Progress into an education changemaker with Helsinki’s new programme

27 Aug 2019

An everchanging sector, education is an inspirational entity, continuously shaped by various tech trends, strategic policies and varying opinions.

For students, it’s a timeless field to dedicate their talents to. Always expanding, a career in education leads learners towards diverse and rewarding roles.

Pinpointing those changes and developing a new programme to examine recent advancements in education, the University of Helsinki in Finland is at the forefront of research and analysis.

Globally recognised, the Faculty of Educational Sciences is an academic leader of social justice and diversity in education, highlighting sociological, cultural, psychological, philosophic, gender studies perspectives, and the use of educational psychology and neuroscientific insights.

A dynamic branch of a World Top 100 THE University, the faculty seeks lasting solutions to global challenges, broadening perspectives and creating new ways of thinking for the best of humanity.

Overview: The Master’s in Changing Education programme

Making its presence known in the higher education circuit, with its research-based combination of studies that connects different views of diversities and equality in education, teaching and learning, this new Master’s in Changing Education is transforming the way education is taught.

Structured around three main areas: education, society and culture, educational psychology and neuroscience and pedagogy, educational institutions and research-based teacher education, this two-year course enables students to work ethically towards more socially just educational policies and systems.

To evolve into an education changemaker, the faculty will offer multidisciplinary and innovative, research-based perspectives, knowledge and skills. Topics will be relevant and easily applied to current debates in the sector.

By heightening your ability to understand and apply the critical evaluation of topics independently, as well as in co-operation with other groups and communities, you’ll leave the course feeling confident and ready to practice your skills professionally.

Encouraging you to critically and analytically evaluate and reflect on the constantly changing nature of education and society, the new programme also surges your skill set to an employable level, raising your professional profile to industry standards.

Through a combination of basic neuroscience methods and educational psychology, you’ll carry your progress over into an advanced working role.

The link between learning expectations and programme contents

You’re probably wondering what the Master’s in Changing Education offers, especially as it’s a recent addition to the Helsinki Faculty of Educational Sciences.

Education, Society and Culture, the first topic area of the programme, is where sociological, cultural, philosophical, historical, political, and economic perspectives are combined to provide the students with an understanding of education within a societal context.

You’ll be analysing the ways in which multidimensional inequalities, social exclusion and discrimination in education are constructed, while evaluating education-related issues of social justice by combining micro- and macro-approaches.

Educational Psychology and Neuroscience, the second topic area, grants you direct experience with the use of modern psychological and neuroscientific methodologies, including data analysis and the use of physiological measurements to support learning.

You’ll learn to evaluate the value and applicability of research results and start to understand learning, teaching and education from a new viewpoint.

Finally, the third topic is Pedagogy, Educational Institutions and Research-based Teacher Education.

A unique advantage of this topic is that you’ll examine the Finnish educational system in its entirety, alongside analysing different educational institutions and systems.

The combination of three allows you to perceive education in a dynamic and transformable way. From the individual neural level all the way to global policies, you’ll dissect all elements of education and work together with teachers to solve contemporary challenges.

Equipping you for the changing trends of education

Not only will you be living in one of the best places on the globe, you’ll also be studying in the Kruununhaka district in the heart of Helsinki.

As a postgraduate student, your education will be progressive and the faculty will supply you with the scientific knowledge needed to manage and direct social change, prevent social exclusion, and manage personal growth and development.

Choosing this degree also means you can participate in a student exchange or traineeship outside Finland, and undertaking the Master’s thesis will set you up for your future endeavours.

By defining a chosen research problem in the context of previous research in the field, finding information independently, assessing the information critically, mastering the theories and research methods required for the work and communicating results in a clear and logical format appropriate to the audience, you’ll find this is a great asset to carry with you beyond Helsinki.

With plenty of career prospects stemming from the new programme, potential employers might be governmental and non-governmental organisations, municipalities, educational institutions and high-profile companies working on education business and consultancies.

Alternatively, you can continue to pursue suitable doctoral programmes at the university, the Doctoral Programme of School, Education, Society and Culture (SEDUCE), the Doctoral programme in Psychology, Learning and Communication (PsyCo) and the Doctoral Programme Brain & Mind.

Ultimately, the new Master’s in Changing Education at Helsinki permits you to excel your perspective of the world and challenge traditional modes of thinking.

By subscribing to the admissions reminder and news, you can find out any updates about your chosen course.

Or, you can contact Helsinki today to unravel more information about this new programme and become a 21^st-century educational changemaker.

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