FinEd

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Spring 2026 season of FinEd Online Research Talks

We are proud to be able to announce the FinEd Online Research Talks (FORT) for the spring season 2026!  The FORT events – one-hour online research talks on current topics in educational sciences by an established scholar from one of FinEd’s member universities – are aimed specially at PhD researchers, but we welcome also all other interested parties to join, for  free – hope to see many of you there! 

5th of March, 2026 at 12:00–13:00

Crossing Boundaries, Building Firewalls: Critical Policy Studies of Future Classroom Spaces, Professor Antti Saari (Tampere University)

Link to Prof. Saari’s talk https://jyufi.zoom.us/j/63118004080 

Meeting ID: 631 1800 4080; Passcode: 977578

In Finland, comprehensive school learning environments have become sites of increasing political, economic, and public attention. Pressures arising from fiscal constraints, pedagogical reforms, and shifting societal expectations have accelerated both renovation and new construction, often under the banner of Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs). These spaces are frequently designed to embody “new pedagogies” centered on flexibility, collaboration, and digital integration, supported by a persistent belief that educational progress requires a clear departure from traditional classroom models.

Building on prior research that highlights enduring tensions, mismatches, and disconnections between educational research, policy ambitions, and everyday pedagogical practice, this study revisits the challenges of implementing contemporary learning environment reforms. Drawing on critical policy studies of future classroom spaces, the presentation addresses three interconnected themes: (1) policy trends shaping classroom design and the ways spatial imaginaries mediate broader visions of education and society; (2) the role of scientific knowledge in guiding or constraining the design and implementation of ILEs; and (3) the situated adaptations, negotiations, and divergences that emerge as ILEs are constructed and enacted in practice. 

29th of April, 2026 at 12:00–13:00

Welcome to the second FinEd Online Research Talk (FORT) of the spring 2026 season!  

Developmental and Situational Dynamics in Students’ Emotional Experiences, Motivational Beliefs, and School Well-Being, Associate Professor Anna Widlund (Åbo Akademi)

Link to the online talk https://jyufi.zoom.us/j/63118004080 

Meeting ID: 631 1800 4080; Passcode: 977578

Please see the abstract of the talk below. More information on Anna Widlund’s research: https://research.abo.fi/en/persons/anna-widlund/ 

Current society creates stress and pressure to achieve for many children and youth. Students’ motivation and well-being are topical issues, and increasingly, younger students experience low motivation and study-related strains that hinder learning and well-being. 

In this talk, I will present findings on individual differences in students’ motivational and well-being trajectories across the primary and lower secondary school years, and how these trajectories are associated with educational outcomes (e.g., academic performance) as well as contextual factors (e.g., teachers’ well-being and the classroom). The findings are mainly drawn from my ongoing Academy Research Fellow project MotiWell, which examines the developmental and situational dynamics linking students’ mathematics motivation, school well-being, and mathematics performance across primary and lower secondary education. The project combines longitudinal data tracking students from Grades 4 to 8 with intensive situational data capturing fluctuations in students’ math-related emotions and motivation within and across lessons, enabling a comprehensive understanding of both long-term development and momentary experiences.

Insights into how motivational and emotional risk factors relates to learning and well-being is necessary for considering ways to support students and tailor pedagogical practices that transform expectations and demands into meaningful and healthy challenges. Notably, the findings reveal that seemingly positive forms of motivation may, for some students, co-occur with high perceived costs and exhaustion—factors that can undermine learning and constrain educational aspirations. By integrating longitudinal and situational perspectives and applying advanced multilevel and mixture modeling approaches, the findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics underlying student motivation and well-being.

FinEd preseminar at FERA Conference on Education 2025

We are pleased to announce the full programme of our 2025 preseminar Using Generative AI in Educational Research – Do’s, Don’ts, and How to Do It. Please note that registration for the preseminar has closed, but the keynote speech given by Prof. Petri Nokelainen is arranged in hybrid format, and you can join us online via zoom, even if you have not registered for the preseminar (zoom link below).

Preseminar programme, Wednesday 5 November 2025

10:00–11:30 AI Literacy in Doctoral Research: Challenges and Opportunities – Keynote speech, Prof. Petri Nokelainen (TAU) + Q & A

This presentation examines the role of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, in doctoral research within the Finnish educational sciences. Using Tampere University’s Education and Society doctoral programme as a case, the presentation situates AI use within FinEd, the national doctoral education network.

