0000000000022337
AUTHOR
Matti Pennanen
showing 12 related works from this author
The ‘spirit of the times’: Fast policy for educational reform in Finland
2020
This article examines the nature of neoliberal influences upon educational policy making in the Finnish education system in recent times. The article draws upon key policy documents, government reports, journal articles and media articles about reforms in the early childhood, basic/compulsory school and vocational education and training sectors to evidence these processes. Analytically, these reforms are understood as instances of what has been referred to as ‘fast policy’. Methodologically, we draw upon principles of zeitgeist analysis to reveal the features and effects of these fast policy influences as they relate to educational provision in Finland. These features and effects include i…
Peer-group mentoring as a tool for teacher development
2014
Abstract: Peer-group mentoring (PGM) is a new model designed to support the professional development of teachers in Finland. This study examines the experiences of mentees participating in PGM and potential differences in the experiences of teachers in general education and vocational education. It also addresses the mentees perceptions of the results of PGM with regard to the professional, personal and social dimensions of professional development. Quantitative research methods were used. An online survey was completed by 69 teachers in general education and 47 teachers in vocational education (n = 116). The results showed that the participants saw PGM as an important tool for professional…
Multidisciplinary peer-mentoring groups facilitating change?
2020
This article discusses the potential of multidisciplinary peer-mentoring groups to facilitate individual and institutional change. To do this, we view peer mentoring as a form of critical education praxis (Mahon et al. 2019), the purpose of which is to create a space for reflexive thinking and asking critical questions. The data were collected by interviewing all thirteen participants – doctoral students and more established scholars – of a multidisciplinary peer-mentoring pilot project. The results show a variety of both individual changes and desired changes within the university, which were brought into view as a result of the sharing of experiences, views and ideas in an open, confident…
Finnish model of peer-group mentoring: review of research.
2019
This article reviews research on the Finnish model of peer‐group mentoring (PGM). The theoretical foundation of the model is based on the constructivist theory of learning, the concept of autonomy in teaching profession, peer learning, and narrative identity work. The model has been disseminated nationwide in the educational sector to promote professional development of teachers and educational staff, mainly in primary and secondary education, but also in early childhood education and higher education. The thematic review is based on 46 peer‐reviewed publications about PGM in Finland in 2009–2019. Research has focused on the following main themes: (1) general aspects and characteristics of …
Articulating the Practice Architectures of Collaborative Research Practice
2016
This chapter explores a collaborative practice of comparative data analysis through the researching activities of four researchers from Australia and Finland. We interrogate the ontological and empirical reality we experienced while engaged in a practice of analysing narrative data on mentoring. In this chapter, we are not reporting on the outcomes of our analysis of mentoring practice; instead we focus on our collaborative engagement, articulating the practice architectures of our research practice. This collaborative research practice was pre-figured by: (1) philosophical traditions instituted through a theory of practice architectures; and (2) normalised practices of researching mentorin…
A Brief History of the Peer-Group Mentoring Model in Finland: Struggling for Space in a Contested Niche
2020
The aim of this article is to introduce and reflect on the development of mentoring in Finland as implemented in the form of the Peer-Group Mentoring (PGM) model. Firstly, the main characteristics and principles of the PGM model are introduced, after which experiences from implementing the model are analysed based on a literature review. We examine the following research questions: (1) How have the mentoring practices of newly qualified teachers developed towards the PGM model within the educational ecosystem in Finland? (2) How has the PGM model found its relational space (‘ecological niche’) in this ecosystem? and (3) How has PGM been experienced by mentors and mentees in terms of profess…
