Karen Ann Blom

Research

Who am I? Who are you? Who and where we are now is often impacted by where our ancestors came from. The hunt for one’s roots seems to reveal a longing for the past, seeking to find belonging. In a more globalised, digital world with more people in movement and increasingly less personal “face to face” interaction, more and more individuals experience the need to connect to a place or places to belong.

Karen Ann’s dissertation examines presented narratives and personal history use in family history research experiences. The aim is to study and increase knowledge of individuals understandings and negotiations with family history research, historical narratives, and individuals' perceptions of learning, place and identity.

Biography

Originally an Elementary school teacher, Karen Ann has a great deal of experience in both practice and in academia throughout which she as developed her thinking surrounding what exactly “learning” can mean in various contexts. During her teaching practice, Karen Ann has participated in active research. At the Institute of International and Comparative Education (IIE), Stockholm University Karen Ann studied and wrote her Masters Thesis entitled, “The Transmission of Indigenous Culture: An Analysis of Policy Implementation and Reflection of Non-Formal Education and Sami Community Perspectives in Sweden” which was well received and published. Thereafter Karen Ann has worked with various research projects including “Education for Rural Transformation” (ERT) as well as examining children’s social interactions within schools.

Karen Ann has worked as an adjunct and has taught several courses within teacher education and in elective courses. She was one of two doctoral candidate representatives HLK PhD group and was on the JU level doctoral student council.