After getting my bachelor’s in English Language Teaching in Istanbul, ü쾱 and working as an English teacher for around 5 years, I wanted to test myself in a new country both on a personal and professional level. I chose to study Master’s Degree in Educational Sciences at JYU, Finland to experience the highly regarded Finnish education.
My name is Kaan and I am a master’s student here in JYU, currently in my second-year. I have worked as an English teacher for almost all age groups from kindergarten to university students. I lived all my life in ü쾱 and I hadn’t traveled abroad before deciding to move to Finland to pursue a master’s degree. After going through the details of the Educational Sciences programme, I was impressed at the wide range of topics in education that the programme covered.
EDUMA: Bringing different lenses on education together
Studying in the Educational Sciences programme here in Jyväskylä helped me to see education from various perspectives. Our programme has people from a variety of backgrounds. This creates an amazing atmosphere in our courses when we have discussions on different topics and education and how it could work.
Everyone brings their own perspectives by drawing on their experiences and, in my opinion, this situation creates a unique environment where you can exchange views on education with unique and interesting ideas on the field that you cannot find anywhere else.
There are also handful of specialization modules in our programme to focus on. For example, I am studying on two of them at the same time; educational leadership and language education. I believe it is an amazing opportunity to focus on the specific area of education depending on your interests and skills. Each person in our programme has their own unique study schedule as everyone makes their choices of what they want to specialize in.
Practicality is the key when it comes to education
I think theoretical knowledge holds an incredible value in education but at the same time, focusing too much on the theoretical knowledge can cause problems in practicality. In my bachelor’s degree, the focus was mainly on theory of education. And I thought this could cause problems for teacher candidates when they actually start working as a teacher. However, the situation was quite different here in JYU as our programme certainly gives not only the theoretical knowledge but also practical ones too even though it doesn’t provide a teacher qualification.
During our first year, we visited various schools in the city and observed classes to better understand how the Finnish education system works. Seeing a new teacher-student dynamic, experiencing how the classes work, and why Finland is seen as one of the best countries when it comes to education with my own eyes was one of the best experiences I have had here.
In our classes, the course assignments also involve some levels of practicality where we are expected to use the theoretical knowledge we have gathered during the classes. One course even gave us the opportunity to teach for a week in one of the schools in the city!
Jyväskylä: An unexpected surprise that has a lot to offer
Everyone was telling me how small Jyväskylä is compared to my hometown, Istanbul, when I first decided to move here. At first, I was afraid, but the city has its own great traits that did not make me look back.
Firstly, it has a lot of places to practice all kinds of sports you can think of. Especially trying out winter sports is a great experience for the people who move here for the first time. The city’s amazing nature provides beautiful walks around lakes and through green forests. Additionally, Jyväskylä is located in the center of Finland which makes travelling and seeing other cities in the country way more convenient.
I also need to talk about the special “student-friendly” environment the city creates. During the educational year, the city basically turns into a “student city” where lots of events are carried out by different student associations every week. Student discounts that are offered in different cafés and restaurants around the city add to the “student-friendliness” of Jyväskylä.
Additionally, it is very easy to make friends since everyone here is incredibly friendly and I have made amazing friends in Jyväskylä. One of the reasons for this is that the international student network is very strong in the city.
JYU has been a rewarding decision
Moving to Finland and living in a new country for the first time was something I needed to do. I experienced a new culture not just from a social perspective but also from an educational perspective.
I think my programme will give me great tools to use in my career in the future and the city itself was beautiful to be in… I knew leaving my country for the first time and living in Jyväskylä would certainly be a huge change in my life, but it also turned out to be an amazing one.
Kaan Var
Master’s Student in Educational Sciences
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Read more: Master's Degree Programme in Educational Sciences
