OPS. Enemmän kuin osiensa summa. Curriculum - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Seminar publication

Transcription

1 OPS? Enemmän kuin osiensa summa Curriculum - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts Seminar publication 1 Friday: Saturday: Tampereen yliopisto, Kalevantie 4 Tampereen Rudolf Steiner STEINERKASVATUS -koulu, Muotialantie 3/

2 2 Curriculum seminar -the whole is greater than the sum of its parts Seminar is organised together with Tampere University, Snellman College (Steiner Waldorf Teacher training), Otavan Opisto, Federation for Steiner Waldorf Education in Finland and ECSWE. This seminar is first of its kind. It celebrates and makes visible the collaboration between teacher training at Snellman College and Tampere University. It also brings together researchers and educators of different viewpoints. We are all eager to see what happens. Shall we find nourishing discussion and common thoughts? This seminar is translated from Finnish to English - by Outi Rousu and Sirpa Turunen Viljanmaa. Outi is a euryhmist and a school principal from Vantaan seudun steinerkoulu. Sirpa is a language teacher at Tampere Rudolf Steiner School CURRICULUM SEMINAR

3 INTRODUCTIONS OF THE TALKS: Veli-Matti Värri Tero Autio Friday 9.25 am Professor of Education at Tampere University, addresses the seminar with his opening words. According to him the seminar is based on collaboration of Snellman College and Tampere University. This cooperation was the first opportunity for alumni of Snellman College, (Steiner Waldorf educators) to go on with their educational studies in order to have their Masters in Education. For establishing this contract 2008 both lack of prejudice in pedagogical staff and openmindedness of administration in both institutions were needed. Now, the first Masterdegrees have already been granted. In educational thinking reinterpretation of human being and non-human nature as well as educational consciousness aiming at ecological culture is needed, without compromising ideals of democracy. This educational consciousness can be built in the dialogue, disagreement and encounters of living traditions and critical educational thinking. What is our understanding of the meaning of schooling and education for having a good life and living in a democracy? Professor of Curriculum Theory at Tallinn University, Estonia, talks about the View of Finnish School system in the Framework of International Educational Reforms. He considers the American tradition of backing education on educational psychology being a narrow political construction. In his opinion the educational psychology was used, because Americans lacked the tradition of educational discourse we have in Europe. It has lead to over-standardization of education. The attempt to control education in its all aspects comes from the outdated view of the subject in education. The Finnish school system, which so far is a cocktail from different influences, doesn t need to take its future models from America. There are radical and practical educational reforms in China challenging communism and capitalism based on ancient chinese wisdom, be it buddhist, taoist, confucian or shintoist wisdom. 3 What is essential and worth defending in education? Teacher trainers should ally themselves with those who are seeking ecologically sustainable foundations for democracy and good life, for example Snellman College. CURRICULUM SEMINAR 2013

4 INTRODUCTIONS OF THE TALKS: Irmeli Halinen Friday am Eija Syrjäläinen Friday am 4 Counsellor of Education at Finnish National Board of Education, is telling us about the foundation and aims of the renewal process of the Finnish Curriculums. She is also telling about the process and the intentions behind curriculum work on the school level. The audience is asked to join into conversation about the needs of the future curriculum: What is needed less and what is needed more? Professor of Education (especially of teacher training) talks about The Curriculum, the Hidden Curriculum and the Wellbeing of the students at school. She is saying that both the curriculum and hidden curriculum can cause students to feel insecure at school. Syrjäläinen is basing her claims on two recent studies, a survey where primary school students were asked what causes them not to feel safe in their schools and a collection of narratives from two different high schools. In the year girls and 1300 boys answered the question What causes feeling of not being safe in the school? It was a part of Tampere School councils survey on safety (N=5848) in classes 3, 5, 7 and 9. Also 280 student essays from all class levels in a comprehensive school were used. In the year 2012 student narratives from two different High schools were collected (33 boys and 41 girls) and 8 teachers were interviewed. Curriculum culture in Finland has changed radically since the year 1994, when a change towards a curriculum written by each individual school developed. Teachers were allowed to take part in Curriculum work in every school in Finland. The experiences varied; some were jubilent at possibilities of creating something new, some felt the work to be hard and difficult. Today the freedom to that extent doesn t 2013 CURRICULUM SEMINAR

