The current migrant situation in Europe and Norway calls for a special attention on educational systems ability to create equal educational opportunities for all students and for teachers’ ability to teach in increasingly social and cultural diverse classrooms.

Compared to other European countries, the Norwegian society may be seen as one with less cultural diversity. However, statistics reveal that the number of pupils of immigrant backgrounds have increased from about 4% in 1991 to nearly 13% in 2013 (Dzamarija, 2016; Garthus-Niegel, Oppedal, & Vike, 2015), as well as differences in income between citizens with and without immigrant background (Langeland, Herud, & Ohrem, 2014). These numbers might be an indication of a threatened welfare state- and  can be viewed as signs of “the unified school as a paradise lost” (Welle- Strand & Tjeldvoll, 2002). One can also view these numbers as the unified school`s inability to create equal educational opportunities for all. The Norwegian educational system have been perceived as an essential tool in policymakers’ immigration integration agendas (Garthus-Niegel et al., 2015).

However, some educational trends and changes might be seen as a counterweight to these numbers. The latest teacher education reforms ( both national and international) (Furlong, Cochran-Smith, & Brennan, 2013, p. 3) proclaims that teachers should become researchesin their own classrooms, and to a greater extend build their classroom practice on scientific research (Grythe, 2011). The question however, is how far and under which conditions research based teaching can tackle the increasing cultural and social diversity in our society.

On that note, the meaning of educational research as one condition for professional educational practices is put on the agenda. Researchers and research do not only reflect and analyse the social world, but construct and (re)produce it. Hence, against the background that research is seen as a tool to improve classroom practices, it is of considerable importance to analyse the transformation of cultural and social hierarchies within research. In this perspective we discuss the following research question:

How does Norwegian educational research construct and reproduce power relations within the context of a cultural and social diverse society?

By answering this question our study build on theories that sees the production of scientific knowledge in close relation to social context. We draw especially on conceptions of the scientific field and on discourse theory that point to the preservation and transformation of power relations within the field of (educational) research, as well as its consequences for educational practice (e.g. Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1996). Generally, we assume that the way in which something is mentioned or discussed contributes into making it (Pihl, 2001 in Bjelland, 2005) and that this can have serious effects on pedagogical practice. Thus, within the context of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) we are interested in “what knowledge […] is […] how the valid knowledge evolves, […] passed on, which function it has for the constitution of subjects and […] society  and which impact this knowledge has on the overall development of society” (Jäger, 2001, 2002).

With our research, we systematically investigate research as an agent of social and cultural construction in a time with increasing cross-field effects between research activities and educational practices, throughout Europe. This links closely to the conference interest scope, as the research question takes into account how educational research as an educational actor defines the field of educational practice and policy. Our example from Norway is seen as a representative for an inclusive and integrative education system. However, the results from this inquiry will be discussed against a similar study done in Germany- a context  with a selective education structure (Jobst & Skrobanek, 2008).

Biesta, G. (2004). Against Learning: reclaiming a language for education in an age of learning. Nordisk Pedagogik, 24(1), 70- 83. Bjelland, C. (2005). Tospråklig opplæring- inkludering eller ekskludering. Norsk Pedagogisk tidsskrift, 4(89), 315- 326. Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1996). Reflexive Anthropologie. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp [fr. org. 1992: Réponses. Pour une anthropologie reflexive. Paris: Seuil]. Dzamarija, M. T. (2016). Barn og unge voksne med innvandrerbakgrunn demografi utdanning og inntekt. Retrieved from ssb.no: Furlong, J., Cochran-Smith, M., & Brennan, M. (2013). Policy and politics in teacher education: International perspectives: Routledge. Garthus-Niegel, K., Oppedal, B., & Vike, H. (2015). Semantic Models of Host-Immigrant Relations in Norwegian Education Policies. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 1-24. doi:10.1080/00313831.2014.996593 Grythe, J. (2011). Forskningsbasert undervisning som evidensbasert praksis? Norsk Pedagogisk tidsskrift, 95 ER(05). Jobst, S., & Skrobanek, J. (2008). Migration und Ungleichheit: Objektkonstruktionen im sozialwissenschaftlichen Feld. Soziale Probleme, 19(1), 34- 52. Jäger, S. (2001). Discourse and knowledge: Theoretical and methodological aspects of a critical discourse and dispositive analysis. Methods of critical discourse analysis, 2, 32-63. Jäger, S. (2002). Discourse and knowledge: theoretical and methodological aspects of a critical discourse and dispositive analysis In R. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (1st edition). London, GBR: SAGE Publications, Incorporated. Jørgensen, M. W., & Phillips, L. (1999). Diskursanalyse som teori og metode. Roskilde: Roskilde Universitetsforlag. Langeland, S., Herud, E., & Ohrem, S. (2014). Fattigdom og levekår i Norge- Status 2013 Retrieved from NAV.no Oslo Møller, J. (2007). Educational leadership and a new language of learning. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 10(1), 31-48. Pihl, J. (2015). Epistemological and Methodological challenges. In B. Sheri & B. H. Halla (Eds.), Youth `At the Margins`: Germany: Springer Verlag. Welle- Strand, A., & Tjeldvoll, A. (2002). The Norwegian unified school- a paradise lost? Journal of Education Policy, 17(6), 673- 686. Willig, C. (2008). Discourse Analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative Psychology. A Practical Guide to Research Methods (pp. XI, 276 s.). London: Sage.