A distinction is made between everyday “ordinary” AI tools and generative large language models (LLMs), which became widely accessible only in late 2022. Existing European guidelines on responsible AI use are reviewed, alongside Tampere University’s doctoral regulations and the programme-specific guidelines developed for supervisors and students. These specify permitted uses (e.g., language editing, translation, formatting, reference management), prohibited uses (outsourcing reasoning, unverified content, handling sensitive data), and the requirement to disclose AI use both in the dissertation text and through a reporting form.

The dissertation process — supervision, external pre-examination, and the public defence — is highlighted as a key arena where originality, authorship, and integrity must be safeguarded. Doctoral researchers must retain full ownership of their work, particularly in the oral defence where no technological assistance is possible.

Finally, the presentation foregrounds the equity challenge: doctoral researchers differ not only in access to AI tools but also in levels of AI literacy, from basic grammar-checking to advanced prompting and programmatic use. Generative AI should neither be mandatory for success nor a substitute for scholarly expertise. Looking ahead, the question is whether doctoral education should include structured training in AI literacy to ensure integrity, ownership, and fairness in an AI-rich research landscape.

Link to Prof. Nokelainen’s keynote https://uef.zoom.us/j/68390043208?pwd=gyuKi4LGbMjjDsbbIsrIaLIncxrrum.1, Meeting ID: 683 9004 3208, Passcode: 388362

11:30–13:00 Lunch (self-funded)

13:00–14:30 Artificial Intelligence for Research in the Human Sciences – Workshop run by Senior Researcher, Dr Ville Heilala PhD (JYU)

This brief and intensive workshop introduces educational and human-sciences researchers to practical, ethical ways of integrating AI into their research workflow. Participants will be introduced to how AI can support tasks such as literature review, data analysis, and transparent reporting without requiring advanced technical skills. The workshop emphasizes responsible use, reproducibility, and maintaining interpretive depth in human-centered research. The workshop lead, computer scientist and Senior Researcher Ville Heilala, Ph.D., works at the University of Jyväskylä focusing on applying computational methods such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to human sciences. His main aim is to examine how emerging technologies can augment learning, support wellbeing, and bring out the best in people. Before research career, he worked for over a decade as a teacher in Finnish primary education.

Autumn 2025 season of FinEd Online Research Talks

It is time to announce this autumn’s FinEd Online Research Talks (FORT)! Our FORT events comprise one-hour online talks on current topics in educational sciences, showcasing the wide variety of research conducted in FinEd’s member universities. While the FORT events are targeted particularly for PhD researchers, other members of the scientific community, as well as all other interested parties, are also warmly welcome. Participation is free, hope to see many of you there!

2 October 2025, from 12:00–13:00

Science, theories, and values – Professor, Dean of Research Katariina Holma (University of Oulu)

The presentation examines foundational issues in the philosophy of science as they relate to educational research, focusing on the interconnected notions of science, theory, and values. It offers a reflective analysis of the nature of science and its role in society, highlighting the tension between the demand for objectivity and the diversity of human perspectives and theoretical frameworks. The discussion considers how theoretical assumptions shape the very understanding of research phenomena and emphasizes that the concept of education itself is open to multiple interpretations, each conditioned by the lens through which it is viewed. These divergent conceptualizations affect not only research design but also the formulation of questions and the interpretation of findings. Finally, the presentation explores the relation between science and values, asking which values are intrinsic to scientific practice, how external societal values influence inquiry, and to what extent researchers’ personal values should be seen as part of the research process.

Link to Prof. Holma’s talk https://uef.zoom.us/j/64397116794?pwd=gKUVkPxQ6RrFnZGjbVjYOzAbBgUqSX.1, Meeting ID: 643 9711 6794, Passcode: 588172

11 December 2025, from 12:00–13:00

Educating enterprising and employable higher education graduates: highfliers or exhausted achievers? Professor, Deputy Head for Research Päivi Siivonen (University of Turku)

The lecture is based on research done in a RCF funded project titled “Higher education graduate employability and social positioning in the labour market” (2018–2022). Employability is examined critically as an individualistic neoliberal discourse that assigns responsibility and sets new kinds of demands for higher education graduates. They must be creative, passionate and enthusiastic, innovative and risk-taking, as well as active, flexible and equipped with personal social skills. The lecture will demonstrate how graduates interpret and negotiate these demands. It will also show some of the consequences of continuous self-development to meet these demands for graduates themselves. It will be shown how young graduates need to prove their worth in organisations where they work to compensate for young age and lack of work experience as well as for female gender in the masculine subtext.

