University of Southern Denmark

The University of Southern Denmark (SDU) is a renowned institution of higher education that champions the transformative power of knowledge and research. As the Coordinator of the VETprep project, SDU brings its expertise in interdisciplinary research and its commitment to fostering inclusive and equitable educational opportunities. With a strong focus on vocational education and training (VET), SDU recognizes the crucial role that VET programs play in shaping the lives of individuals and the fabric of society as a whole.

The Centre for Upper Secondary and Vocational Education Research is a leader in upper secondary school research. The centre is part of the Department of Design, Media, and Educational Science at SDU.

Since the establishment of the Danish Institute for Upper Secondary Education Pedagogy in 1998, SDU has held a leading national position in upper secondary education research. In addition to its extensive research activities, SDU hosts a range of key educational programs tailored to the upper secondary sector, including Theoretical Pedagogy for upper secondary education, the Master’s in Upper Secondary Education Pedagogy (specializing in didactics and leadership), the Master’s Module in Didactic Development Leadership, and specially designed continuing education courses.

The Danish research group is composed of a multidisciplinary team from SDU, withstrong expertise in pedagogy, didactics, upper secondary education, educational leadership and vocational education. Led by Professor Ane Qvortrup, the team includes Associate Professors Anke Piekut and Eva Lykkegaard, Assistant Professor Hanne Fie Rasmussen, and Scientific Assistants Kim Rohde and Tina Warming Thisgaard. Together, they bring a rich background in educational research, with a particular focus on educational trajectories, educational narratives, educational choices, educational leadership and institutional development within VET.

The group’s research is grounded in both theoretical insight and practical relevance, employing mixed methods to investigate how education can better support students’ learning pathways and transitions into the workforce. Through close collaboration with educators and stakeholders, the group is familiar with producing knowledge that informs both educational policy and everyday teaching practice.

This project builds on the group’s collective experience and aims to contribute to the development of high-quality, inclusive, and future-oriented vocational education inDenmark.

Main research areas:

Organization of education and schools and institutional development

Focusing on policy development, implementation and consequences and on narratives on organization, professionalization in schools and educational leadership
practices.

Students’ educational and vocational trajectories

Focusing on how identity, motivation, and institutional contexts shape students’ pathways through and beyond
youth education.

Educational choices

How young people make educational and vocational decisions, emphasizing the influence of identity, opportunity structures, and perceived future possibilities.

Educational narratives

Examining the stories that students, teachers, and institutions tell about education and its role in shaping lives and societies.

Student wellbeing

How students experience and navigate emotional, social, and
academic aspects of education, highlighting factors that support or hinder their
wellbeing.

Researchers:

Ane Qvortrup

Professor

Eva Lykkegaard

Associate professor

Kim Rohde

Scientific assistant

Anke Piekut

Associate professor

Hanne Fie Rasmussen

Associate professor

Tina Warming Thisgaard

Scientific assistant

Related projects & activities

INSPECT

Societal Security after COVID 19 – Inquiring Nordic Strategies, Practices, Educational Consequences and Trajectories Funded by Nordforsk

NarratiVET

Bridging Structures and Voices Funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark

TrivselsLUP

A comprehensive investigation of young people’s well-being, learning approaches,
and teaching practices in action. Funded by the Praxis Foundation