Suchergebnisse

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Finland was one of the least developed European countries. Hundred years later, Finland stands in top ten in most of the global welfare rankings, with its educational system often elevated as a model for others to follow. This article analyzes the development and some characteristics of Finnish educational system after the Second World War, from the perspective of reconciling political conflicts and competing interests.The article focuses particularlytothe postwar de-polarization, search for stability and the challenges of a globalized and digitalized society to educational systems. Why today, in Finnish schools, the gap between high and low performing students is still relatively small, as is the gap between students from high- and low-income families? Is this an achievement of a conscious political planning, or just an historical coincidence? Exceptional qualities of the Finnish system are to be understood as a consequence of a particular historical trajectory, where causalities in outcomes can be detected and the process of change traced.Understanding these patterns of change – the effects of inclusionary parliamentary politics to post civil war political reconciliation; the impacts of expanding social policies to national integration after the Second World War; and the depolarizing effects of consensus-based corporatist arrangements to labor markets during the Cold War - is fundamental for grasping why the system developed in the direction it did. ; Peer reviewed

In my article, I examine the moments of gaps or pauses in improvisational scenes used in a Finnish language as a foreign language class. In my research I use different improvisational exercises and techniques (e.g. Johnstone 1981; 1999) when teaching Finnish as a second language. My pedagogical aim is to improve Finnish students' communicational skills in different kind of improvised settings. My research focuses on teaching Finnish as a foreign language in a Romanian university using improvisation theatre as a method in language teaching. I start from some values of Finnish educational system, such as equity, flexibility, creativity, teacher professionalism and trust (Sahlberg 2007). I compare how these values are conformed within an improvisational frame in a second language class. I present three examples from two different drama courses and I show through these examples how students contemplate with delicate, shameful and radical moments or pauses within their improvisational interaction in the classroom. My aim is to show how the teachers repeatedly accept the students' ideas based on the rules of improvisation (Johnstone 1981; 1999) and how this positive freedom of improvisation (Peters 2009) shows similarity with the values of the Finnish educational system.

In many countries, there are differences in school performance between and within cultural minorities and the majority. For, instance, differences between the learning outcomes of immigrant-origin and Finnish-origin students are considerable, and the risk among young people of immigrant origin of becoming positioned outside education and work life is higher than that among young people of Finnish origin. The aim of this paper is to develop a holistic approach to educational inequalities by offering two theoretical viewpoints concerning cultural minorities in particular. First, we introduce the idea of the opportunity structure, which clarifies why the education system does not offer the same opportunities to all minority groups. Second, we highlight the need to understand the cultural variety of minorities when explaining differences in educational attainment. Here we make the distinctions of cultural differences (primary and secondary) and minority status (autonomous, voluntary and involuntary minorities). Finally, we discuss the question of equal educational opportunities by reflecting on these two theoretical viewpoints.

The aim of the article is to revisit the principle of universalism and analyze how it has changed in the legislation on compulsory education by asking: how are different characteristics of universalism emphasized in the basic education legislation and parliamentary discussion (in 1968, 1982 and 1997)? The analysis portrays the varieties of universalism within the comprehensive school, produced by the four instruments used to govern education (legislation, economy, ideology and evaluatory). According to the analysis, the foundation of the comprehensive school system in the 1960s was laid on uniform content and aims at the ideological level, emphasizing equality of education. The 1980s was a transition phase between 'old' and 'new' universalism, when instruments of legal and economic governance enabled the expansion of universalism and increased costs. Simultaneously, the aims of the comprehensive system and its contents were increasingly set at the local level. We conclude that the 'new' comprehension of universalism in the 1990s entailed issues such as the rise of the evaluation of education, local economy of education and individualism. ; Peer reviewed

