This Ph.D. study traces the path of a didactic learning material for the L1 subject and its connection to the curriculum across three central processes: 1) the creation process of a learning material, 2) the process where teachers select learning materials for use in their teaching, and 3) the process where teachers plan and conduct lessons with the learning material.
The study adopts a subject-didactic and holistic perspective to examine the processes, actors, and interests shaping how learning materials influence the L1 subject students encounter.

Research Questions:
• What characterizes the creation, evaluation, and usage processes of a learning material?
• What are the potentials and barriers for didactic learning materials in the L1-subject to act as a link between an intended subject (curriculum) and the realized, actual subject in school in a didactic tradition where the teacher is the one who transforms the curriculum's intentions into didactically meaningful teaching?

Background: Didactic learning materials play a crucial role in schools across subjects and levels (Mullis, Martin, Foy & Arora, 2012; Gilje, 2015). Historically and today, research confirms their central role in translating curricula (Mikk 2000; Valverde et al., 2002). Nordic studies indicate that learning materials serve as the most dominant curriculum (Hodgson et al., 2010). Their content and didactic approach support and guide teachers (EVA 2012; Oksbjerg 2021; Gilje et al., 2016). L1 teachers often adopt rather than re-didacticize materials (Gissel et al., 2021), however, this stands in contrast to the continental didactic tradition (Gundem 2000, Hopmann 2007), where the teacher is the one who transforms the curriculum's intentions into didactically meaningful teaching.

In Denmark, a free commercial market exists for learning materials. Nordic research highlights tensions between progressive, academically relevant materials (Bremholm et al., 2017) and teachers’ conservative selection tendencies (Flottorp 2002). The development and sale of materials thus occur at the intersection of ideals, curricula, and demand.

Theoretical Framework: This study conceptualizes learning materials as actor-networks (Latour 1996), emphasizing the relational dynamics among actors and the ongoing negotiations shaping materials. A learning material is not merely a text but an inscription encapsulating drafts, discussions, conflicts, and decisions. When finalized, it appears seamless, concealing the intricate network behind its creation. Once circulated, it influences thoughts, actions, and new networks. It is these networks and their development that are of my analytical interest in this study.
A key concept brought into play in the analysis is translation, which means translation and creating connection. With Callon's translation model (Callon 1984), the translation between an intended subject and the realized, actual subject in school can be understood as the number of associated actors acting on behalf of the curriculum, making these powerful or powerless. When "something" – e.g., a didactic position – becomes powerful or has an effect in the world, it is assumed to be because an actor-network has been established that acts on behalf of the "idea" (Latour, 1996; Latour, 2005). Working with networks in an actor-network understanding makes it possible to move the project beyond individual domains, such as the ministry, publisher, individual didactic learning material, and teachers' teaching, and examine the connections between them.

With the aim of investigating how actors, through practical activities, create, negotiate, and maintain the connections that constitute the actor-network, and which actors and translations influence the design of subject-specific learning materials, teachers' lesson plans, and concrete L1 teaching, this study is designed as a multi-sited ethnographic case study (Marcus, 1995). As a researcher, I move between different fields to follow the actors "learning material" and "curriculum". The empirical material consists of: 1. The creation process of a learning material Participants: Editorial team and learning material author team. Data: • Documents: Manuscript versions, feedback, emails, meeting notes, and other communications. • Observation: Editorial meetings and presentations. • Interviews: Semi-structured interviews with authors and editors. 2. The process where teachers plan and conduct teaching with the learning material Participants: Six teachers with 2-27 years of experience. Data: • Documents: Teacher's planning in the Learning Management System (LMS) and student products. • Observation: Classroom observations. • Interviews: Semi-structured interviews with teachers. 3. The process where teachers choose learning materials and make choices in teaching Participants: Four teachers with 1-25 years of experience. Data: • Documents: Annual plans, course and lesson plans in LMS, and student products. • Observation: Classroom observations. • Interviews: Semi-structured interviews with teachers. The analysis of the materials is guided by ANT's theoretical orientation, which follows the actors' paths and identifies moments where specific movements occur. The analysis is structured with a three-step model: A. Descriptions: Thick descriptions of the three processes to identify actors and establish a basis for further exploration and analysis (Yin, 2018). Episodes are depicted as closely to the empirical data as possible. B. Visualization: Visualizing the relationships between actors to understand their interactions and translations. The focus is on how actors connect to others and form networks through negotiations, adjustments, and changes. Network diagrams are linked to a timeline of the process to show changes in alliances over time. These diagrams are not final analyses but serve as a basis for further investigations. C. Episodic translation analysis: Selecting episodes that highlight what binds learning materials and curriculum across the processes. The episodes are explored with a focus on actors, activities, translations, and the final outcome. The translation process occurs in a sequence of problematization, negotiation, enrollment, and mobilization (Callon, 1986)

At the time of writing, the analyses have just begun, but preliminary findings suggest that: The editorial team and the publisher focus on the level of politicized discourse, where actors shape the discourse of the L1 subject, emphasizing “world orientation.” The idea is that learning materials should bridge research, (political) development, and practice by providing didactic concepts and concrete tools for teachers. The author prioritizes making the learning material practical and credible for teachers—tested in practice and realistic to implement with students. The learning material should support teachers by providing model texts, concrete examples from practice, and worksheets. Additionally, it should spark curiosity and inspire teachers to develop their own teaching approaches. Teachers are concerned with motivating their students and providing them with the best opportunities. They balance selecting content and activities that are based on students' experiences while also ensuring preparation for the L1 subject exam. For them, the learning material should be useful for students and inspire teachers to create their own materials tailored to their specific student groups. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of what it means to examine learning materials from a subject-specific didactic perspective using ANT. It also seeks to foster discussions on how tracing connections and developments can lead to insightful analyses of teaching practices and learning materials, as well as to illuminate why and how ideas such as literary didactic positions spread in schools.

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