English language teacher, researcher, mentor and community leader

I am doctoral researcher at the School, Education, Society and Culture (SEDUCE) program, Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki. My doctoral research project investigates how English subject pre-service teachers in Finland and Kenya learn technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) in readiness to fulfill the digitalization ethos stated in the national educational policy documents. I am a member of Foreign Language Education research group at the University of Helsinki and a participant in the Training Trainers for Teacher Education and Management in Kenya (TOTEMK) project.

My PhD research revolves around how teacher education programs can nurture student teacher professional agency in two countries: Brazil and Finland. The two study cases have different personal and environmental elements that influence student teacher professional development: curriculum coherence between theory and practice, pedagogical interactions of the learning environment, and negotiation of professional identity.

Current research on internationalization of higher education through North-South collaboration. Lead and participated in various collaboration projects with Universities from Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa and Eritrea.

Vilma Timonen, is a Lecturer of Folk Music at Sibelius Academy, Uniarts, Helsinki. Her extensive career as an educator and musician encompasses working in various fields of teacher education as well as being one of the pioneers bringing traditional Finnish folk instrument Kantele into new musical environments. As a researcher, her work focuses on intercultural collaborations. Timonen aims to contribute to more globally sensitive music teacher education, where diversity is embraced through fostering and elevating local musical traditions.

Timonen, V. (in review). Lessons from a Finnish and Nepali collaboration: Co-constructing an intercultural professional learning community in music education. Timonen, V., Juntunen M-L., Westerlund H. (in review). Colonialism or an invitation for utopian life-projects? On politics of reflexivity in Nepali and Finnish music teachers’ intercultural dialogue. In Kallio, A., Karlsen, S., Marsh, K., Saether, E., Westerlund, H. (Eds.), The Politics of Diversity in Music Education. Treacy D.S., Timonen V., Kallio A. A., Shah, I. (2019). Imagining Beyond Ends-in-view: The Ethics of Assessment as Valuation in Nepali Music Education. In D.J. Elliott, M. Silvermann & G. McPhearson (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education. Oxford University Press. Timonen, V., Houmann, A., Sether, E. (2020). The reinvented music teacher-researcher in the making: Conducting educational development through intercultural collaboration. In Westerlund, H., Karlsen, S., Partti, H. (Eds.) Visions for intercultural music teacher education. Springer.

Danielle Treacy's doctoral research aims to examine how the process of co-constructing visions with musician-teachers in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal could contribute to the development of ethically engaged music teacher education and music education research.

Professor Tuija Turunen holds a position of Dean at the Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Finland. She is a leader of the teacher education programme. Turunen holds the UArctic Chair in Education for Social Justice and Diversity and leads the UArctic and the UNESCO/UNITWIN networks on Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity. Professor Turunen is an internationally recognized expert in these fields and has given invited addresses throughout the globe both in scientific and popular arenas, e.g. UNESCO Teacher Task Force in Jamaica, Arctic Forum in Russia, IICBA in Ethiopia and various forums in Europe. She has published widely and leads several national and international projects. Professor Turunen’s current research interests focus on teacher education, indigenous education, professional development in higher education, educational transitions (especially starting school), multi-professional work in schools, and preventative school welfare work.