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Workers' Academy
(Työväen Akatemia) was established in 1924. It is situated in Kauniainen, a
town 16 kilometres
from Helsinki.
Workers' Academy is a residential college (folk high school) with 200 student
places. Workers' Academy has been involved in the training of several
thousand representatives of municipal administration and trade union
activists. Over 60 former students of Työväen Akatemia are or have been
members of the Finnish Parliament. Although the school is private it receives
government subsidies. There are 92 governmentally subsidised folk high
schools in Finland
which are monitored by the ministry of education. The foca of educational
activities at Workers' Academy are political, cultural, international and
language studies. The length of the long-term studies varies from six months
to one year. Most of the social and humanistic subjects are offered at
university level. Workers' Academy also organizes short-term courses on trade
union issues, international topics and in particular, intensive courses in
languages. Workers' Academy has 12 full-time tutors and more than 150
visiting lecturers.
PROGRAMMES AT WORKERS'
ACADEMY
Humanities programme
The humanities programme
focuses on liberal education. The programme emphasizes cultural history,
history, philosophy, writing and knowledge of the arts (literature, visual
art, music and theatre). In addition to these core subjects the students may
choose any other courses offered in the other programmes taught at Workers'
Academy. These subjects include: psychology, international politics,
sociology, political history and languages. The core history course is
completed by project work "Social development as portrayed by
culture". The humanities programme has of a total of 72 ECTS.
International programme
The international
programme concentrates on international relations and activities. During the
academic year 2002-03 the studies emphasize the development of democratic
civil society and the problems of human rights in former Yugoslavia.
The students have a personal study plan which may contain the following
subjects: International politics, international economics, international
justice, history, sociology and languages. During project work the students
examine the problems involved in moving from an authoritarian society towards
a democratic one. Human rights and active citizenship are central to this
process. The studies comprise 72 ECTS.
Language and culture
programme
Students of the language
and culture programme study two to three European languages and cultures.
After the programme students should be able to utilize their knowledge of
languages and cultures in their working life and in studies at universities
or polytechnics. Students can choose one major language from English, French
or German. In addition they may choose from one to two subsidiary languages
from English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish. The programme lasts four
to eight months and the studies are of 34 to 68 ECTS . The students may take
a national or international language examination at the end of the term. In
the spring term the students make a study trip to a European town.
Psychology and education
programme
The programme consists of
two different levels; core studies and complementary studies. As core studies
the programme offers two open university courses: Psychology and Education
each of 30 ECTS. The main subjects within Psychology are Developmental
Psychology, Neuro-Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Personality and Social
Psychology. Students interested in Education can choose from the following
topics: Education Research, Educational Psychology, Didactics and Sociology
of Education. The core studies are supported by complementary studies in
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).The aim of the programme is to improve the
students' learning skills and their ability to understand the connection
between theory and practice. To support this understanding the programme
contains a two-week teaching practice period in different educational
institutions such as schools and colleges. Furthermore, the programme
supports the students' personal growth through psychological tests of
self-concept and attribution styles. The study programme amounts to a total
72 ECTS.
Social Sciences programme
The Social Sciences
programme prepares students for university or polytechnic studies. Students
can make their own individual study plan and choose from different social
sciences, including: philosophy, sociology, social policy, and political
history. The programme includes a preparatory course for those who would like
to continue their studies at university. The programme is 72 ECTS.
Humanities
Polytechnic
Humanities Polytechnic is
a polytechnic formed by the cooperation of twelve different units around Finland.
Humanities Polytechnic offers three different degree programmes: Cultural
management and production, youth work and civic activities and Sign language
interpreter. The Kauniainen unit of Humanities Polytechnic offers the
cultural management and production degree programme. Humanities Polytechnic
web-site>
Open university
Students at Workers'
Academy have an opportunity to study 30 ECTS in10 different subjects at first
year university level from the open Universities of Helsinki, Turku and Jyväskylä.
Open university subjects include: Political science, Sociology, Knowledge of
the Arts, Pedagogy, Cultural history, Psychology, Communication skills, and
courses in English, German, and Swedish at university level.
Facilities
Workers' Academy is
situated 16
kilometres from Helsinki.
It functions in a well-maintained, park-like environment. The main building
is an example of the Art nouveau architecture of the early part of the 20th
century and it is surrounded by an arboretum. The building has been
modernized and the new instructional facilities and dormitory (around 120
single and double bedrooms) meet the latest standards. In addition Workers'
Academy has a large library (30 000 volumes) and computer rooms. Facilities
are also hired-out for conferences and other events including weddings. There
are a lot of opportunities for leisure time activities, with the city of Kauniainen within easy walking distance, and the city of
Helsinki
approximately 20 minutes by train. At the Workers' Academy there is a
gymnasium, tennis courts, and saunas. ´
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION
Please contact
Workers' Academy / Työväen Akatemia
Vanha Turuntie 14
FIN-02700 Kauniainen
Kari Kinnunen,
Principal:
Telephone: +358 9 5404 2419
Telefax: + 358 9 54 04 24 44
E-mail:
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INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
AND PROJECTS
Workers' Academy has
participated in several Grundtvig and Minerva projects with the following
themes: Democracy, Multiculturalism and Cultural Awareness. The college has
also received finance from the Nordic Council of Ministers for projects
concentrating on immigration and Scandinavian history. Workers' Academy has
several European adult education partners, with which the Academy has
exchange programmes and co-operates in course development. These partners
include:
Heimvolkshochschule Springe
Heimvolkshochschule Hustedt
Arbeit und Leben Hamburg,
Niedersachsen
Arbetarrörelsens folkhögskola Göteborg
Askov Højskole
European
projects
From
Competence to qualification - Projekt zur Anerkennung und Validierung
informell erworbener Kompetenzen
is an adult education project coordinated by Linz folk high school in which Workers'
Academy is one of the partners. The aim of the first year of the project was
to gather material on skills acquired outside the educational system, so as
to develop an evaluation and recognition system to be used at European level.