Link to Prof. Siivonen’s talk https://uef.zoom.us/j/67099609016?pwd=KRuWZnUEqi7zz35GDIh1cXG6UlfCBz.1, Meeting ID: 670 9960 9016 Passcode: 774726

Save the date: FinEd preseminar at the FERA Conference on Education

Save the date: FinEd is arranging a preseminar in connection with the FERA Conference on Education 2025 at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, on Wednesday 5 November 2025 from 10AM – 4:30PM.

The preseminar, entitled Using Generative AI in Educational Research – Do’s, Don’ts, and How to Do It, will comprise a keynote speech from Prof. Petri Nokelainen (TAU) in the morning and practical workshopping in the afternoon. Participation in the preseminar is free, but registration for the preseminar will be via the conference website (deadline for early-bird registration 22 September 2025 edit! deadline extended to 30 September). Brief description of the preseminar and the abstract of Prof. Nokelainen’s keynote speech below. The keynote will be arranged in hybrid form to enable online attendance, more detailed information about the workshops will be available soon.

Using Generative AI in Educational Research – Do’s, Don’ts, and How to Do It

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has in the past couple of years developed at an exponential rate from a search engine to a generative research tool. Institutions as well as individual researchers and students may experience uncertainty as to what does and what does not constitute acceptable AI use in research. The FinEd preseminar delves into issues related to ethical and productive use of AI, ranging from current rules and guidelines in Finnish universities to hands-on exploration of key AI tools, with a keynote speech in the morning and practical workshopping in the afternoon. The preseminar is targetted particularly for PhD researchers, but post-docs and senior researchers are also welcome to participate.

AI Literacy in Doctoral Research: Challenges and Opportunities ~ Keynote speech, Prof. Petri Nokelainen (TAU)

This presentation examines the role of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, in doctoral research within the Finnish educational sciences. Using Tampere University’s Education and Society doctoral programme as a case, the presentation situates AI use within FinEd, the national doctoral education network.

A distinction is made between everyday “ordinary” AI tools and generative large language models (LLMs), which became widely accessible only in late 2022. Existing European guidelines on responsible AI use are reviewed, alongside Tampere University’s doctoral regulations and the programme-specific guidelines developed for supervisors and students. These specify permitted uses (e.g., language editing, translation, formatting, reference management), prohibited uses (outsourcing reasoning, unverified content, handling sensitive data), and the requirement to disclose AI use both in the dissertation text and through a reporting form.

The dissertation process — supervision, external pre-examination, and the public defence — is highlighted as a key arena where originality, authorship, and integrity must be safeguarded. Doctoral researchers must retain full ownership of their work, particularly in the oral defence where no technological assistance is possible.

Finally, the presentation foregrounds the equity challenge: doctoral researchers differ not only in access to AI tools but also in levels of AI literacy, from basic grammar-checking to advanced prompting and programmatic use. Generative AI should neither be mandatory for success nor a substitute for scholarly expertise. Looking ahead, the question is whether doctoral education should include structured training in AI literacy to ensure integrity, ownership, and fairness in an AI-rich research landscape.

Upcoming events in educational sciences: Abstract calls and publication opportunities!

The University of Lapland is organising two educational-research conferences in Rovaniemi in November 2025: Media Education Conference (MEC2025) will be held 3–5 November 2025, and the FERA Conference on Education 5–7 November 2025. The call for abstracts for both conferences is open until  1 September 2025 – click the links for more information. Participants can also propose a publication in a forthcoming edited volume (JUFO1) based on accepted abstracts and presentations given.

NB. FinEd will be organising a proseminar Using Generative AI in Educational Research – Do’s, Don’ts, and How to Do It at the FERA Conference on Education, on 5 November 2025. More information on the preseminar coming soon!

Call for abstracts: OPPIVA 2025

OPPIVA, or the Annual Meeting of Research on Learning and Learning Difficulties will take place at the University of Oulu Linnanmaa Campus from 10 – 11 June 2025. OPPIVA 2025 will include paper and poster presentation sessions as well as keynote speeches from Professor Silke Göbel (University of York, UK) and a FinEd early career researcher (TBA). The programme will be updated closer to the date, abstract submission deadline is 11 April 2025. Read more and submit your abstract on the OPPIVA 2025 website! 

Spring 2025 season of FinEd Online Research Talks

It is soon time for another season of FinEd Online Research Talks (FORT)! Our FORT events comprise one-hour online talks on current topics, showcasing the wide variety of research in educational sciences 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, hope to see many of you there!

