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Maria Olson is a Professor of Subject Didactics at the Department of Subject Didactics, Stockholm University, with an active research profile focused on educational policy, theory, and philosophy with particular emphasis on citizenship and democracy education in school contexts. Her work spans national and supranational (EU) educational frameworks and connects theoretical perspectives with practical teaching applications.
She earned her doctoral degree from Linköping University in 2008 with the thesis 'From nation builder to global market nomad: on citizenship in Swedish educational policy during the 1990s,' which examined evolving civic ideals in Swedish educational policy from the post-World War II period through the millennium. Her research primarily investigates the relationship between education, democracy, and citizenship, with special focus on civics subjects in schools, particularly social studies and religious studies. A significant contribution of her recent scholarship explores both agency dimensions (students' capacity for action in society) and existential dimensions (students' being and identity formation in societal contexts), drawing on philosophical frameworks including Hannah Arendt's educational thought.
Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong thematic focus on citizenship education and democracy learning in school contexts. Her work consistently bridges theoretical frameworks with practical teaching approaches, emphasizing evidence-based methods for fostering democratic values and civic engagement. A notable trend is her exploration of existential dimensions in subject teaching alongside traditional agency-focused approaches, suggesting a more holistic understanding of citizenship education. Her research also addresses contemporary challenges in multicultural classrooms and strategies for handling non-democratic values while strengthening students' independence and democratic participation.
Maria Olson is actively involved in multiple research groups at Stockholm University, including DEMSOD (Democracy and citizenship in the teaching of civics subjects), the Network for Critical Cultural Heritage Studies, Religious Didactics and Religious Pedagogy, Social Studies Didactics, and Subject Didactics with Post-Theory. She currently leads research on existential aspects in subject teaching, specifically examining religious studies and psychology as school subjects with clear connections to identity and worldview questions that students experience as personally relevant. Her scholarly contributions have practical implications for teacher education and classroom practice, particularly in developing approaches to fulfilling schools' democracy mandates while respecting students' integrity and individual development.
