Research
Research
From the link below you can access the Association of Children’s Culture in Finland website and its updatable list of literature, which brings together doctoral and postdoctoral research in the field of arts education carried out in Finland. The list includes research from the early 2000s onwards. It contains studies that have a direct connection to arts education. The list is being supplemented as part of the work of the Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education, Finland
We also welcome suggestions for studies that are missing from the list. You can reach us at observatorio@aalto.fi.
Explore doctoral and postdoctoral research in arts education.
ENO yearbooks
The Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education, Finland is part of the European ENO network (The European Network of Observatories in the Field of Arts and Cultural Education), which aims to promote the sharing of research results and innovative practices in arts and cultural education, generate new research in the field and support the development of arts education in relation to education, culture and sustainable development in accordance with principles and guidelines defined by UNESCO.
The ENO yearbooks compile and analyse European research results in the field of arts and cultural education. The yearbooks collect arts and cultural education writings aligned with the theme of each volume from the network’s 14 member countries, with the aim of stimulating both academic and public debate on the topic. The first ENO yearbook, Arts and Cultural Education in a World of Diversity, was published in 2019. The second yearbook, Arts, Sustainability and Education, was published in 2021.
The ENO yearbooks can be ordered through the publisher Springer.
Research on the Finnish model for leisure activities
Press release 17 June 2024: The observatory for arts education involved in a research project on the Finnish model for leisure activities
The Finnish observatory for arts and cultural education, Finland (hereafter the Observatory) is a partner in a research project led by Risto Marttinen, an American educational scientist and associate professor. Marttinen has taught and worked as a researcher at George Mason University in the United States for several years. His research topics relate in particular to after-school physical education programmes in urban areas with poor access to services. Marttinen’s visit is made possible by the Fulbright Finland Foundation.
The research focuses on the Finnish model for leisure activities and in particular on the views of activity instructors, participants and their parents, as well as the model’s coordinators and funders, regarding how well the model works. The research project will be planned in autumn 2024 and implemented in spring 2025 in collaboration with the Observatory, which is based at the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Research Institute, the University of Jyväskylä, and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The aim of the Finnish model for leisure activities is to enable every child and young person to have a pleasant and free hobby as part of the school day. The hobby offering is chosen according to the wishes of children and young people. In the 2023–2024 academic year, activities are organised in 262 municipalities. It was funded with 17 million euros (Ministry of Education and Culture).
The Observatory has followed and commented on the piloting and implementation of the model since its design phase. Recently, among other activities, the Observatory has launched, together with the Ministry of Education and Culture, a training course on the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Open Campus to develop the pedagogical competence of instructors involved in the Finnish model for leisure activities, and has contributed to its implementation in 2022–2024.
The Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education, Finland is a consortium of eight organisations in the field of arts and cultural education that collects and disseminates information on arts and cultural education practices, research and policies in Finland. In addition, it strengthens the link between research and practical work and supports cooperation between actors in arts and cultural education, the operating conditions in the field and international cooperation. Currently, it includes all universities where arts education subjects can be studied as a major, as well as major organisations in the field.