Swedish National Graduate School in Science and Technology Education Research

Swedish National Graduate School in Science and Technology Education Research (FontD)

A group of children looking at nature with their teacher.

Font is a network collaboration between eight higher education institutions (HEIs), hosted by 福利姬. FontD locally represents the science and technology education research environments across the participating HEIs.

The overarching aim of the graduate school is to offer a high-quality doctoral programme that can constitute a hub for the generation of knowledge in teacher training programmes, schools and preschools, with respect to science and technology. A further objective is to enhance the knowledge base in teacher education, schools and preschools, to increase the number of teachers and teacher educators with doctorates.

FontD graduate schools

Over more than two decades, a research programme in science and technology education has operated as FontD, the National Graduate School in Science and Technology Education Research. FontD was initiated as a mandate in the Swedish government’s research bill Research and Renewal (2000/01:3). FontD was first created as a collaboration between eight HEIs, with LiU as host. In 2007, FontD was tasked with initiating a licentiate graduate school for practicing teachers, followed by three more licentiate graduate schools funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR). In 2019, VR funding was obtained for establishing a further research doctoral research school for teacher educators, where the admission of students commenced in 2020. Since its inception in 2001, FontD has produced more than 120 doctors and licentiates in science, technology and (through the second licentiate graduate school, Lic-FontD2) mathematics education.

A 2025 grant awarded by the Swedish Research Council has allowed for a new admission of nine doctoral students to FontD. This doctoral school is directed toward teachers, teacher educators and other candidates with experience that enables them to participate in science and technology teacher training programmes at the participating HEIs.

FontD partner universities across Sweden

The graduate school is led by a scientific leader, Professor Konrad Schönborn, and a board consisting of members from the eight participating HEIs, from Umeå in the north to Malmö in the south. The board is chaired by Professor Jonas Hallström. The school has a unique national reach, due to its established network of partner HEIs. Every doctoral candidate is supervised by one main and at least one co-supervisor, and the students participate in multiple prerequisite FontD courses as a collective. An international scientific committee, composed of accomplished researchers in science and technology education, provides a quality benchmark of the research school’s work at an annual meeting where the committee members meet the students, supervisors, board members and graduate school leadership

FontD Participating Universities

Eight Swedish partner universities form the FontD network:

Linköping University

Lic-FontD Scientific Committee

Until June 2025, a new committee will be appointed in 2026.

Seven internationally prominent academics from Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and Denmark serve as an advisory panel that provides quality assurance for student research development and progress: Doris Jorde, University of Oslo; Kathrin Otrel-Cass, University of Graz; Ellen Karoline Henriksen, University of Oslo; Astrid Bulte, University of Utrecht; Ingo Eilks, University of Bremen; Mogens Niss, University of Roskilde, and Marc J. de Vries, Delft University of Technology.

Professor Colette Murphy, a former member of the FontD scientific committee

It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Professor Colette Murphy, a former member of the FontD scientific committee, who peacefully left us on 5 June 2025. Before her retirement, Colette was the Director of the STEM Education Research and Communication Group, and a Professor at Trinity College Dublin. She was an international Vygotsky scholar, having travelled to Russia several times to continue her research and teaching in science education from Vygotskian perspectives. She was also a world leader in coteaching, particularly in science learning contexts. I have had the privilege of knowing Colette for almost 30 years. I attended my first NARST conference in Baltimore in 2008. As a nervous FontD PhD student, I presented a paper in a room full of people. After my presentation, a wonderful woman and her husband came up to me and said they would like to know more about my work and asked if I would like to contribute a chapter to a book on coteaching. This was the start of a long-term collaboration with a wonderful colleague, mentor, and friend. Colette was a fantastic person who always had time to support a colleague, read a doctoral thesis, contribute to an application, or just talk about important things in life. In 2013, I had the opportunity to hire her as a visiting professor at Halmstad University. For a year, she came to Halmstad regularly and actively contributed to our research on teacher education and inspired us to use coteaching both in research and education. Several times I visited her in Dublin and in Belfast, where she and her husband took me and my daughters to greyhound racing. Colette always gave of herself, whether it was organising a seminar or advising PhD students. Her dedication to improving science teacher education represents a lasting contribution to educational practice. Colette attended the FontD scientific committee meetings regularly during her tenure, and she always contributed vibrantly to FontD events. We will remember her as a very warm, supportive, inspiring, and passionate scholar. Our thoughts go to Jim Beggs, her beloved husband, and her absolute partner in life.

Pernilla Nilsson

Contact

Research environments

A teacher teaching some younger students about technology.

Technology and Science Education Research - TESER

Technology and Science Education Research 鈥� TESER 鈥� is a research unit in science and technology education research that was initiated in 2011.

Visual Learning and Communication

Our research is about teaching and learning science with visualizations. We focus on biology and molecular sciences, and are interested in both learning with and design of visualizations.

Organisation

Division of Learning, Aesthetics, Natural Science (LEN)

LEN is a division at IBL engaged in education and research within the Faculty of Educational Sciences at 福利姬.

Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning (IBL)

Human behaviour and learning is the focus for education and research at the department. We educate students and scientists that are well equipped to meet future challenges in society and working life.

Department of Science and Technology (ITN)

We research and teach in several technical and scientific disciplines in which our main areas are organic electronics, media, communications and logistics.

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