Our shared journey with University Lecturer Piia Parviainen began with a partnership project in Saudi Arabia where Piia performed the duties of an expert of early childhood education. Several years of collaboration resulted in recommendations for a pedagogically high-quality learning environment and a curriculum that applied Finnish pedagogic principles, while lending itself well to the Saudi culture.
When we founded an international school with a Finnish-style curriculum in Doha, Qatar in 2014, Piia was its first vice-principal. Her workdays in her new home country were filled with creating the school’s operating principles, compiling its curriculum, making student assessments, developing student selection and student welfare services and supporting the teachers.
“In many ways, the work of a vice-principal consisted of doing lots of new things because we were creating an international school that utilised the principles of Finnish pedagogy from scratch. For example, when we needed assessment forms and forms for absent students, we created them ourselves.”
This international posting taught Piia the importance of constructive interaction and supportive managerial work in the everyday routines of a school. The experience also illustrated the significant role confidential collaboration plays in Finnish educational and training know-how.
After returning home from Qatar, Piia went back to her job as a university lecturer at the University of Jyväskylä’s Faculty of Education. Internationality is an obvious part of her work, as her students are future education professionals from all over the world, seeking to learn about Finnish pedagogy and teaching methods.
“When I returned from Qatar I was a different person professionally. I understand what teachers and leaders from different cultures are going through because I have seen and experienced something similar myself. The most exhilarating part about my current job is to see how my international colleagues are inspired by the Finnish way of teaching and encountering students. When professionals take what they have learned here and apply it to everyday life in their kindergartens and schools, I know the effects of my work are far-reaching.”
