Start-up for graduate school on the impact of AI on teachers
Senior Professor Mats Daniels and Professor Åsa Cajander at the Department of Information Technology are involved in the LärA-AI graduate school, which will investigate how generative artificial intelligence is affecting the work environment and professional role of teachers. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
Last autumn, a new graduate school studying the consequences of AI on the work environment of teachers received nearly SEK 42 million in funding from the Swedish Research Council. The graduate school LärA-AI (Teachers’ Work Environment in the Age of GenAI) is managed by post-retirement professor Mats Daniels at the Department of Information Technology with colleague and professor Åsa Cajander.
Mats Daniels, what is the purpose of LärA-AI, and why is this graduate school important at this point in time?
“Artificial intelligence is being introduced in schools at a very rapid rate, often without sufficient knowledge about its consequences for teaching, assessment and the work environment. We need more knowledge about its consequences for the work environment of teachers. The graduate school aims to build up research expertise over the long term on AI in schools, with a particular focus on how AI affects teachers’ work, professional judgement and their teaching.”
What will happen in the graduate school and who are you targeting?
“Right now, the focus is on recruiting doctoral students. Five people will be recruited to the Department of Information Technology here in Uppsala: three to the University of Gävle and one to KTH Royal Institute of Technology. An important aspect is to have a close connection with teacher education programmes, teachers and education coordinators in order to create a constructive environment where the doctoral students can develop their understanding of the work environment of teachers and how AI is affecting it. It’s also about communicating research results out to schools broadly.”
What activities and initiatives will you be implementing?
“The graduate school will arrange five courses and two summer schools. In addition, the doctoral students will have access to a qualified reference group consisting of international researchers and representatives of educational activities. The research results will be presented at conferences and also in various forms in collaboration with teacher education programmes and teachers. The doctoral students will be located in Uppsala, Gävle and Stockholm, but also out with education coordinators.”
What are you looking forward to most with this graduate school?
“What we’re looking forward to above all is working closely with engaged and committed doctoral students and colleagues on questions that really matter in teachers’ everyday lives in the classroom. We’re also looking forward to following the doctoral students’ development over time, and to contributing jointly to a more sustainable use of AI in schools that is better planned.”
Elisabeth Hoff
LärA-AI (Teachers’ Work Environment in the Age of GenAI)
The graduate school started as a project on 1 December 2025 and will run until 30 November 2030. It’s a collaboration between Uppsala University, KTH and the University of Gävle, and aims to investigate how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is affecting the work environment and professional role of teachers.
Nine doctoral students will conduct embedded research in collaboration with schools and teacher education programmes, divided across three themes:
(1) GenAI and the changing nature of pedagogical work;
(2) Professional autonomy, responsibility, and ethical decision-making; and
(3) Digital competence, professional learning, and organisational change in AI-integrated school.
The graduate school’s grant from the Swedish Research Council is close to SEK 42 million, of which almost SEK 25 million is allocated to Uppsala University.