The State of Educational Research in Estonia

Short overview:

Founded in 1930 by first Estonian professor of education Peeter Põld. During the Soviet time association was closed, but was refounded again  in May, 1989.

We are voluntary non-governmental organization to advance educational research culture in Estonia in partnership with other organizations. Membership is open to all researchers and school/ university teachers  with a research interest in education. There are 2 branches  - in University of Tartu and Tallinn University, all together 60 members.

Current activities:

• National Contest of Educational Research, awards in 7 different subcategories
• Annual conferences – a public forum where research findings are presented
• Preparations for Horizon 2020 
• Annual student research day – the best BA, MA and PhD Thesis in educational science are presented.
• Contribution to national strategies and policy documents (Teacher Standard, 2013, Strategy of in-service training of teachers, 2014, etc ).
• Communication channels:  web page (http://www.eaps.ee/) , facebook
• Active participation and joint presentations in EERA conferences.

Recent publications:

• „Lexicon of Education“  (2014).
• Since 2013 “Estonian Journal of Education” - peer-reviewed open access electronic journal with an international editorial board. It publishes scholarly articles in Estonian embodying original research in all areas of education. 

The state of educational research in Estonia:

Research quality, significance to society and training of young researchers was evaluated by international experts in 2012. The main problems highlighted were:

Educational research is fragmented between and within institutions, not well defined in terms of scope and purpose.

Only one PhD program defined as „Educational Sciences“, rate of Doctoral completions is low.