A qualitative analysis of Finnish RE students’ perceptions of their professional development during their initial teacher education

ABSTRACT

This article studies three RE (religious education) student teachers’ perceptions about their professional development from the beginning to the end of their initial teacher education. The focus of study was to investigate via an inductive content analysis if there are the same kind of phases in RE teacher education and how those phases are in relation to their training. Based on their characterisations of professional development, three phases were found: an explorative phase, a confirmatory phase and an induction phase. In the first phase, the typical things were uncertainty about the teaching profession and the importance of managing the content knowledge. In the second phase, it was observed by the interviewees that theory and practice could be combined and the development of different skills were seen as important. In the third phase, the interviewees perceived gaining experience from practice and combining their personal life and career as relevant. Finally, the interviewees believed that their professional development will continuously evolve. RE student teachers saw the various elements of their teacher education as important factors in all the phases.

KEYWORDS:

• Religious education
• teacher education
• competence
• professional development
• student teacher

Introduction

In the present study, we will concentrate on Finnish RE (religious education) student teachers’ professional reflections during their teacher education. Since the late 1980s, pedagogical thinking has been viewed as the core of teacher development in teacher education: reflection has been seen as the integrative tool in the developing process of a teacher (Schön 1987; Shulman 1986, 1987; Berliner 2001; Beauchamp and Thomas 2009). Teacher education can be seen as the beginning of consciously developing professional reflection on teaching. However, admittedly some quite generic studies are cautious about the actual significance of the education in teacher development (Korthagen 2004; Tirri and Ubani 2013). The role of teacher education in RE teacher development is a complex question that includes many variables, including the diverse learning trajectories of the individual student teachers. While arguably all student teachers know something about what it means to ‘do school’ prior to their arrival in teacher education, the actual experiences of school or of oneself and personal competence as an aspiring teacher varies, for example. This also results in varying points of departure for professional development between student teachers in teacher education.

Some international studies in Religious Education have recognised the dynamic development processes taking place in initial RE teacher education. For instance, Heller Stern (2014) recently discussed how research-based approaches aid teacher development in the context of teacher education in Jewish Education, and Stern and Buchanan (2012) recounted experiences of RE student teachers about peer review in their personal development. Studies in Finland have examined the material and topics reflected upon during pedagogical studies (Ubani 2015) and the continuity of prevalent themes in reflection during teacher education (Ubani 2018). What all these studies have assumed and their results indicate is that the material presented in teacher education and teacher education as a context does have some input in the reflection processes of the student teachers.

Studying the reflection of Finnish RE student teachers offers an interesting case for several reasons. Literature has highlighted the quality of teachers and their education as important factors in Finnish public education (Tirri 2014). Arguably one reason for the quality of the teachers is selection (Mankki, Mäkinen, and Räihä 2020): the occupation of a teacher is popular in Finland. The admission percentage to teacher education, including for RE student teachers, can be as low as 20% (Niemi 2015). The backbone of their teacher education is the development of pedagogical thinking with a research-based approach to teaching (Niemi and Jakku-Sihvonen 2006); here the RE student teachers have been reported to be exemplarily reflective among their peers (Tirri and Ubani 2013). To conclude, with this article, we wish to examine how the reflection processes evolve in the teacher education of RE student teachers by answering the following research question: ‘What kind of phases are identifiable in the initial teacher education of RE student teachers?’

Student teachers and professional development

For several decades, the teaching profession has been acknowledged as a distinct and important social and civic role and duty (Lieberman 1956; Hansen 1995; Bottery and Wright 2000). The teaching profession has been seen as characteristically compliant, for instance, as the teacher has fulfilled the objectives of policy over history (Sachs 2016). Traditionally, teacher professionalism can be defined as how teachers behave and implement the knowledge and skills related to their profession (Wardoyo, Herdiani, and Sulikah 2017). However, nowadays, professionalism as a concept is increasingly acknowledged as plastic, emotive and something that is constantly being challenged and changed as a result of internal and external pressures (Sachs 2016). Subsequently, professionalism also includes many layers: it can be approached as an occupational value, as an ideology and as a discourse of occupational change and managerial control (Evetts 2008).

At the level of the individual teacher, professionalism in the context of teaching contains various dimensions surrounding professional identity and professional competence (Ubani 2016). The teacher’s professional identity can be perceived to include issues related to teacher socialisation and values. In their development in teacher education, student teachers need to develop their self-concept as a representative of the teaching profession (Ubani 2016). Teacher education can be viewed as a kind of starting point for the reflective development of a teacher’s professional identity (Beauchamp and Thomas 2009). The teacher education programmes are part of shaping teachers’ professional identity. Dialogue, in particular with peers, and critical reflections on issues related to the profession have been seen as effective ways of constructing teacher identity (Narges, Biria, and Golestan 2018).