Monday 31.3.2025 at 12:00–13:00

Class in the class: middle-class habitus and the silence of social class in schools, Professor Sonja Kosunen (University of Eastern Finland)

In this presentation, I examine the boundaries of social class, its silence and the differences it produces in schools. In general, social class is still rarely discussed in connection with schools and teaching in Finland, although it influences several school-related phenomena, such as school choice, school segregation and the differentiation of students’ educational paths. In this presentation, I present an analysis on teachers’ perceived social class and its visibility (and invisibility) in teachers’ work from a Bourdieusian perspective. I also discuss class as a factor mediating career-related choices, i.e., how teachers view social class as having shaped their education, housing and moments related to applying for and choosing a job. I understand that the habitus mediated by the teacher’s class background functions, on the one hand, between the middle-class school and the students, and on the other hand, in relation to the middle-class school itself. Although the teachers currently perceive themselves as middle-class in terms of their professional status, income and education in the interviews, not all of them originally had a middle-class background. In this case, the habitus formes a hybrid, in which the working-class background was combined in the discourse with the current ‘lived class’, which many of them consider to be partly useful and partly harmful when working in a school environment.

Link to Prof. Kosunen’s talk https://uef.zoom.us/j/65397350964?pwd=oh8MTwPxsOMmAaf1ffKEWXJEjpVMvN.1, Meeting ID: 653 9735 0964, Passcode: 243044

Monday 5.5.2025 at 12:00–13:00

 (Digital) Ethnographies in a postdigital age: Examples from four studies, Associate professor of education Fredrik Rusk (Åbo Akademi University)

Networked digitalization has changed conditions not just for education but for sociality, as spatial boundaries are changed when online digital technologies are inherently embedded in the everyday. There is no clear-cut line between what is on- or offline. Instead, the divide is more akin to a porous cell membrane, which can be referred to as ‘postdigital’. This is a methodological challenge for pedagogical research interested in social phenomena, such as ethnographic research: How can we get access to the interwoven reality of participants’ contemporary everyday lives?

In ethnography, there are currently variations that address online fields in different ways, such as netnography (Kozinets, 2012), virtual ethnography (Boellstorff, Nardi, Pearce, Taylor & Marcus, 2024) and connective ethnography (Hine, 2007), to name a few. Now, digital ethnography (Taylor, forthcoming) seems to be the latest in that it, in a sense, emerged from fact that digital and analogue lives have blended together to create a form of ubiquitous hybridity. For me, all of the above are ethnography. 

In this talk, I will open up the concept of digital ethnography and ask whether or not we, as ethnographers, simply have to deal with the fact that the digital is part of what ‘ethnography’ is today. I will do this by presenting and critically discussing four projects that are all digital ethnographies, however wildly different in how they approach the digital. From lower secondary students’ socialization in school, to esports teams playing, to an exclusively online youth center, and finally to the omnipresence of an administration platform at schools. Through insights from ethnographic work in these four settings, I discuss possibilities for ethnography to stay relevant in the postdigital, without losing its strengths of being situated, relational, and consensual.

Fredrik Rusk is an associate professor of pedagogy (teacher education) at Åbo Akademi University in Vasa. His research involves ethnographic, ethnomethodological and conversation analytical studies using diverse data to critically analyse social organization, identity, culture and learning from participants’ perspectives both in- and outside of the classroom/school, and in-and-through diverse digital and screen-mediated interaction, such as smartphones, social platforms, video conferences and video games.

Link to Assoc.Prof. Rusk’s talk https://uef.zoom.us/j/67947363242?pwd=tX0JCvuLlgRa6y97eQVyHr3puJo64M.1, Meeting ID: 679 4736 3242, Passcode: 981196

Opening soon: Call for FinEd academic writing workshop 2025

The call for FinEd’s annual academic writing workshop is opening on Monday 3 March 2025.

What? The workshop focuses on the processes of academic and scientific writing. Activities will include individual and group work, mentor and peer feedback on participants’ texts, and interesting keynote speeches. Furthermore, the workshop offers early career researchers an opportunity for networking, peer support, and making new friends. FinEd will pay the expenses of successful applicants (accommodation and meals; remuneration of travel within Finland).

When and where? The workshop will be held at Hanaholmen Conference Hotel in Espoo, from Monday 11 – Tuesday 12 August 2025. 

