Stig-Börje Asplund, Professor of Educational Work

Following his teaching degree, he went on to work as an upper-secondary school teacher in Swedish and history for 17 years. In 2005, he began his PhD studies at Karlstad University, while continuing to teach part-time. Stig-Börje Asplund completed his PhD in 2010 with a doctoral thesis on literature discussions among boys enrolled in the upper-secondary school programme in vehicle engineering. He has been working at Karlstad University since 2014.

“Based on an interdisciplinary approach, I have primarily done research on boys’ and men’s reading practices, that is, their reading habits and the importance of reading in their lives. In addition to this, I have also conducted research on vocational learning in upper-secondary school education, young people’s reading practices and reading in school. Several of the research projects are practice-based, where collaboration with teachers has been a central element.”

Both boys’ and men’s reading practices and vocational programmes in upper secondary school are areas of research that have not received enough attention, especially when it comes to research on men living in rural areas and their place-based reading practices.

“When there is a lack of research, our explanations of why things are the way they are also tend to be simplified, and in the worst case, incorrect. For example, boys and men in rural areas and their relationship to reading have often been described as problematic. In my research, I have shown that there are alternative narratives about rural boys, men and reading to the more stereotypical and negative ones that we often encounter in research and the media. There is a strong interest among public agencies, teachers and librarians in promoting reading, with efforts aimed at encouraging boys to read, as well as exploring how the geographical location affects people’s reading habits. I hope that my research can contribute to this.”

In 2022, Stig-Börje Asplund had three research applications granted, which is a testament to the importance and relevance of his research.

“In the future, I see opportunities to deepen my research and one of my ambitions is to develop solid, international research collaborations to promote innovative thinking and the impact of research.”

Outside work, he enjoys spending time with his family, going to the gym and, most of all, sitting in the stands watching his favourite sport, athletics.