Leadership in Educational Contexts in Finland

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Raisa Ahtiainen, PhD (Ed., title of docent), is a researcher, university lecturer, and a project leader at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland, and a visiting researcher at Tallinn University, Estonia. Her background is in special needs education, and she is a qualified teacher in that area. Raisa has contributed to the establishment of the Leadership in Educational Contexts research group (LeadEd) at the faculty, and she is the coordinator of the LeadEd research seminar. Her recent publications discuss leadership group work in schools, and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic in schools and early childhood education centres.  

Eija Hanhimäki (ThD, M.A. in education) works as a university teacher in the Department of Education at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. Previously, she has worked in research, development and teaching positions in the Institute of Educational Leadership and Department of Teacher Education at the University of Jyvaskyla and Helsinki. Her publications, main research interests and projects include articles, book chapters and presentations on, for example, ethical educational leadership, adult education, career counselling and qualitative methods, especially narrative approach and case study method.  

Jaana Leinonen (D.Sc. Admin, title of docent), works as a senior lecturer of administrative sciences at the University of Lapland, Finland. Her academic work focuses on wide areas in public management such as digitalization and welfare services, citizen participation, and community partnerships and collaboration. She has experience in working and leading several research projects focused on public management, especially local government, and she has actively reported her research findings in scientific publications and forums. Recently, she has focused on studying the conditions and prerequisites of the children's and adolescents' health and wellbeing promotion in educational and local community contexts. 

Mika Risku is the Head of the Institute of Educational Leadership at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. He has been involved with the Institute from its very beginning in 1996 in various roles. The first role was as a student in the piloting core study educational leadership programme as a fresh secondary education principal. While working as a principal for fifteen years, he was also involved in the development of the Institute to extend its operations into research and development of educational leadership as well as into intermediate, master, doctoral and professional development education in educational leadership. He joined the Institute as a full-time member in 2008 and has worked as its head since 2013. His research has included various scopes on educational leadership from education policy and governance to how to develop educational leadership and educational leaders in Finland. 

Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund, PhD (Ed.), works as a university teacher in Pedagogical leadership and development at Åbo Akademi University in Vaasa, Finland and is involved in National and Nordic Educational leadership- projects. Previously she has worked as a teacher, principal, with development and national evaluation. Her area of interest is educational leadership in institutional, municipal and society contexts. 

Introduction; Raisa Ahtiainen, Eija Hanhimäki, Jaana Leinonen, Mika Risku & Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund.- Part I Context.- Educational Policy, Governance, and Leadership; Jukka Alava, Pia Kola-Torvinen & Mika Risku.- In Quest of Principalship; Petri Salo & Siv Saarukka.- Towards a Multi-form Professional Development of Educational Leadership; Eija Hanhimäki, Janni Alho, Piia Nuora, Mika Risku, Elina Fonsén, Alex Mäkiharju, Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund, Petra Autio & Saana Korva.- Service Design Thinking Method for Educational Leaders; Mari Suoheimo & Kaarina Määttä.- Part II Conceptual Approaches.- Understanding leadership in educational leadership research in Finland; Saana Korva & Pikka-Maaria Laine.- Positioning and Conceptualising Finnish Pedagogical Leadership in the International Setting; Jukka Alava, Terttu Kovalainen & Mika Risku.- The Concept of Pedagogical Leadership in Finnish Education Enhancing Global Understanding of Leading High-quality Education; Elina Fonsén & Tapio Lahtero.- Pedagogical Dimensions of Curriculum Leadership - a Non-affirmative Approach; Michael Uljens.- Part III Leadership Profession.- Moral Professionalism in the Context of Educational Leadership; Eija Hanhimäki.- Conceptions of Diversity Among Finnish Principals; Anita Jantunen, Lauri Heikonen, Raisa Ahtiainen, Elina Fonsén & Arto Kallioniemi.- Contradictions and Opportunities in Contexts of Everyday Leadership in Education; Mari Simola & Raisa Ahtiainen.- Examining Contradictions for the Development of Competencies in School Leadership; Lauri Lantela, Ville Pietiläinen & Saana Korva.- Principals' Perceptions of Their Work during the COVID-19 Pandemic; Mailis Elomaa, Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen, & Eija Pakarinen.- Part IV School Community and Collaboration.- Cultural Antecedents in Multisectoral Collaboration Promoting the Wellbeing of School-aged Children; Henna Nurmi, Jaana Leinonen, Malla Örn & Outi Ylitapio-Mäntylä.- The Leadership Group as Means for Teacher Participation and Distributing Leadership; Raisa Ahtiainen & Lauri Heikonen.- Prosociality in Shared Leadership from the Finnish Principals' Viewpoint; Takumi Yada.- Teachers as leaders? Finnish student teachers' perceptions of participation in leadership in school; Lauri Lantela, Saana Korva, Sirpa Purtilo-Nieminen & Suvi Lakkala.- Challenges and Reflections for Developing Leadership in Educational Contexts; Raisa Ahtiainen, Eija Hanhimäki, Jaana Leinonen, Mika Risku & Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund.