WEBVTT Kind: captions; Language: en

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[♫ rhythmic theme music ♫]

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In Finland, 
special education teacher studies

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are available at several universities.

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Studies prepare students to
work as experts in a variety

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of educational settings and tasks.

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A special education teachers, educational
planners, consultants and coordinators,

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teacher educators and research assistants
with children, young people, adults and

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families, within associations,
administrations and more.

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If a student wants to focus on early
education, the qualification is for a special

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needs kindergarten teacher and
studies are offered at university.

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When the interest is in school-aged
children, special needs education

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teacher studies are also
organised by universities.

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If the focus is on vocational education,
people usually study at a professional

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teacher education college in a
university of applied sciences.

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There are two special education teacher
programme alternatives in Finland.

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You may take special education
teacher studies as part of bachelor's

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and master's degree
programmes, 300 credits.

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This means that the studies
are full time, three years for

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180 credits plus two
years for 120 credits.

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The major subject is special education.

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The curriculum is equal for all
candidates, including optional studies.

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A master's degree qualifies
students for scientific postgraduate

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doctoral studies in special education.

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The other alternative is a
separate special education

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teacher diploma course, 60 credits.

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These studies are for those who already
have a teacher education background,

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including a master's or bachelor's
degree linked to education.

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The studies are organised in a
blended learning system including

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contact periods and
distance learning studies.

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The main issues in the implementation
of studies are the following: Competence

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based curriculum, emphasis on support
and pedagogy, integration of theory and

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practise, research based
teaching and personal study plan.

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To mention some contents, see a list support
in reading, writing, mathematics, ethics,

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disability studies, interaction and
communication, evidence-based support and pedagogy,

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motivation, behaviour, school
engagement and learning difficulties.

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Next, Noora Nieminen will talk about her
studies at the University of Jyväskylä.

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(Noora :) I'm Nora, I'm a
fourth-year special education

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student at the University of Jyväskylä.

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I'm now entering my master's phase and I feel
that the school has provided me with an overall

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understanding of special education and
what my job as a teacher can be like.

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Expertise and special education
appear here as a combination

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of theoretical and practical knowledge.

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The very basics of special education and
general education are quite theoretical,

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but critical thinking is definitely
encouraged, and the purpose of learning those

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theories is to be able to actually
implement them in practise.

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There are several practical training
periods throughout the programme

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as well, where we get to familiarise
ourselves with working in a classroom,

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which I actually think
is crucial in the field.

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Some things can't be learned from
books and all students are individuals

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with their own strengths and challenges.

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We test actual students for learning
difficulties in both mathematics and reading.

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We plan intervention and, in some
instances, actually carry them out.

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So, in my experience, all the research we study
is to give us tools to use with our students,

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something we can utilise in order to
find the best ways to support them.

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As a special education student,
I had the opportunity to

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choose class teacher studies as my minor.

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And this means that in the future I'll
be qualified to teach a regular class or

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special education class as well as work as
a special educator for individual students

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in need of extra support in
regular school environment.

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The class teacher studies include all your usual
school subject like arts, physical education

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and maths, and those have been
the most hands-on courses by far.

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We have learned by doing planning
assignments for students and

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bringing them into practise
by teaching our peers.

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We have also been able to include
the special education point of view

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into those assignments, which has
been extremely helpful in bringing

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those aforementioned
theories into practise.

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Not everyone chooses to take the
class teacher studies as their

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minor though, as there
are other options too.

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And I will go deeper into that as I'm
not very familiar with those options.

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The learning arrangements vary.

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There are a lot of lectures and reading
we need to do, but there are also seminars

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and demos in smaller groups where
we can participate more actively.

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Even the lectures often include
discussion, and we are encouraged to

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share our views on these topics,
and this has been the case whether

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the classes have taken
place online or on campus.

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We learn from each other, and I feel like
our existing expertise is appreciated.

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Our subject association is
Abacus and I've been a member of

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the association board
for the past two years.

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The board organises a variety of events
like sports and theatre and hangouts.

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There was even a cocktail making night
at one of our sponsor bars recently.

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The team does their best to
ensure that everyone who wants

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to be a part of the
community has that chance.

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They also attend regular meetings with
the faculty and make sure our students

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are heard and that our views are
considered in decision making.

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Our students are recognisable by their
dark green overalls with a crocodile

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patch honouring Kerttu
Kroko, our association mascot.

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There are some traditional
expectations of what student life is.

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We know students are expected to
party and goof around, and I'm sure

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some look forward to that
as they enter university.

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They won't be disappointed either, but
it's not all cheap beer and instant noodles.

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Being a part of this community as a student at
the University of Jyväskylä and more specifically

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as a special education student, it has been
so far a great experience becoming an expert

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on a topic you're passionate about is incredibly
rewarding and having a bunch of like-minded

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people around you just
make it so much better.

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 Tekstitys: Ääni Company - Sanelius 
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