Competence has been defined as a central concept in the professional development of teachers, both in policy and research literature (OECD 2005; Baartman et al. 2007). Many of the recent developments surrounding competences in teaching have been policy-driven. For instance, the OECD has argued that it is necessary to develop a shared definition of skills and knowledge required by teachers in order to guide their professional development. Subsequently, the European Commission has identified three areas of competences that teachers should have: working with others; working with knowledge, technology and information; working in and with society (OECD 2005; Caena 2011; European Commission 2013). As described by Baartman et al. (2007), previous literature about the competence of teachers have used different models for defining and describing competence. One of the models emphasises teachers’ competence as a developing process from a novice to an expert, which demands the completion of teacher education or teaching experience of five years. In past studies, novices have been found to rely on everyday thinking and to have a lack of overall understanding about the teaching profession (Berliner 1991). Miller’s pyramid model is a comprehensive description of the different dimensions of competence and is used in the different fields. It includes the professional development of learners from novices to experts. The model emphasises the building of knowledge at lower levels (cognition) and the involvement of action at higher levels (behaviour). Attitudes, knowledge and skills cut across all levels (Miller 1990; St Emlyn’s Emergency Medicine 2019).

The professional competence of a teacher can refer, for instance, to managing knowledge in the context of teaching. It can be described as knowing and being able to apply knowledge in practice (Eraut 1994). This description is a narrow definition where competence is seen as the ability to perform a clearly predefined task successfully (Eraut 2005). A broader perspective on competence recognises competence as a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes that arise in the practical pedagogical contexts – also outside the immediate classroom. This perspective includes the intellectual, cognitive and attitudinal elements and is linked to individual performance (Baartman et al. 2007). The previous study has shown that, despite the novelty of the teaching profession for student teachers, in general they have a fairly accurate understanding of professional competence in teacher education (Huntly 2008).

There are some previous studies about the professional development of different occupations from the point of view of phases, for instance, a model of five stages of professional development of individuals within different professions: exploration, trial, establishment, maintenance and preparation for retirement. Those stages are dependent on the life course of a person (Super 1980; Maskit 2011). The teacher career cycle model (Burke and Bloomington Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation 1984) describes eight stages of teachers’ professional development based on characterisations of teachers: pre-service, induction, competency building, enthusiastic and growing, career frustration, stable and stagnant, career wind-down and career exit. Not all the phases in the model are necessarily related to the length of time in teaching; some teachers never experience any of them in their career and many do not experience all of them. A recent questionnaire study described four phases in teachers’ professional development. In a pre-professional phase, pre-service teacher education was the most important measure of teacher competence and professionalism. In the second autonomous phase, teachers emphasised pedagogical competence over the other form of competence and a study indicated the growth of educational needs at this phase. In the third collegial professional phase, it was particularly found that much of the professional development of teachers happened through collegial relationships. In relation to the fourth post-modern phase, teachers were perceived through their professionalism comprehensive and they were expected to be able to accommodate stakeholders’ interests (Wardoyo, Herdiani, and Sulikah 2017).

As indicated earlier, Finnish teacher education emphasises teachers’ development as an autonomous practitioner, by supporting student teachers in discovering their personal strengths, for instance using reflection and constructing their professional identities based on their own strengths (Toom and Husu 2016). The forming and practising of teachers’ pedagogical thinking in Finnish research-based teacher education is a relevant part of teacher education (Tirri 2014). Niemi (2012) has studied the views of student teachers about the quality of Finnish teacher education. The study indicated that the student teachers mainly felt that they received the competencies required for their work, for instance, strong practical pedagogical skills, and they were ethically committed to the work as a teacher. In addition, they had understood the importance of continuous professional development. However, they also acknowledged the need for more practice in collaborating inside and outside of school (Niemi 2012).

