Integration of theory and practice is the key element in the research on teachers’ professional knowledge. Traditionally, this topic has created a polarization between practical and theoretical knowledge. The reform in the new Norwegian teacher education has introduced a new and watered-down concept of knowledge and research-based knowledge in education. With the reform, conflicting perceptions have arisen of what we can understand with professional knowledge in teacher education. Based on Maton’s Legitimation Code Theory, and with examples from a study of students’ R&D papers, this paper sheds light on the conflicting concept of professional knowledge in new Norwegian teacher education. The paper refutes a generic concept of knowledge and argues that teachers’ professional knowledge is based on practices that are informed by specialized forms of knowledge in the subject area.

A mantra in today's technology-rich schools, with access to the internet and all sorts of information, is that students themselves should produce knowledge. In today's school, characterized by an unholy alliance between neo-liberal forces and constructivism, this requirement will most likely lead to a state in which knowledge is perceived as a form of social construction in a particular setting. This article raises several serious objections to such an approach, which reduces knowledge to knowing, which limits the scope for progression in the subject. This paper argues for a social and realistic alternative, formulated as knowledge building as theory development. Knowledge building as theory development exceeds the subjective doxa by linking knowledge with development of ideas and theories as the essential part of the students' creation of knowledge. Knowledge building as theory development opens up for students to build knowledge with an epistemic dimension, which is a prerequisite for in-depth learning in the school's subjects.

The recent Norwegian curriculum reform for schools, called "The subject renewal", is part of an international trend regarding knowledge-based curricula. The Norwegian curriculum, which places decisive emphasis on subjects and subject concepts, aims to bring in-depth learning and knowledge back to schools. This paper is based on Rata's theory, referred to as the curriculum design coherence (CDC) model, and examines the curriculum for social studies. The analysis reveals significant differences in the curriculum's goal formulations, with designs that lack connections between subject concepts and content knowledge, which sheds light on how the transition to a knowledge-based curriculum is accompanied by several unresolved issues. The paper explains why curricula with coherent designs and epistemically structured knowledge are a prerequisite for in-depth learning and cumulative knowledge building in schools. K E Y W O R D Scoherent design, in-depth learning, knowledge building, knowledge-based curricula, social studies

In recent decades, education has undergone a digital transformation. In Norway, the government's digitalization strategy for education includes ambitious goals and plans, with expectations of new forms of teaching and learning, better learning, and improved learning outcomes. Despite the increased availability of technology in Norwegian schools, there is still a significant gap between available technology in the classroom and teachers' use of this technology for educational purposes. This paper is based on Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) and explores teachers' understanding of subject-area knowledge practices. Drawing on an empirical survey of a number of schools in northern Norway, completed in 2018/19, this paper uses one dimension of LCT to explore and compare the organized principles underlying teachers' knowledge practices in the key subjects of mathematics and Norwegian. An analysis suggests a code 'clash' with mathematics and a code 'match' with Norwegian, which may help explain their different patterns of technology integration. This research provides new perspectives on the integration of technology in education and suggests that different forms of subject-area knowledge have varying effects on teachers' knowledge practices with the use of technology in schools. This insight, which reveals the importance of knowledge and knowledge practices, will have an impact on strategies for integrating technology in schools and on measures that can promote better learning in subjects using technology in education.

In the 2000s, several major education reforms have been implemented in Norway. The reform in the teacher education is heavily inspired by the Finnish model, with introduction of a new research-based content, with the aim of developing a new type of professional knowledge, as a basis for teachers’ professional practice. Drawing on Maton’s Legitimation Code Theory, this paper explores the tensions in the new Norwegian teacher education, between knowledge and ways of knowing, by examining students’ practices, expressed in students’ research and development papers in the new teacher education. The paper refutes a one-dimensional concept of experience-based practical knowledge in the teacher education and argues that professional knowledge is based on practices that are informed by specialized and theoretical knowledge.