Ilka Nagel

• Johansson, Veslemøy Maria Fossum; Gabarron, Elia; Krange, Ingeborg Hognestad & Nagel, Ilka (2026). Digital Exclusion Among Children and Young People: A Scoping Review. Nordic Journal of Systematic Reviews in Education. 4. doi: 10.23865/njsre.v4.7755. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The objective of this scoping review is to map, systematically, how existing research describes children’s and young people’s experiences of digital exclusion, with attention to the extent, nature, and scope of the literature. The review was conducted in accordance with the JBI guidelines for scoping reviews, and with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The researched databases include Education Source, ERIC, PsycINFO, and Scopus, as well as empirical and grey literature focused on children and young people aged 10 to 18, exploring their experiences of digital exclusion in educational and/or everyday contexts. A total of 16 studies were included. Most used qualitative methods to explore digital exclusion in education and everyday life. Three main perspectives emerged: 1) multilevel digital divides (access, skills, outcomes); 2) child-centered experiences; and 3) structural inequalities linked to socioeconomic, geographic, and gender factors. Common barriers included limited device and internet access, low digital skills, affordability issues, and restrictive household or school policies. Disadvantaged groups, such as rural youth, girls in restrictive environments, and children with functional variations, were most affected, and often required additional support and accessible tools. The included studies indicate that children’s digital exclusion is multilayered, shaped by access, skills, outcomes, and social context. Exclusion is described as involving not only resources, but also opportunities, support, and recognition. Several studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic describe how new vulnerabilities may emerge as contexts shift. Most included studies focus on predefined “at-risk” groups. However, exclusion can also affect children outside these categories, highlighting the need for broader, more integrated approaches.

• Nagel, Ilka; Haugsbakken, Halvdan Gaute Søvik; Pettersson, Fanny & Lindqvist, Marcia Håkansson (2026). Digitalization and school leadership: a scoping review. Frontiers in Education. 11, p. 1–18. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1828426. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research on digitalization and school leadership is emerging, but remains fragmented and under-researched, as indicated in recent reviews. Based on this, we conducted a scoping review of 38 empirical studies published between 2014 and 2024. The review focuses on the descriptive characteristics of the field, how digitalization and digital school leadership are defined, which themes researchers address, and how existing research can be organized into emerging research streams. The findings show that the field is expanding, but remains scattered across disciplines and journals, with a strong geographical focus on Europe, particularly Sweden, and parts of Asia. Although qualitative and quantitative approaches are relatively balanced, mixed-method, longitudinal, and comparative designs are underused. As a result, much of the literature provides snapshot accounts or examines the relationship between digital leadership and teachers’ technology use. Digital school leadership is often treated as complex, yet this complexity is rarely unpacked analytically, leading to few studies of how leadership is enacted in everyday practice. Furthermore, the field reveals limited theoretical engagement and an unclear understanding of digitalization. The review also identifies a paradoxical approach to digital leadership. On the one hand, studies often lack explicit definitions; on the other hand, their research designs and methods create two knowledge logics: a predefined, expectation-oriented logic and a situated, practice-oriented logic. Consequently, the review argues for research that moves beyond individualized understandings of digital leadership and examines how it is enacted across organizational, technological, and governance contexts. It concludes by proposing a research agenda to address these gaps and guide future studies in more coherent and theoretically grounded directions.

• Arstorp, Ann-Thérèse; Amdam, Synnøve H.; Nagel, Ilka; Letnes, Mari-Ann & Tømte, Cathrine E. (2026). Bildung at a crossroads: teacher education in the age of GenAI. Teaching Education. ISSN 1047-6210. p. 1–19. doi: 10.1080/10476210.2026.2625721. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Educational systems in Scandinavia have long been concerned with Bildung in relation to digital technologies. The rise of generative AI (GenAI) has renewed this attention as GenAI reshapes how learners engage with knowledge, culture and society. This study explores how teacher educators conceptualize Bildung and respond to challenges posed by GenAI in teacher education. Through reflexive thematic analysis, framed by interpretative repertoires, we explore 20 semi-structured interviews with teacher educators and analyze their discursive understandings of Bildung and GenAI. We identified three Bildung repertoires: Individual Bildung (individual becoming), Social/Societal Bildung (growth through encountering the ‘other’), and Teacher-Professional Bildung (professional becoming). These repertoires frame Bildung as a relational, reflective, value-based process, challenged by efficiency-driven educational discourses and GenAI’s affordances. Teacher educators also articulated three GenAI repertoires: phenomenological (the illusion of meaning-making), epistemological (blurring distinctions between information and knowledge) and ontological (disrupting human being and agency). Teacher educators expressed ambivalence, perceiving GenAI as both a threat to Bildung ideals and a catalyst for renewed reflection on educational purposes. We propose that teacher education and schools address GenAI as a phenomenon, foster epistemological awareness, and engage with ontological questions about being and becoming in a digital age.

