Dr. Turunen is Dean and Professor at the University of Lapland and UArctic Chair in Education for Social Justice and Diversity. The presentation describes Finland's approach to teacher education and working conditions and support for teachers in the classroom. While many have described Finland's internationally recognized educational success in recent decades as a "miracle," it is anything but that. Rather, Finland has applied research-based best practices in teacher preparation and in education, and implemented a schooling system in which teachers are trusted as professionals who are competent in both teaching and in assessing learning.
Watch the speech below or on YouTube.
The project focuses on finding new pathways through the post-pandemic world in educational sciences. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound global impact on educational policies and practices. Already, before the pandemic in January 2019, the World Bank had raised concerns about a global learning crisis. Their main message was that children and youth around the globe go to school, but they learn very little. The pandemic led to widespread temporary closures of schools, and resulted in high drop-out rates in many regions. The full impact of the pandemic on the education sector will not be known for years, and could last for decades. Research is needed to inform the actions that nations such as the US and Finland should take to both remedy the immediate impact of the pandemic on students and also to build on learning emerging from the experiences of teachers and students who were suddenly thrust into new and different structures for teaching and learning.
The project is part of the activities of UArctic Thematic Network Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity.