We emphasise the importance of high-quality education

The foundation for knowledge and civic engagement in the Finnish society has been achieved through high quality, equal education. The Institute strives to identify ways to influence the future of education and discover new ways to educate, collaborating closely with the Finnish Embassy in London.

The idea of playful learning is one of the key elements in the Finnish early childhood education, and we have worked together with partners from the UK and Finland in order to promote child-centred learning environments. We have organised discussion events and playful learning showcases with the Finnish Embassy in London and the Finnish Embassy in Dublin, HEI Helsinki International School, Fun Academy, Finnish actors specialised in educational export and other partners. The showcases offer British audiences a view of the Finnish education system and explore the possibilities of exporting the Finnish model of playful learning.

We also combine our work in the fields of education and democracy by discussing the importance of democracy education in schools. Together with the University of Bedfordshire and the University of Jyväskylä, we organised an event which compared practices of democracy education in Finland and the UK. We have also published a discussion paper School’s Out? The Role of Education in Building Democratic Society, which focuses on the challenges and future orientations of democracy education in Finland and the UK. Download the full report here (pdf).

Please find more information on our current projects below.

Theme photo: Johanna Sumuvuori