Approaching the renewed Finnish basic education curriculum as a potential and an option for aesthetics

This article provides an overview of how aesthetics is treated in the current Finnish basic education core curriculum document. Relatively little research has been conducted on aesthetics in Finnish curricula, particularly from an interdisciplinary approach. In the broader picture, the position of aesthetics and the appreciation of arts subjects in curricula has paradoxically weakened globally over recent decades, particularly in English-speaking cultures. At the same time, the significance of aesthetics has increased in postmodern culture with, for instance, increasingly more commercial brands. Finland has a broad national core curriculum, and although aesthetics (as a school subject) is not officially part of it the traditional arts subjects (arts, music, crafts), aspects of aesthetics are nevertheless involved in the curriculum. In this study, we investigate how aspects of aesthetics feature in the renewed Finnish curriculum text for basic education. Our analysis shows that only a few specific references to aesthetics can be found in the Finnish renewed curriculum. Conceptually, the lack of postmodern aesthetics is noticeable, particularly in the subject of art, where one can see features of it without the concept being explicitly mentioned. In order to successfully incorporate aesthetics into basic education curricula, we conclude that the subject needs to better reflect notions of participation, self-expression, and divergent thinking.This article provides an overview of how aesthetics is treated in the current Finnish basic education core curriculum document. Relatively little research has been conducted on aesthetics in Finnish curricula, particularly from an interdisciplinary approach. In the broader picture, the position of aesthetics and the appreciation of arts subjects in curricula has paradoxically weakened globally over recent decades, particularly in English-speaking cultures. At the same time, the significance of aesthetics has increased in postmodern culture with, for instance, increasingly more commercial brands. Finland has a broad national core curriculum, and although aesthetics (as a school subject) is not officially part of it the traditional arts subjects (arts, music, crafts), aspects of aesthetics are nevertheless involved in the curriculum. In this study, we investigate how aspects of aesthetics feature in the renewed Finnish curriculum text for basic education. Our analysis shows that only a few specific references to aesthetics can be found in the Finnish renewed curriculum. Conceptually, the lack of postmodern aesthetics is noticeable, particularly in the subject of art, where one can see features of it without the concept being explicitly mentioned. In order to successfully incorporate aesthetics into basic education curricula, we conclude that the subject needs to better reflect notions of participation, self-expression, and divergent thinking.Peer reviewe

Miten taide voi opettaa kohtaamaan epävarmuutta? Tanssityöpaja kestävän taidekasvatuksen moniäänisen reflektion tilana

Artikkeli tarkastelee sekä yksilön että ryhmän näkökulmasta epävarmuuden kohtaamista, jonka oppimisen mahdollisuus taiteellisessa oppimisprosessissa liitetään osaksi yleissivistävän taidekasvatuksen tehtävää ekososiaalisten kriisien aikakaudella. Artikkelissa kehitellään moniäänisenä reflektiona taiteellisen oppimisprosessin teoriaa perustuen tutkimusryhmän omakohtaiseen kokemukseen tanssipedagogin suunnittelemassa tanssityöpajassa, jonka tavoitteena oli fasilitoida muiden taiteenlajien pedagogista asiantuntemusta edustavat tutkijat tarkastelemaan mahdollisesti havaitsemaansa ja kokemaansa epävarmuutta. Tutkijat pitivät päiväkirjaa, työpajat videoitiin, ja jokainen harjoitus kirjoitettiin auki. Harjoitukset ja tutkimusryhmän henkilökohtaiset havainnot analysoitiin kollektiivisesti. Epävarmuus paikantui käsitteiden ja aineistopohjaisten havaintojen kautta analysoitaessa yksilöllisten merkitysten monitulkintaisuuteen ja multimodaalisuuteen, prosessin keskeneräisyyteen, arvaamattomuuteen ja merkitysten jatkuvaan uusiutumiseen sekä rinnakkaisten merkitysten ja tulkintojen ristiriitaisuuteen ja keskinäiseen riippuvuuteen ryhmän jakamassa oppimiskokemuksessa. Epävarmuuden kokemukset ovat taiteellisessa oppimisessa merkityksellisiä kasvun ulottuvuuksia ja auttavat rakentamaan kestävää tulevaisuutta

Oncoprotein CIP2A is stabilized via interaction with tumor suppressor PP2A/B56

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a critical human tumor suppressor. Cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A) supports the activity of several critical cancer drivers (Akt, MYC, E2F1) and promotes malignancy in most cancer types via PP2A inhibition. However, the 3D structure of CIP2A has not been solved, and it remains enigmatic how it interacts with PP2A. Here, we show by yeast two‐hybrid assays, and subsequent validation experiments, that CIP2A forms homodimers. The homodimerization of CIP2A is confirmed by solving the crystal structure of an N‐terminal CIP2A fragment (amino acids 1–560) at 3.0 Å resolution, and by subsequent structure‐based mutational analyses of the dimerization interface. We further describe that the CIP2A dimer interacts with the PP2A subunits B56α and B56γ. CIP2A binds to the B56 proteins via a conserved N‐terminal region, and dimerization promotes B56 binding. Intriguingly, inhibition of either CIP2A dimerization or B56α/γ expression destabilizes CIP2A, indicating opportunities for controlled degradation. These results provide the first structure–function analysis of the interaction of CIP2A with PP2A/B56 and have direct implications for its targeting in cancer therapy