Duration of On-Campus Academic Engagements of Student Teachers in Finland and Norway

ABSTRACT

The duration of on-campus academic engagements is an uncertain and highly debated indicator of study input. Researchers adopt this indicator with the expectation that student teachers must invest an amount of time and effort in their courses that more or less equals a normal workweek. In the present empirical study, we examine factors influencing the duration of student teachers’ on-campus academic engagements in Norway and Finland using survey data (n = 567). While the teaching profession is highly respected in Finland, and universities make selections for teacher education programs, the profession has a relatively low status in Norway. To meet the objectives of this study, we conducted an OLS regression analysis and found that students’ self-discipline and perceived study requirements are the most important predictors of the duration of their on-campus academic engagements. In addition, the motivation to achieve a goal is also significant, while no significant effect was found for intrinsic motivation. Finally, the study shows no significant differences between the coefficients for the Norwegian and Finnish variable.

KEYWORDS:

• academic engagements
• student teachers
• self-discipline
• high expectations
• teacher education programs

Notes

1. Recently, while the grades required for acceptance into certain teacher-education programs have increased, they have decreased for others. This suggests uncertain trends in the short run, yet a long-term tendency toward lower intake quality.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Knut-Andreas Christophersen

Knut-Andreas Christophersen is associate professor of political science at the University of Oslo, Norway. His research interests are mainly research methodology and statistics.

Eyvind Elstad

Eyvind Elstad is professor at the Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo. His research interests include issues related to the fields of teacher education and teachers’ work.

Kalle Juuti

Kalle Juuti is docent at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki. His research interests include issues related to science education, teachers’ professional development, curriculum theory, higher education, and educational technology.

Trond Solhaug

Trond Solhaug is a political scientist and professor of social science education and pedagogy at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His research interests include democracy, citizenship in education, and teacher education.

Are Turmo

Are Turmo is a senior researcher at The Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo. He has PhD (science education) from the University of Oslo. His research includes large-scale international comparative achievement studies, science education, and teacher education.