Mission - The practice of educational research that
 

• Is original and of high standard internationally
• Is socially relevant
• Strengthens wellbeing and develops knowhow for sustainable development, especially in Northern Finland
• Offers a foundation for the education of experts in the field of education, with a special interest in teacher education.

The practice of multidisciplinary cooperation that seeks to develop educational expertise at local, national and international levels.

Aims - By 2020, the Faculty will
 

• Be a nationally and internationally acclaimed agent through a unique research programme, and will have secured the infrastructure needed for reaching this goal
• Have further developed research-based approaches in high-quality teacher education and multidisciplinary master’s programmes
• Have research-based teacher education as a significant part and strength of the University of Oulu research strategy
• Be a central agent in the University of Oulu Graduate School, providing it with  research methodology expertise in the area of social interaction competence.

Research Themes

Research carried out in the Faculty is multidisciplinary, and it has both areas of strength that have already gained recognition, as well as new, promising areas of possibility. The Faculty research themes have been defined through both the research strategy of the University and research assessments in the Faculty. These research themes construct the core of the University development area of Research-Based Teacher Education, and they simultaneously also address the University focus area of Cultural Identity and Interaction. The connective theme that ties the University focus and development areas together with the Faculty research themes is:

Challenges of Education in a World of Intensifying Plurality

Learning and Interaction
The theme focuses on basic research that examines the social, motivational and cognitive processes of learning with a special interest in technology-based environments. Learning, counselling and interaction are studied in formal and informal contexts from early childhood to adulthood. The applied research carried out within the theme aims at developing different modes and environments of learning and counselling, and examines the learning of related skills.

Teacherhood in Global and Local Environments
The areas of research in this theme (teachers’ professional development, teacher education and teaching) are strongly connected to the development of content and methodology within teacher education. Teacherhood is examined in changing global, as well as local, contexts; in different environments from preschool to higher education; and as a lifelong learning process. Multiculturalism and globalization are studied as challenges of education. The theme incorporates questions related to sociological environmental studies, the agency of children and youth, the social contexts of education, and the North.

Education, Bildung and Equity
Within this research theme, basic research on educational theory is carried out with the aim of integrating the Continental educational theory tradition and the approaches of North American pragmatism. Furthermore, the practices of different educational communities are examined from the perspective of wellbeing, focusing on equality, social and educational inclusion, and power as ethical questions. Gender-sensitive research on the everyday lives of students focuses on issues related to bullying, violence and their prevention.