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• Nagel, Ilka (2026). Generativ KI og danning. Full text in Research Archive
• Tømte, Cathrine Edelhard; Amdam, Synnøve Hedemann; Nagel, Ilka; Arstorp, Ann-Thérèse & Letnes, Mari-Ann (2026). Navigating the AI Turn in Teacher Education: Compliance, Control or Creative Renewal? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly influential in society and in education (UNESCO, 2024). Nevertheless, previous research indicates that teacher education still faces significant challenges in developing the professional digital competence (PDC) of both teacher educators and student teachers (Kelentrić, Helland & Arstorp, 2024; Pedersen et al., 2024). A core problem has been the persistent emphasis on instrumental uses of digital technologies, with comparatively limited attention to how such technologies shape society, individual learners, and the processes through which knowledge is acquired (Aagaard et al., 2025). With the rapid emergence of AI layered on top of these developments, there is reason for concern. At present, there is limited knowledge on how teacher education institutions respond at the organisational level to the introduction of AI, and to what extent they integrate AI in meaningful and pedagogically grounded ways (Ceallaigh, T. Ó et al., 2025). This study seeks to generate deeper insight into how teacher education institutions in Norway address AI as part of their institutional and educational practices. Specifically, we ask: To what extent do institutional measures reflect a shift from an instrumental towards a more critical and society-oriented perspective on digital technologies? To explore this question, we examine how AI is framed, legitimised and operationalised within strategic documents, guidelines, and institutional initiatives, and how these overall regulations, guidelines and general institutional efforts are perceived by the institutional leadership responsible for teacher education. Based on our findings, we also discuss how these findings may relate to broader discussions concerning digital competence, professional knowledge, and epistemic change in the context of emerging technologies. The study employs a qualitative design combining document analysis with semi-structured interviews. Data will be collected from key actors across five Norwegian teacher education institutions, including deans responsible for teacher education and programme leaders or coordinators. Our analytical approach is grounded in discourse theory, using interpretative repertoires as a sensitizing concept. The material is examined through a reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021) that recognizes the situated and interpretive role of the researcher (Byrne, 2022). Through this approach, the project aims to identify similarities and differences in institutional strategies, understandings, and practices related to AI, and to assess the extent to which these reflect varying degrees of institutional digital maturity (Akbarighatar et al., 2023; Begicevic et al., 2021). This way, our study may offer an empirical contribution to understanding how higher education institutions interpret and operationalize AI based on their existing digital capacities. At the conference, we will present and discuss preliminary findings from the study.

• Amdam, Synnøve Hedemann; Nagel, Ilka; Tømte, Cathrine Edelhard; Arstorp, Ann-Thérèse & Letnes, Mari-Ann (2026). Rethinking Democratic Bildung: Teacher Educators’ Perspectives on Generative AI. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Bildung has historically been a central educational aim in the Nordic countries (Burman, 2014; Sjöström et al., 2017), grounding education in democratic participation, ethical awareness, and the development of autonomous, socially engaged citizens. In today’s post-digital societies, where digital technologies permeate economic, political, and social life, the boundaries between humans and technologies are increasingly blurred (Knox, 2019). We collaborate with digital systems as epistemic partners (Lund & Aagaard, 2020), a dynamic intensified by the rapid diffusion of generative AI (GenAI). These developments challenge democratic education systems to critically reconsider how knowledge is produced, mediated, and valued, and also what it means to be and develop as humans. Bildung entails understanding oneself as a social and civic actor (Hegel & Elster, 1967), cultivating ethical responsibility, and contributing to democratic development (Kant & Zehbe, 1975). Yet recent decades have seen the diminishing status of Bildung in favour of qualifications, labor-market relevance, and measurable learning outcomes in Nordic curricula (Biesta, 2020; Erstad & Voogt, 2018). This shift risks narrowing education’s democratic and relational dimensions. GenAI forces a renewed reckoning with these tensions. On the one hand, GenAI destabilizes outcome-focused pedagogies by producing traditional educational artefacts, such as essays, with minimal student engagement. This underscores the need to refocus on learning processes, critical inquiry, and collaborative meaning-making. In doing so, GenAI paradoxically re-opens space for Bildung-oriented educational goals. On the other hand, GenAI also presents substantive risks to democratic Bildung. Its capacity to generate misinformation and authoritative-sounding but inaccurate content challenges students’ and citizens’ ability to navigate truth, trust, and public discourse. Established models of critical thinking, democratic deliberation, and epistemic agency therefore require re-examination in a technological landscape where information is abundant, ambiguous, and automated. Teacher education becomes crucial in addressing these democratic and pedagogical challenges. Teacher educators must navigate GenAI’s opportunities and risks while supporting student teachers in cultivating both their own Bildung and Bildung in their future pupils. Teacher educators’ understandings of educational purposes, digital technologies, and democratic responsibility shape how GenAI is integrated, or resisted, within schooling. This paper presents findings from a reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021) of semi-structured in-depth interviews (Morris, 2015) with 20 teacher educators across five Norwegian teacher education institutions. We ask: How can teacher educators promote Bildung in a world of generative AI? We explore how these educators understand Bildung today and how they perceive and address the challenges following the rise of GenAI through a discursive approach (Edley, 2001). Our aim is to contribute to a deeper understanding of how to rethink education and democratic responsibility in an AI-driven society.

