Navigating the methodological risks of ‘othering’ in research on inclusion and exclusion of religion and worldviews in teacher education

Authors

  • Magdalena Raivio Karlstad University
  • Ellinor Skaremyr University of Borås
  • Arniika Kuusisto University of Helsinki

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62902/nordidactica.v16i2026:1.27579

Keywords:

Methodology, Care Ethics, Othering, Worldview, Socially Sustainable Research, Religion

Abstract

This methodological article explores how the risks of othering can be addressed in educational research on religion and worldviews. Informed by feminist, decolonial, and Indigenous research traditions, the article expands an existing care ethics framework by integrating the principles of reflexivity and respect. A Swedish preschool teacher education project is used as an illustrative example to examine how six dimensions—international, societal, community, situational, event, and act—can guide socially sustainable research design. Rather than offering a fixed model, the framework is presented as a generative tool for reflection and adaptation. The article aims to contribute to ongoing methodological discussions by offering a possible approach to ethically grounded and inclusive research in superdiverse educational contexts.

Author Biographies

Magdalena Raivio, Karlstad University

Magdalena Raivio, PhD, is a senior Lecturer in Educational Work at Karlstad University, Sweden. The focus of her research is on intercultural, norm-critical, and intersectional perspectives on religion and worldviews in Early Childhood Education and Care and Preschool Teacher Education. Her broader academic interests include feminist and postcolonial perspectives and social sustainability in education and society.

Ellinor Skaremyr, University of Borås

Ellinor Skaremyr, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Work at the University of Borås, Sweden. Her research explores linguistic and cultural diversity in Early Childhood Education and Care and Preschool Teacher Education, with particular emphasis on policy, interactions, language, religion, worldviews, and interculturality within the preschool context.

Arniika Kuusisto, University of Helsinki

Arniika Kuusisto, PhD, Docent, is a Professor of Early Childhood Education and Care at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland, Guest Professor at Karlstad University, Sweden, and Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Oxford, UK. Her research includes questions related to children’s and youth’s values, worldviews and existential resilience, and the place of religion in societal educational arenas. She is the PI for the Finnish Research Council funded (2023-2027, Grant 356905) Child in Time: Existential Resilience in Early Childhood.

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Published

2026-03-20

How to Cite

Raivio, M., Skaremyr, E., & Kuusisto, A. (2026). Navigating the methodological risks of ‘othering’ in research on inclusion and exclusion of religion and worldviews in teacher education. Nordidactica. Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education, 16(2026:1), 141–162. https://doi.org/10.62902/nordidactica.v16i2026:1.27579

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2026:1 (2026): Nordidactica 2026:1 “Den andre” i religionsdidaktik

Section

Articles