Armend Tahirsylaj

About

Armend Tahirsylaj is associate professor of education at the Department of Teacher Education, NTNU, since 2018, where he teaches pedagogy- and research methods-oriented courses in teacher education programmes, and leads InEdS: Integrated Education Studies research group. He obtained his PhD in Educational Theory and Policy from Pennsylvania State University, USA, in 2015. Prior to NTNU, he has held a post-doc position in education at Linnaeus University, Sweden, research positions at the World Bank and Penn State, USA, and a teaching position at University of Prishtina, Kosovo. His current teaching and research focuses on curriculum theory, Didaktik/Bildung tradition, education policy, teacher education, international large-scale assessments, international comparative education, and research methods. His latest publications have examined teacher autonomy and responsibility across Didaktik and curriculum education traditions, spread of competence-based curricula internationally, curriculum reforms and implementation in Kosovo over past 20 years, Bildung in Continental and Nordic Europe contexts, and the role of transnational and national education policies on mastery of key competences within national contexts. His research work has been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Curriculum Studies, Comparative Education, Curriculum Inquiry, Curriculum Perspectives, European Education, European Journal of Teacher Education, Nordic Studies in Education, and Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. He serves as a reviewer in a number of international education journals.

Research

As leader of InEdS research group, Armend Tahirsylaj, in collaboration with his NTNU colleagues, is currently conducting a systematic review on educational research on Bildung; another systematic review on competence-based curricula in collaboration with Daniel Sundberg (Linnaeus University, Sweden); and a research project on competence-based curriculum policy and implementation in Kosovo with Fitore Fazliu (Kosovo). In his prior research work, Tahirsylaj has published widely using international large scale assessment (ILSA) datasets, such as PISA, TIMSS, TEDS-M and TALIS, with collaborators from different countries in Europe, North America, and Asia.

InEdS: Integrated Education Studies

Publications

2025

Tahirsylaj, Armend; Sundberg, Daniel. (2025) Five visions of competence-based education and curricula as travelling policies: a systematic research review 1997–2022. Journal of Curriculum Studies
Academic literature review

2024

Stubhaug, Mia; Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2024) Students’ experiences of Bildung and education: Is it in accordance with Norway’s curriculum policy?. Issues in educational research
Academic article

2023

Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2023) Bildung and Twenty-First Century Competences: In Need of Mutual Recognition?. Springer
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper

Teaching

Courses

MGLU4114 - Pedagogy and Pupil-related Skills 3 (1-7)

MGLU4514 - Pedagogy and Pupil-related Skills 3 (5-10)

MGLU5229 - Theories of Science and Research Methods

Outreach

2024

Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend; Sundberg, Daniel. (2024) Five Visions of Competence-Based Curricula as a Travelling Policy: Actors, Features and Implications for Schooling. NERA Nordic Education Research Association , Malmö 2024-03-06 - 2024-03-08

2023

Academic lecture

Rønningen, Elisabeth; Engen, Dagrun Astrid Aarø; Hoveid, Marit Honerød; Hoveid, Halvor; Veelo, Nicole Christine; Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2023) Bildung and Curriculum – An Educational Research Perspective. EERA ECER Conference 2023 , Glasgow 2023-05-22 - 2023-08-25
Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2023) Same but different: competence-based curricula on display in Covid-19 times in Kosovo and Albania . CIES Comparative International Education Society (CIES) 2023 , Washington DC 2023-02-18 - 2023-02-21
Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2023) Bildung and 21st century competences: in need of mutual recognition?. AERA American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2023 Conference , Chicago 2023-04-13 - 2023-04-16
Academic lecture

Veelo, Nicole Christine; Engen, Dagrun Astrid Aarø; Rønningen, Elisabeth; Tahirsylaj, Armend; Jensen, Magnus Rom; Solhaug, Solvor. (2023) Mapping Educational Research on Bildung - a Systematic Review. Oslo Met NERA Conference 2023 , Oslo 2023-03-15 - 2023-03-17

2022

Academic lecture

Rønningen, Elisabeth; Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2022) Mapping scholarship on Bildung - a general overview. University of Iceland Nordic Educational Research Association 2022 , Reykjavik 2022-06-01 - 2022-06-03
Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend; Rønningen, Elisabeth; Hoveid, Marit Honerød; Engen, Dagrun Astrid Aarø; Hoveid, Halvor; Veelo, Nicole Christine. (2022) Educational research on Bildung - Bildung in and Curriculum. Linnaeus University 9th Nordic Curriculum Theory Conference , Växjö 2022-10-20 -

2021

Academic lecture

Hoveid, Marit Honerød; Hoveid, Halvor; Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2021) Advancing teaching and teacher education through teachers’ educational language: a new frontier. Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA) Nordic Educational Research Conference , Odense 2021-11-03 - 2021-11-05

2019

Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2019) From content- to competence-based curricula – externalization and convergence in curriculum policy making in Kosovo . 4th European Conference on Curriculum Studies (ECCS) 2019 Bi-Annual Conference , Maynooth 2019-06-07 - 2019-06-08
Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2019) Implications of Competence-Based Education Approaches to Curriculum Policy-making: The unfinished business of defining competences for 21st century curricula. European Educational Research Association (EARLI) 2019 Biannual Conference , Aachen 2019-08-12 - 2019-08-16
Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend; Sundberg, Daniel. (2019) From Competence-Based Curriculum Policy to Implementation to Assessment of Key Competences: A Systematic Review 1997-2017 . European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) 2019 Annual Conference , Hamburg, Germany 2019-09-03 - 2019-09-06
Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2019) Curriculum Reform as a Political Statement in Developing Contexts: A Discursive and Non-affirmative Approach . American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2019 Annual Conference , Toronto 2019-04-05 - 2019-04-09

2018

Academic lecture

Tahirsylaj, Armend. (2018) Curriculum Implementation and Assessment of Key Competences within Competence-based Education Approaches: A Systematic Review 1997-2017. 6th World Curriculum Studies Conference 2018 , Melbourne 2018-12-09 - 2018-12-12

Språkvelger

Armend Tahirsylaj