5 INTRODUCTIONS OF THE TALKS: exist. Many researchers have criticised the curriculum. For example Erja Vitikka (2009) has said in her PhD thesis that the Curriculum of the Finnish primary school does not support learning, it doesn t give tools to actively deal with the learning process, but overemphasizes the theoretical, intellectual tasks and leads the education to become more effecient and more competition minded. There is not sufficient time for meeting and taking differences into an account, especially in High schools. According to Syrjäläinen it would be important to open up the Curriculum thinking so that the individual student could be part of the moulding of the schools practices. The theoryladen school makes many students passive. Lack of art and practical electives makes especially boys not satisfied with the school. Eero Ropo Friday 2.30 pm Professor of Education Tampere University, talks about the Narrative Approach to the curriculums. In education transferring of knowledge, beliefs and meanings happen. Narrative means story-related. When we understand learning as a narrative, we create individual, communal and cultural meaning for the information we receive. These we compile as narratives. In curriculum the goals and aims of the curriculum can be seen at different levels based on whether learning and teaching are related on personal, biographical, communal or cultural meanings. 5 CURRICULUM SEMINAR 2013

6 Curriculum seminar + Ecswe meeting part 1 Friday Tampere University, hall, Juhlasali, Kalevantie 4, Main building 8.30 Registration 9.15 Opening words, Veli-Matti Värri Students on stage - Tampereen Rudolf Steiner -school 9.25 The View of Finnish School system in the Framework of International Educational Reforms. Educational Reforms. Studies. Institute of Education, Tallinn University, Estonia Comment, Jarno Paalasmaa, Master of education, waldorf teacher of history, author Comment, Sauli Salmela, PhD, teacher of philosophy, ethics and latin Learning Café : Introduction and explaining the system, Iida-Maria Peltomaa ja Tiina Airaksinen Otavan Opisto Learning Café The foundation and aims of the renewal process of the Finnish Curriculums, Irmeli Halinen, Counsellor of Education at Finnish National Board of Education, Lunch The Curriculum, the Hidden Curriculum and the Wellbeing of the students at the school, Eija Syrjäläinen, Professor of Education (especially of teacher training) Comment: European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education, Ecswe representative, Richard Landl, ECSWE:s chairman Comment, Eeva Raunela, PhD student at Itä-Suomen yliopisto, Waldorf teacher of Finnish language Curriculum hatchery Tiina Airaksinen, Otavan opisto Learning Café The Narrative Approach to the curriculums, Eero Ropo, Professor of Education Tampere University Comment Markku Niinivirta, PhD student at Tampereen yliopisto, Waldorf teacher training Comment from the perspective of visual language and the point of view of visual narrativity Jouko Pullinen, Doctor of Arts, University Lecturer at Tampere University Questions Summary, Veli-Matti Värri, prof. Evening walk Pyynikki End of part one ECSWE: Dinner at Metso-libray + ECSWE Meeting

7 Curriculum seminar + Ecswe meeting part 2 Saturday Tampereen Rudolf Steiner -school, Muotialatie Eurythmy performance (Mikael imagination) 9.00 The secret of the Finnish educational system and its relationship to Steiner Waldorf Education. Jan-Erik Mansikka, PhD in Education, lecturer at Helsinki University and Jarno Paalasmaa, Master in Education, History teacher at Vantaan seudun steinerkoulu Lunch - possibility to visit next door, waldorf kindergaten (market day) Seminar: After waldorf education. A report of Research of Estonian waldorf graduates Assessment of waldorf education by Estonian waldorf graduates. Mati Valgepea, ECSWE rep. from Estonia Seminar: summary: Filip Häyrynen ja Kirsi Perttola-Ylinampa) Seminar: end of part ECSWE: Day 3 - Sunday Tampereen Rudolf Steiner -school, Muotialatie 79-81,

8 Welcome to evening walk! 8 Evening walk begins at 20 pm at the corner of Eteläpuisto and Papinkatu. It is guided by class teacher students of Snellman College. It lasts about an hour. It will give nice exercise after a long day - but also some awesome surprises in finnish autumn night Look for the forecast and put enough clothes on! Saturday morning Jan-Erik Mansikka, PhD in Education, lecturer at Helsinki University and Jarno Paalasmaa, Master in Education, History teacher at Vantaan seudun steinerkoulu talk about The secret of the Finnish educational system and its relationship to Steiner Waldorf Education. The Finnish educational system is widely known and admired. Why? There are some interesting explanations, which are discussed in this joint lecture. Mansikka wrote his PhD thesis on Rudolf Steiners early thinking and its relationship to Schiller and Goethe etc. His thesis was written in Swedish. Jarno Paalasmaa, an alumni of Tampereen steinerkoulu, Snellman College and Tampereen yliopisto has written several books on Steiner Waldorf Education. He is at the moment a member of the group (lead by Halinen) preparing the values of the education- part of the next Finnish national Curriculum for primary school that will be in effect from 2016 onwards CURRICULUM SEMINAR