Diversity and Urban Schools Professor Kirsi Tirri
University of Helsinki
FINLAND
Diversity and Urban Schools Professor Kirsi Tirri
University of Helsinki
FINLAND
Presentation Comenius Project
Religious and Cultural Sensitivity
Ethical Sensitivity
Emotional Intelligence
Co-operation between school and church
Comenius Project
”Leading Schools Successfully in Challenging Urban Contexts: Strategies for Improvement”
An innovative, Europe wide three-year project
A nine-country partnership (The United Kingdom (coordinator), Ireland, The Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Finland) between higher education institutions and thirty-six schools in disadvantaged urban contexts
Research schools must be located in challenging urban contexts; four schools from every project country
Aims of the project:
To identify strategies to improve school leadership in primary and secondary schools in disadvantaged urban communities
The Finnish Educational System
A central objective: to provide all citizens equal opportunities to receive education irrespective of age, domicile, economic situation, sex or mother tongue
Education is a fundamental right of all citizens
System: comprehensive school, post-compulsory general and vocational education, higher education and adult education
General education is free of charge for entire age groups, neither admission nor requirements
Almost all chidren in Finland complete the nine-year comprehensive school, interruption is rare
Problems of Schooling in Urban Context
Transformation in the social context of urban education in Finland – major features:
The percentage of pupils living with two biological parents has decreased
The percentage of children from other cultural backgrounds has increased
Student background: the relationship between social factors and the educational access and outcomes
Diversity: minority students are an increasing share of the school age population during the coming decades
Differences in schools: in and between schools
The role of school: pupils’ general learning capabilities; school management
Data and methods
4 urban primary schools and 4 urban secondary schools from two cities in Finland
Sucessful and experienced principals
Quantitative methods
Cultural, spiritual and ethical sensitivity of the students and teachers. The teachers of the schools (N=124) evaluated their principals’ emotional leadership with an Emotional Leadership Questionnaire (ELQ) that operationalizes four domains of EI with 51 items (Goleman, Boyazis & McKee, 2002; Nokelainen & Ruohotie, 2005).
Data and methods
Qualitative methods
Qualitative interviews have been narrative case studies, in which the principals (N=4), parents (N=8), teachers (N=8) and students (N=8) of each school have reflected the characteristics of their principal, the ethos of their school and the reasons for their success
Research Schools and Case Examples
Primary School: Meri-Rastila
In the capital area of Helsinki; about 300 pupils and 20 teachers
Case example:
Challenge: multicultural families
Project: supporting immigrant mothers
Primary School: Keltinmäki
In Jyväskylä, about 300 km to the north from Helsinki; about 400 pupils and 27 teachers
Case example:
Challenge: students with learning difficulties
Project: integration with the help from school assistants
Research Schools and Case Examples
Secondary School: Helsingin normaalilyseo
In the city centre of Helsinki; about 300 pupils (total 546 pupils with the upper secondary school) and 70 teachers
Case example:
Challenge: differences between rich and poor
Project: peer mediation
Secondary School: Huhtaharju
In Jyväskylä; about 400 pupils and 41 teachers
Case example:
Challenge: students with special needs
Project: pupils with personal curriculum
USIS homepage
All the following presentations are available after the conference at
http://www.helsinki.fi/teol/ktel/tutkimus/usis
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