About
Maria Ronnlund is Professor of Educational Work at Umeå University's Department of Applied Educational Sciences. Key roles include:
- Research leader for RECEUM (Research in Early Childhood Education, Umeå University)
- Associate Professor (Docent) research qualification
- Principal investigator for VR-funded longitudinal study on rural youth transitions (2021-2024)
Her PhD (2011) examined democracy and influence processes in Swedish compulsory schools. Current projects focus on Nordic comparative research across ten rural regions in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark, analyzing education-work transitions, migration patterns, and policy impacts.
Ronnlund's research integrates spatial-material perspectives on educational environments, examining schoolyards, sports clubs, and indoor learning spaces through lenses of democracy, citizenship, gender, and identity. Her RECEUM leadership centers preschool and after-school care research in early childhood education contexts.
Recent publication "From subject teacher to professor" (2021) explores academic career trajectories. No scientific awards were documented in source materials.
She directs RECEUM's research environment while collaborating internationally on qualitative longitudinal studies of rural youth transitions. Her grant-funded work addresses regional disparities in Nordic education/labour markets, emphasizing youth agency in rural-urban polarization contexts.
