Category: News

As previously announced, FinEd is organising another preseminar at the 2023 FERA Conference on Education (kasvatustieteen päivät), on 22 November 2023. The preseminar, entitled Focus on Open Science in the Field of Educational Sciences, will comprise keynote speeches by Professor Erika Löfström (University of Helsinki) and Dr Sami Syrjämäki (Head of Publications, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies). We are pleased to share the abstracts for the keynotes (below).

The schedule for the preseminar has also been decided. Taking into consideration the travel times and train schedules, we will be starting at 2PM with the keynote speeches, and the workshop will run from 4PM – 6PM. Register for the preseminar here https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/124740/lomake.html by 14 November at the latest. Details will be sent to registered participants prior to the preseminar.

We look forward to seeing you there! Should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact FinEd coordinator Anna Rawlings at anna.rawlings@helsinki.fi.

Our speakers:

Professor Erika Löfström (UH): Open science – open ethics?

While ethics is a cornerstone in all research, navigating the ethics of your PhD research in the age of Open Science may sometimes involve difficult considerations, even challenges. There are demands of transparency and openness, not only about one’s results, but also practices, procedures and data. International and national expectations and guidance on research ethics have increased to support researchers in maintaining high ethical standards in their research. At the same time, researchers may struggle to get a sense of how to match expectations, some of which may even seem contradictory, such as opening data and protecting the identities of the participating individuals. In this talk, I will discuss some of the recent changes in the landscape of research and relate these to the expectations of transparency and openness, and their implications for research and researchers. I also provide suggestions and tools for handling ethical questions and dilemmas in research.

Dr Sami Syrjämäki PhD (Federation of Finnish Learned Societies): Contemporary Trends in Scholarly Publishing

Do you ever wonder about Elsevier, Green/Gold/Diamond Open Access, CC licenses, and predatory journals and how they are interconnected? Is there more to scholarly publishing than simply knowing how to craft an exceptional research article? The landscape of scholarly publishing is evolving swiftly, making it challenging to stay abreast of these developments. In this presentation, I will provide a concise overview of the key trends and the broader context of rapidly changing world of scholarly publishing.

As in previous years, FinEd is arranging a preseminar in conjunction with the FERA Conference on Education. This year’s preseminar, Focus on Open Science in the Field of Educational Sciences, will take place at the Åbo Akademi University in Vaasa, on 22 November 2023. The preseminar explores the role of research in society and the legitimacy of scientific knowledge, and is targeted at PhD researchers writing their theses in the field of educational sciences in our member universities, with the aim of stimulating early-career researchers’ thinking and supporting their professional development as scientists. 

The preseminar will be a full-day session, including two keynote speakers with expertise in aspects of open science especially related to conducting research and publishing, and a structured workshop on the topics covered in the keynotes. Our speakers:

Prof. Erika Löfström (University of Helsinki) is a member of the Diversity, Multilingualism and Social Justice (DIMISO) research group. Her research activities include, among others, the VIRT2UE project. Prof. Löfström’s talk will focus on ethics and research integrity.

Dr. Sami Syrjämäki PhD is Head of Publications at the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. Dr. Syrjämäki’s talk will focus on open-access publication within science and research.

Register for the preseminar here https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/124740/lomake.html by 14.11.2023. More information, including the abstracts for the talks, will be published in early October, and a detailed schedule will be sent to registered participants after registration closes.

We are pleased to announce the call for our annual scientific writing workshop for doctoral researchers!

What? A workshop focusing on the processes of academic and scientific writing, including individual and group work, mentor and peer feedback on participants’ texts, and interesting keynote speeches.

When? 15.–16.8.2023 (Tuesday – Wednesday).

Where? Hanaholmen Conference Hotel in Espoo.

For whom? Doctoral researchers from the doctoral programmes on educational sciences of FinEd member universities, representing all paradigms, and writing either article-based or monograph dissertations. NB while we welcome applicants from all stages of the PhD process, to get the most out of the workshop, you should have a textual part of your thesis (e.g., a section of an article, or chapter of your monograph/summary) to work on at the workshop. Participants will be asked to submit this for mentor comments before the workshop.

