Field of work
I have been employed at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences since 2020 at the Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports, Department of Sport, Food and Natural Sciences. Formerly a research fellow associated with the research and development project Active Learning Norwegian Preschool(er)s (ACTNOW) of which I defended my thesis in May 2025. Currently working as a project associate with a coordinating role in the research project Move-play-explore in early childhood education (MoveEarly). I mainly work with research related to physical activity and health in children.
Publications:
Haugland, E. S. (2025). Physical activity, fundamental motor skills, and physical fitness in preschool children: Associations and effectiveness of the Active Learning Norwegian Preschool(er)s Study [Doctoral dissertation, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences]. HVL Open.
Buene Vabø, K., Aadland, E., Straume Haugland, E., Johannessen, K., Eikeland Tjomsland, H., Glosvik, Ø., ... & Nyvoll Aadland, K. (2025). Effects of preschool staff professional development in physical activity on self-regulation, executive function and early academic learning in 3–5-year-old children: The active learning Norwegian preschool (er) s (ACTNOW) cluster-randomized controlled trial. Journal of Sports Sciences, 43(4), 410-421.
Haugland, E. S., Nilsen, A. K. O., Vabø, K. B., Pesce, C., Bartholomew, J., Okely, A. D., ... & Aadland, E. (2024). Effects of a staff-led multicomponent physical activity intervention on preschooler's fundamental motor skills and physical fitness: The ACTNOW cluster-randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 21(1), 69.
Haugland, E. S., Nilsen, A. K. O., Okely, A. D., Aadland, K. N., & Aadland, E. (2023). Multivariate physical activity association patterns for fundamental motor skills and physical fitness in preschool children aged 3–5 years. Journal of Sports Sciences, 41(7), 654-667.
Haugland, E. S., Aadland, E., Nilsen, A. K. O., Lervåg, A. O. & Aadland, K. N. (2023). Bidirectional, prospective associations between physical activity, fundamental motor skills, and physical fitness in preschool children. (In review)
Aadland, E., Nilsen, A. K. O., Haugland, E. S., Vabø, K. B., & Aadland, K. N. (2022). The multivariate physical activity signatures associated with body mass index and waist-to-height ratio in 3–5-year-old Norwegian children. Preventive Medicine Reports, 29, 101930.
Research areas
Physical activity and public health
Physical activity in kindergarten
Motor skills and physical fitness in children