University of Applied Sciences and paradigm shift in education

The universities of applied sciences (amattikorkeakolou) were created in Finland in 1991, as a new system of higher education, contrasting with scientific universities (yliopisto). The core proposal of these new institutions is to do professional education as a beginning and as a continuing process in service. So while these are focused in practice, those are mainly in theory.

One important issue within this process of institution development is to critique and question the very meaning of theory and practice, as herited in tradition. Focus in practice doesn´t mean the absence of theory and focus in theory shoudn´t imply the absence or misvalueing practice. Nevertheless, scientific universities historically grew as a place for theory as "superior" knowledge (bíos theoretikós) and the new universities of applied sciences do not want to go just the opposite way - a lot of practice and no theory. This is why they are considered polytechnics institutions, ones that articulate theory and practice, although focused in practice.

Practice orientated curriculum enables and predisposes a paradigm shift in education, because practice is compromised at the first place with reality as an independent principle. The challenges of reality are almost imprevisible, as of practice. Human being develop after reality or practical challenges. In another hand, theory is extremelly necessary to deal with these problems and also is a vector of theoretical change.

Practice needs to be reconceptualized and receive adequate status in general knowledge and specificaly in Education. Approaches such as positivism and technicism did a terrible job stigmatizing practice by making it only instrumental to the labor market. So in opressed contexts the lack of theory, and with it the defense of theory by emancipatory approaches, often is attached in a strong distrust in practice as conceptual category. And as so, a concept as competence, received in Brazil in the late 90s, was strongly criticized, and not without reason, because it was quickly absorbed by industry interests, private interests. But in Finland, with such a diferent culture, society and state organization, competence is seen in another light, why not even in an emancipatory one? This topic of finnish culture I am most interested in, will write here about it, but for now it would be premature, I think.

In summary, the theme is paradigm shift in education. How to effectively optimize learning? A new paradigm in Education, in practice, would have to lead to that.

In a next post I intend to write about the role of formulation the pedagogical proposal in Project Based Learning and Competence-Based Curriculum. Also the idea that the epistemologic conception of the content directs the formulation of the pedagogical proposal.

Video - Changing education paradigms

I am very interested on the practical and theoretical parallels between university of applied science and institutes of education, science and technology (IFs) in Brazil, most of all in teacher education.