28.8.2019
Åbo Akademi University will launch an international Master’s Programme in Education providing students with a Finnish teacher qualification
Next autumn, Åbo Akademi University will launch a new international Master’s Programme in Education within the Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies in Vaasa. The two-year Master’s Degree Programme in Teaching and Learning is comprised of 120 credits and will provide the students with a Finnish teacher qualification.
– The teacher qualification offered through the new degree programme is comparable to the general pedagogical studies for subject teachers or teachers in the vocational education sector, explains Fritjof Sahlström, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies.
In fact, Åbo Akademi University is the first university to offer foreign students an opportunity to gain the Finnish teacher qualification as part of a two-year Master’s Programme.
– In Finland, there are several Master’s Programmes in Education given in English, but our programme is unique in offering the teacher qualification as well, says Sahlström.
Some 20 students will be admitted to the new programme.
Emmanuel Acquah, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, is in charge of the planning of the new programme. According to him, the Finnish teacher qualification is considered an asset abroad.
– Finland is a global leader in the field of education, especially as regards the education of children and the youth. This is partly attributable to our high-standard teacher training programmes. Why not share our valuable knowledge and competence with others? says Acquah.
Fritjof Sahlström points out that the Finnish teacher qualification does not automatically entail the right to teach at schools in Finland. In order to teach at a school, the teacher must show proven proficiency comparable to native language skills in the language used for teaching in that particular school.
– The new Master’s Programme may, in the future, enhance diversity among teachers in Finnish schools, but the language proficiency requirements will remain.
Emmanuel Acquah explains that the primary aim is to attract applicants interested in the Finnish educational system and to encourage them to take it back to their home countries.
– They will be able to take with them research-based knowledge of teaching and learning. In addition to getting an insight of the world’s best educational system and networking with Finnish and international colleagues, they will also gain a Finnish teacher qualification.
– Future students will also contribute to enhanced diversity and internationality at our Faculty, which is one of our aims. They will not only get, but also give, says Acquah.
For more information, please contact:
Fritjof Sahlström
Dean of the Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, Åbo Akademi University
+358 50 324 7515
fritjof.sahlstrom@abo.fi
Emmanuel Acquah
Assistant Professor
+358 50 411 2220
emmanuel.acquah@abo.fi
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