Gifted students in inclusive education: A Finnish Perspective – Keynote Recording and Group Discussion

Presentation of abstract

Finland is known as an exemplar country in education with high students’ achievement in PISA studies and good teacher education. Inclusive education, curriculum integration, and digital learning are examples of current innovations in Finnish education. The Finnish educational system is built on inclusion, equality, and equity. Teachers have great freedom in schools to develop the curriculum for their students and use different teaching methods in their teaching. In this talk I will discuss how gifted students are recognized in Finnish inclusive education.  I will give some examples how differentiation of education has been used in Finnish elementary and secondary education to provide challenges for gifted students. I will also discuss the issues related to non-native gifted students and to those gifted students who can’t cope in inclusive education and need other educational options. The ethical nature of education is emphasized with the goal to develop transformational giftedness among gifted students and help them to combine excellence and ethics in their lives.

Keynote Recording and Group Discussion

In the first half of this session, a pre-recorded keynote presentation by Professor Kirsi Tirri will be shown in a small-group film viewing space. In the second half of the session attendees are invited to engage in rich discussion of the video and of issues arising from the keynote. So that as many people as possible can view this keynote, the presentation is timetabled three times (sessions 2, 4 and 5).

Discussion facilitator/chairs: 

• Session 2D: Taina Makkonen, University of Helsinki, Finland
• Session 4I: Sonja Laine, University of Helsinki, Finland
• Session 5H: Valerie Margrain, Karlstad University, Sweden

About professor Kirsi Tirri

University of Helsinki, Finland and a Visiting Professor at St. John’s University, New York, USA.

Prof Tirri has an extensive publication record with around 300 research publications and over 30 doctoral students. Tirri has been the President of ECHA (European Council for High Ability) for the years 2008-2012, the President of the SIG International Studies at AERA (American Educational Research Association) for the years 2010-2013 and the President of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters for the years 2016-2017. She was a Research Director at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies for the years 2017-2019. She will present on the topic of gifted students in inclusive education.