In 2014, the Finnish National Board of Education launched a new core curriculum with the aim of meeting the skills and competence requirements of the 21st century. The purpose of this case study was to find out what transversal competencies Finnish eighth graders developed and how they experienced studying in a problem‐based transdisciplinary course, which was arranged for the transitional stage between the former and the new curriculum. The qualitative data consisted of questionnaires and interviews. The analysis followed the methods of qualitative content analysis. When asked about their learning, the students commented on not having learnt much, referring to the discipline‐based knowledge. Instead, they had learnt skills through teamwork, problem solving, and expression of their views and opinions, an aspect that they did not clearly connect with the things to be learnt at school. Many students felt that they acquired the competencies that they would need later in their lives. The students’ teamwork had a crucial impact on their learning experience. The timeframe for the integrative approach needs careful consideration; the learning process in this course was perceived as being successful because it was long enough. Our study highlights that focusing on students’ views is critical when reforming curriculum.

This paper explores relationships between crafts, craft education and cultural heritage as reflected in the individual experiences and collective values of fifteen female university students of different nationalities. The students (all trainee teachers) were following a course in crafts and craft education as part of an International Study Programme in Finland. Data were collected from a small group activity and individual autobiographical essays. The essays were analysed qualitatively using Atlas-ti. Key statements were consolidated under three headings: personal values and meanings placed on crafts; cultural, community and family influences; and crafts at school. The outcomes of the group activity and the essays are discussed under these headings. Concluding perspectives are offered on: intellectual foundations for crafts in educational systems; competition between beliefs, ideas, and forms of behaviour in respect of the practice of crafts and perceptions of cultural heritage; and tensions among the aesthetic and economic dimensions of crafts.

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engaging trainee teachers with crafts and cultural heritage abstract This article concerns perspectives on, and formative experiences of, crafts and cultural heritage reported by twenty exchange students from seven countries who studied Cultural Heritage and Craft Education in an International Study Programme at a University in Finland. The research is reported in a cultural ecological framework. Data were collected through individual and group activities concerned with students' understandings of key terms, memories evoked by undertaking craft activities, values held about crafts and cultural heritage, and accounts of craft education. Results show that engaging in craft practices evokes strong associations with people, places, artefacts, activities, feelings and sensations. Crafts are valued particularly for the way they connect with culture and the possibilities they offer for self-expression. Cultural heritage is associated with crafts but relationships between the two are not taught in schools. The significance of the research concerns the case made for connecting crafts and cultural heritage in a broader conceptualization of arts education. 22 AvAinsAnAt käsityö taidekasvatus kulttuuriperintö kulttuuriekologia monikulttuurinen kasvatus tiivistelmä Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan kansainvälisten vaihto-opiskelijoiden (N=20) kokemuksia ja käsityksiä käsityöstä ja kulttuuriperinnöstä. Aineistoa tuotettiin kulttuuriperintöä ja käsityökasvatusta käsittelevällä opintojaksolla, joka oli osa kansainvälistä opinto-ohjelmaa Itä-Suomen yliopistossa. Tutkimus sijoittuu kulttuuriekologiseen viitekehykseen. Tutkimusaineistoa kerättiin yksilö-ja ryhmäharjoituksista, joissa tarkasteltiin opiskelijoiden ymmärrystä aiheeseen liittyvistä avainkäsitteistä, käsi-työharjoitusten herättämiä muistoja, käsityöhön ja kulttuuriperintöön liittyviä arvoja sekä opiskelijoiden kirjoittamia kokemuksia käsityökasvatuksesta. Tulokset osoittavat, että käsitöiden tekeminen herättää voimakkaita tunteita ja tuntemuksia sekä mielleyhtymiä ihmisistä, paikoista, tekemisestä ja käsityötuotteista. Käsitöitä arvostetaan erityisesti siitä syystä, että ne liittyvät kulttuuriin ja antavat mahdollisuuden itseilmaisuun. Kulttuuriperintö on oleellinen osa käsitöitä, mutta niiden välistä yhteyttä ei opeteta kouluissa riittävästi. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on liittää käsityö ja kulttuuriperintö osaksi laajempaa taidekasvatuksen käsitteellistämistä.