A presentation of a lecture on Relational Cultural Theory in Sweden.
A presentation of a lecture on Relational Cultural Theory in Sweden.
What makes a leader? are you born to be a leader or can you learn to be a leader? What sort of leadership inspires? are there particular styles, characteristics of preferred leaders? And, is there a difference between men's and women's leadership?
Of course, to even try to answer any of the above questions with a definite correct answer is NOT POSSIBLE. So, a good start might be figuring out an acceptable definition.
Leadership
Leadership is defined as "...the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members" (Northouse et al, 2004, p. 15).
This definition is broad, allowing for leaders to emerge in various contexts. However, it does not specify the type of leadership style employed by individuals. For example,
These are just a few examples, and leaders may exhibit a combination of these styles depending on the situation and context.
Women's Leadership
Women's leadership refers to the practice and expression of leadership qualities and capabilities by individuals who identify as women. It encompasses the unique perspectives, experiences, and approaches that women bring to leadership roles and positions of influence. Women's leadership involves empowering and advocating for women's voices, contributions, and advancement in various domains, including business, politics, academia, and community organizations. It often emphasizes collaboration, inclusivity, empathy, and the promotion of diversity and gender equality. Women's leadership is not limited to specific leadership styles but encompasses a diverse range of approaches that reflect the strengths, skills, and values of women leaders.
Women have traditionally faced barriers to leadership positions, but in recent years, there has been a push to increase the number of women in leadership roles and to recognize and value the contributions of women leaders.
There are many organizations, initiatives, and resources dedicated to supporting and promoting women's leadership, including training and development programs, networking events, and mentorship opportunities.
Inspirational Leader
An inspirational leader is someone who understands the importance of empowerment and motivation of their employees to support them in achieving organizational goals and making a positive impact on the organizational culture. These leaders are able to communicate a persuasive vision and create a sense of purpose that unites employees. They also demonstrate passion, enthusiasm, and commitment, which can be contagious to those around them.
Inspirational leaders are caring, they are able to connect with others on an emotional level and create a positive and supportive work culture. They recognize and value the unique strengths and contributions of team members and create opportunities for them to grow and develop. They also empower team members to take ownership of their work and make decisions, which increases motivation and engagement.
Inspirational leaders lead by example and demonstrate the behaviors and values they expect from their team. They are willing to take risks, accept consequences, and embrace change, and they encourage others to do the same. Overall, an inspirational leader is someone who is able to inspire and motivate others to achieve their full potential and make a positive impact.
A Kind Leader
A leader who is Kind is both generous and caring. They care for the self and others, this sort of leader can be related to servant leadership. It is really about being friendly, generous, and considerate, without expecting anything in return. And, no, it is not about being weak, or a pushover, and it is absolutely not about ego.
“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.” —Maya Angelou.
“I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I’ll put it before any of the things like courage or bravery or generosity or anything else.” —Roald Dahl.
An important reminder.
https://www.tuni.fi/fi/ajankohtaista/kestavyysteemainen-osaamismerkkipilotti-kaynnistyi-tredun-opettajat-testaavat-edusta EduSTA Project is a brilliant international collaboration to support Sustainable Future Educators.
Project EduSTA focuses on re- and upskilling VET teachers and Teacher Educators and building a community: “Academy of Educators for Sustainable Future”.
I am so excited to be representing the University of Gothenburg as Project Manager for an International Project titled Educators for a Sustainable Future or EduSTA.
The project brings together five teacher education institutions around Europe (Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the Czech Republic) to develop a close network with a strong commitment to educating teachers who are willing, able, and competent to transform educational practices and policy to meet the sustainability challenges and ready to combine innovative approaches to use digitalization in teaching and learning.
Teachers’ capabilities to act as active change-makers in the ecological transition and to educate citizens and the workforce to meet future challenges is key to a profound transformation in the green transition. Teachers’ sustainability competencies have been researched widely but a gap remains between research and the actual work of teachers. There is a need to operationalize sustainability competencies: to describe the direct links with everyday tasks such as curriculum development, pedagogical design, and assessment. Thus, the aim of the project is to respond to the urgent need for a sustainably competent workforce focusing on re-and upskilling VET teachers. Together with our colleagues from Higher Education Institutions in Finland, Holland, Spain, and the Czech Republic, the purpose is to collaboratively create open digital badge-driven learning pathways on teachers’ sustainability competencies supported with multimodal learning modules.
The Institutions involved in the project are,
The below is a book free to download and developed for Work package 3 for the EduSTA Project.
