Maren Seehawer
Associate Professor
- International Education and Development
- Maren.Seehawer@mf.no
- Office: 321A
- Phone number: 22590583
Professional competence areas:
- International education and development
- Indigenous knowledges
- Participatory action research
- Decolonisation of education
- Decolonising/indigenous methodologies
- Positionality
My research interest is on (the decolonisation of) education in Sub-Saharan Africa. I work on quality education in the broad sense in that I ask and address questions such as: Who has the power to define good education? Whose knowledge(s) should children learn? To what kind of 'development' should quality education contribute? How can we disrupt internalised colonial notions of education equalling European Education?
In connection with this thematic focus, I explore the decolonisation of academic knowledge production, of theoretical frameworks, research methodologies and ethics, for example, by exploring the African philosophy of Ubuntu as a research paradigm. Being European, white and privileged my research interest requires an explicit inquiry into (colonial) North-South relations and my own positionality. (How) can I decolonise my research practice in order to be a good ally in the decolonial struggles in the global South?
In my PhD project, five South African science teachers and I engaged in participatory action research to explore the integration of students' local indigenous knowledges into some of the teachers' regular classes.
Selected publications
- Seehawer, M. (2021). How to be an ally? An ongoing (un-)learning journey, https://www.convivialthinking.org/ https://www.convivialthinking.org/.
- Seehawer, M. (2021). A bad moment for Cecil, a good moment for Rhodes, Grocott's Mail Grocott's Mail.
- Seehawer, M. & Breidlid, A. (2021). Dialogue between epistemologies as quality education. Integrating knowledges in Sub-Saharan African classrooms to foster sustainability learning and contextually relevant education, Social Sciences & Humanities Open s. 1 - 7. Social Sciences & Humanities Open.
- Seehawer, M. & Ngcoza, K. M. & Nhase, Z. & Nuntsu, S. N. (2021). Approaching Ubuntu in Education Through Bottom-Up Decolonisation, Proceedings of Pivot 2021 : dismantling/reassembling tools for alternative futures, OCAD University July 22-23 2021, Toronto, Canada, Design Research Society. ISBN: 978-1-912294-43-5
- Seehawer, M. & Nuntsu, S. N. & Mashozhera, F. & Ludwane, A. & Speckman, M. (2022). Creating a Sense of Belonging: Enabling Transformative Learning Through Participatory Action Research in an Ubuntu Paradigm, The Palgrave Handbook of Learning for Transformation, Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 978-3-030-84693-0
Latest scientific publications
- Seehawer, M. (2021). How to be an ally? An ongoing (un-)learning journey, https://www.convivialthinking.org/ https://www.convivialthinking.org/.
- Seehawer, M. (2021). A bad moment for Cecil, a good moment for Rhodes, Grocott's Mail Grocott's Mail.
- Seehawer, M. & Breidlid, A. (2021). Dialogue between epistemologies as quality education. Integrating knowledges in Sub-Saharan African classrooms to foster sustainability learning and contextually relevant education, Social Sciences & Humanities Open s. 1 - 7. Social Sciences & Humanities Open.
- Seehawer, M. & Ngcoza, K. M. & Nhase, Z. & Nuntsu, S. N. (2021). Approaching Ubuntu in Education Through Bottom-Up Decolonisation, Proceedings of Pivot 2021 : dismantling/reassembling tools for alternative futures, OCAD University July 22-23 2021, Toronto, Canada, Design Research Society. ISBN: 978-1-912294-43-5
- Seehawer, M. & Nuntsu, S. N. & Mashozhera, F. & Ludwane, A. & Speckman, M. (2022). Creating a Sense of Belonging: Enabling Transformative Learning Through Participatory Action Research in an Ubuntu Paradigm, The Palgrave Handbook of Learning for Transformation, Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 978-3-030-84693-0