I study how education can build a sustainable and hopeful future
The series Research in the Spotlight allows researchers from Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius to discuss their current research activities.
Minna Maunumäki, PhD (Educ.), is a university teacher of education, adult education and early childhood education at the JYU Open University and at Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius in an adult education for class teachers.
Education as a source of sustainability and hope
People have always had a need to control the world and use it as a means to advance their own ambitions. Increasingly complex crises call for a review of teaching, learning and education from the viewpoints of ecological, economic and social sustainability. It is therefore important to stop and consider the essential roles and responsibilities of teaching and learning – taking into account both the meaning of education and the limited resources of our planet.
The aim in my research is to outline how education can contribute to sustainability and hope at the level of individuals and societies. An inclusive education system treating everybody as equals lays a foundation for a setting where everybody can find their place in this world and can participate in its democratic and civic development from their own starting points.
Research cooperation in Finland and Namibia
My research results pertain, in particular, to the development of teaching, student learning and counselling. For example, in our research cooperation between Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius, the University of Turku and the University of Namibia, we have investigated Finnish and Namibian student teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development and the teaching methods that support it. An aim in such research is to enhance future teachers’ competence in sustainability issues, which they can then disseminate to their own students. At the same time, the benefits of research can be geographically wide ranging and locally effective.
My research seeks, above all, to explore education, teaching and learning from multiple perspectives, considering students’ starting points as well as societal needs for competence. From an individual’s point of view, this is primarily a question of balance between educational attainment, work and family life. From the viewpoint of society, it is important to provide high-quality education for the needs of working life.
Research is about learning together, not lonely, difficult work
Does a researcher’s work consist of just sitting at your computer all alone, processing text? Absolutely not! Our work requires extensive cooperation with a range of actors and other researchers, a strong foundation in research knowledge, and the courage to try new things. Research means, above all, experimenting, learning together and meeting new people.
