Tommie Rappe Petersson

Short presentation

I am a doctoral candidate in Sociology of Education at Uppsala University, affiliated with Assessment of Knowledge in Educational Systems (ASSESS), Housing, Education, and Segregation (BUS), and Uppsala Studies of History and Education (SHED). My dissertation analyzes how social background, school context, and school markets are associated with merit ratings in Swedish compulsory education. I also produce applied statistical reports for Uppsala Municipality.

Keywords

• History of Education
• quantitative methods
• Didactics of Philosophy
• grades
• Sociology of Education; educational choice; vocational education; career guidance; school markets; social differentiation; grades; quantitative methods.

Biography

I am a certified upper-secondary school teacher in history, religious education, and philosophy, with extensive experience of teaching, teacher education, and educational development. I have worked in teacher education at several universities and taught courses in areas such as subject didactics, history of education, Sociology of Education, and research methods.

I have also authored didactic literature, including work on philosophy didactics. My academic profile combines experience from school and teacher education practice with sociological questions concerning grades, educational choice, social differentiation, and the institutional conditions of schooling.

Research

My research examines grades and merit ratings as educational outcomes, institutional signals, and measures of school performance. In my dissertation, I analyze changes in the relationship between students’ social background, school context, provider type, and local school-market conditions in Swedish compulsory education.

Empirically, my work is primarily based on quantitative analyses of register data, and national education statistics. I am particularly interested in how the distribution and comparability of grades change over time, and how such changes can be understood in relation to school choice, independent schools, socioeconomic differentiation, and education policy reforms.

I also conduct applied analyses of educational data, including statistical reports for Uppsala Municipality on vocational programs, career guidance, and the transition to upper-secondary education.