On Friday 3rd September 2021 (13.00-14.30 UK / 14.00-15.30 Sweden / 15.00-16.30 Finland) we hosted Dr Ashley Simpson of the University of Edinburgh.
The workshop was aimed at teachers, school staff and others who work with migrant pupils, researchers, and practitioners. There was a focus on engaging in reflexive practices in order to problematise current research and teaching practices on migrant education.
Migrant education lessons with Finland: Opportunities, challenges and ways forward?
Abstract
This session comprised of two different components. The first part focused on conceptualizing and reflecting on intercultural education within Finland and beyond. Specifically, Dr Simpson problematised their own research and disseminated the findings of the Erasmus + project ‘Education of International Newly Arrived migrant pupils’ which included two secondary school project partners from Helsinki, Finland. Dr Simpson discussed the Erasmus + project outputs which included the production of the Finland country report on migrant education. The second part of the session focused on workshop activities for teachers and researchers. The session explored practical tools and strategies for teachers and researchers to reflect on their own experiences and practices relating to migrant education. The workshop session also explored the ‘Helsinki reflexive tool’ which is a tool developed for teachers of newly arrived migrant pupils by the University of Helsinki.
You can view a copy of the presentation here: Migrant education lessons with Finland and the Reflexive tool here.
Dr Ashley Simpson’s bio
Dr Ashley Simpson is a Lecturer in Language Education at University of Edinburgh and is currently the Programme Director of MSc Language and Intercultural Communication. Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh Dr Simpson worked at University of Helsinki in Finland as a visiting researcher at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and previously completed his PhD at the University of Helsinki. Whilst conducting his PhD Dr Simpson worked as a researcher on the Erasmus + project ‘Education of International Newly Arrived migrant pupils’ which brought together the contexts of Ghent (Belgium), Helsinki (Finland), and Rotterdam and Utrecht (The Netherlands). Dr Simpson specializes in Intercultural Education and has published extensively in the field he is also the co-editor of International Journal of Bias, Identity and Diversities in Education.