Merja Paksuniemi

Teacher Education in Finland during the War Years, 1939–45

Abstract The Second World War profoundly affected the school system in Finland that already functioned as the seedbed for the national ideology; the Finnish teacher training colleges were temporarily closed during the years 1939–45, and several college buildings served as stationary war hospitals. This article describes the operation of the teacher training college of Tornio in northern Finland and student teachers’ and teachers’ lives during the war years 1939–45. The moral-Christian and nationalist goals that were typical of the education at teacher training colleges deepened during the war years and, partly because of it, Herbart-Zillerism was still strongly present at the teacher training colleges of Finland.

Childhood in the shadow of war: filled with work and play

This study was focused on war-time childhood. The target period covers the war years 1939–1945 and the years of post-war reconstruction. The research was based on memories of 13 participants who lived in the countryside in northern Finland during the Second World War. The purpose of the study was to find out what childrens everyday life was like during the war. According to the results, children did play regardless of the war situation. Children also participated in household work actively. By highlighting childrens experiences and perspectives, this study provided important information about childrens survival during war time. The study also helps understanding the effects of wars from childrens point of view.

The challenge of returning home: the role of school and teachers in the well-being of Finnish war children, ‘Finnebørn’, during and after World War II

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to clarify what kind of role schools and teachers played in the well-being of Finnish war children during and after the Second World War. The study focuses on the children who were evacuated to Denmark, also known as Finnebørn, and their experiences and memories as war children in Denmark and returning evacuees back home in Finland. All together, 11 former Finnebørn were interviewed for the research. The interview data was supported by other primary sources such as published and unpublished written material and newspaper articles. This article explores the roles schools and teachers played in the lives of the evacuee children; what kind of influence an individual teacher had on Finnebørn’s resilience processes; and finally, how schooling effected children’s well-being. According to our data, going to school played an important role in Finnebørn’s lives. In Denmark, the children’s integration to their new home country was facilitated by supportive and understanding teachers. Escaping the wars, and learning a new language did, however, affect the children’s return to Finland. Having lost their first language, the re-integration into the Finnish society could prove a challenge, to which the Finnish schools and teachers were not prepared for.

State formation and the rise of elementary education at the periphery of Europe: the cases of Finland and Turkey 1860-1930

ABSTRACT This article addresses the role of the state and state formation in the establishment of national education during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Through a comparative case analysis of two countries at the European periphery (Finland and Turkey), this article shows how national educational systems, in both instances, were driven by periods of intense state building. In the nineteenth century, military defeats sparked educational reforms, and in the early nineteenth century school laws were enacted due to the establishment of the republics of Finland and Turkey. Nevertheless, these examples also show the limits of a state formation perspective. Despite changes in educational policy, neither state reached high enrolment levels in the nineteenth century, and only in Finland schooling for all was realised in the 1930s. Thus, this work encourages further comparative analyses of the social, economic and political circumstances in which these states acted.

Translating inclusive values into pedagogical actions

ABSTRACT Inclusive education is an increasingly adopted approach to pedagogy, and it is based on values that should inform school policies and daily practices. It is about creating school cultures that cherish participation: learning, playing and working with others as well as making choices about, and having a say in, what happens in the school community. Therefore, teachers aiming to develop inclusive practices need to be conscious of the values behind inclusive education and put these values into action. This paper draws on ethnomethodology to explore how teachers perceive inclusive values and how they translate these into pedagogical actions, particularly in co-teaching. We approach classroom activity as an intersubjective process that becomes ordinary through interpretive practices. In this study, the teachers built their pedagogy on the diversity of both themselves and the learners. They showed an understanding of the learners’ needs and provided support through changes in the learning environment and interaction in the classroom. While all of the teachers practiced co-teaching, they may not have consciously adhered to inclusive values, albeit many of their actions showed connections to these values. Continuous discussion of teachers’ values is necessary for sustainable inclusive education.

From the Shadows of Civilisation and Racist Ideologies Towards Post-assimilation

In all the countries they live in, the Sami people have gone through a long period of enlightenment projects driven by church and nationalistic assimilation aspirations—through hidden or more conscious processes. The ideologies behind these pursuits are based on white supremacist notions that the Sami should be civilised and put under a national state societal organisation. Due to this destructive history of ideologies, there are Sami generations who have at least partly lost their cultural and special linguistic features. Assimilation has affected the situation of Sami people and has caused, for example, poverty, mortality, limited access to education, abuse, a lack of self-respect, language shift, loss of culture and neocolonialism. To some extent, these processes have also weakened their cultural identity. Sami education’s purpose is to resolve a severe phenomenon in Sami society whereby structural power has challenged everyday practices. Sami education searches for practice-based institutional education in indigenous knowledge, traditions and cultural context. Sami education is a means to resolve the legacy of assimilation and, in particular, of language shift. Sami education based on a mediating role plays an important part in efforts to revive indigenous languages and cultures, aiming to gain wide access to education, health, economics, wellness, political representation and other factors essential to leading a good life. This chapter goes beyond the shadows of colonial practices; love, hope and sharing is intended to resolve the legacy of colonisation. The chapter is based on research material gathered in two phases. One part of the data was gathered in a Sami school history project, while another part of the research project concerned assimilation among Sami peoples.

Wartime schooling and education policy in the Second World War: Catholic education, memory and government in occupied Belgium, by Sarah Van Ruyskensvelde

The field of education during the Second World War involves a tragic history where elementary schools, secondary schools, high schools and universities were significantly impacted by contemporary c...

Mobilising Children for National Defence: Boys’ Education in the Finnish Civil Guard Organisation During the Second World War

This article examines the nature of the education provided to boys’ by the Finnish Civil Guard organisation during the Second World War. The research questions are: What type of education did the organisation provide and what values and skills did its members learn? Based on data gathered from a variety of sources, including archives, magazines and previous studies, it appears that boys education in the Civil Guard emphasised Finnish nationalism, Christianity, good manners and various sports skills. Practical training was also provided. During the Second World War, the values and skills learned were put into action – boys participated on the home-front, performing various work assignments that significantly aided the war effort by freeing men for other duties. Some boys participated in military service behind the front line and some voluntarily joined the battlefront troops. After Finland lost the war, however, the organisation was disbanded in 1944 at the demand of the victorious Soviet Union.