DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED SCIENCES OF EDUCATION University of Helsinki

1. DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED SCIENCES OF EDUCATIONUniversity of Helsinki MH 10/2005

2. Teacher education and research for all educational levels • The Department was established in 1974 within the Faculty of Philosophy • The Department of Applied Sciences of Education is one of the five Departments of the Faculty of Behavioural Sciences and it is one of the largest departments of the University of Helsinki • The Department in numbers (2004) :•New degree students: 259 • Degree students: 1897 (undergraduate 1964, postgraduate 203) • Students completing pedagogical studies for teachers: 399 • Students completing studies for special teachers: 76 • Completed degrees: 242 • Staff 151 • Research centres 13

3. FACULTY OF BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES Department of psychology Department of speech sciences Department of applied sciences of education Department of home economics and craft science Department of education Class teacher education section Kindergarten teacher and early childhood education section Subject teacher education section Special education section Viikki teacher training school comprehensive school-lower level -upper level upper secondary school Helsingin normaalilyseo-Teacher training schoolcomprehensive school -upper level upper secondary school Research centres

4. Research-based teaching at the heart of teacher education • The research-based approach is the central guiding theme of teacher education in Helsinki • The research-based approach is integrated into every course and courses in research methods are introduced from the very beginning of the studies • Another central aim of the teacher education in Helsinki is to achieve a balanced development of the teacher's personality in which the teacher’s thinking is essential

5. Degrees: • Bachelor of Education • Master of Education • Licentiate of Education • Doctor of Education The qualification requirement for teachers is Master's degree except for kindergarten teachers, who do a Bachelor's degree. All Master’s graduates are eligible for postgraduate studies Degree programmes: • degree programme in class teacher education (education/educational psychology) • degree programme in special education • degree programme in kindergarten teacher education (early childhood education) • degree programme in education (early childhood education)

6. The sections of the Department • Class Teacher Education • Subject Teacher Education • Special Education • Kindergarten Teacher and Early Childhood Education

7. Class teacher education • Class teachers complete a Master of Education degree (5 years, 300 study points/ECTS) • The main subject is education or educational psychology • The class teachers must complete a multidisciplinary minor subject module that consists of subjects and cross-curricular issues taught in comprehensive school • Studies in a minor subject, comprising at least 60 study points, gives the class teacher the qualification to teach the subject also in the upper level of comprehensive school

8. Subject teacher education • Subject teachers for secondary and upper secondary schools take a master’s degree in their respective faculties or co-operating Arts Universities, with the subject of instruction as their major • The pedagogical studies (60 study points/ECTS) are taken at the Faculty of Behavioural Sciences. The pedagogical studies are specific for the subject matter domain • Subject teachers are qualified for teaching positions in all schools in their major subject • A subject teacher who has completed the multidisciplinary study module for class teachers is qualified to also teach as a class teacher

9. Special education • Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees can be completed with special education as a major subject • The Department has also a programme for special education teachers. Approximately 80 special teachers for comprehensive schools and kindergartens are educated annually at the Section • The central professional areas are early childhood education, basic education, secondary education, rehabilitation and other institutional care as well as different research and administrative tasks in school, health and social services

10. Kindergarten teacher education • The kindergarten teachers do a Bachelor’s degree in Education (3 years, 180 study points/ECTS), which gives them qualifications to work as kindergarten teachers in day care and preschool and in different tasks demanding expertise in early childhood education • The main subject is early childhood education • Kindergarten teachers who have obtained a Bachelor's degree may apply for studies leading to a Master's degree with early childhood education as the major subject. The emphasis in the Master of Education (early childhood education) degree is on planning, development, administration, leadership and research in early childhood and preschool education

11. Research • Teachers and researchers as well as postgraduate and undergraduate students take part in research, experimental activities, as well as developmental work conducted at the Department • Research-based teaching has been developed for a long time at the Department. In addition to the own Department’s teaching, the research has also focused on subject departments’ teaching as well as cross-faculty teaching • The main objective guiding the work is the aim for multidisciplinarity and interaction between different disciplines and subjects • The research centres of the Department co-operate closely with researchers from other departments of the University of Helsinki as well as other national and international universities and research centres

12. Research centres • General Education and Educational Psychology Centre for Research on Teaching (CRT) Research Centre for Educational Psychology (EP) • Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts Education Research Centre for Social Studies Education (SSE) Research Centre for Religious Education, Ethics and Philosophy Education (REPE)Research Centre for Foreign Language Education (ReFLEct) Media Education Centre (ME) Research Centre for Language and Literature Learning (LLL) Research Centre for Education, Cultures and the Arts  (ECA) • Mathematics, Science and Geography Education Research Centre for Mathematics and Science Education (MSE)  Research Centre for Biology and Geography Education (BGE) • Special Education Research Centre for Special Education (SE)Centre for Educational Assessment (CEA) • Early Childhood and Elementary Education Research Centre for Early Childhood and Elementary Education (ECEE)

13. International co-operation at the forefront • The international contacts of the Department are an important part of teaching and research. The Department is devoted to internationalisation and international networking and co-operation is a central part of the Department’s activities • The Department of Applied Sciences of Education is actively engaged in Nordic co-operation. At the moment the Department is co-ordinating one Nordplus Network and it is a partner in four other Nordplus networks • Through the Socrates-Erasmus programme of the European Union, the Department has established an extensive co-operation network. Currently, the Department has 37 Socrates-Erasmus agreements • The Department’s international contacts are, among others, also utilised in postgraduate education

14. Web sites Department of Applied Sciences of Education:www.helsinki.fi/sokla/englishFaculty of Behavioural Sciences:www.helsinki.fi/behav/englishUniversity of Helsinki:www.helsinki.fi/university