Seminar Day on Well-being, Motivation, and Learning

The day began with an extended academic writing workshop led by Professor Pirjo Aunio. Building on discussions initiated at the previous seminar day, the workshop focused on academic writing as a process. We reflected our own writing development and discussed phases of this complex process: from early preparations and what they entail, to writing the first draft, to reviewing, publishing, and preparing for the next article. Many personal experiences were brought up, sharing insights and challenges. In a practical workshop segment, we explored journal finder platforms and evaluated alternative publication venues using a recently rejected manuscript as a case example. Our goal is to further strengthen the long-term scholarly development within our research community.

The afternoon started with a presentation titled “Promoting well-being: Finnish strategies for providing social and emotional support in school” by Elizabeth Ko, a school counsellor from Ohio and a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program fellow visiting Finland. She examined Finnish approaches to social and emotional support in schools through observation, school visits, and interviews with educators and students. Drawing on her background, Elizabeth reflected on similarities and differences between Finnish and U.S. educational systems and everyday school practices. Ko reflected that rather than explicitly teaching social-emotional skills as a separate subject, Finnish schools often embed these skills within broader learning environments. Elizabeth also offered a critical observation that it was sometimes difficult for teachers themselves to articulate the socio-emotional learning objectives clearly.

The keynote of the day titled “Motivation, Learning, and Well-being from the Perspective of Military Education” was given by from the National Defence University. Pulkka’s keynote was grounded in his long-standing research on military education, describing a learning context whose obligatory structure and separation from everyday civilian life provide valuable insights for research on motivation and learning. Despite its compulsory nature, military training also involves varied motivational factors, such as social cohesion, personal pride, and the perceived value of skills and experiences gained. Pulkka explored the education system in military academy from the lens of educational theories and models of learning and motivation research. The talk inspired vivid discussion that addressed inclusion, assessment, and new technologies used for teaching and learning at military academies in comparison to compulsory education. 

The final presentation of the day titled “Reimagining Language Learning: A Fulbright Study in Finland” was given by Marc Noble, a special education case manager and educator from Chicago Public Schools and a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching scholar. Marc’s presentation focused on bilingual students, comparing Chicago public school system with Finnish approaches to multilingual education. He made an important remark about how differing practices of labeling second‑language learners shape educational support. Drawing on school observations and interviews in Finland, Noble discussed key features of the Finnish system, including teacher education, autonomy, and long-term teacher-student continuity. He also offered a critical perspective of emerging challenges in Finland, including local segregation. As a group, we further discussed Finnish education system, including distribution of funding to schools and comparison between public school and private international schools.

We thank Elizabeth Ko, Professor Antti-Tuomas Pulkka, and Marc Noble for the though-provoking presentations and all participants for the engaging discussions!