RE teacher education and ‘new skills’

Since the 1900s, there has been a discussion in Western educational policy and research about how to best equip the citizens of today and tomorrow in more complex, diverse and global knowledge societies in order to keep the respective societies competitive (OECD 2018). There, concepts such as ‘transferable skills’, ‘new learning skills’ and ‘21^st-century skills’ have often been employed (Darling-Hammond 2006; Newton and Newton 2014; Niemi et al. 2018; Wang, Lavonen, and Tirri 2018). Consequently, similarly to most Western countries, Finnish public curricula have adopted a skills-based approach in the past decade (Niemi 2015; Uljens and Rajakaltio 2017; Palsa and Mertala 2019). There have also been similar trends in policy literature on religion and education. Not only has there been a demand for dialogue skills but also a plea to educate teachers of RE and other subjects to handle religious and non-religious beliefs in a constructive citizen-equipping manner (see Jackson 2014; OSCE/ODIHR 2007).

The latest curriculum of Finnish religious education has also been developed from a skills-based starting point (NCCBE 2014). As part of the national core curriculum for basic education (NCCBE 2014), Religious Education in Finland is also to educate pupils in what are called seven transversal multiliteracies: 1) Thinking and learning to learn; 2) Cultural competence, interaction and self-expression; 3) Taking care of oneself and managing daily life; 4) Multiliteracy; 5) Information and communication technology (ICT) competence, 6) Working life competence and entrepreneurship; and 7) Participation, involvement and building a sustainable future (NCCBE 2014). As has been often discussed, Finland deploys a segregated model for religious education with 13 different religions being represented. The instruction is ‘weak confessional’, that is, with an emphasis content-wise on one’s own religion but without faith formation aims or devotional practices (Ubani 2007; Ubani and Tirri 2014; Kallioniemi and Ubani 2016; Ubani 2018). Consequently, all instruction in religious education is subject to the general skills-based approach represented by the transversal literacies. There have been similar trends in the curricular development in higher education and teacher education in Finland, too (Virtanen and Tynjälä 2013; Tynjälä et al. 2016; Virtanen and Tynjälä 2019).

The Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE) has recently stated that, among other things, lifelong learning, anticipation of future needs and competences are core values in the development of teacher education (Rajakaltio 2014; Niemi 2015). In Finnish teacher education, a research-based approach has been strongly linked with continuous professional development (Niemi 2012, 2014). The core content of teacher education, knowledge and skills play a key role in coping with the future challenges of the occupation (Harju and Niemi 2016). It has been acknowledged that the constant challenge for teacher education and professional development is that the work of teachers changes along with societal changes (OECD 2018). The work of teachers has increasingly been expanding beyond the classroom, for instance, to collaborate with different actors in society. Digitalisation, in turn, requires learning new technologies and learning environments (Niemi 2012, 2014; Harju and Niemi 2016). Subsequently, literature has maintained that teachers’ professional development should be continuous and supported, even after the initial teacher education, in order for teachers to maintain their competence (Day and Sachs 2004; Niemi 2015).

In congruence with the skills-based emphasis and hastened by the pan-European Bologna process, the policy-driven reforms emphasising generic bachelor studies, integration of programmes (Mäkinen and Annala 2010) and combining of different student groups on the same courses have also affected the education of RE subject student teachers in Finland. The required qualification of subject teachers in Finland is master’s degree studies in theology or religious studies and one-year pedagogical studies given in a department for teacher education (Kallioniemi and Ubani 2016). At the University of Eastern Finland, for instance, many of the lectures in the pedagogical studies outside of teaching practice are integrated with student teachers for elementary school, special education, other subjects and to some extent kindergarten teachers. While there are some study groups consisting of only RE student teachers and teaching practice focuses on teaching RE, the pedagogical studies are very generic in nature. The purpose is to meet the skills-based emphasis of curricula and to ease into the multi-faceted multi-professional cooperation of schools today (Harju and Niemi 2016; Faculty of Philosophy 2018).

Recently, there have been some studies conducted on the professional development of RE student teachers in Finland (Ubani 2012a, 2016; Viinikka and Ubani 2019; Viinikka et al. 2019). The studies conducted during their initial teacher education have shown that, during pedagogical studies, students begin to reflect on their professionalism, and their professional thinking begins to develop (Ubani 2016). Among their peers, the RE student teachers were reported as the most reflective and value-conscious (Ubani and Tirri 2014). Some recent studies have also looked at the teacher education and professional development of RE student teachers from the perspective of 21^st-century skills (Viinikka and Ubani 2019; Viinikka et al. 2019). These skills emphasise the importance of diverse and numerous skills in the context of competence and teaching. The studies have shown that, during RE teacher education in major studies, pre-service teachers were expected to develop religious literacy and critical thinking skills. Pedagogical studies were perceived as emphasising different kinds of interaction and social skills. RE student teachers generally felt that the education should provide them with possibilities to practise the skills that a competent RE teacher will need today and in the future. In addition, the development of dialogue skills was seen as central in all the different categories of RE teacher education studies (Viinikka and Ubani 2019; Viinikka et al. 2019).

