NEWS On 10 February 2026, Doctoral student Jakob Wickzell held his mid-term seminar, where he presented and discussed his ongoing doctoral thesis. Jakob Wickzell is a Doctoral student at the Department of Creative Studies (Teacher Education), as well as the Arctic Graduate School at Umeå University.
The seminar began with Jakob presenting his ongoing research project, with the working title “The Impact of Place for Aesthetics Teachers in Rural Arctic Sweden”. The project aims to examine which factors influence arts, crafts and music teachers' choice of working in northern Sweden's rural areas, and what impact they have on their teaching. It also examines which approaches rural principals and local politicians have for promoting sustainable development of certified teachers in the aesthetic subjects.
Jakob Wickzell.
Image Hans KarlssonThe research project is conducted in six schools with six principals and twenty aesthetics teachers across the rural Arctic. It highlights the importance of geographical perspectives and the specific challenges rural schools face in recruiting qualified teachers, particularly in aesthetic subjects such as music, arts, and crafts.
“I hope that my thesis can contribute rural perspectives to educational research, which otherwise often focuses on urban contexts,” says Jakob.
Discussant at the seminar was Professor Helene Ärlestig from Umeå University. She offered constructive feedback on the manuscript in general, and more specifically, she encouraged a clearer focus in the thesis, including sharpening the aim and clarifying key concepts. The discussion also addressed how different empirical materials and four planned articles could be integrated into a coherent research design, as well as the importance of communicating findings to both academic audiences and practitioners, such as principals and municipal planners.
I hope that the result will be relevant for different actors, such as school principals and municipal officials working with educational issues.
Jakob says that he is very pleased with the seminar. He emphasises the value of having an external reader who can review one’s work so thoroughly.
“Helene and I had a very rewarding and meaningful conversation with many valuable points. Something particularly important was realizing that around the time of the mid-term seminar, there is a shift where the doctoral student moves from writing to understand things for oneself to writing so that others can understand. That is something I will remember.”
In addition to rural perspectives, Jakob hopes that his dissertation will also be valuable to various stakeholders outside academia.
“I hope that the result will be relevant for different actors, such as school principals and municipal officials working with educational issues. I hope to contribute to the development of more sustainable teacher recruitment in rural areas, which in turn can lead to high-quality education for children and young people in more parts of the country. It would also be great if the thesis could inspire students to work in a northern rural municipality,” Jakob concludes.
Jakob Wickzell is a Doctoral student at the Department of Creative Studies (Teacher Education), and the Arctic Graduate School at Umeå University.