For whom? We invite applications from doctoral researchers regardless of paradigm, writing either article-based or monograph thesis on an educational-sciences topic at FinEd member universities. However, please note that while we welcome applicants at 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? Please fill in the application form at https://link.webropol.com/s/FinEdworkshop2025 and include a motivation letter of max. 500 words. The application period is from 3 – 21 March 2025.

Based on the applications, max. 25 participants will be chosen by a selection committee comprising five FinEd steering group members, with a view to facilitating diversity (i.e., aiming for equal representation of FinEd member universities, researchers from different paradigms and at different stages of the PhD process), and with specific weight given to the motivation letter. Our selection committee will make the decisions in the first week of April, and successful applicants will be informed about the choice by mid-April.

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

A group of people smiling around a table set for dinner in front of a window showing a view to a summery garden

Register for the Research, emotions and well-being seminar!

NB update: due to unexpected popularity and large volume of registrations in the first week, we are closing registration for live attendance ahead of time, effective 8 November. For distance participation (note: keynote speeches only) registration continues as planned until 22 November.

Registration is about to open for the Research, emotions and well-being seminar, held on 4–5 December 2024 at Tampere University (and partly hybrid on Zoom), organised by FinEd in collaboration with Langnet, the network of language-related doctoral programmes. The seminar focuses on emotional processes related to the individual in academic work, as well as emotions related to academic structures. The goal is to provide young researchers with concrete tools for dealing with emotions related to research work. The speakers and workshop leaders include experts who have studied emotions and well-being in academic work. Most of the presentations and workshops are held in Finnish, a few are held in English and one in Swedish. Please see the seminar programme below. 

We have acquired external funding for the seminar to cover the travel and accommodation expenses of approx. 40 participants, of which 20 are allocated to doctoral researchers in educational sciences. With self-financing, more participants can be taken. The seminar is primarily aimed at doctoral researchers, but self-funding post-doctoral researchers are also welcome. Funding will be granted and places filled in order of registration. Registration starts on 4 November at 9 o’clock and ends on 22 November. Please register here. 

SEMINAARIN OHJELMA / PROGRAM 

Ke 4.12.2024: Yksilö ja tunteet / The individual and emotions 

klo 12.15–12.30 (Auditorio D10b) Anna Rawlings, Anna Vatanen, Maija Hirvonen, Petri Nokelainen: Tervetuloa / Welcome 

klo 12.30–13.15 (Auditorio D10b) Riitta-Liisa Larjovuori, TaY: Työhyvinvoinnin rakentuminen ja edistäminen yliopistotyössä 

klo 13.15–14.15 Lounastauko / Lunch klo 14.15–15.30 Rinnakkaissessiot 

  • Sessio 1A (Luokka A07), Niina Lilja, TaY: Writing funding applications and coping with rejections 
  • Sessio 1B (Luokka A06), Katriina Tapanila, TaY: Miten erottaa ”minä” ja ”työ” tutkimustyössä? Tutkimusta ohjaavat usein henkilökohtaiset kiinnostuksen kohteet, jolloin tutkimustyö voi olla tärkeä osa omaa identiteettiä. Työpajassa pohditaan, miten tutkimusta voisi tehdä hyvinvointia tukevalla tavalla siten, että tasapaino säilyy eri elämänalueiden välillä. 

klo 15.30–16 Kahvitauko / Coffee klo 16–17.15 Rinnakkaissessiot 

  • Sessio 2A (Luokka A07), [speaker TBC]: Fixed terms one after the other – risk tolerance and the uncertainty of the academic career 
  • Sessio 2B (Luokka A06), Susanna Hartikainen ja Ilmari Puhakka, TaY: Huijarisyndrooma ja epäonnistumisen pelko. “Kohta ne huomaa, etten osaakaan mitään…” Akateeminen maailma voi tuntua painostavalta ja tuomitsevalta varsinkin aloitteleville tutkijoille. Työpajassa käydään läpi ilmiötä ja kehitellään keinoja osaamiseen liittyvän epävarmuuden hälventämiseksi. 

klo 19 Mahdollinen omakustanteinen illallinen (varmistuu myöhemmin) / Possible self-financed dinner (TBC) 