To access the EduSTA Swedish website copy and paste following link to your url, https://www.gu.se/pedagogik-specialpedagogik/academy-for-sustainable-future-educators-edusta-project
EduSTA Meet, Groningen, The Netherlands, Nov 2023
Example Text
ATEE and EduSTA webinar 3 Sept at 15.30 CET
Hi TG-EduSTA team! The program for our September webinar is now ready. You can find the event news (and the registration link) both at our website and in LinkedIn. Please spread the word, thanks! Welcome to join us in EduSTA and ATEE Webinar 3 September 2024 at 15.30–17.30 CET | Academy for Sustainable Future Educators (EduSTA) | Tampere Universities (tuni.fi)
Internationalization refers to the process of designing and developing products, services, or systems that can be easily adapted to different cultures, languages, and regions around the world. For example, think about Volvo, IKEA, and H&M can be found in most if not all countries worldwide similar to McDonald's or Pizza Hut. For these products to become successful internationally involves considering cultural and linguistic differences from the outset of the design process, rather than trying to adapt a product or service for a global market after it has been developed. Each of the mentioned products has been able to fit into any culture.
Internationalization is thus central because it allows businesses, organizations, and individuals to reach a wider audience and tap into global markets. It can also help to ensure that products and services are accessible and usable for people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
The concept of Globalisation and its relationship to Internationalization needs to be briefly explained.
Globalization and internationalization are related concepts that often overlap, but they are not the same.
Globalization refers to the process by which the world is becoming more interconnected and interdependent, with the exchange of goods, services, information technology, and ideas increasing across national borders. It is driven by advances in transportation, communication, and technology, and has led to the emergence of a global economy and the growth of multinational corporations. The growth of the knowledge economy relates to Universities establishing satellite campuses outside of their countries. Benefitting both themselves but also the cities and countries where they are established.
An essential feature of internationalization in higher education is to foster an international spirit of goodwill to promote respect, and tolerance to ensure a peaceful, just, and sustainable world. Unfortunately, the current war in Ukraine and the growth and threat of nationalistic and protectionist forces across the world are threats to peace and democracy. Their aim is to discontinue and divide rather than support relationship-building among human beings, cultures, institutions, and systems. It is this that makes the role of internationalization and international research collaboration so much more urgent.
Collaboration is the act of working with others to achieve a common goal or objective. It involves communication, cooperation, and coordination between team members, and can be an effective way to solve problems, complete tasks, and achieve success. Collaboration can take many forms, including in-person teamwork, virtual team projects, and partnerships between organizations. It can be challenging to collaborate effectively, especially when working with people from different cultures, backgrounds, or locations. However, with the right strategies and approaches, collaboration can lead to greater creativity, productivity, and success.
There are several key principles to follow when collaborating with people from different cultures:
Introduction of the Nordic countries journey towards gender equality
Denmark Sweden Norway Finland and Iceland are countries consistently recognized for their gender equality.
With slogans like "promoting gender equality at work is not only the right thing to do but the smart thing to do". Yes, promoting gender equality at work makes sense especially when aligned to taken for granted benefits like,
What needs to be acknowledged is that the Nordic countries collaboration in promoting for gender equality for well over 40 years.
Hence, it is no wonder that the share of women participating in work in the Nordic countries is larger than the global average.
Of course this has not been always the case, and it is actually good to remind oneself of the actual challenges women in the Nordic countries have had to overcome to have gotten this far in comparison to their sisters in other parts of the world.
As with all battles the first battle to overcome for the Nordic women was to be able to vote. Below is the information when each of the Nordic countries granted women the right to vote,
Begin granted the vote paved the way to several reforms,
1920s was the era that empowered women's financial independence and laws removed men's guardianship over their wives and allowed women full rights to own property. Unfortunately, as women got married they found themselves not allowed to work since the belief was that this would push men out of the labour market.
1939 Sweden became the first country in Europe to forbid married or engaged women to be fired.
There was however a problem with the joint taxation of spouses which meant that spouses’ incomes were combined and taxes calculated on the basis of the total household income. The taxes were often so high it hardly made sense for the wife to work. In addition, if both spouses worked, they often had to pay for childcare and a domestic worker to take care of the housework.
1971 in Sweden and Denmark with the introduction of individual taxation, changed the problem of joint taxation and created a stronger financial incentive for married women to join the labour force, effectively ending the housewife era.
1960-1970s to meet the severe labour shortages in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland unmarried or married women were welcomed into the labour force. In Finland women were already working full-time due to the aftermath of World War II
1960-1970s Childcare
1964 Denmark was the first country to legislate for childcare, followed by Finland, Iceland and Sweden in 1973 and Norway in 1975.
