For teacher Mari Hakanen at the Rantakylä Teacher Training School, the success of her pupils and smooth interaction with them is an important motivator.
The Rantakylä Teacher Training School, which is one of the two teacher training schools of the University of Eastern Finland, began operating in 2018. Back then, the university’s activities on the Savonlinna Campus were shut down and transferred to Joensuu. For this purpose, a second teacher training school was needed in the city, and construction began in the Rantakylä part of town. Everything about the new school was designed and built from scratch, including the body of teachers.
One of the teachers who started in the new school is Mari Hakanen, an untenured teacher in biology and geography. She had previously worked in other schools in the city and was a little hesitant about applying for a job in a teacher training school.
“However, almost immediately after I started, I realised how cool it is to work in a teacher training school,” she says, laughing.
The construction of the new school was not completed by the start of the school year, so teachers and pupils had to start their first year in temporary facilities in Sirkkala.
“Those were pretty hectic days. It took a huge amount of time to plan everything and to get to know everybody – after all, we teachers didn’t know the pupils, nor one another. Adding to that the temporary facilities, we really had some exceptional things to tackle in our first autumn.”
Someone once told Hakanen that it takes three years to set up a new school and to establish new practices for it.
“That turned out to be very true. Of course, we also had to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, which disrupted our good start. For example, we had to put our newly decided and created traditions on hold. Now, the foundations for our work are pretty much laid, and there is a new sense of calmness to the things we do.”
An encouraging and inspiring atmosphere
The new school has intentionally recruited teachers with a positive attitude towards change; after all, research, experimentation and development constitute a basic task assigned to the teacher training school. According to Hakanen, the teachers’ attitude is reflected in an open and supportive school atmosphere.
“In our school, it is okay to learn from mistakes: people are open-minded about experimenting and there are no pressures for success. That kind of an atmosphere encourages action and brainstorming for new ideas.”
In addition, helping colleagues is part of the school’s culture. There are no stupid questions and no fear of embarrassment.
“And someone’s always eager to help if needed.”
Great pupils give motivation
During our interview, Hakanen says, on several occasions, how great the young people she gets to work with are.
“For me, the number one motivator is definitely the success of my pupils and smooth interaction with them.”
The Rantakylä area is home to many people with immigrant origins, and the school’s pupils have very diverse socio-economic backgrounds. According to Hakanen, there is a need for plenty of support, but fortunately, there are also appropriate resources to provide it.
“We also get constant, and perhaps even a bit surprised, feedback on how well-behaved and fine young people our pupils are.”
Lately, the pupils and teachers have been able to break away from routines by going on various Erasmus-funded excursions, which have also led to co-teaching projects across national borders.
“Together with a fellow teacher in the Netherlands, for example, I’ve designed a course called A Plastic Bottle Project, which will be implemented early next year. The course examines the product’s life cycle, materials, recycling and reuse. In addition, the pupils get to work in small international teams providing a natural setting for language and cultural exchange, and for new kind of learning.”
eTwinning, a joint online project between European schools, has also led to collaborative initiatives in which student teachers, too, get to participate.
“Thanks to a joint seminar, young teachers had a chance to meet their counterparts in other countries, allowing them to design a joint teaching session, among other things.”
Diversity of the work motivates
The everyday life of a teacher working in a teacher training school involves, besides teaching, supervising student teachers, possibly conducting research, as well as engaging in the aforementioned development and experimentation activities. Hakanen says that they take up a lot more time than working in a municipal school, where work didn’t follow a teacher home. Now, the idea of working hours is different.
“All in all, this is very rewarding and diverse work. And what’s great is that we are constantly dealing with the latest research findings, allowing us to make use of them in our work.”
Collaboration with the university is also constantly present, and new openings are planned with the School of Educational Science and Teacher Education in particular. Many teachers are also conducting research in the teacher training school.
“I’ll never get tired of hosting new student teachers, as working with them allows us to learn new things, and vice versa. Supervising future teachers is a constant motivation and enrichment to my own work, too.”
Mari Hakanen is one of the 25 full-time untenured teachers working at the University of Eastern Finland. (Situation in September 2022.)
