EDUCATION

2025

Studying Writing Criticism and Essays at the advanced level at the Department of Film and Literature at Linnaeus University. My aim is to acquire new tools to reach out with my research and actively participate in the public debate on educational issues.

​2023

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Linnæus University). Defended the thesis Backstage pedagogy: Compulsory school pupils' informal social strategies when dealing with formal individual writing assignments for assessment. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-125604 (The thesis has a Swedish summary on page 151.) The results show how upper secondary school students, who grew up with social media and digital technology, deal with formal education's heavy focus on grades and assessment of individual performance. This happens, among other things, by students moving schoolwork to arenas where teachers lack insight, i.e. "behind the scenes of students". Some examples are that a) students in and outside the classroom logged onto each other’s computers and wrote original texts for peers, b) outside the school, higher-achieving students shared pictures of completed assignments with peers who then rephrased them “in their own words” and submitted them to teachers for assessment, and c) leaked national exams were shared on the class Snapchat group. Through these behind-the-scenes strategies, students eliminated the possibility of fair assessment at both a local (at school) and national level.

​2016

Higher education pedagogy and flexible learning, 15 credits. (Mittuniversitetet)

​1981 - 2013

Just over 300 credits (University of Gothenburg), including a Bachelor of Arts degree in literary studies and history.

​2012

Bachelor of Arts in Education and English (Umeå University). C-thesis: Self-assessment of classroom engagement: Moroccan English learners aged 11 – 15 years

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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2024

Started own company with focus on lecturing, research and consulting activities, as well as developing software with the aim of facilitating the recruitment process for employers when hiring academic staff who have at least three years of university education. The purpose of the software is to validate competence and reduce the risk of incorrect recruitment. Approved for FA tax.

​2021 - 2023

Assistant professor in pedagogy at the University of Gävle. I have taught in the Preschool Teacher Program, the Elementary Teacher Program F-3, the Elementary Teacher Program 4-6, the Elementary Teacher Program with a focus on work in after-school centers, KPU, the Subject Teacher Program (elementary school and upper secondary school), the Master's/Master's program, and in pedagogy as an independent course. I have supervised independent work in pedagogy and didactics. I have taught in the educational science core, special education, and work-based education (VFU). I have lectured (undergraduate and advanced level) on, for example, grades & assessment, research ethics, the school's systematic quality work, and reference technology. I have led literature seminars, held workshops, assessed assignments at undergraduate and advanced level, and been an assistant examiner for degree theses at master's level. I have participated in course development, lectured at several different institutions, and also held workshops for colleagues on how my research can contribute to increasing understanding of students' backgrounds and previous experiences in higher education, as well as to improving the foundation for students' education.

​2003 - 2014

Teacher of English as a Foreign Language at the American Language Center in Casablanca, (Morocco) with 5,000 students (children and adults). I worked in an international environment with a strong focus on student-centered learning. The 100-point American grading scale was used for grading. The teaching was characterized by students learning from each other (and the teacher was responsible for making this possible) and oral participation accounted for 50% of the students' grades. Pair and group work was mandatory in every lesson. This is where my interest was sparked in what later became the topic of my dissertation in pedagogy: the interest in how students assist each other with schoolwork (without the teachers' knowledge) and the consequences of this.

​2005-2010

Freelance journalist and photographer, reporting from Morocco. I have been published in Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, ETC, Arbetaren, Kyrkans tidning and Kamratposten with articles on e.g. children's rights, education, and Muslim feminism.

​SCIENTIFIC EXPERIENCE

2024-

Reviewer for the academic journal Journal of Academic Ethics (Springer)

​2016 – 2025

Presentation of my research at 20 international conferences:

American Anthropology Association Conference (2020)

European Conference on Ethics and Integrity in Academia (ECEIA) (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 & 2025)

European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) (2019, 2021, 2024 & 2025)

9th Nordic Curriculum Theory Conference (I gave this presentation together with Professor Daniel Pettersson at the University of Gävle.)

Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA) (2016, 2019, 2020, 2022 & 2025) At NERA I have presented my research, been invited to participate in symposia and held workshops. At this year's conference I held, for example, a workshop on the theme: How may we oppose neoliberal educational reforms' impact on formal education and social life?

Oxford Ethnography and Education Conference (OEEC) (2018, 2019, 2022 & 2024)

Conferences in summer 2025:

At the European Conference on Ethics and Integrity in Academia (ECEIA), I gave a presentation based on previously unpublished material on the topic: How do pupils distinguish between helping and cheating? An ethnographic study from a Swedish municipal lower secondary school).

At the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) in 2018, the presentation was based on a follow-up study of my thesis on how students assist each other without the teachers' knowledge (backstage/behind the scenes) to obtain higher grades with little effort. Based on new interviews with teachers at the school where I conducted my study, the presentation was about a teacher perspective on how students assist peers with schoolwork without the teachers' knowledge to obtain higher grades. It also included teachers' perceptions of, and experiences with, how students use AI. My presentation was titled: How Can Teachers Support the Individual's Learning in a Digitalized Sharing Culture? Teachers' Regard on the Pupils' "Backstage Pedagogy".