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Sahlberg Wins LEGO Prize 2016

Pasi Sahlberg
Visiting Professor Pasi Sahlberg has been awarded the LEGO Prize 2016 for his work to improve the quality of children’s education worldwide.

Sahlberg received the prize today at the LEGO Foundation’s annual LEGO Idea Conference in Denmark, which gathers academics, practitioners, and representatives from educational organizations. The prize is accompanied by a cash award of $100,000 to support further development of quality in children’s learning.

“Pasi Sahlberg wins the LEGO Prize 2016 for his enormously dedicated work to improve the quality of children’s education globally. Sahlberg is a forerunner in the efforts to ensure quality in children’s learning, which he believes must build on the natural curiosity and collaboration between children. The LEGO Foundation shares this view,” said Hanne Rasmussen, CEO of the LEGO Foundation. “A child’s inherent ability to play is paramount in the early years and a catalyst for learning competencies that prepare the child for formal education, creativity, and learning. Quality learning supports a respect for children’s playfulness and does not only focus on curriculum that mirrors later educational experiences.”

The LEGO Foundation focuses on redefining what we mean regarding play and its role in learning, and of reimagining how we best stimulate children to learn — views similarly shared by Sahlberg.

“Today, curiosity, creativity, and ultimately genuine learning are at risk anywhere high-stakes testing, Big Data, and punitive accountability are the dominant drivers of what teachers and students do in schools. This is a direct consequence of the current global education reform movement. Schools around the world have become places of standardized routines that aim at predetermined attainment targets in the name of improving competitiveness,” Sahlberg said. “Our children are therefore subjects of frequent assessments and tests that measure and divide them based solely on how they perform on these external expectations.”

The annual LEGO Idea Conference hosts 300 academics, practitioners, and representatives from educational organizations, who discuss what quality learning is and how it can be put into action.

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