dg club

I am Professor of Educational Work in the Department of Applied Educational Science. I completed my doctorate degree as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, in 1999, after originally training as a primary school teacher in the Dimokritio University in Greece. I worked in the Universities of Keele (UK), and University of Macedonia (Greece) before coming to Sweden. .

My research is concerned with the analysis of education policy at national and transnational levels, and in comparative studies:

• Education policy and governance in the European Union, its relationship with national policies & the Open Method of Coordination
• Education policy, inclusion and equality, in national and transnational contexts
• Higher education policies and internationalization
• Marketisation and privatization of education - their contexts, processes and consequences

Nafsika is in the management committee of the EU COST Action CA22121: Rising nationalisms, shifting geopolitics and the future of European higher education and research openness (OPEN) funded by Horizon Europe. 
Visit the

 Current projects

2018-2021: Internationalising Higher Education: Challenges and opportunities for Universities and academics in Sweden (Vetenskapsrådet, Projektledare)
2019-01-01 till 2021-12-31: Going global: Swedish school companies and their international operations (Vetenskaprådet. Project leader: Linda Rönnberg)
2017-2019: Education transitions of Roma students in Sweden and Europe: Success against the odds (Umeå School of Education)

Completed projects
2015-2017: Higher Education Internationalisation and Mobility (Horizon 2020. The EU Programme for Research and innovation Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Research and Innovation Staff Exchange. Project leader: Louise Morley)
2012-2015: Inclusive and Competitive? Working in the intersection between social inclusion and marketisation in upper secondary school. (Vetenskapsrådet. Project leader: Ulf Lundström)

Doctorate supervisions

• Maria Lindgren – field of 'health and education policy in leisure time centers'
• Johanna Sundström – field of 'early childhood education and care'
• Maria Papakosma - field of 'diversity and interculturality in preschool'
• Hanna Vretblom - field of 'Special educational documentation processes in preschool'

 Completed doctorate supervisions

• Anders Norberg - From 'blended learning' to learning onlife, Umeå University, 2017
• Trang Vu - Logics and politics of professionalism: the case of university English language teachers in Vietnam, (Second supervisor) Umeå University, 2017
• Phil Rigby – Becoming a secondary English teacher: Men constructing professional identities, Keele University (UK), 2014
• Ron Sargent – Design and Technology: disjuncture between policy and practice?, Keele University (UK), 2014
• Matthew Cochrane - Pupils' choices in their educational and career trajectories, Keele University (UK), 2014
• Wynne Thomas – Competency Based Curriculum: The Student Nurses' Perspective, Keele University (UK), 2011
• Jackie Waterfield – Post-registration learning in physiotherapy: Practice and Policy, Keele University (UK), 2006

Teaching

Introduction to the Educational Sciences (Introduktion till det utbildningsvetenskapliga fältet) PhD course, 7.5 credits
Theories in Education Research (Teorier i utbildningsvetenskaplig forskning), PhD course, 7,5 credits
Education Policy and Practice in International Perspectives, Grundnivå/Magister, 7.5 hp

Other activities
Since 2012, I am co-Editor of the journal , an International, Peer-Reviewed, Open Access journal, published by the School of Education, Umeå University. I am also in the editorial board of two international journals: , and .

Since July 2018, I am responsible for the research area of Early Childhood Education and Care, and Leisure Time Centers.