Its primary objective is to promote practice-based knowledge to strengthen early childhood education and care (ECEC), basic education (primary and secondary education) and teacher education, while also enhancing R&D activity in teacher education programs and to ensure a better link between professional education and professional practice.

PRAKUT builds on the experience gained from the Programme for Practice-based R&D in Pre-school through Secondary Schools and Teacher Education - PRAKSISFOU (2006-2010).

The aims of PRAKUT:

• Improve the quality of ECEC, basic education and teacher education
• Contribute to the development and strengthening of R&D competence
• Increase the quality in R&D collaborations between the teacher education programmes and the professional practice in ECEC and basic education
• Contribute to the implementation of research-based knowledge in the practice-field to improve the connection between teacher education and practice
• Increase knowledge-development of a high scientific level

A prerequisite for all projects applying for funding is that one or more of the teacher education institutions are active partners in the project.

As project owners the teacher education institutions may establish cooperation with other groups of researchers that can provide necessary or supplementary R&D expertise to the projects.

The programme finances research in the following areas:

• Learning in early childhood education and care (ECEC)
• Learning in primary and lower secondary education and upper secondary education and training
• Teacher education and professional development
• Learning in various social contexts and arenas

The programme will finance researcher projects, and an important requirement will be user-participation.

For more information about the programme, please see the  PRAKUT Work programme (PDF-551 KB) .