Projects
About
Pedagogy of Concrete Utopias: Fostering Youth Agency and Climate Activism in Formal Education
This research project aims to design and research pedagogical approaches for responding to youth’s anguish about climate change and for supporting the development of youth’s active citizenship and activism for sustainable futures. The project also examines the development of youth agency and its preconditions. The project is implemented in collaboration with teachers, civil society organizations and young climate activists.
The project poses four objectives:
1) Examine the pedagogical potential of the concept of concrete utopia to support diverse youth in envisioning alternative futures and enacting them in the present.
2) Develop a pedagogical model for fostering youth agency and climate activism based on the concept of concrete utopias. Examine the feasibility and achievability of the model in formal education settings
3) Generate empirical research knowledge about students’ learning and agency development through their engagement in envisioning and building concrete utopias
4).Advance empirically-grounded understanding of the ethical and political dimensions of learning, agency, and pedagogy
To address these objectives, the project builds on methodology of social design experiments as well as ethnographic and video-based research methods.
- Principal Investigator: Antti Rajala (PI)
- Project duration: 2020-2023
- Funders: Academy of Finland, Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation
- Partners: Lempäälä Upper Secondary School, Joutseno College, Otaniemi Upper Secondary School, Parola Upper Secondary School, Ruusuvuori school, Tikkurila Upper Secondary School, Kudelma-network, FEE Finland, Fingo
- Advisory Group: Moises Esteban-Guitart (University of Girona), Kris Gutiérrez (University of California Berkeley), Alfredo Jornet (University of Oslo), Anna Stetsenko (City University of New York)
Utopia-laboratory in education: Fostering community-based and inter-generational learning for sustainability
The project asks, how can municipalities promote community-based and inter-generational learning and civic engagement among youth and adults in the current societal situation in which humanity is exceeding planetary boundaries. The research project brings to the discussion the concept of concrete utopia, which refers to bold initatives and experiments to promote alternative and sustainable way of life in schools and in the broader society.
The project has the following aims:
1) co- and redesign alternative school and community infrastructures that support the envisioning and enacting of concrete utopias in education.
2) advance theoretical and empirical understanding of inter-generational learning that is involved in building socially and ecologically sustainable futures in municipalities.
3) advance empirically-grounded understanding of the ethical and political dimensions of learning and agency
4) Co-create with students and practitioners a ground-up sustainable and scalable model for expanding, sustaining and connecting the work done in the schools
- Principal Investigator: Antti Rajala (PI)
- Project duration: 2022-2027
- Funder: University of Eastern Finland
- Advisory Group: Moises Esteban-Guitart (University of Girona), , Alfredo Jornet (University of Oslo), Annalisa Sannino (Tampere University), Tania Zittoun (University of Neuchâtel)
Global Responsibility to Act Sustainably as Students
The project takes a critical perspective on how students form values relating to internationalisation. Focussing on participatory approaches, it will identify what competencies are needed for global responsibility, how students’ agency manifests and whether non-Western and non-anthropocentric approaches can help to reimagine global responsibility & sustainability in higher education.
- Principal Investigators: Elina Lehtomäki (PI), Antti Rajala (Co-PI), Katri Jokikokko (Co-PI)
- Project duration: 2022-2025
- Funder: Eudaimonia institute (University of Oulu)
Transformer 2030 – Future makers
IN-SERVICE TEACHER TRAINING PROJECT
Transformer 2030 – Future makers project promoted teachers’ content-based and pedagogical expertise on the topics of sustainable futures and ways of life as well as global education. The project continued the project Transformer 2030 – Teachers as Change Agents for Sustainable Futures.
- Project leadership and coordination: Fingo
- Project duration: 2020-2021
- Funder: National Board of Education
Transformer 2030 – Sustainability Experts
IN-SERVICE TEACHER TRAINING PROJECT
The project promotes teachers’ content-based and pedagogical expertise around several thematic areas regarding sustainable ways of living and global education. The project emphasizes a systemic and cultural-ecological approach to sustainability. Additional emphasis is on eco-social bildung and the meaning of values for responsible engagement.
- Project leadership and coordination: Fingo
- Project duration: 2022-2023
- Funder: National Board of Education
Frontrunners of Global Bildung
Developmental project
The project examined the roles of bildung and education for sustainable and globally just futures. The aim was to strengthen the networks and peer learning of experts of bildung, education and NGOs. The aim was also to foster skills to promote learning aligning with the UN Agenda 2030 sub goal 4.7. At the same time, the project strived to recognize and disseminate inspiring ways of motivating people in global responsibility and civic engagement.
- Project leadership and coordination: Fingo
- Project duration: 2021-2022
- Funder: Sitra