To 5.12.2024: Akateemiset rakenteet ja tunteet / Academic structures and emotions 

klo 8.30–9.30 (Auditorio D10b) Johanna Hokka, TaY: Searching for an average researcher amid competition and collegiality: key points from the project Academic Affects / Keskivertotutkijaa etsimässä kilpailun ja kollegiaalisuuden keskellä. Akateemisten affektien etnografia -hankkeen tuloksia (in English) 

klo 9.45–11 Rinnakkaissessiot 

  • Sessio 3A (Luokka E221), Elisa Kurtti, JY: Akateemisen työn absurdiudet ja hyvinvointi. Tiedemaailmassa navigoiminen on pullollaan ristiriitaisuuksia, joista moni juontuu myös itse tiedejärjestelmän toiminnasta. Kuinka säilyttää hyvinvointi ulkoisten ja sisäisten vaatimusten keskellä? 
  • Sessio 3B (Luokka E222), Laura Visapää, HY: ”Pahamaineinen referee 2”, onko sitä? Palautteen vastaanottaminen ja antaminen vertaisarviointiprosessissa. 

klo 11–12 Lounastauko / Lunch klo 12–13.15 Rinnakkaissessiot 

  • Sessio 4A (Luokka E221), Maija Hirvonen, TaY: Tenure track: angst-filled pressure cooker or clear career path? 
  • Sessio 4B (Luokka E222), Marja-Liisa Helasvuo, TY: Kilpailijoita vai kollegoja? Vertaisten kaksoisrooli. 

klo 13.15–13.45 Kahvitauko / Coffee 

klo 13.45–14.30 (Auditorio D10b) Solveig Cornér, HY: Betydelsen av socialt stöd och välmående i doktorsavhandlingsarbetet. The slides will be in English: The importance of social support and wellbeing in the doctoral thesis process; keskustelua voi käydä myös suomeksi. 

klo 14.30–15.15 (Auditorio D10b) Jaana-Piia Mäkiniemi, TaY: Tutkijan tunnepohjainen työhyvinvointi ja siihen vaikuttavat tekijät sekä oman työn tuunaaminen 

klo 15.15–15.45 (Auditorio D10b), Anna Rawlings, Anna Vatanen & Maija Hirvonen: Seminaarin koonti / Seminar wrap-up 

Autumn 2024 season, FinEd Online Research Talks

It is time to announce another season of FinEd Online Research Talks (FORT)! The FORT events showcase the wide variety of research in educational sciences conducted in FinEd’s member universities, with one-hour online talks on current topics. 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 upcoming talks below!

30.9.2024 (Monday), from 12–13 o’clock

Multispecies justice in transdisciplinary research and interspecies action – tracing complexities, Senior Research Fellow Pauliina Rautio (University of Oulu)

In this talk, I will walk the line between my work as a researcher and Principal Investigator of many transdisciplinary projects and my volunteer work in caring for wild birds, framing them through each other, and specifically pursuing questions of multispecies justice. The presentation is illustrated with photographs I have taken, which convey their own kind of visual boundaries: photographing wild birds up close breaks species-typical boundaries and produces different kinds of distances between humans and birds.

Link to Dr Rautio’s talk https://uef.zoom.us/j/65494615351?pwd=76s8BxXiCAwTyj665jsT6k6DrPXUOO.1, Meeting ID: 654 9461 5351, Passcode: 610414

27.11.2024 (Wednesday), from 12–13 o’clock

The Significance of Sámi Educational Research, Professor Pigga Keskitalo, University of Lapland, Faculty of Education

Sámi people reside in the traditional regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Russian Kola Peninsula, where their educational practices are influenced by the frameworks of these countries. In the face of climate change, political challenges, justice issues, and increasing global interest in Arctic resources and land, Sámi educational research stands out as a vital force in shaping societal and educational advancements. This presentation delves into the significance of Sámi educational research in not only preserving and promoting Indigenous culture and knowledge but also in integrating these elements within broader educational and societal frameworks. By presenting key findings from recent research projects, this presentation explores the educational landscape in a decolonial context, offering valuable insights into the transformative potential of Indigenous education in the Arctic region.

Pigga Keskitalo is a Professor of Education at the University of Lapland, focusing in Arctic perspectives in education. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki and co-edited Indigenous Research Methodologies in Sámi and Global Contexts (Brill, 2021). Currently, she leads the LINCOSY research project (funded by the Academy of Finland) and the REBOUND project (funded by the Strategic Research Council (SRC-STN) at the Faculty of Education, University of Lapland.

Link to Professor Keskitalo’s talk https://uef.zoom.us/j/63265609548?pwd=O1DyOmQ5pstsUclAZ8CRLkY0QTnvQ5.1, Meeting ID: 632 6560 9548, Passcode: 722140

Professor Pigga Keskitalo
Prof. Keskitalo’s image credit Roi-Foto