Browsing by Author "Ilmonen, Juulia"

We are all affected by global events on a daily basis. Current examples include the COVID-19- pandemic and the war in Ukraine, with both having had a wide impact on the world. Coopera- tion between nations has been more crucial than ever on the global level. Global education promotes upbringing of children and young people into active and responsible global citizens working for human rights, equality, and justice. The foundation for global education is built on National core curriculum for basic education 2014 and can be implemented using various meth- ods. Implementation of global education is conditioned by many different factors. The aim of my research was to investigate how global education is implemented in basic education and what factors influence the implementation of global education for classroom teachers. The thesis was conducted as a qualitative study. The interviews were conducted with five classroom teachers, four of which had worked abroad and one teacher who had worked only in Finland. The data was collected by semi-structured thematic interviews and collected data was analyzed by using data driven content analysis. Based on the results of the interviews, almost all teachers felt that today’s world emphasizes the need for global education. All interviewees felt that the implementation of global education belongs mainly to homes and schools. Teachers who worked abroad at some point in their careers, felt that the implementation of global education had become more concrete during their careers. The differences in the implementation of global education for the interviewees were that teachers who worked abroad implemented global education as part of everyday life and used discussion as a method of teaching. Working abroad can be seen to have influenced teachers’ approach to global education, with an emphasis on continuity and deeper under- standing of it. Those currently working as teachers in Finland utilized the services of the third sector as well as various materials to support the implementation of global education. Looking at the factors influencing the implementation of global education, almost all teachers shared the idea that teachers’ backgrounds and students are influential. The teacher who worked in Finland highlighted the impact of resources on the implementation of global education.