Ole Henrik Hansen
Professor PhD. In ECEC at Jönköping University in Sweden
He obtained a Master degree in didactics at Aarhus University in Denmark and a doctoral degree in preschool didactics at the same university. He then was employed in a position first as an assistant professor then as an associate professor. In addition, Professor Hansen has been employed as an associate professor at Gothenburg University, Oslo Metropolitan University and professor at UiT in Norway.
Professor Hansen's research has from the beginning of his career been focused on the youngest children's learning and development conditions in institutionalized, professional contexts. This also includes research into the conditions of families with children and their parenting in welfare societies and not least the development of the professional pedagogical competencies that are expected to replace the parents in the daytime.
Professor Hansen has a comprehensive international and public outreach. He has been part of research collaborations that have explored the youngest children's upbringing conditions in the Nordic countries, in Europe and globally. He has served as head of international research groups in Early Childhood Education and Care associations, and he is often used as a public debater regarding child welfare and children’s conditions in our rich but also demanding welfare society.
Professor Hansen’s research contributes to the development of pedagogical and professional quality in preschools. His research is investigative of children's well-being, their stress level in different contexts, their relationships with each other and with the professional adults. Not least the quality of the professionals' care, of the children's experience of their own lives and how everything around the children affects the children's opportunities.
Professor Hansen's recent work is a critical investigation at possible unintended consequences of the early institutionalization of children; can a connection be identified between the Nordic welfare and Nordic preschool culture and the increase in children's mental challenges in the Nordic countries? This involves research into the consequences of the early separation from the parents and research in the relational competencies and attachment quality of the system that is to replace the parents in the daytime. Another current perspective in Ole Henrik Hansen’s current research is the democratization processes among the youngest children in preschool. This is an important research perspective in the Nordic democratic societies and in the current political challenges in the Nordic countries. The pedagogical perspective is early education as part of democratic resilience.
A third current perspective is the development of research methods to give the youngest children a voice in their own lives. To enable them to express their opinion in a quantifiable measuring instrument.
Finally, it is Professor Hansen ambition to continue to develop pedagogical frameworks that can develop children's self-esteem, their ability to relate critically to their surroundings, their innovative competencies and not least their ability to create healthy relationships with other people.