EdUHK GRIFE

What if the goal of educational research wasn't just to analyze problems, but to actively transform learning environments with practitioners? In our new GRIFE Podcast episode, Dr. Annie Xinyun HU sits down with Professor Yrjö Engeström, the creator of the Change Laboratory method. They explore how to turn schools into labs for sustainable development. Key takeaways: 🔍 Why it's a "Laboratory": It’s not about control, but about creating a safe space for genuine dialogue and confronting contradictions productively. 🔄 The Bottom-Up Approach: Outcomes aren't pre-determined by researchers but are co-created with teachers, students, and parents. ➡️ The "laboratory" is a provocation: a safe space to tackle difficult, contradictory issues without suppression. ➡️ The goal is to break "self-fulfilling prophecies" and shift from a deficit view of students to understanding systemic root causes. In this series, Professor Engeström explains how this approach, rooted in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, helps break "vicious circles" and empowers entire learning communities. As Professor Engeström says, creative research should surprise us. It shouldn't just confirm what we already know. 如果教育研究的目的不只是分析問題，而是與實踐者共同積極改造學習環境，將會如何？ 在我們最新的GRIFE Podcast中，胡馨允博士與「Change Laboratory」方法的創始人Yrjö Engeström教授展開對談。他們共同探索如何將學校轉變為促進可持續發展的實驗室。 本集亮點： 🔍 為何稱作「實驗室」： 重點不在控制變因，而在營造一個安全的空間，進行真誠對話，並有效面對矛盾。 🔄 由下而上的路徑： 研究成果並非由研究者預先設定，而是與教師、學生和家長共同創造。 ➡️ 「實驗室」作為一種啟發： 它是一個安全的空間，旨在無須壓抑地處理困難且矛盾的問題。 ➡️ 核心目標： 打破「自我應驗的預言」，從關注學生缺陷的視角，轉向理解系統性的根本原因。 在本系列中，Engeström教授將解釋這種植根於「Cultural-Historical Activity Theory」的方法，如何幫助打破惡性循環，並賦權整個學習社群。 正如Engeström教授所言，具創造性的研究應該要能帶給我們驚喜，而不僅僅是證實我們已知的事物。 --Hosting provided by SoundOn

In this episode of the Global Research Institute for Finnish Education (GRIFE) podcast, hosted at The Education University of Hong Kong, Professor Yuzhuo Cai talks with world-renowned Finnish educator and scholar Professor Pasi Sahlberg to explore the lessons global education systems can learn from Finland’s success. Professor Sahlberg discusses the core values underpinning Finland’s equitable and high-performing system, which are collaboration, democracy, and individual agency,and why these principles resist easy export. He reflects on how Finland itself learned critically from other nations, avoiding shortcuts like standardized testing, and emphasizes that real educational transformation requires deep contextual learning, not imitation. The conversation also turns to global challenges in education, from declining student engagement to the urgent need for a new paradigm that prioritizes student voice and agency. Professor Sahlberg offers advice to GRIFE on bridging research and policy, urging innovative communication to reach busy leaders and even suggests featuring students in future podcasts to center their perspectives. For educators, policymakers, and anyone invested in reimagining schools and universities, this episode is a compelling call to rethink what meaningful educational change looks like and why it must be rooted in culture, evidence, and the voices of learners themselves. Listen now for insights that challenge assumptions—and inspire new ways to transform education. Follow GRIFE for more conversations at the intersection of research, policy, and innovation. #FinnishEducation #EducationReform #PolicyLearning #StudentAgency #GRIFE #EdUHK --Hosting provided by SoundOn