Dr Tore Sorensen
- Lecturer in Education (School of Education)
email:
Tore.Sorensen@glasgow.ac.uk
School of Education, University of Glasgow, 11 Eldon Street, G3 6NH Glasgow
Biography
I do research and teach about contemporary education governance. In recent years, I have focused on three lines of research: Globalisation and global education governance; public policy analysis; the teaching profession and teacher education.
I am interested in supervising Masters, PhD and EdD students who are working on topics related to my research interests. In my supervision, I emphasise dialogue and supporting students in pursuing their research interests and develop their skills as researchers and academics.
Since completing my PhD in the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol (UK), in 2017, I have been fortunate to gain valuable experience from being involved in exciting research projects and collaborate with great colleagues in very different settings. Before coming to Glasgow in November 2023, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Hertie School's Educational Governance Team (Berlin, Germany), Taube Centre for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland), and in Groupe interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur la Socialisation, l'Education et la Formation (GIRSEF), UC Louvain (Belgium).
My research has been published in journals such as Comparative Education Review, Discourse, Education Inquiry, European Educational Research Journal, Education Policy Analysis Archives, Globalisation, Societies and Education, and Journal of Education and Work, as well as in a range of edited anthologies.
With Xavier Dumay (UC Louvain) and Lynn Paine (Michigan State University), I am currently editing World Yearbook of Education 2025. The Teaching Profession in a Globalizing World: Governance, Career, Learning, to be published by Routledge in November 2024. I have also been a guest editor for four special issues and special sections in some of the journals mentioned above. In addition, I edited the handbook section "Globalization and Teacher Education" in The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research (Editor-in-Chief Ian Menter), where I also contributed with the chapter "Globalization, Teachers, and Teacher Education: Theories, Themes, and Methodologies".
Research interests
My research draws especially on the disciplines and literatures of comparative education, political sociology, public policy, and sociology of education.
My work is characterised by three lines of research:
- Globalisation and global education governance
- Public policy analysis
- The teaching profession and teacher education
In particular, I have in recent years undertaken studies of the activities and influence of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develoment (OECD) and the European Union regarding the governing of education sectors.
My research mainly draws on qualitative methods, including different forms of discourse analysis and qualitative content analysis. My work also often involves a comparative component.
Supervision
Research Supervision Areas
I welcome supervision inquiries from potential PhD students who share my research interests, including but not limited to:
- Education policy
- Public policy
- Global governance
- Teaching profession and teacher education
- Comparative and international education
- Sociology of education
In my supervision, I emphasise dialogue and supporting students in pursuing their research interests and develop their skills as researchers and academics.
Supervision Inquiries
For supervision inquries, please email me the following:
- Research proposal of approximately 1500 words (see here for guidance)
- Updated CV
- Transcripts of all academic degrees
- Any books, articles, chapters, or reports you’ve published already
- A 250-word description of how your research interests align with my research and why you’re interested in pursuing a PhD with me (I would recommend reading at least 2-3 of my publications)
- A brief description of your funding situation (already in receipt of a scholarship, planning to apply to one, planning to self-fund, etc.)
In University of Glasgow, I have supervised Masters student dissertations on the MSc Education, Public Policy & Equity and MSc International and Comparative Education programmes.
In UC Louvain (Belgium), I was PhD co-supervisor of Jo B. Helgetun’s project “Teacher training at the crossroads of the global education policy field and national paths? Case studies in England and France” (Completed in September 2021)
Teaching
I am currently course lead and teaching on:
-
International Actors and Global Education Policies (EDUC 51061, core course of MSc International & Comparative Education)
- Modern Educational Thinking (EDUC51000, core course of MSc in Education Online)
In addition, I teaching on:
- Education Policy (core course of the EdD Doctorate in Education)
- Modern Educational Thought (EDUC5156, core course of MSc Educational Studies)
-
Education and Society 5 (EDUC5863P, MEduc Education with Primary Teaching Qualification)
- Contemporary Themes in Education Policy (EDUC51001, core course of MSc Educational Studies)
Professional activities & recognition
Editorial boards
- 2018: European Educational Research Journal
- 2023: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy
Supplementary
- Peer reviewer for the following academic journals (in period since January 2022): Comparative Education Review, European Educational Research Journal, Global Society, Globalisation, Societies and Education, International Journal of Lifelong Education, Journal of Education Policy, Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, Paedagogica Historica, Research in Comparative and International Education
Additional information