Methods

The data were gathered in three semi-structured interviews with each participant (Hirsjärvi and Hurme 2008; Mayring 2014; Qualitative Research Methods Overview 2020). The interviews were conducted between June and August 2019. All three interviewees were RE student teachers at the school of Theology at the University of Eastern Finland. The participants were selected on the basis that they were doing a master’s degree and were advanced in completing pedagogical studies so that they were able to reflect on their professional development throughout their initial RE teacher education. The study aimed at following ethically sound practices throughout the study. The interviewing researcher was not a teacher of the participants so their relation did not interfere with the conduct of the study. Permission to do and record the interviews was asked from the interviewees, all necessary information about the study was given, interviewees had the right to withdraw their consent, and confidentiality and avoiding all kinds of adverse consequences were the basis for all research actions (Academy of Finland 2003; European Commission 2010; Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity 2013; ALLEA 2017).

In this article, pseudonyms are used to refer to the participants: Eetu, Sofia and Milla (Table 1. Name, gender, age and year of teacher education). Eetu was a 26-year-old male and was in his fifth year at the university. He wanted to be a teacher at a secondary school, mainly because his minor subject was philosophy, which is only taught there. Eetu had finished three teaching practices out of four and was doing his master’s degree studies. Sofia was a 23-year-old female and was at the end of her third year. She had also studied for the qualification of primary school teacher. Sofia had obtained a bachelor’s degree and was at the beginning of her master’s degree studies. She had also completed three teaching practices and thought that she would be teaching at a primary school in the future. The third participant was a 24-year-old female fifth-year student called Milla. She had studied philosophy and psychology as her minor subjects and was also going to start primary school teacher studies. Milla had also completed three teaching practices. She thought that she could work both at primary and secondary level after graduation. None of three interviews had previous work experience as an RE teacher.

Table 1. Name, gender, age and year of teacher education

Name	Gender	Age	Year of teacher education
Eetu	Male	26	5
Sofia	Female	23	3
Milla	Female	24	5

The semi-structured interviews lasted approximately 1½ hours. An interview frame (Appendix) was tested with a test interview. The purpose of the interviews was to allow the interviewees to be as free as possible about the topics relevant for the research. Overall, the interviewees were asked to think back several years and to remember and talk about past experiences (Goodson et al. 2010). Each of the interviews had three parts. In the first part of interview, pre-service teachers were asked about how they perceived the occupation of RE teacher, the competence of RE teachers and the future of religious education in Finland. In the second part, they were interviewed about RE teacher education. They were asked how they perceived the role of their major (theological) studies and pedagogical studies in relation to competence and professional development as an RE teacher. In the third part of the interview, the interviewees were asked to draw up a trajectory of professional development with important milestones in their own professional development (these milestones seemed to emphasise events related to teacher education, and teaching practices in particular). After that, they were asked to explain their professional development (trajectory) and its components. Finally, they were also asked how they felt that the competence had developed in different studies during teacher education (Hirsjärvi and Hurme 2008; Mayring 2014; Qualitative Research Methods Overview 2020).

Analysis

The research question of the study was what kind of phases are identifiable in the initial teacher education of RE student teachers? At the beginning of study, the data were also analysed from other perspectives, but the phases were chosen as the subject of the study because they included all the experiences, interpretations and themes of the interviewees related to their professional development during initial RE teacher education. In addition, there is no previous research about the phases in this context. The primary data used in the analysis were the interview material. The trajectory data were used as supplemental material in the analysis. The interview data were analysed using inductive content analysis, which is based on interpretation and reasoning, moving from empirical data towards a more conceptual view of the phenomenon being studied. The central point of the inductive approach of the content analysis is that the previous observations, knowledge or theories of the phenomenon do not guide the analysis, and the contrary analysis is based on the data (Mayring 2000; Cohen, Manion, and Morrison 2004; Tuomi and Sarajärvi 2009; Mayring 2014).

The analysis was based on a subsequent reading of the data. In the analysis, the data concerning each person were organised from the beginning to the point at which they felt they were in their professional development. Here also, the perceptions linked with their future after teacher education, i.e. in working life were identified. After conducting the analysis of each person, it was possible to compare their characteristics during their initial teacher education and also about working life.

