NIS International Research-to-Practice Conference

Inspirational Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Pasi Sahlberg

Pasi Sahlberg is Finnish educator, author and scholar.

Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator, author, and scholar. He has worked as schoolteacher, teacher educator, researcher, and policy advisor in Finland and has studied education systems and reforms around the world. He has published widely about these topics, his book “Finnish Lessons 2.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland” won the 2013 Grawemeyer Award. He is also a recipient of 2012 Education Award in Finland, 2014 Robert Owen Award in Scotland, 2016 Lego Prize, and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Resident Fellowship in 2017. He is a former director general at the Finland’s Ministry of Education and a visiting Professor of Practice at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. He chairs the Open Society Foundations’ Education Board and is a member of the Governing Board of the University of Oulu. His recent books are “Empowered Educators in Finland” (2017) and “FinnishED Leadership: Four Big, Inexpensive Ideas to Transform Education” (2018). Twitter: @pasi_sahlberg.

IX NIS International Research-to-Practice Conference, 26-27 October 2017: Keynote Speech

Global Educational Reform Movement (GERM) and the future of public education

Since the mid-2000s educators around the world have been asking what makes some education systems perform better than others, and why some countries seem to be stuck in mediocrity. There are numerous theories of change and related programs to betterment of education. Some of them have proved to be successful while some of them have not. Education systems equity, students’ wellbeing and engagement have become some of the key pointers in targeting policies for the future of schooling. In this presentation I explore some myths and present a set of research-based facts for creating better education for all children tomorrow. These include, among other examples, most recent characteristics of Finland’s educational culture and how they resonate with policies and practices in other high-performing education systems. Conclusion of this presentation sets an alternative agenda for public education that assumes that change must include organisations, collectives and institutions that matter – one school or student at the time approach should not be part of future agendas.