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2026-01-28
Why Does It Matter How Principals Develop Their Professional Competence?
Principals play a key role in the development of schools. They lead the work, organize teachers’ professional development, and drive improvement efforts. But what does the professional learning of principals themselves actually look like? Existing research is limited and focuses mainly on principals’ participation in formal training programs. A new study has shifted the spotlight toward principals’ learning as change in and for practice.
Current research often points to the same challenges—lack of time, and the fact that the courses principals attend rarely lead to meaningful change in their daily work. This dissertation aims to redirect the focus. Instead of viewing learning as something that happens only inside an individual’s mind, the study takes a practice-based perspective: learning is about changing how one actually works.
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2026-01-23
App May Reduce Fear of Childbirth Among First-Time Mothers
New research from Karlstad University shows that the effect is particularly noticeable among women who already during pregnancy experience strong anxiety about giving birth.
Expecting a first child can bring both anticipation and worry. Thoughts about pain, loss of control, and the unknown are, for many expectant mothers, a source of stress. Now, research from Karlstad University and Region Värmland shows that a digital support tool in the form of an app can make a difference, especially for first-time mothers who feel a pronounced fear of childbirth.
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2026-01-22
Karlstad University is granted SEK 200,000 for a project supporting Ukraine
The Swedish Institute has granted funding for an educational package focused on inclusive vocational training for people with disabilities in Ukraine.
– We aim to formalize the collaboration between Karlstad University and NTU, the National Technical University Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, says Jesper Haglund, Senior Lecturer in Physics Education. The need to develop inclusive vocational education for people with disabilities has been identified. Karlstad University has expertise in vocational education, mechanical engineering, and plastic injection molding. Ukrainian stakeholders in the project include non-governmental organizations and industries that may serve as future employers for participating students.
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2026-01-21
Residents Shaped the Future of Hagfors Through “Bruksort 2.0”
In the Bruksort 2.0 initiative, Hagfors Municipality, local businesses, and residents collaborated to strengthen attractiveness, mobility, and innovation. The work was based on co‑creation, where residents’ shared stories about the future were used to formulate future visions. The final report is now complete.
The project resulted in the Hagfors Model—a model that captures the power of place and shows how stories, trust, and creativity can become drivers of sustainable development. Through co‑created poems, sculptures, and narratives about the future, residents themselves have given shape and expression to what future transitions may mean in an industrial town.
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2026-01-20
Philanthropy as a Potential Game Changer in the Pharmacy Market
Can a dollar billionaire reshape the Swedish pharmacy market and push medicine prices down by opening a charitable pharmacy? This is the central question in a new legal study by Nick Dimitrievski, Senior Lecturer in Tax Law at the School of Business, Economics and Law.
Dimitrievski has examined how medicine prices are set in Sweden. The key issue is the trade margin — the compensation pharmacies receive for selling medicines within the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. His conclusion is unexpected:
– Pharmacies’ profitability resembles that of grocery retail, even though food is sold on a completely free market while pharmacies operate under strict regulation, says Dimitrievski.
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2026-01-20
The Power Struggle over Greenland – A Geopolitical Highway and Resource Zone
Global power dynamics are shifting, and the lines on the world’s maps are beginning to move. Thomas Blom, professor of human geography at Karlstad University, explains the history of borders, the factors that shape them, and how power, identity, and geography are intertwined.
How is a geographical border defined?
– A geographical border is usually defined as a boundary separating one area from another, says Thomas Blom. But geographers rarely see borders as just lines. In practice, a border is often a system of rules, institutions, and perceptions that determine who has the right to govern, control, and belong to a certain territory. A border marks where a state or region begins and ends – but it gains meaning through how people use, guard, and interpret it.