The certification system was divided into: social, communication and
administrative skills. Workers' Academy concentrated on the evaluation of
communication and language skills. During the second year of the project
Workers' Academy tested the developed evaluation criteria. Based on these
test results and student feedback the evaluation model was improved. During
the third year of the project Workers' Academy will concentrate on the
evaluation of inter-cultural communication competence. In addition the
academy will concentrate on the theoretical aspect of the evaluation.
Partners involved in the project:
Volkshochschule Linz,
Coordinator (Austria),
Volkshochschule Charlottenburg (Germany)
Stahlkombinat Dunaferr rt. Human Institute (Hungary).
Living with conflict
is a EU/Minerva project coordinated by the German Institut für neue Medien.
Partners involved in the
project:
Institut für neue Medien,
Coordinator (Germany),
Volkshochschuleverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e.V. (Germany),
Zentrum für Graphische Datenverarbeitung e.V. (Germany),
Nerve Center (Northern Ireland)
Agenzia Formativa Empolese Valdelsa (Italy),
Fundación LEIA C.D.T. (Spain),
Centre Académique de Formation des Formateurs (France).
Read more:www.living-with-conflict.org
Enhancing cultural awareness
is a EU/Grundtvig adult education project coordinated by Workers' Academy and
the Kauniainen and Korpilahti Units of Humanities Polytechnic. The project is
two years long and it ended in March 2003. During the project the partners
worked together to develop a common educational module to be used in cultural
education. The module enabled the partners to compare the existing tensions
caused by cultural differences in the participating countries. The pedagogic
methods used during the second year were different art education methods
which included forum theatre, event production and story telling. Partners
involved in the project:
Workers' Academy,
Coordinator (Finland),
Humanities Polytechnic, the Kauniainen and Korpilahti Units, Coordinators
(Finland),
Fachhochschule Köln (Germany),
HVHS Hustedt (Germany), Grazer Büro für Frieden (Austria)
Askov Højskole (Denmark).
Read more, from Humanities Polytechnic web-pages
>
Life-long learning
animators, LLLA
is a EU-Grundtvig
project with two years duration starting from October 2002. Workers' Academy
is participating to the project as a partner. The Project is coordinated by
Arbetarrörelsens folkhögskola i Göteborg (Folk high school) and the other
partners are Kunta-alan opisto (Municipal workers folk high school) from
Finland, Bildungs- und TagungsZentrum HVHS Springe e.V. (Folk high school)
from Germany, Federation of societies for spread of knowledge from Bulgaria,
and Comissió obrera nacional de catalunya (Adult education organization from
Spain.
The project is going to organise seminars with delegates from the trade
unions and adult education institutions in every participating country in order
to define the concept of LLLA, prepare curriculum and arrange courses to
educate LLLA.
The project is also going to educate 250 LLLA with the tasks to animate their
work colleagues to take part in the LLL. The target groups are persons with
low formal education and disabled persons. About 50% will be women.
Co-ordinating meetings will be held in each participating country and there
will also be possibilities for trainees exchanges for the teachers.
L.L.L.A.-project in the Internet
>
Nordic projects
Arbetsmarknadens
roll i invandrarnas integrationsprocess (The labour market's
role in the integration process)
Partners involved in the project:
The Ministry of Labour (Finland)
Nordic Council of Ministries
Nordiska Migrationsutskottet
Read more >
Aktiv medborgarskap (Active
citizenship)
is a Nordic Council of Ministers' FOVU project in which Workers' Academy is a
partner. It aims at developing democracy education in liberal education.
Partners involved in the project:
Sogndal Folkehögskule, Coordinator (Norway)
Ryslinge Højskole (Denmark)
Kvinnohögskolan Göteborg (Sweden)
Den nordiska samhällsutveckling avspeglad i kulturen (Social
development in Nordic countries portrayed by culture)
has been initiated by Workers' Academy after receiving financial support from
the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project uses literature, film and
theatre to illustrate post world war two history.
Partners involved in the
project:
Arbetarrörelsens Folkhögskola i Göteborg (Sweden),
Ärø Folkehöjskole (Denmark).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Please contact
Workers' Academy / Työväen Akatemia
Vanha Turuntie 14
FIN-02700 Kauniainen
Kari Kinnunen,
Principal:
Telephone: +358 9 5404 2419
Telefax: + 358 9 54 04 24 44
E-mail:
Sähköpostiosoite on suojattu roskapostiohjelmia vastaan, Javascript-tuen tulee olla päällä nähdäksesi osoitteen
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