Professor Arto Kallioniemi is the professor in the didactics of religion at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Helsinki. He has completed his doctorate in 1997 with his thesis on the professional identity of teachers of religion. During his career, Kallioniemi has investigated worldview education and teacher training from a variety of perspectives. Kallioniemi’s research interests include issues related to worldview teaching: the implementation of worldview education in various countries; issues related to the management of education and teaching, including ethical and diversity management; non-discrimination; and issues related to equality. Arto Kallioniemi works actively as the University of Helsinki’s UNESCO Chair in Values, Dialogue and Human rights. He is in his second term as a vice-dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences in charge of international affairs. Kallioniemi is a member of the Finnish Human Rights Delegation functioning under the auspices of the Parliament of Finland. Kallioniemi has worked as the editor of the Ainedidaktiikka journal (2018–2022) and as the chair of the Finnish Association for Subject Didactic Research (2011–2017).
Docent Saila Poulter works as a senior university lecturer in the didactics of religion at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Helsinki. She received her doctorate in 2013 for her thesis on the relationship of religious education and citizenship as part of a secularising society. Poulter’s research interests include questions related to worldview teaching and education, teachers’ professional identity and worldview reflection, as well as understanding the grief of children from a socio-cultural perspective. She is also interested in academic outreach to small children and has founded a children’s university in her Faculty entitled Pöllö Academy. She supervises many doctoral researchers and participates actively in social debate related to religion in public spaces. Poulter is the editor of the Ainedidaktiikka journal and a programme coordinator for a committee in the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values (ISREV).
Marjaana Kavonius, PhD, MTh, works as a university lecturer in worldview education at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Helsinki. In her doctoral thesis Kavonius investigated pupils’ experiences of teaching in ethics and worldview education. Kavonius’ current research continues the theme, while her other research interests include cultural and worldview awareness, teacher training, teachers’ worldview reflection, inter-worldview dialogue education and the development of worldview education. She also supervises doctoral theses in the Doctoral Programme in School, Education, Society and Culture (SEDUCE).
DSocSc, MSocSci Tarna Kannisto is a University Lecturer of Pedagogy of Philosophy and Worldview education (Ethics). Kannisto’s background is in Practical Philosophy and has defended their thesis on social justice in education and schooling under the title The School between the Public and the Private – Educational Institutions and Social Justice. Kannisto’s research interests concern children’s agency, teacher’s professional ethics and controversial topics in education, or more widely, social justice and justification of educational aims in diverse and multicultural society. Kannisto has also done research on democracy education and digital pedagogy of philosophy. Kannisto’s future interests concern studying and developing pedagogical philosophy such as Philosophy for/with Children (P4C, PwC). Kannisto is the chair of the Finnish Society for History and Philosophy of Education (FSHPE) and a member in several national and international scientific societies.
Niina Putkonen, MTh, works as a university teacher in the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Helsinki. She is finalizing her dissertation on Islamic religious education at the Doctoral Programme in School, Education, Society and Culture (SEDUCE). In her doctoral study, Putkonen investigates, how the diversity in Islam is manifested in the Islamic religious education in comprehensive schools and the cooperation between home and school. Previously, Putkonen worked as a subject teacher in religion at school and a project planner at the University of Helsinki’s Cultural, Worldview and Language Awareness in Basic Education (KUPERA) project. She participates actively in the work of the academic Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies (IDIS) network and is a Fulbright Finland alumni (2022–2023).