11.12.2024
Doctoral thesis on representations of minorities and indigenous Sámi people in history education in Finland
M.Soc.Sc. Tanja Kohvakka’s doctoral thesis in Developmental Psychology will be put forth for public defence at The Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies at Åbo Akademi University.
The thesis is entitled The Inclusion of Minorities and the Sámi People in History Education in Finland.
The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on Wednesday 18 December 2024 at 1PM in Akademisalen, Academill, Rantakatu 2, Vaasa. You can also follow the defence online. Associate Professor Katharine Burn, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, will serve as opponent and Associate Professor Emmanuel Acquah, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.
Summary
In her dissertation, Tanja Kohvakka examines representations of minorities and indigenous Sámi people in history education in Finland. The study examines how the actors involved in history education enable or undermine the inclusion of minorities and Sámi history in education. The motivation for examining this topic has been inspired by the message from civil society and human rights activists that society’s weak knowledge of different minorities and Sámi maintained prejudices and discriminatory practices in Finland.
Kohvakka’s research material consists of the national curriculum for basic education, history textbooks and interviews with history teachers. The study sheds light on the current state of history teaching and highlights various proposals for development. According to the research results, representations of minorities and the Sámi depend on many variables. The curriculum provides good opportunities for a multicultural approach to history teaching, but it does not directly require it. In general, minorities and the Sámi are given little space in history textbooks, but there are significant differences between textbook series. In this environment created by the curriculum and textbooks, the personal practices of history teachers have a great influence. This study shows that history teachers are motivated to teach about minorities and the Sámi, but that lack of time and support is a limiting factor. The study suggests that a systematic change that takes into account the whole preparation and implementation of history teaching would contribute to increasing the representation of minorities and the Sámi.
Tanja Kohvakka can be reached by email tanja.kohvakka@abo.fi.
The doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.
Click here for a press photo of the doctoral student.
Instructions for following the doctoral defence remotely:
To follow the defence, you need the Zoom software or the Google Chrome browser. You do not need to create a Zoom account to follow the defence. If you install the application, you participate by clicking on the meeting link, after which you should allow the link to open in the Zoom app.