Louise Pindstrup Scavenius will defend her PhD thesis entitled “Students’ Experiences of Schooling in Greenland” on Friday, 16 January at Ilimmarfik.
She has investigated how students experience attending school: what happens in the interaction between students and teachers during lessons, and what significance this has for students’ school lives and their motivation to learn.
Louise’s PhD project has placed particular emphasis on the role of teaching and how it is experienced by students. In her work, she followed students at the lower secondary level (the lower secondary level comprises students in grades 8 to 10, ed.) closely through classroom and school-day observations, interviews, and conversations with both students and teachers. In addition, she used a nationwide questionnaire survey in which students were asked about their school and teaching.
The idea behind the PhD project
When she began teaching pedagogy at Ilinniarfissuaq in 2017, it became clear that there was a lack of knowledge about school, teaching, and learning in a Greenlandic context. There is a great deal of relevant international research, but at the same time she could see that there are specific conditions in Greenland that are important to understand if the public school system is to be developed.
Her interest in the PhD topic has been a long time in the making. Ever since Louise began reading about learning, children, and schooling, she has been preoccupied with the relationship between school and learning—especially the question of why children in some contexts can learn almost anything, while learning in other contexts is experienced as one of the most boring things in the world.
– My frustration grew because the debate here at home focused on the idea that ‘things are going badly in the public schools,’ while there was a lack of sufficient knowledge about what actually takes place inside schools and classrooms. That became the decisive driving force for me, Louise explains.
A completely different life
On the basis of this realization, Louise decided that this was the gap her research should attempt to fill.
The result is that the dissertation provides a pedagogical insight into everyday school life and into what happens when students and teachers meet in the classroom.
– One of the central findings points to the fact that many students experience school as being completely different from the life they live outside of school. This can mean that the purpose of school and teaching is difficult for students to discern, Louise explains.
Louise observes a public school system that in many ways is feeling its way forward, and this new knowledge is an important step toward creating a better school.
– Everyone talks about the challenges, but there is a lack of knowledge about what can actually be done. The dissertation contributes insights that can be used in efforts to develop a school that is experienced as more meaningful and that gives students the desire and courage to pursue further education, Louise says.
Louise’s stays at schools have also strengthened her own teaching and clarified how important concrete knowledge of everyday school life is if teaching at Ilinniarfissuaq is to be developed and strengthened.
– My hope is that this new knowledge can contribute to the development of the public school system, so that students in the long term gain a better and more meaningful school life. Among other things, I can use the results in my teaching in teacher education and thus reach future teachers and their students, she says.
Not without challenges
One of the greatest challenges in completing the PhD has been gaining access to schools.
– It has, among other things, been difficult to get schools to participate in the studies, which may be due to previous experiences with so-called ‘hit-and-run’ research—where researchers disappear again without sharing results or creating value for the schools. But it may also be because schools are generally very busy, making it difficult to find time to have a researcher around, Louise explains.
However, this has not held Louise back. She has found it both exciting and educational to follow school life up close. She has almost exclusively encountered students and teachers who show up at school every day with the hope of having a good day.
– It has been a great experience to be welcomed into everyday school life and to gain insight into the many small and large things that students and teachers face. There has also been room for small, humorous moments and informal conversations with students during breaks. There has been laughter over misunderstandings in teaching and the many unpredictable situations that arise in a lively school environment. It is precisely these moments that have helped to provide a nuanced picture of school as a place full of life, she explains.
The big day
On Friday, 16 January, Louise will defend her dissertation, and she is looking forward to presenting the results she has been working on since 2018.
– I have a natural sense of nervousness. That is probably because public schooling means a great deal to many people—and everyone has an opinion about it. But I feel prepared and hope it will be well received, says an expectant Louise.
Arctic Hub wishes Louise the best of luck with her dissertation.