• Johansson, Veslemøy Maria Fossum; Gabarron, Elia; Krange, Ingeborg Hognestad & Nagel, Ilka (2026). Digital exclusion among children and young people. Full text in Research Archive
• Arstorp, Ann-Thérèse; Nagel, Ilka; Amdam, Synnøve Hedemann; Letnes, Mari-Ann & Tømte, Cathrine Edelhard (2026). Danning og GenKI i lærerutdanning – hvor er vi på vei? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  System basert på generativ KI, som andre digitale verktøy, påvirker vår måte å handle, kommunisere og tenke på. Men generativ KI utfordrer også vår identitet og hva det egentlig betyr å være menneske. Det kan være vanskelig å skille hva som er skapt av et menneske og hva som er generert av en maskin i en verden der vi samarbeider tett med teknologi. Der blir danning, forståelsen av seg selv og sin rolle som demokratisk medborger - og ikke minst sin aktørskap i den digitale verden - stadig viktigere. Vi har intervjuet 20 lærerutdannere (dybdeintervjuer) fra fem institusjoner og gjennomført en workshop med gruppediskusjoner med ti av dem for å utforske deres forståelse av danning og kunstig intelligens. Vi analyserte dataene tematisk og diskursivt. Vi ønsker å fortelle mer om hvordan lærerutdannerne i prosjektet forstår danning i konteksten av en verden med generativ KI, og hva dette betyr for undervisningen i lærerutdanningen. En konklusjon er at vi må flytte fokuset fra “hva” i kunnskapsproduksjon (som generativ KI kan automatisere) til “hvem” i studentens utvikling (som generativ KI ikke kan reprodusere), og til “hvorfor” i utdanning. Danning tilbyr et kritisk perspektiv for å adressere de tilsynelatende gevinstene ved generativ KI.

• Nagel, Ilka; Furulund, Bjørn & Reiholm-Hoel, Marit (2026). SELFIE for schools –erfaringer med kartlegging av skolens digitale modenhet. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Bakgrunnen for presentasjonen er Nordplus-prosjektet Digital Transformation and Leadership in Schools, et samarbeid mellom lærerutdannere og skoleledere i Norge, Island og Sverige. Vi deler erfaringer med bruk av det europeiske verktøyet SELFIE for Schools for å kartlegge skolers digitale modenhet og identifisere utviklingsområder. Du får innblikk i resultater fra de tre landene, mulighet til å diskutere hva resultatene betyr og høre mer om hvordan disse brukes til å utvikle handlingsplaner for videre digital utvikling. Målet er at du skal få et godt grunnlag for å gjennomføre en tilsvarende kartlegging ved egen skole.

• Lindqvist, Marcia Håkansson; Pettersson, Fanny; Haugsbakken, Halvdan Gaute Søvik & Nagel, Ilka (2026). Leading Digital Transformation in Nordic Schools: Developing a Collaborative Framework for School Leadership. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Over the past decade, the Nordic countries have made significant strides in integrating digital technologies into their educational systems. Nevertheless, recent data from the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS, 2024) indicate a disturbing decline in pupils’ digital proficiency, highlighting enduring challenges in realizing meaningful digital transformation within schools. This trend underscores persistent challenges in achieving meaningful and sustainable digital transformation within schools, raising questions about the effectiveness of current strategies and the support structures available to educational leaders. A substantial body of research consistently identifies school leaders as key agents in advancing digital school development and shaping pupil outcomes. However, many school leaders report feeling illequipped to manage the complex demands of digital transformation. They frequently lack access to comprehensive frameworks, actionable tools, and collaborative support structures necessary to lead effectively in digitally evolving environments. In response to these challenges, a Nordplus Horizontal project was initiated with the aim of developing a practical and research-informed framework for school leadership in the context of digital transformation. The project brings together teacher educators and school leaders from Norway, Sweden and Iceland in a structured partnership designed to foster mutual learning and innovation. Central to the project is a series of five interactive workshops, where participants collaboratively explore the specific needs, barriers, and opportunities associated with digital transformation in their respective school contexts. These workshops serve as dialogic spaces where theoretical insights and practical experiences converge, enabling participants to co-design tailored action plans that address local challenges while aligning with broader educational goals.This paper will present preliminary findings from the project. The forthcoming analysis will focus on identifying similarities and differences in national and local contexts (WS1), as well as shared needs and challenges (WS2) related to digitalization and digital transformation in Norway, Sweden and Iceland. These aspects will be examined to better understand how contextual factors influence leadership practices and to identify common leverage points for supporting school leaders across diverse settings. The analysis aims to generate empirically grounded insights that will inform the development of the flexible and context-sensitive leadership framework. Further, the project may contribute to existing frameworks, alternatively, a new framework for digital transformation among school leaders. The findings of this study are of interest and relevance for Nordic education research, as well as international education research, as the results will provide a research contribution regarding leading digital transformation in schools through the development of a collaborative framework for school leadership.

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