Lovisa Bergdahl

Lovisa Bergdahl is an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer at Södertörn University, specializing in the Department of Teacher Education. Her research focuses on values education, the role of the body and senses in educational formation, cosmopolitan and deliberative models of education, and school culture. She currently holds a full-time writing sabbatical funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) for her project exploring pedagogical housekeeping and embodied teaching practices.

Her academic career includes leadership in international research networks such as Public Pedagogy and Sustainable Challenges and PEDST, where she leads the Feminist Aesthetics in Public Education (FAPE) research group. Bergdahl is affiliated with the IMS Institute for Research on Multi-Religiousness and Secularity and contributes to journals like Journal of Philosophy of Education as an Assistant Editor. She teaches courses on timeless pedagogical problems and educational theory at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Key research themes include gender equality in classroom dynamics, the philosophical foundations of school culture, and the intersection of religion and education in pluralistic societies. Her work combines empirical and theoretical approaches, drawing from pedagogical theory, post-secular philosophy, and feminist critiques. Recent projects funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR) address educational equity and the corporeal dimensions of teaching labor.

Bergdahl's publications span ritualization in education, temporalities of pedagogical practices, and the ethical implications of religious pluralism. Her international collaborations include institutions in Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, and South Africa, reflecting her commitment to global educational challenges. She actively participates in organizations like NERA, EERA, and INPE, emphasizing interdisciplinary dialogue in education.

Her research highlights the importance of embodied labor in fostering ethical and democratic classrooms, bridging abstract philosophical inquiry with concrete educational practices. Despite no listed current grants, her sabbatical project and past funding demonstrate sustained engagement with transformative educational theory and policy.