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Publishing and the dissemination of science news is a prominent aspect of the national and international activities of the Finnish Institute for Educational Research. The goal of its Publication and Information Unit is to promote the spread of information about science and scholarship and their findings. To achieve this goal the Unit produces and develops publication and dissemination services for the use both of the FIER and of the whole field of educational research in Finland.
Publishing is the focus of the Unit's activities. During its existence the FIER has given out some 1,000 books and serial publications. The volume of its publications is distinctly bigger than that of any other institution in the same field in Finland. Today the FIER issues three scientific series, research-based books and the only educational journal in Finland, Kasvatus. Also the Finnish editor (Erkki Kangasniemi) of the Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research (SJER) is at the FIER.
The FIER's increasingly international activities are reflected in a growing number of international publications. Publications are an important aspect of its collaboration across national boundaries. The FIER is often given the honour of publishing the findings of international research collaboration, for example of joint projects between the Nordic countries and with the EU and the IEA. The FIER sees its international publication and collaboration activities as a necessary precondition of research of a high standard.
Apart from contributing to the spreading of information about science and scholarship and their findings, the Publication and Information Unit also develops new ways of disseminating science news. It fulfills these tasks by providing the media with information about current research, taking part in organizing seminars, producing introductory and other materials that illustrate scientific and scholarly activity and its results, visualizing research findings in various ways, developing electronic forms of communication and virtual channels of information. In addition the Unit takes care of the FIER's language consulting needs and runs its library. |