General education, educational leadership and higher education

Read more about our on-going projects.
Active Citizenship in the Shadow of Anti-Democratic Forces (AMSDAK)

The research project Active Citizenship in the Shadow of Anti-Democratic Forces (AMSDAK) targets how antidemocratic forces in the form of online hate speech impact active citizenship, and particularly asks how education for active citizenship can develop to take digital antidemocratic forces into consideration, bearing in mind that online hate speech tends to be divided unevenly, targeting particularly women and people belonging to minorities. The project is an interview study with young people who have experience in activism as well as online hate and harassment. The purpose of the project is to analyze the effects of online hate and harassment has on activism and active citizenship, and to find out how active citizenship education could develop to take antidemocratic forces into consideration.

Project time: 2022-2023
Funding: Svenska Folkskolans Vänner
Project team: Pia Mikander, Anna Slotte, Jenni Helakorpi, Gunilla Holm
Contact: Pia Mikander

Beyond Bad Apples: Towards a Behavioral and Evidence-Based Approach to Promote Research Ethics and Research Integrity in Europe (BEYOND)

The main goal of the Beyond Bad Apples: Towards a Behavioral and Evidence-Based Approach to Promote Research Ethics and Research Integrity in Europe (BEYOND) project is to explore and advance individual and institutional responsibilities in preventing research misconduct and in the promotion of research ethics and research integrity. The consortium consists of 14 European partners, and the project is coordinated by the University of Oslo and led by Professor Rose Bernabe. The team develops co-created, needs-and-case-based, streamlined, and best practices-based measures meant to engage, guide, and equip research-related stakeholders through guidance and education. The project consists of work packages that 

  • Identify behavioral knowledge and needs through a state-of-the-art review of personal and institutional responsibilities on research ethics and integrity
  • Facilitate bottom-up and solution-oriented public consultations on research ethics and integrity needs, knowledge, and perspectives on the efficacy of research ethics and integrity interventions
  • Design and test psychologically informed interventions as methodologies to promote research ethics and integrity and address research misconduct from the perspective of personal and institutional responsibilities, and 
  • Develop methodologies to measure the short-, medium-, and long-term impact of research ethics and integrity trainings on attitudes and behaviors of students and researchers

Project time: 2023-2025
Funding: Horizon Europe
Project team: Erika Löfström, Anu Tammeleht, Simo Kyllönen, Markku Hannula
Contact: Erika Löfström

Forward (FRAMÅT)

The aim with the Forward (FRAMÅT) project is to support teacher trainees and trainee supervisors in the partner schools, and to further develop the Swedish-speaking teacher education cooperation model. The training provides in-depth skills in supervision and support. The aim with FRAMÅT is to enhance and contribute to expanded wellbeing in the teaching profession.

Project time: 2023-2024
Funding: Svenska Folkskolans Vänner
Project team: Solveig Cornér, Erika Löfström, Lina Lindström
Contact: Solveig Cornér

Future Challenges in the Nordics – People, Culture and Society (FC Norden)

One school for all’ is at the core of the Nordic welfare state. Nordic societies now face the challenge of maintaining a just and inclusive society while undergoing rapid ideological and social changes. Differences between schools are increasing, along with social exclusion. Rapid digitalisation and the constant connection made possible by mobile phones and computers have contributed to increased individualisation and to weakening of the classroom walls in relation to time, location and space. Against this background, researchers examine how the basic school as a physical and social space shapes social interaction and learning. They study in particular four schools, one in each country, divided into three sub-studies. The research material consists of policy documents and archive material from the selected schools, interviews with former students about their life histories, and video material, field notes, and interviews from the schools today. The purpose of the project is to develop models for how the school can prepare students for the knowledge-based society. Researchers in pedagogy, history and applied linguistics participate in the project. The project is hosted by the University of Helsinki.

Project time: 2023-2027
Funding: Svenska Litteratur Sällskapet
Project team (HU): Fritjof Sahlström, Tuuli From
Contact: Fritjof Sahlström

Racism and Antiracism in Lower Secondary Education (RILSE)

Within the project Racism in Lower Secondary Education (RILSE), we study how pupils and teachers in lower secondary education understand, experience and challenge racism and how education polices aim to tackle racism. Racism is shaping our society, politics and public spaces and there is a need to study how children and teachers perceive and react to racism in the school context since racism has an impact on the lives of pupils. In this study we conduct interviews with students and teachers and participant observations in four Finnish-speaking and two Swedish-speaking lower secondary schools. We also use survey data with eighth and ninth graders to analyze the prevalence of racist bullying and its impacts on pupils’ welfare. Furthermore, we analyze education policy documents, and the ways racism is discussed and tackled in them. Our research aims to improve the welfare of pupils and promote social justice in education.

Project time: 2021-2025
Funding: Academy of Finland, Svenska kulturfonden, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki (JustEd-Exit funding)
Project team: Gunilla Holm, Ida Hummelstedt, Jenni Helakorpi, Maïmouna Matikainen-Soreau, Saara Loukola, Joséphine Gram, Venla Järvensivu
Contact: Gunilla Holm

Sustainable World Heritage Learning through a Phenomenon-based Approach (SveaSus)

Sustainable World Heritage Learning through a Phenomenon-based Approach (SveaSus) aims to strengthen student teachers', in-service-teachers' and teacher educators’ understanding of sustainability issues and encourage joint action towards a more sustainable future. The project co-creates knowledge through research, experiments, living labs and best practices for educational policy, the private sector and society, especially teacher education and schools. The project team members, who are themselves teacher educators, answer to the call to take action in order to manage the complex and urgent sustainability dilemmas in the Anthropocene epoch with climate change being a serious threat.

Project time: 2017-2024
Funding: Svenska kulturfonden
Project team (HU): Lili-Ann Wolff, Emma Heikkilä, Hanna Kaihovirta, Martina Aaltonen, Pia Mikander, Marjo Savijärvi, Anna Slotte, Birgit Schaffar-Kronqvist, Kirsi Wallinheimo, Marianna Vivitsou
Contact: Lili-Ann Wolff