About
Thea Bertnes Strømme is a sociologist with a PhD from the Centre for the study of Professions. She conducts quantitative research on social inequality in the education system, mostly focusing on the importance of class and social background for different outcomes in education and careers, but also on the importance of gender, gender segregation and immigrant background.
Research groups
Research projects
Ongoing research projects
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Academic Careers: Examining the Significance of Socio-Economic Background (ACCESS)
ACCESS investigates how socio-economic background influences the recruitment and careers of academic professionals in the Nordic countries.
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NORD-care 3: A Survey of Employees' Everyday Lives and Conditions in Nordic Elderly Care
In this project the researchers are conducting nationwide questionnaire surveys on the everyday lives and conditions of elderly care from the perspective of care workers.
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Promising Practices: Holistic Work Inclusion of Young Adults
The project will map how young adults are followed up in NAV with the aim of developing the work inclusion practice of this group.
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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.
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The Norwegian qualification programme as a tool for work inclusion
In this project, we investigate how the Norwegian qualification programme can contribute to stable work attachment for the participants and function as an effective tool for work inclusion.
Completed research projects
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Persistent Passion for Professional Education: Consequences for student completion and dropout (PERSIST)
The primary objective of this project is to examine dropout from higher education, with special focus on previously under-studied professional programmes.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
; Friedman, Sam Emmanual Taylor
(2026).
A family affair: cultural class and micro-class reproduction in academia.
European Societies.
https://doi.org/10.1162/euso.a.130
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
;
Røberg, Karl Ingar Kittelsen
; Seehuus, Sara
(2025).
Gendered dropout in higher education: peer effects or gender typing?.
European Societies.
https://doi.org/10.1162/euso.a.41
Finger, Claudia;
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
(2025).
Stratified strategies? Gender, social background and access to selective fields in Norway.
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility.
Vol. 98.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2025.101061
Helland, Håvard
;
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
(2024).
Social inequality in completion rates in higher education: Heterogeneity in educational fields.
British Journal of Sociology.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.13075
Helland, Håvard
;
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
; Thomsen, Jens-Peter
(2024).
Social inequality in dropout rates in higher education: Denmark and Norway.
Studies in Higher Education.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2431588
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
; Wiborg, Øyvind Nicolay
(2024).
Social origins and educational attainment: The unique contributions of parental education, class, and financial resources over time.
British Journal of Sociology.
Vol. 75.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.13091
Seehuus, Sara Marie Jorunn;
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
(2024).
Gendered Returns to Education: The Association between Educational Attainment, Gender Composition in Field of Study and Income.
Sociology.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385241303448
Kindt, Marianne Takvam;
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
; Lødding, Berit; Pareja, Rafael Merino
(2023).
Optimism trap? Educational aspirations and outcomes among students with immigrant backgrounds in Norway and Spain.
Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2023.2287441
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
; Demanet, Jannick; Pareja, Rafael Merino
(2023).
The role of education and social background in the changing political involvement of adolescents – a comparative approach.
Acta Sociologica.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993231219126
Fardzadeh, Haghish Ebad; Obaidi, Milan;
Strømme, Thea Bertnes
; Bjørgo, Tore; Grønnerød, Cato
(2023).
Mental Health, Well-Being, and Adolescent Extremism: A Machine Learning Study on Risk and Protective Factors.
Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-023-01105-5