In this article, we examine Finnish class teachers as citizenship educators. Over the last ten years, the autonomous position of the Finnish teacher has become a symbol of the world-famous education system, and this study aims to illustrate how this freedom comes true in the framework of teacher as a citizenship educator. A prior study shows that teachers mostly share the same universal values, emphasizing altruism rather than individualism. Socially, teachers are more focused on maintaining the status quo and continuity of society than changing it radically. This article aims to answer the question how teachers define their role between society and individual learners and how they prioritize their social educational objectives. We collected our empirical data from teachers and conceptualized it using the framework of three kinds of citizens by Joel Westheimer and Joseph Kahne. This study demonstrates that the level of understanding and interest towards social and societal issues does not easily develop into preparedness or willingness to participate or act. This is a concern worth noticing in teacher education and studies regarding teacher profession in general. ; peerReviewed

The report looks at Nokia in the Finnish innovation system. Nokia serves both as a user and as a producer in the innovation system. Nokia has had a remarkably positive impact on Finland's very high ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP. Moreover, at least partly due to Nokia, Finnish exports of high-tech products are notably greater than high-tech imports. Nokia co-operates with companies, universities and research institutes. Our interviews suggest that, due to co-operation, knowledge has flowed from one party to another. In addition to R&D co-operation, recruitment from universities to companies and vice versa has served as another important knowledge transfer channel. Although R&D co-operation has functioned well in most cases, in some cases problems have emerged. According to some of our interviewees, the allocation of intellectual property rights (IPR) has been troublesome. Another concern was related to the retaining of universities' high knowledge level in the future. – Nokia ; innovation system ; Finland ; R&D ; research and development ; education ; Knowledge ; technology ; Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan Nokiaa osana Suomen innovaatiojärjestelmää. Nokia toimii sekä innovaatioresurssien käyttäjänä että uusien resurssien tuottajana. Nokialla on suuri vaikutus siihen, että Suomen tutkimus- ja tuotekehityspanostukset suhteessa BKT:hen on maailman kärkiluokkaa. Yhtiö on myös keskeisesti vaikuttanut siihen, että Suomen korkean teknologian tuotteiden ulkomaankauppa on tuntuvasti ylijäämäinen. Nokia tekee yhteistyötä niin yritysten kuin korkeakoulujen ja tutkimuslaitostenkin kanssa. Tämän tutkimuksen aikana tehdyt haastattelut viittaavat siihen, että yhteistyön seurauksena tietotaitoa on levinnyt eri osapuolille. Tutkimusyhteistyön lisäksi rekrytointi korkeakouluista yrityksiin ja joissain tapauksissa yrityksistä korkeakouluihin on toiminut tärkeänä osaamisen siirtokanavana. Vaikka tutkimus ja tuotekehitysyhteistyö on toiminut pääasiassa hyvin, joissain tapauksissa siitä on myös aiheutunut ongelmia. Osa haastatelluista koki erityisen ongelmalliseksi aineettomien oikeuksien (IPR) jakautumisen. Toinen huolenaihe koski korkeakoulujen osaamistason säilyttämistä tulevaisuudessa. – Nokia ; innovaatiojärjestelmä ; Suomi ; T&K ; tutkimus- ja tuotekehitys ; koulutus ; Osaaminen ; teknologia

The aim of the article is to revisit the principle of universalism and analyze how it has changed in the legislation on compulsory education by asking: how are different characteristics of universalism emphasized in the basic education legislation and parliamentary discussion (in 1968, 1982 and 1997)? The analysis portrays the varieties of universalism within the comprehensive school, produced by the four instruments used to govern education (legislation, economy, ideology and evaluatory). According to the analysis, the foundation of the comprehensive school system in the 1960s was laid on uniform content and aims at the ideological level, emphasizing equality of education. The 1980s was a transition phase between 'old' and 'new' universalism, when instruments of legal and economic governance enabled the expansion of universalism and increased costs. Simultaneously, the aims of the comprehensive system and its contents were increasingly set at the local level. We conclude that the 'new' comprehension of universalism in the 1990s entailed issues such as the rise of the evaluation of education, local economy of education and individualism.

