8 January 2024

Natascha Drachmann defends her PhD thesis

Natascha Drachmann PhD defense on 5 January 2024
Natascha Drachmann presents implications of the PhD project for the language subjects in primary and lower secondary school in Denmark

On Friday 5 January 2024, Natascha Drachmann defended her PhD thesis entitled Sproglig opmærksomhed via en flersprogethedsdidaktik – Et læreplans- og multicasestudie på tværs af sprogfag og klassetrin i grundskolen (’Language Awareness in the Context of Plurilingual Education – A Curriculum and Multiple-Case Study across Language Subjects and Grades in Primary and Lower Secondary School in Denmark’). The PhD project has been a sub-project in the PE-LAL project.

The defense took place at the University of Copenhagen and was led by associate professor Jan Juhl Lindschouw.

The assessment committee consisted of:

  • Professor Anne Holmen (chair), University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Associate professor Kristine Kabel, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Professor Heike Speitz, University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway

In the assessment, the committee concluded:

“The thesis constitutes a convincing and strong research work with clear scientific qualities. The work falls within an international research field that has only been modestly studied in a Danish context and not previously as a combination of curriculum studies across language subjects and classroom studies across grades. The work is based on original Danish data, systematic and thorough analyses, and relevant considerations about their generalizability to the school as such. The work draws on an extensive Danish, Nordic, and other international research literature. The thesis is well-written with a clear structure and consistently clear conceptual definitions and a good reference practice”.

On behalf of the assessment committee, Professor Anne Holmen closed the defense with the words: “As said, we are very impressed with your work. Unanimously and without any doubt, we recommend to the Academic Council that you be awarded the PhD degree”.

The defense was celebrated at a reception organized by the Department of English, Germanic & Romance Studies.

Read Natascha Drachmann's PhD dissertation

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