1960s social movement was toward social justice, equality and rights. And a big part of this was an ambitious family policy. Nordic family policy has aimed to actively facilitate behaviour change, with an expressed goal of gender equality through increasing women’s participation in the labour market, as well as facilitating an increase in men’s involvement in the care of their children. In short, Nordic family policy has encouraged a sharing of house hold and child-rearing responsibilities between parents, implying a transition away from the traditional pattern where women are expected to carry out these tasks alone. Efforts to change the traditional and stereotypical gender roles at work and at home, as well as changing people’s views of what is masculine and what is feminine, have been an important part of this work.
FEMALE PRIME MINISTERS NORDIC COUNTRIES
Prime Minister of DENMARK - Mette Frederiksen 2019 -
Prime Minister of FINLAND - Sanna Mirella Marin 2019-2023
Prime Minister of Iceland - Katrín Jakobsdóttir 2017 -
Prime Minister of NORWAY - Erna Solberg 2013-2021
Prime Minister of SWEDEN - Eva Magdalena Andersson 2021-2022
REFERENCE:
The Nordic Gender Effect at Work.
https://www.gu.se/sites/default/files/2020-05/The-nordic-gender-effect-at-work.pdf
I had the privilege to meet with a team of professional learning designers during my time in Melbourne as part of a STINT grant I received from Sweden, and, which resulted in the below 4 video episodes.
This first episode is about the Learning Transformation unit at Swinburne University, the role, and support of the Learning Designer, the Learning Technologist, and the Media Coordinator, and their support to the academic teaching staff. https://www.youtube.com/c/SwinburneCommons/search?query=Liisa%20Uusimaki
Liisa Uusimäki (Associate Professor, University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
Antoinette Gwasira (Manager, Learning Design, Swinburne)
Tash Hobbs (Learning Designer, Learning Transformations Unit, Swinburne)
David Yammouni (Learning Technologist, Learning Transformations Unit, Swinburne)
In this second episode, we discuss changes in teaching and learning due to COVID-19, the impact of the pandemic on academic staff, and the impact of changes in technology on teaching and learning.
The focus of this third episode is a brief discussion about the pros and cons of face-to-face and online teaching as well as the importance of academic staff themselves experiencing online learning.
In this fourth and final episode, the discussion is about how to support and engage teachers or academics in their teaching and learning, and the important role of faculty leadership. The conversation ends with a discussion about the importance of technological advancement.
Successful international research collaborations are those where positive relationship building, trust, a willingness to learn, and mutual respect are central. In contrast, unsuccessful collaborations are those where the needs of either partner are neglected. The problems with unsuccessful international research collaborations in higher education relate often to poor relationship building, lack of purpose, planning, leadership, and an unwillingness to learn to adapt and to accept new cultures
Read MoreInterestingly while there have been numerous studies reporting on the experiences of international students attending Anglo-Saxon universities, few studies have explored the teaching and learning experiences of international students studying in Sweden, Carol Rodger's (2002) model of four functions of reflections provided a novel way to explore international students’ reflections about their learning experiences in Sweden, especially how these are shown in the following different cycles, of presence, description, analysis and experimentation
Read MoreThe findings of this study suggest that preservice teachers’ strong self-efficacy beliefs about inclusion lead to positive attitudes and intentions to use inclusive practices in their future teaching. Authentic and inclusive learning experiences during teacher education programs and taught by excellent teacher educators is one way to support preservice teacher confidence building to include all children in the learning journey.
Read MoreThe focus of this paper is to illustrate Australian regional pre-service teachers’ perceptions of an international practicum: their cross-cultural understanding, notions of privilege and teacher/professional identity development
Read MoreThis study reports on a small cohort of MAGs’ experiences in a one-year postgraduate teacher education program focusing on middle schooling. Findings from this study suggest MAGs benefit from being part of an innovative workshop program run in parallel with the Graduate Diploma program. Although the Graduate Diploma had provided them with significant challenges, the workshop impacted positively on participants’ emerging middle school teacher identity.
Read MoreIt is important to remember that you can be the leader that you want to be. Leadership is important for all primary schools and opportunities should be made available to staff and students to take ownership and responsibility for learning within the school. This chapter has provided an overview of the leadership for learning program as one example of effective school leadership. As a future leader, it is important to have continual dialogues with staff, students, and the school community. It is also important to find a leadership style that you are comfortable with and that you feel you can make a strong contribution to the school community with.
Read MoreUnderstanding and developing cross-cultural awareness and an intercultural mindset.
To effect change in any organization regardless of size requires an understanding of the impact culture has on learning.
Using Digital tools to communicate and to network