How to apply? The call is open from 1.–31.3.2023. To apply, please fill in the application form, including a motivation letter (max. 500 words) describing why you are applying to the workshop and why you think you would benefit from it in your PhD process. Based on the applications, max. 25 participants will be chosen by a committee of five FinEd steering group members, with a view to facilitating diversity (aiming for equal representation of FinEd member universities, researchers from different paradigms and stages of work), and with specific importance given to the motivation letter.

How much will it cost? FinEd will pay the expenses of successful applicants (accommodation and meals; remuneration of travel within Finland). Successful applicants will be informed about the choice in mid-April, with binding enrolment requested by 1.6.2023.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact FinEd coordinator Anna Rawlings (anna.rawlings@helsinki.fi). We look forward to receiving your applications, see you in August!

Coming soon: another season of FinEd Online Research Talks (FORT), covering current topics in educational sciences and showcasing the varied research conducted in FinEd’s member universities. The FORT events are targeted particularly for PhD researchers, but other members of the scientific community, as well as all other interested parties, are also warmly welcome. Participation is free, details of the talks below!

10.2.2023 (Friday), from 10-11 o’clock:

Relationships between children’s early numeracy, physical activity and motor skills learning, Professor (Special Education) Pirjo Aunio (University of Helsinki)

My talk focuses on the latest research findings in my group about young children’s early numeracy learning and possible learning difficulties in it.  We aim to produce new scientific evidence about developmental dynamics in early numeracy, executive functions, motor skills and physical activity. The study line started with an observation that children’s physical activity, motor skills and the knowledge of mathematical skills have been decreasing during the last decade. Is it so that an inactive lifestyle causes problems for learning?   So far we have collected longitudinal data from three measurement points, approximately 300 children aged 3-6 years. We have also used the interventions to manipulate the developmental trajectories. In my FinEd talk, I will present our new results. I will also discuss about challenges to conduct longitudinal and intervention studies with preschoolers.

Link to Prof. Aunio’s talk, Meeting ID:     684 2273 6018

15.3.2023 (Wednesday), from 13-14 o’clock:

The significance of socioeconomic background for the educational dispositions and aspirations of Finnish comprehensive school leavers, Professor Tero Järvinen (University of Turku)

In the Bildung review by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture published in January 2023, the concern is raised about the increase of educational inequalities related to the socioeconomic background of children and young people. Differences between socioeconomic groups can be seen in students’ school performance and learning results as well as in their selection into different educational pathways after comprehensive school. According to research, even students from different socioeconomic backgrounds with equal school success will end up on different educational paths.  This lecture examines the significance of socioeconomic background for students’ educational dispositions and aspirations.  By drawing on a study of 15-year old lower secondary school students (N=1.058) in Turku sub-region, the lecture aims to answer the following questions: what is the effect, if any, of the socioeconomic background of Finnish comprehensive school leavers on their educational dispositions and aspirations, and how does the relationship change when controlling for the effects of individual ability and gender?  If it turns out that many gifted students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds who have positive educational dispositions ‘voluntarily’ give up achieving higher levels of education, it means that many occupational fields will lose potentially talented and skilful employees. It also means that Finnish education system is not able to encourage and support students to set themselves educational goals that differ from their family tradition. By not succeeding in this, the system functions towards the social inheritance of education and reproduction of the social divisions and hierarchies of a society.

Link to Prof. Järvinen’s talk, Meeting ID:     679 5989 6948

20.4.2023 (Thursday), from 12-13 o’clock:

Decentering the adult and problematising the production of child in education, Professor Maija Lanas (University of Oulu)

The lecture discusses critically the position of a child in education. In sociologically based childhood studies, youth studies, and also in educational philosophy, the position of a child has been critically discussed and theorised for some decades now. However, these discussions have not made their way to the majority of educational practice and empirical research about education. The lecture argues that the normalised position of a child in education is ethically problematic, and showcases why.

Link to Prof. Lanas’ talk, Meeting ID:     668 6173 9737

The JURE 2022 Conference will take place at the University of Porto, Portugal with the theme of “Unpredictable challenges: Education in a rapidly changing world”. The JURE is an annual conference offering the possibility to meet fellow junior researchers from all over Europe and exchange ideas and experiences. Submission Deadline is 20th of January 2022. More information: HERE.