Principals from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area visited Espoo schools in March
After a long break, the seminar for principals, which was held in Dipoli on 16 and 17 March, brought 200 principals from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area together. The event began with a visit to Espoo schools on Thursday 16 March. Each participant had the opportunity to visit two schools of their choice. The themes of the school visits varied depending on the school, but many schools chose to present their arrangements regarding inclusion and weighted education, for example.
Other areas covered included participation and various annual calendars, such as a pedagogic annual calendar as a tool for planning a school year and an annual calendar for well-being.
Thursday afternoon, the participants came together to listen a presentation on the joint programme in Dipoli. Deputy Mayor Harri Rinta-Aho talked about Espoo as a city of growth and learning.
The Deputy Mayor focused on issues that are important to all municipalities in the capital region, such as the cost pressures caused by rapid internationalisation. The proportion of foreign language speakers has increased, and this should be reflected in the central government transfers to local government.
Animal assisted activities as an example of inclusive practices
Pedagogic interventions and inclusive practices to support well-being and learning were talked about by PhD and Principal of Kaitaan koulu Ritva Mickelsson along with EdD and Principal of Lintuvaaran koulu Birgit Paju. The example practices covered included sociopedagogic dog-assisted and horse-assisted activities, in which Espoo already has some experience.
The Poju pony has made friends with Espoo pupils for 15 years, providing them with experiences of success! Principal Ritva Mickelsson knows what ponies can do to promote learning. Kaitaan koulu has organised horse-assisted learning for a long time. Read more in Länsiväylä local news (in Finnish(external link, opens in a new window): More than two decades ago, Principal Ritva Mickelsson from Espoo noticed the unique educational qualities of ponies).
“Words and actions form our reality,” principals Mickelsson and Paju said in their talks. For example, focusing on the experiences is important in organising horse-assisted activities: “Studies have shown that teachers who create and enable inclusive learning environments and adopt unusual communal learning methods enable social relationships between pupils while forming pedagogic relationships with pupils.” (Mickelsson, 2023)
The programme for Thursday also included an impactful speech by Professor Arto O. Salonen: “Education than enriches experiences of meaningfulness and provides a smiling face for the future.” Salonen emphasised the school’s mission of helping people love the world and experiences of belonging.
The closing speech and summary for Thursday was provided by Director of Basic Education in Finnish Juha Nurmi.
Nurmi, too, brought up inclusion, referring to the previous talk: “It is important to consider how we can support inclusion. This requires sharing good practices, which is supported by the school visits conducted today.” Additionally, Nurmi encouraged principals to share their successes and all the wonderful activities and efforts in schools.
On Friday, the principals were addressed by Adjunct Professor of Special Education and Teacher Educator Lotta Uusitalo on the theme Building togetherness.
Do you know Espoo’s schools?
Lintulaakson koulu is a primary school with 530 pupils. Among other things, the visitors were impressed by Lintulaakso School’s amazing library and and the friendly phrases in various languages on the cafeteria chairs.
The principals also got to learn about classes that utilise an inclusion model, for example. You can also listen to a podcast episode detailing Lintulaakso School’s inclusion model (in Finnish: Tukevaa puhetta podcast: Lintulaakso School’s inclusion model, City of Espoo)
New episodes in the podcast series will be released in spring!
Do you know Espoo’s schools? We also talk about our schools on Twitter @EspooOppii(external link, opens in a new window)
