøl, University of South-Eastern Norway
Any questions?

Marie Møller-Skau is defending her dissertation for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of South-Eastern Norway.portrett av doktorgradsstipendiat 

The doctoral work has been carried out at the Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Science.

You are invited to follow the trial lecture and the public defence.

The dissertation is about the transdisciplinary topic of aesthetic learning processes in generalist teacher education and deals with how student teachers develop understanding of the topic. 

Summary

The curriculum for Norwegian generalist teacher education shows that all student teachers should be able to facilitate aesthetic learning processes after graduation. In several teacher education institutions, aesthetic learning processes is therefore treated as a transdisciplinary topic. This means that student teachers learn about and gain experience with aesthetic learning processes as an overall learning perspective. In this regard, this thesis is about student teachers' encounter with aesthetic learning processes as a transdisciplinary topic. The overachieving aim is how student teachers develop their understanding of this topic. 

The purpose of the thesis is to develop knowledge that can contribute to strengthening the education student teachers should have in aesthetic learning processes. In addition, the topic is highlighted as part of the pedagogical competence student teachers should develop during their education. Aesthetic learning processes is approached from a pedagogical perspective, and the focus is on learning situations where arts-based teaching is used. Arts-based teaching is understood as using arts as a pedagogical method in various subjects. 

The overachieving aim is explored through three substudies that show that the student teacher

1) reconstruct their understanding of learning when they gain experience with aesthetic learning processes;

2) discover meaningful connections as a result of how emotional and intellectual qualities interact in their experiences with aesthetic learning processes; and

3) emphasise elements that appear significant to them, where the practical implementation of aesthetic learning processes emerges as such an element.

The thesis shows that the student teachers` encounter with aesthetic learning processes challenges and expands their understanding of learning. At the same time, the thesis highlights several challenges regarding the topic. This includes the lack of priority and a holistic perspective in the education in aesthetic learning processes, as well as under-communicated tensions in the research field.