University of Helsinki
The FuturEd-project wishes everyone a lovely fall! We have some very interesting news regarding our research results, events and publications.
Publication news:
An article about privatization and marketisation of early childhood education and care in Finland by Jaana Pesonen, Satu Valkonen, and Kristiina Brunila is published in Kasvatus-journal. The article titled “Markets of Early Childhood Education” [Varhaiskasvatuksen markkinat – Näkökulmana yksityistyvät palvelut] shows how marketisation and privatisation of early childhood education and care in Finland has developed, and how changing governance of education can help to understand shifts from public to private in the Nordic welfare state. The full text can be found here: https://journal.fi/kasvatus/article/view/111446
Also, an article titled “Educating for the Future? Mapping the Lines of Precision Education Governance” by Katariina Mertanen, Saara Vainio and Kristiina Brunila has been accepted for publication in Policy Futures in Education – journal. This theoretical article shows how three ‘lines’ of changing education governance (globalization of education; marketisation, privatization and digitalization of education, and the emergence of behavioural and life sciences to education) can be explored together with the concept of Precision Education Governance.
A book called “Therapeutic Power: Tensions of Happiness and Wellbeing in 21st century” [Terapeuttinen valta: Onnellisuuden ja hyvinvoinnin jännitteitä 2000-luvun Suomessa] edited by Kristiina Brunila, Esko Harni, Antti Saari and Hanna Ylöstalo is now published. Bringing together the latest research about therapeutic power in Finnish society, this book has already attracted wide interest in both academic and public spheres. The book can be found here: https://vastapaino.fi/sivu/tuote/terapeuttinen-valta/3856983
Kristiina Brunila, Saara Vainio and Sanna Toiviainen analyse the positivity imperative in youth education and training in the article “The Positivity Imperative in Youth Education as a Form of Cruel Optimism” published in the Journal of Applied Youth Studies. The article explores how youth education promotes the therapeutic ethos especially in relation to young people considered as vulnerable or ‘at risk’. Full text for the article can be found here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43151-021-00047-3
Last but not least, an article titled “Emerging Multi-Professional Assemblages of Youth Guidance and Support Producing the Resilient and Future-Oriented Citizen” by Sanna Toiviainen and Kristiina Brunila was published in the Nordic Journal of Transitions, Careers and Guidance. In the article Toiviainen and Brunila analyse the youth guidance systems in Finland as multi-professional assemblages and ask what kind of citizenship young people are governed towards in these assemblages. Full article can be found here: https://njtcg.org/articles/10.16993/njtcg.28/
Events and public speeches
The lecture series Future Education and the Emergence of Precision Education Governance has started! The first lecture by professor Malin Ideland titled “Problem-solving, future-making and a source of joy. A look on the bright side of neoliberalized education” was held at the beginning of September. In the lecture, professor Ideland discussed the allure and joy brought by neoliberalism in the light of the results of Ideland’s Education INC -research project results. Read more about Malin’s lecture, and other upcoming lectures in the series from: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/futureducation/lecture-series/
Katariina Mertanen presented a paper “Mapping the Emerging Lines of Precision Education Governance in the ECER 2021 conference in a paper session “Sociologies of Learning: Expertise, Datafication and the Governance of Education”.
Upcoming events
A lecture by Reader Sam Sellar will be held October 7th, 10-12 UTC +3. In the lecture “Synthetic governance: The emergence of new cognitive infrastructures in education policy.” Sellar will discuss the blurring lines between rationalities, governance and algorithms in education. Read more at: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/futureducation/oct-7-2021-sam-sellar/