A study tour of the project team members to Finland

During the project and the implementation of the project element 2: Teaching instructors − strengthening the capacity of the study program teachers, the project team members went for a study tour in Finland from 22nd to 28th May, 2016.

The aim of the study tour to Finland was to get acquainted with the way of administration and management of educational institutions at all levels of the educational system. The project team members met with the principals in their education institutions, whereupon being presented − through school visits and conversations − with direct work of the principals, their competences, the way of professional training and their further expected accomplishments in public pre-schools, primary and secondary schools. During their study tour in Finland, the project team members visited the following educational institutions in the town of Tampere:

• kindergarten Kalkunvuori (Kalkunvuori Kindergarden), principal Mrs. Kirsi Lahtinen,
• primary school Leinola (Leinola School), principal Mrs. Ulla Hiltunen,
• primary school Yli-Ii (Yli-Iin School, Oulu), principal Mr. Jukka Miettunen,
• high-school Tampere Lyseo (Tampereen Lyseon Lukio High School), principal Mrs. Heini Mäenpää,
• technical school Tredu (Tampere Vocational College Tredu), principal Mrs. Merja Laaksonen.

All the meetings in the mentioned institutions included formal conversations with the principals and teaching staff, as well as with students. During their shorter stay in Helsinki the project team members visited The association of Finnish principals whereupon the secretary of the Association Mr. Toni Lehtinen presented them with the features of the principal’s vocation in Finland.

Learning through experiences of Finnish principals, examples and insight into different components of administration and management of educational institutions, as well as analysis of models of education and a continuous professional development of the principals – all of them present the basis for various scientific analyses within the project framework aimed at identifying optimal solutions for further development of competences of principals in the Croatian educational system.

The project team members would like to express their gratitude to the principals and teaching staff with whom they had pleasant and constructive conversations, as well as to the hosts of the organization Learning Scoop conducted by Mrs. Elina Harju. The organization reported about the visit of our project team, which can be found at: http://learningscoop.fi/en/leading-learning-and-croatian-researchers-in-finland/.