The conference “Education, Equity and Inclusion: Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable North” discussed teaching and learning through various perspectives and experiences with the aim of creating a more sustainable North.
The conferences opening speech was given by Arja Rautio, Vice-President Research from the University of the Arctic. Rautio introduced the important work of University of the Arctic and its different networks.
Following to Rautio’s opening talk, was time for a keynote speech by Professor Kirk Anderson (Memorial University of Newfoundland). Anderson’s keynote was titled “Learning from and Leading change in indigenous and northern education - transition risks”. Anderson outlined his personal and professional journey as an Indigenous person and leadership scholar engaged in the process of reframing Indigenous research and programs.
After the speeches the day continued with two parallel sessions focusing on a project EICN's book project where the book authors shortly introduced their topic of research and chapter. Theme 1 was “Supporting Teachers for Diversity and Inclusion in the Classroom including consideration of language and identity issues” and Theme 2 was “Engendering community solutions to structural and geographical challenges in education in the circumpolar north”. The sessions included, in addition to brief presentations, discussion between researchers and participants. The discussion focused on topics like embracing linguistic diversity, language policies in multilingual contexts and how to deliver inclusive and effective pedagogical approaches in multi-age classrooms.
The conference concluded in panel discussion about the conference’s main topics and themes. The panelists were: Professor and Dean Tuija Turunen from University of Lapland (Chair), Professor Kirk Anderson from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Reader Mhairi Beaton from Leeds Beckett University, Professor Diane Hirshberg from University of Alaska Anchorage, Associate professor Gregor Maxwell from UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and Arja Rautio, Professor at University of Oulu and Vice-president Research of UArctic. The panel discussion included questions from the audience and rich discussion about the themes of the conference e.g. educational challenges in North and rural areas and digitalisation in education
The keynote and panel discussion were recorded, and the recordings are now available in Resource Centre, and on YouTube channel: Panel discussion and Keynote
The online conference was organised by UArctic Thematic Network Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity. The conference was a joint activity of three projects: Arctic Pedagogy in Teacher Education (ApedEDU), Transformative Teacher Education for the Sustainable North (TTE) and Enhancing Equity and Inclusion in Education in Circumpolar North (EICN).