Jonathan Lilliedahl, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Education at Linnaeus University, Sweden. His research draws on the fields of education policy and politics, history of education and sociology of education, with a particular emphasis on school and curricular choice mechanisms, admission policies, and the stratification of arts education.
His current work examines the historical development and socio-political legitimization of specialist schools programs within comprehensive education systems. Specifically, he investigates how cross-sectoral and cross-interest coalitions, along with behind-the-scenes micropolitical dynamics, have influenced policymaking processes that shape specialized educational pathways and tracking. His research places a particular focus on arts education programs, analyzing the mechanisms through which such initiatives gain legitimacy and exert influence within broader educational frameworks. Moreover, Lilliedahl’s research explores the role of school leaders as policy actors, especially in their involvement in shaping local admission policies and curricular choices. Additionally, he examines how elite selective schools shape their online representations to convey implicit communication codes and attract students with specific characteristics. By uncovering such policymaking practices, Lilliedahl aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how selective specialist schools and between-school tracking develop and become institutionalized within market-driven education systems.
Lilliedahl is on the editorial board of Arts Education Policy Review (Taylor & Francis), International Journal of Music Education (SAGE), and Nordic Research in Music Education (Cappelen Damm Akademisk). His academic publications include articles in WoS-indexed periodicals such as the British Journal of Sociology of Education, Journal of Curriculum Studies, and Music Education Research.
Publications
Article in journal (Refereed)
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Lilliedahl, J. (2023). Is there a transnational trend of “nudging” away from the arts? : How the selection device works in the European–Swedish context. Arts education policy review. 124 (1). 27-36.
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Lilliedahl, J. (2022). Why the arts are not considered core knowledge in secondary education : a Bernsteinian analysis. Journal of Curriculum Studies. 54 (2). 165-178.
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Lilliedahl, J. (2022). How school finance reforms affect the local policy landscape and funding of schools : a case study of the transformation of the Swedish model, 1989–1992. Nordic Journal of Educational History. 9 (1). 107-131.
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Lilliedahl, J. (2022). Visually communicating exclusiveness : how specialist music secondary schools in England represent themselves on the web. Music Education Research. 24 (4). 430-441.
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Lilliedahl, J. (2021). Class, capital, and school culture : Parental involvement in public schools with specialised music programmes. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 42 (2). 245-259.
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Lilliedahl, J. (2020). Specialised music classes in comprehensive education : a case study of the Swedish shift from social-democratic uniformity to neoliberal diversity. Journal of Educational Administration & History. 52 (2). 228-240.
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Lilliedahl, J., Rapp, S. (2019). The status of aesthetic education in a revised centralized curriculum : A theory-based and content-oriented evaluation of the Swedish curriculum reform Gy11. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. 5 (1). 43-53.
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Lilliedahl, J. (2018). Building knowledge through arts integration. Pedagogies : An International Journal. 13 (2). 133-145.
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Lilliedahl, J., Sundberg, D., Wahlström, N. (2016). Teoribaserad utvärdering som svar på det tidiga 2000-talets frågor om utbildningsreformer. Pedagogisk forskning i Sverige. 21 (1-2). 9-29.
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Lilliedahl, J. (2015). The recontextualisation of knowledge : towards a social realist approach to curriculum and didactics. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. 1 (1). 40-47.
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Georgii-Hemming, E., Lilliedahl, J. (2014). Why "What" Matters : On the Content Dimension of Music Didactics. Philosophy of Music Education Review. 22 (2). 132-155.
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Lilliedahl, J., Georgii-Hemming, E. (2009). Parental expectations of the Swedish municipal school of arts. British Journal of Music Education. 26 (3). 257-271.
Status: Published
Article in journal (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
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Lilliedahl, J. (2021). Vägvalet att inrätta och tillåta musikklasser : En berättelse om etableringen av profilerade grundskolor. Vägval i skolans historia. (1).
Status: Published
Chapter in book (Refereed)
- Lilliedahl, J. (2021). Klagosång i repris : Om bristande relationer till god kultur och behovet av estetisk samhörighetsfostran. Skolans kriser : Historiska perspektiv på utbildningsreformer och skoldebatter. Lund, Nordic Academic Press. 155-180.
- Lilliedahl, J., Wikman, T., Hansén, S. (2020). Coherence within Teacher Education : Swedish Lessons. International Perspectives on Knowledge Integration : Theory, Research, and Good Practice in Pre-service Teacher and Higher Education. Brill Academic Publishers. 291-312.
- Lilliedahl, J. (2020). Läroplansteori i svensk lärarutbildning : En semantiskt orienterad läroplansanalys. Läroplansteori i och om lärarutbildning : Rapport från den sjunde Nordiska Läroplansteoretiska konferensen. Göteborg, Institutionen för pedagogik och specialpedagogik, Göteborgs universitet. 151-162.
Chapter in book (Other academic)
- Lilliedahl, J. (2025). Social realism och didaktik : Vad är giltig skolkunskap?. Kunskap och lärande : om lärares didaktiska val. Malmö, Gleerups Utbildning AB. 63-76.
- Lilliedahl, J., Ehrlin, A. (2016). Kartläggning och inkludering av nyanlända elevers kunskaper : Exemplet musik. Skolans möte med nyanlända. Stockholm, Liber. 49-64.
- Lilliedahl, J. (2014). Musik i läroplanen och läroplanen i musik. Musik för alla : Filosofiska och didaktiska perspektiv på musik, bildning och samhälle. Lund, Studentlitteratur AB. 95-106.
Doctoral thesis, monograph (Other academic)
- Lilliedahl, J. (2013). Musik i (ut)bildning : gränsdragningar och inramningar i läroplans(kon)texter för gymnasieskolan. Doctoral Thesis. Örebro, Örebro universitet. 293.
Conference paper (Refereed)
- Lilliedahl, J. (2024). The EU Recommendation on the Key Competences and the Curriculum for Music Education : A Policy Case Study. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2024). Cultural awareness and expression competence and the arts education curriculum : A comparative policy study. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2024). Agenda Setting and Education Policy Change : Using the Multiple Streams Framework to Examine the Complexity of Policymaking. . 11-12.
- Lilliedahl, J. (2022). "Nudging" – hur elever i den svenska gymnasieskolan styrs till att välja värdefull kunskap. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2021). Adolf Fredrik’s Music School and the Institutional Landscape of Stockholm : Analyzing Micropolitics Behind the Scenes. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2021). Specialised music programmes and the issue of social differential aesthetics : A multimodal discourse analysis. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2021). The aesthetics of specialist music secondary schools in England : A multimodal discourse analysis. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2020). The political legitimacy of alternative approaches and separate tracks within the comprehensive education system. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2020). Using Social Network Analysis to Visualize Relationships Between Micropolitics and Government Education Policy : A Case Study from Sweden. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2020). Musikklassernas framväxt i Sverige : En kultur- och utbildningspolitisk analys. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2020). The Multimodal Aesthetics of Specialized Music Schools. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2020). Social differential aesthetics : A multimodal discourse analysis of specialized music schools. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2019). The selection device : Understanding the decline of music in secondary education. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2019). Att analysera intranationella policyflöden : Modell för att begripa etableringen av musikklasser i Sverige. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2019). Understanding specialization in specialized music programs through multimodal discourse analysis. .
- Lilliedahl, J., Hansén, S., Wikman, T. (2018). Contextual Coherence in Teacher Education. .
- Wikman, T., Hansén, S., Lilliedahl, J. (2018). Identifying Coherence in Teacher Education. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2018). Semantiska koder som begrepp för integrering av konstnärliga praktiker. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2018). The ‘Original’ Legitimization of Music Classes in Sweden. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2017). Estetiska ämnens återkomst? : Policyprocesser kring ett estetiskt ämne i den svenska gymnasieskolan. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2017). Läroplansteorin i svensk lärarutbildning : En semantiskt orienterad läroplansanalys. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2017). Aesthetic Didaktik : Networking between practices. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2017). Autonomy Codes of Alternative Pedagogies. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2016). Estetiska ämnens formering i lärarutbildning : Professioner och spänningsfält. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2012). Developing visibility : music education & the new right. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2011). An interdisciplinarity of critiques : the contribution of Ricoeur’s critical hermeneutics to critical realism and social realism. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2011). Neoliberalism and music education. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2011). Musikpedagogiska filosofier och den rekontextualiserande principen. .
- Lilliedahl, J. (2009). Det estetiska kunskapsområdets sorti enligt betänkande av 2007 års gymnasieutredning. .
Conference paper (Other academic)
Report (Other academic)
- Lilliedahl, J. (2017). Teoribaserad utvärdering av lämplighetsbedömning : Rapport från försöksverksamhet med lämplighetsbedömning vid antagning till lärar- och förskollärarutbildning. Jönköping, Jönköping University. 63.
Other (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
- Lilliedahl, J. (2016). Kartläggningsmaterial i musik. Stockholm, Skolverket.