Teachers' life

Teachers' life
About the project

Biographical teacher research was first introduced in the University of Oulu by professor Leena Syrjälä in the late 1980s. The biographical approach was at first applied in student assignments, but the collection of teacher biographies was later launched on a larger scale. Some material was obtained from the archives of Finnish Literary Society, some was elicited by newspaper advertisement and some was recorded in interviews. More than 100 teacher biographies have been available for research.

The purpose of the research project is to make audible teachers’ personal voices rather than to carry out mere objective research. This means that the storytellers are not objects of research, but co-researchers. Their stories are viewed against their societal and historical background. The aim has been to see how the changes in society and the school institution and the consequent pressures and demands on teachers are reflected in teachers’ narratives. The research team introduced the narrative approach into Finnish teacher research and, hence, into educational research more generally

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