Educational Internship in Finland: Implementing Neurodidactic Approaches in Primary Education

From May 19 to 25, 2025, members of the grant-funded project AP19680117 - "Development of Neurodidactic Content Aimed at Enhancing the Intelligence of Primary School Students", who are lecturers from the Department of Primary Education at Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University - Zhazira Zhumabayeva, Rabiga Bazarbekova, Sazhila Nurzhanova, Assel Stambekova, and Sholpan Kalbergenova - completed an internship at the Prime Education Finland center in Jyväskylä, Finland.

During the internship, participants visited kindergartens, schools, and universities in Jyväskylä, which is recognized as a center of pedagogical excellence, and studied the Finnish education system in practice. Special attention was paid to cooperation with the University of Jyväskylä, one of the leading institutions in Europe in the fields of educational research and teacher training. Meetings were held with university faculty and administration, where opportunities for joint educational and research projects were discussed.

In addition, the participants attended seminars and masterclasses conducted by Finnish experts. They became acquainted with approaches to inclusive education, methods of early childhood development and pedagogy in preschool institutions, teacher training systems, interdisciplinary teaching, modern educational technologies, and the digitalization of the learning process.

Finnish speakers delivered lectures on relevant topics such as personalized learning, emotional intelligence in schools, sustainable development in educational environments, international assessment programs PISA and PIRLS, the Finnish national curriculum, STEM integration, and the teacher`s role in motivating and supporting students.

The internship participants highlighted the high level of organization and the practical value of the experience gained.