About
Idunn Seland is associate professor in education leadership at Oslo Metropolitan Unversity, Norway. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology and a master in political science. She specializes in policy for citizenship and integration through the school system in the Nordic welfare state. Her main research interests are education policy, education leadership and inclusion in national education systems. She is currently involved in the EU-funded project STRIDE, aiming to map inequalities in education, training and learning outcomes, and to identify reforms that compensate for those inequalities in Europe. She coordinates the research group and the master programme in education leadership at OsloMet.
Seland has experience as project manager for research-based evaluation of education- and welfare policy, and between 2020-2023 she participated as work package leader in two larger research projects: on the digital everyday lives of children and young people (DigiGen), and on how teacher education can improve the internal political efficacy among students across gender and socioeconomic backgrounds (DEMOCIT). Her methods are qualitative, but she frequently collaborates with quantitatively oriented colleagues.
Field of study
Educational management Citizenship Education policy School Digitalisation in K12- education
Research groups
Research projects
Ongoing research projects
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Democracy, Equality, Learning and Mobilisation for Future Citizens (DEMOCIT)
The aim of DEMOCIT is to partake in reducing a growing civic empowerment gap within Norwegian democracy.
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Strategies for Achieving Equity and Inclusion in Education, Training and Learning in Democratic Europe (STRIDE)
STRIDE will provide a new, comprehensive and comparative knowledge-base on effective education reforms, policy initiatives and interventions aimed at reducing inequalities in education, training and learning outcomes in Europe.
Completed research projects
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DigiGen – The Impact of Technological Transformations on the Digital Generation
DigiGen aims to develop knowledge about how children and young people use and are affected by the technological transformations in their everyday lives.
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International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 (ICCS)
The ICCS 2016-study investigates students’ knowledge and understanding of societal values, civic society and political systems.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Jøsok, Evy
;
Kjøstvedt, Anders G.
;
Seland, Idunn
(2025).
Nurturing civic identity among Norwegian 15-year-olds: Challenges and opportunities for social science teachers.
Journal of Social Science Education.
Vol. 24.
https://doi.org/10.11576/JSSE-7690
Holmarsdottir, Halla Bjørk
;
Seland, Idunn
; Zinoveva, Liudmila; Barbovschi, Monica; Bărbuță, Alina; Parsanoglou, Dimitris; Symeonaki, Maria
(2025).
An integrative review on children's perceived and experienced subjective digital well-being.
Frontiers in Digital Health.
Vol. 7.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1410609
Seland, Idunn
;
Kjøstvedt, Anders Granås
(2024).
How do teacher educators from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden teach for active democratic participation?.
Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2024.2322967
Holmarsdottir, Halla Bjørk ; Seland, Idunn ; Hyggen, Christer ; Roth, Maria (2024). Understanding The Everyday Digital Lives of Children and Young People. ISBN: 9783031469282. 350 p. Springer Nature.
Holmarsdottir, Halla Bjørk ; Seland, Idunn ; Hyggen, Christer (2024). How can we understand the everyday digital lives of children and young people?. Holmarsdottir, Halla Bjørk; Seland, Idunn; Hyggen, Christer; Roth, Maria (Ed.). Understanding The Everyday Digital Lives of Children and Young People. Springer Nature.
Andersen, Fred Carlo ; Seland, Idunn (2024). Skoleleder som tilrettelegger for undervisning i læreplanens tverrfaglige tema. Aas, Marit; Ballangrud, Brit Bolken; Vennebo, Kirsten Foshaug (Ed.). Nye oppgaver og utfordringer for skoleledere. p. 93-106. Fagbokforlaget.
Seland, Idunn
(2024).
Intersecting knowledge on young people's well-being and use of digital technology across contexts: A scoping review synthesis.
Holmarsdottir, Halla Bjørk; Seland, Idunn; Hyggen, Christer; Roth, Maria (Ed.).
Understanding The Everyday Digital Lives of Children and Young People. p. 433-464.
Springer Nature.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46929-9_14
Seland, Idunn
;
Hyggen, Christer
;
Holmarsdottir, Halla Bjørk
; Kapella, Olaf; Parsanoglou, Dimitris; Sisaks, Merike
(2022).
Conditions contributing to positive and negative outcomes of children's ICT use: Protocol for scoping review.
Societies.
Vol. 12.
https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12050125
Seland, Idunn
;
Hyggen, Christer
(2021).
The digital generation. Representations of a generational digital divide.
Falch-Eriksen, Asgeir; Takle, Marianne; Britt, Slagsvold (Ed.).
Generational Tensions and Solidarity Within Advanced Welfare States. p. 133-152.
Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003129592-8
Seland, Idunn
;
Huang, Lihong
; Arensmeier, Cecilia; Bruun, Jens; Löfström, Jan
(2021).
Aims of citizenship education across Nordic countries: Comparing school principals' priorities in citizenship education 2009-2016.
Biseth, Heidi; Hoskins, Bryony; Huang, Lihong (Ed.).
Northern Lights on Civic and Citizenship Education:
A Cross-national Comparison of Nordic Data from ICCS. p. 43-63.
Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66788-7_3
