OSCE Mission supports Finland study visit for BiH history educators
SARAJEVO, 22 September 2011 – The Committee for the Reform of History Teaching in Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded today a five-day study visit supported by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina to education institutions and organizations in Finland.
The visit took place ahead of the Committee’s work to develop new curriculum and teaching standards for primary schools across BiH. The partnerships established in Finland will contribute to international professional co-operation to support educational reforms in the country.
“One of the key factors for the successful education model in Finland is the fact that our teacher education puts emphasis on guiding pupils to learn, instead of just dispensing knowledge. Teaching is one of the most desired professions among young adults in Finland and they are regarded as educators, rather than teachers,” said Kari Pitkanen, Director of Education at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
The Committee, which included representatives of BiH state, entity, cantonal and district education authorities, pedagogical and history experts, textbook authors, reviewers, teachers and university professors, met representatives of Finnish education institutions and visited teacher training schools and universities. They discussed further reforms of history teaching in BiH, and will use the first-hand experience gained during the visit to develop standards for the teaching of history in BiH.
“The Mission has supported representatives of the education authorities in BiH to discover and learn why the Finnish education model is one of the most successful in the world, so that they could apply some of their good models in developing history learning standards in BiH,” said Aleksandra Krstovic, Programme Advisor for Education at the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The visit was supported by host country Finland and the Governments of Austria, France, Switzerland and Hungary as well as the Open Society Fund BiH.