Dahlin's research is focused on didactics, especially philosophical and phenomenographic studies of learning in different contexts, e.g. how people in different cultures perceive learning, knowledge and understanding.
[1] He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the international academic journal Research on Steiner Education.
Dahlin has a doctoral degree in education (kulturpedagogik) from Gothenburg University in 1989.
Dahlin has carried out comparative research on Waldorf education and public schools.
His research found Waldorf pupils to be less racist, more tolerant, characterized by greater social and moral responsibility, more concerned that choices should be based on their own thinking, have less tolerance for bullying, be more concerned about environmental issues and to a greater extent pursue higher education than pupils in public schools in Sweden.