What is ‘good’ mentoring? Understanding mentoring practices of teacher induction through case studies of Finland and Australia
2015
Mentoring is a practice widely utilised to support new teachers. However, in locally formed systems, the practice of mentoring is conditioned by traditions and arrangements specific to the site. To understand ‘good’ mentoring, these local arrangements cannot be ignored. In this article, the theory of practice architectures is employed to make explicit the prefiguring arrangements of mentoring practices in Finland and NSW Australia. The findings suggest that mentoring practices are shaped by their ontological specificity and this makes reproducing mentoring practices in different sites problematic. Explicating the prefiguring architectures of practices is critical to understanding the contes…
5.-6.-luokkalaisten oppilaiden sosiaaliset taidot ja kiusaaminen koulussa ja liikuntaharrastuksessa
2012
Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää alakoulun 5.–6.-luokkalaisten oppilaiden sosiaalisia taitoja ja kiusaamista koulun ja liikuntaharrastuksen ympäristöissä. Mittasimme oppilaiden koulun ja liikuntaharrastuksen sosiaaliset taidot empatia-, yhteistyö- ja itsesäätelytaitojen osa-alueissa, jotka muodostettiin faktorianalyysillä Greshamin ja Elliottin SSRS-C –itsearviointilomakkeen pohjalta. Koehenkilöiksi valitsimme alakoulun viidennen ja kuudennen luokan oppilaita, joilla oli vähintään yksi liikuntaharrastus. Aineisto kerättiin Pohjois-Savossa ja Varsinais- Suomessa. Tutkimukseen valikoitui yhteensä 124 oppilasta, joista 70 olivat tyttöjä ja 54 olivat poikia. Ryhm…
Mentorointi on typerä sana
2018
Mentorointi on siitä merkillinen sana, että kaikki ovat siitä joskus kuulleet ja monet luulevat jopa tietävänsä, mitä se on. Mutta tietävätkö he ihan oikeasti? Sitä minä epäilen, koska mentorointi-sanaa viljellään niin hävyttömän paljon, varsinkin koulutusalalla. Oletko oikeasti miettinyt, mitä se tarkoittaa? Minä sanon, että et ole, koska mentorointi on typerä sana. nonPeerReviewed
Virtues of Mentors and Mentees in the Finnish Model of Teachers’ Peer-group Mentoring
2020
This study investigated participants’ conceptions of the ideal mentor and mentee in the Finnish model of peer-group mentoring (PGM). Existing mentoring research emphasises dyadic practices, yet there is a lack of investigation of participants’ roles in group mentoring. The main concepts of this inquiry were dispositions (habitus) and virtues drawing on the theory of practice architectures and Aristotelian virtue philosophy. Methodologically, the study can be identified as philosophical-empirical inquiry that utilises a narrative and hermeneutical approach to analyse qualitative data from 30 respondents. As its central finding, the study identified a set of core characteristics that describe…
Pedagogisk expertis i rörelse
2015
Publikationen baserar sig på forskningsprojektet Rörlighet bland pedagogisk expertis (PAL-projektet) som finansierades av Europeiska socialfonden. Projektet genomfördes under åren 2010–2013 i samarbete mellan Pedagogiska forskningsinstitutet, utbildningsstyrelsen och yrkeslärarhögskolan vid yrkeshögskolan i Jyväskylä. Publikationen granskar de centrala observationerna i PAL-projektet och ger en allmän översikt av rörligheten och förändringarna bland lärarna i det finländska utbildningssystemet. Materialet till projektet samlades in med en webbenkät (n = 4500) samt intervjuer med före detta lärare (n = 15). I Finland anses läraryrket vara ett tilltalande yrkesval av många olika skäl. Läraren…
Mobility and transition of pedagogical expertise in Finland
2015
Mobility and transition of pedagogical expertise in Finland is a publication based on the project “Mobility among pedagogical experts”, which was funded by the European Social Fund. The project was carried out in 2010–2013 in collaboration with the Finnish Institute for Educational Research, Finnish National Board of Education and the Vocational Teacher Education College, Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences. The publication gives an overall view of the teacher mobility and transition in the Finnish education system and discusses the key findings from the report on Mobility among pedagogical experts. Data for the above-mentioned project was collected by an online questionnaire (n = 4500…