RA4: Fostering competences of teachers and educational leaders in learning communities

The aim is to analyze education of teachers and principals, as well as continuous learning to gain solutions for the future challenges on the following topics:

(1) The effectiveness of existing pre- and in-service teachers' and principals' programs and pedagogy in fostering competence development and professional learning that supports diverse learners, creates optimal learning moments for realizing learning potential among all learners, and builds students' engagement and belonging.

(2) Approaches which allow principals and teachers to structure their work to promote their own and the work community's work engagement, foster agentic action, which is transformative in nature, facilitate and support recovery and reduce the risk of burnout and intention to leave the profession.

(3) Practices which engage teachers and principals in the co-creation of learning environments and pedagogy which takes into consideration learner variability and especially the use of technology-enhanced learning contexts, including Al and VR, to support personalized learning.

Research Area 4 is led by Prof. Anna-Maija Poikkeus (University of Jyväskylä), Prof. Jari Lavonen (University of Helsinki) and Prof. Mirja Tarnanen (University of Jyväskylä).