Veronika Kalmus and Kairit Tammets win prizes for education research papers

Two AcademiaNet members have won prizes awarded by the Estonian Research Agency for best educational research. Sociologist Prof Veronika Kalmus was part of a team that took the first prize in the category of ‘best research paper published in Estonian’, whereas education scholar Prof Kairit Tammets was awarded the second prize in the category of ‘best research paper in a foreign language’, together with her team.

Veronika Kalmus

Prof Kalmus is based at the University of Tartu, where she researches internet use, generational relationships, parenting, and education, particularly that of school children. Her winning paper was called “Dimensions of Digital Competence and their Assessment in Basic School.”

It was chosen as the winner in its category because “the results of the study would help both researchers and practitioners to understand what digital literacy is and how to develop it systematically,” the Estonian Research Agency said in a statement.

Kairit Tammets

In a similar vein was Prof Tammet’s work. She is a professor of technology-enhanced learning at the University of Tallinn, where she studies how digital technology is adopted and used in schools, and what kind of data can be used to evaluate educational processes. Her paper was called “Adopting technology in schools: modelling, measuring and supporting knowledge appropriation.”The Estonian Research Agency commented that the Teacher Innovation Library, a professional development programme for teachers which featured in Prof Tammet’s paper, could be applied in an Estonian context and bring about “meaningful technology-enriched elements to teaching.”

Estonia is known for its excellent education. In the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report in 2018, Estonia was ranked 1st in Europe.