Teacher Education for Research‐based Practice in Expanded Roles: Finland's experience

Abstract

Preparing teachers for a research‐based professionalism has been the central mission of teacher education in Finland since the mid‐1970s. More recently, as a result of such national policy developments as school‐based curriculum development and local decision‐making, the conception of teachers' work and professionalism has expanded. Drawing on experience within the teacher education programmes at the University of Helsinki and Åbo Akademi University, this paper discusses some of the programmatic issues that these developments have raised in class‐teacher, i.e. “elementary”, teacher education programmes. We focus in particular firstly on the research thesis that is a part of every teacher education programme in Finland, and the hallmark of the research‐based professional ideal; and, secondly on the emerging issues that derive from the need to incorporate the expanded understanding of the teacher's role within the curriculum of teacher education.

Keywords:

• Curriculum of teacher education
• Research‐based teaching
• Student teaching
• Teacher education

Notes

1. These programmes, which are based in departments of teacher education, now include a major in education (55 credit hours), 35 credits of multidisciplinary subject‐area studies, one subject‐area minor of 35 credits or two minors of 15 credits each, and a required research thesis. We need to note that class‐teacher education is very popular among Finnish students with, nation‐wide, only some 15% of applicants being admitted to programmes each year.

2. In Finland university‐based practice schools are located in all universities which have teacher education programmes. These schools function as normal comprehensive schools, following the same curriculum as in other schools; however additional qualifications are expected of the teachers, who become experienced supervisors of teacher education students. The so‐called “field schools” which are also used for practice teaching represent the everyday practice of schools in general.

3. The faculty in the University's Department of Teacher Education and the lecturers in the Practice School are jointly responsible for such work. This has meant increasing co‐operation—and new patterns of tension—and a deepening mutual understanding of each other's work.