Signe Amalia Häggman (29 April 1863,

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

-26 June 1911,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

), was a Finnish pedagogue. She is regarded as a pioneer within the

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

of disabled people in Finland.kansallisbiografia Suomen kansallisbiografia (National Biography of Finland)

Life

Häggman was educated at Jyväskylä seminary and worked as a teacher in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

and

Lapua Lapua (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland's South Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. It is located next to the Lapua River. The town has a population of () and cov ...

. In 1889, she was given a scholarship from the state to study the physical education of disabled people in Copenhagen. On her return to Finland, she was appointed as the first manager and educator of the newly founded professional school for disabled people in Helsinki, and served in the position from 1890 until 1911. During the period, she was in effect responsible for the education of disabled people in Finland.

References

kansallisbiografia Suomen kansallisbiografia (National Biography of Finland)
1863 births 1911 deaths 19th-century Finnish educators Finnish women educators Swedish-speaking Finns People from the Grand Duchy of Finland Educators from the Russian Empire {{Finland-bio-stub