Helga Bjørke Harnes

Helga Bjørke Harnes is an Associate Professor in Social Studies Didactics at NLA University College in Bergen, Norway. She teaches and advises in social studies within primary school and kindergarten teacher training programs. Her office is located at Kalfaret P46, and she can be reached at phone number 55 53 69 81.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Social Studies Didactics from the University of Stavanger (2018-2022), a Master's Degree in History from the University of Bergen (2001-2008), a Post Graduate Certificate of Education, and studies in English Language and Literature from University of York and Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Dr. Harnes specializes in history didactics with expertise spanning historical empathy, historical methodology, students' historical questions, teaching difficult history, and contextualization. Her research focuses on diversity perspectives in social studies education, affective dimensions in learning, and exploratory learning processes including the Values and Knowledge Education (VaKE) method. She has conducted significant research on Sami voices in historical primary sources, examining how primary sources can challenge Norwegian majority narratives about the Norwegianization of the Sámi people.

• Research project: Samiske stemmer i historiske primærkjelder (Sami voices in historical primary sources)
• Recent dissemination: 'Det er sykt at de holdt på sånn!' About taking different historical perspectives when emotions are strong (2024)
• Conference presentation: 'Å ta andre sine perspektiv når følelsane er sterke' at Samfunnsfagkonferansen (2023)
• Article: 'Historisk empati - ei viktig øving i perspektivtaking' in Bedre Skole (2021)

Dr. Harnes has supervised master's students and has been actively involved in teacher education since 2010. Prior to her academic career, she taught 6th and 7th grade at Seim elementary school in Lindås municipality (2009-2010). Her work bridges theoretical research with practical classroom applications, focusing on how emotional responses affect historical understanding and how to create learning environments that foster critical perspective-taking, particularly when dealing with emotionally charged historical events.