Introduction -- Part 1: Politics, policy, teachers and edu-business -- Municipal governance of comprehensive education: The emergence of local universalisms -- Finland's ministry of education and culture in the light of its working groups -- A progressive force in Finnish schooling?: Finland's education union, OAJ and its influence on school-level education policy -- Finnish quality evaluation discourse: Swimming against the global tide? -- Ecological sustainability and steering of Finnish comprehensive schools -- Unmentioned challenges of Finnish teacher education: Decontextualisation, scientification and the rhetoric of the research-based agenda -- Teachers' expectations and expectations of teachers: Understanding teachers' societal role -- Businessing around comprehensive schooling -- Co-operation of edu-business and public schooling: Is the governance of education in Finland shifting from the public sector to networks?- Part 2: Equity, inequality, and the challenges of diversity, language and inclusion -- "Three bedrooms and a nice school" — Residential choices, school choices and vicious circles of segregation in the education landscape of Finnish cities -- Pupil selection and enrolment in comprehensive schools in urban Finland -- Everyday life in schools in disadvantaged areas -- Divided cities — Divided schools? School segregation and the role of needs-based resource allocation in Finland -- The significance of socioeconomic background for the educational dispositions and aspirations of Finnish school leavers -- Controversies and challenges in the history of gender discourses in education in Finland -- Rainbow paradise? Sexualities and gender diversity in Finnish schools -- Racism in Finnish school textbooks: Developments and discussions -- Saami language online education outside the Saami homeland — New pathways to social justice -- Education of pupils with migrant backgrounds: A systemic failure in the Finnish system? -- Negotiated, given and self-made paths: Immigrant origin girls and post-compulsory educational transition in Finland -- Language education for everyone? Busting access myths -- Rethinking Finland's official bilingualism in education -- Religions and worldviews as "the problem" in Finnish schools -- Inclusion in Finland: Myths and realities -- Exclusively included? Finland's inclusion success story and hidden dual system of mainstream and special needs education -- Student disengagement in Finnish comprehensive schooling -- Part 3: Epilogue -- The Foundations of Critical Studies in Education in Finland.

Abstract The study draws on a relational and intersectional approach to young children's belonging in Finnish educational settings. Belonging is conceptualized as a multilevel, dynamic, and relationally constructed phenomenon. The aim of the study is to explore how children's belonging is shaped in the intersections between macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of young children's education in Finland. The data consist of educational policy documents and ethnographic material generated in educational programs for children aged birth to 8 years. A situational mapping framework is used to analyze and interpret the data across and within systems levels (macro-level; meso-level; and micro-level). The findings show that the landscape in which children's belonging is shaped and the intersections across and within the levels are characterized by the tensions between similarities and differences, majority and minorities, continuity and change, authority and agency. Language used, practices enacted, and positional power emerge as the (re)sources through which children's (un)belonging is actively produced. ; Résumé L'étude s'appuie sur une approche relationnelle et intersectionnelle de l'appartenance chez de jeunes enfants dans des contextes éducatifs finlandais. L'appartenance est conceptualisée comme un phénomène à plusieurs niveaux, dynamique, et construit de manière relationnelle. L'objectif de cette étude est d'explorer comment l'appartenance chez les enfants est façonnée dans les intersections entre les niveaux macro, méso et micro de l'éducation des jeunes enfants en Finlande. Les données sont composées de documents de politique éducative et de matériel ethnographique générés dans des programmes éducatifs pour des enfants de la naissance à l'âge de 8 ans. Un cadre de cartographie situationnelle sert à analyser et interpréter les données à travers et à l'intérieur des niveaux des systèmes (niveau macro, niveau méso et niveau micro). Les résultats montrent que le contexte dans lequel l'appartenance des enfants est façonnée ainsi que les intersections à travers et à l'intérieur des niveaux se caractérisent par les tensions entre similitudes et différences, majorité et minorités, continuité et changement, autorité et capacité d'agir. Le langage utilisé, les pratiques mises en œuvre et le pouvoir de position apparaissent comme les (res)sources par lesquelles l'appartenance (ou non) des enfants est activement produite.