In the analysis, we could identify indications of three phases in the professional reflection of RE student teachers during their teacher education. These phases were called the explorative, confirmatory and induction phase. In short, the explorative phase means that pre-service teachers said that they were uncertain about their choice of studying teacher education and they were just getting to know its contents. The confirmatory phase means that the student teachers had received confirmation that they wanted to be and work as a teacher and they had particularly succeeded in connecting theory and practice with each other. The induction phase means that pre-service teachers were told about working life and themes connected with it. The phases include different themes about teacher education and the student teachers emphasised the impact of pedagogical studies, especially the importance of teaching practices in their professional development. These were called phases rather than stages in order to make clear that the progress did not seem to be clear-cut but rather a question of the emphasis of perceptions in their recollections.

Results

The explorative phase in professional reflection

The first phase was called explorative. It was characterised by issues such as uncertainty in professional orientation, relating one’s personality to competence development, managing content knowledge, emphasising familiarity with theological and educational knowledge and getting to know the school world as a professional. All three interviewees had feelings of insecurity about the teacher education in their characterisations at first. For instance, Eetu was uncertain about the subject teacher programme in general and he originally just wanted to test teacher education. He also did not have any special expectations about teacher education:

I did not have great expectations of teacher education. I was not so sure if I could continue the teacher line and was unsure who I was at that time. But hunger grows as you eat, and the farther we went, the more certain I became that I could have a professional identity that will grow when I do this. I may be able to overcome my weaknesses and use them as strengths … I thought I would try out to see how this would proceed (Eetu, male, 26).

For Sofia, the beginning of pedagogical studies was also a time of orientation because she had first enrolled for studies to be a minister and had not thought of becoming an RE teacher. Initially, she considered the subject teacher programme merely as supplementary to the ministry programme:

In the initial system, I actually thought that this teacher education was more like supplementary to the church side (Sofia, female, 23).

Similarly, Milla aimed first to become a theologian, for instance, a minister, and she did not apply to the teachers’ programme immediately. Also for her, during the start of teacher education, she was seeking direction to see if she wanted to become an RE teacher and whether it was her first priority. After she applied to the pedagogical studies and was admitted, she stated that her expectations of the professional development of an RE teacher were very practical, meaning that they were about how to develop teaching, classroom and pedagogical skills:

Perhaps those [expectations] were above all very practical and concrete. I expected that I would learn to teach and I would learn to be in a classroom (Milla, female, 24).

Two out of three interviewees were exploring their personalities in relation to the RE teacher profession and, as an outcome, they saw their personality as a professional tool, which they could use in work as the RE teacher. They stated how they could use those same qualities during their teacher education. Based on their characterisations, their personality can be seen as a part of their competence. For example, Eetu described his personality as an introvert. He saw his own values and attitudes, like Christian values, as an important basis and compatible with RE teacher’s work. He perceived his attraction to self-reflection as an essential part of his own teaching:

My personality is sometimes a bit shy, maybe a little retreating, a professional identity. You can take into account these sensitive children there. Or shy young people in the classroom because you have such a background yourself. I honour and respect Christian values, so they have had a big impact on my teaching (Eetu, male, 26).

Sofia, on the other hand, portrayed her personality as extrovert. She reflected on her personality wherein social skills had been helpful when building her competence as an RE teacher during the whole teacher education:

Well, personality may be the most influential. I set myself up for new challenges and just paved the way for them. And I have strong social skills. Or that kind of outward orientation so it really helps so much in studying and building competence. Yes, it plays a significant role (Sofia, female, 23).

In the perceptions of all the interviewees in the explorative phase, content knowledge was highlighted in different ways. All the interviewees were studying and exploring theological and minor subject knowledge and they described how they saw managing that knowledge as important and as a goal. In the characterisations of the RE student teachers, the importance of content knowledge, especially theological knowledge, was mentioned many times. In the descriptions, after having studied for some time, the interviewees felt that the content knowledge began to be more specific both in theological studies and minor subject studies, and they had acquired more ways to handle that information. These were seen as a tool for deepening knowledge. As Sofia described the situation:

And as you go beyond bachelor studies, there are advanced or subject studies that you can focus on (Sofia, female, 23).

In the characterisations of the explorative phase, the interviewees were uncertain and did not see immediately how all the information in different courses might be important in the work of an RE teacher. Getting a general impression of and familiarity with theological and educational theories and knowledge were perceived as central to their teacher education. All three interviewees expressed this, as an impression about the building of basic knowledge of theology. Everyone stated that, in addition to theological studies, the knowledge base was built on minor subject studies such as psychology and philosophy. They stated in their descriptions that subject content knowledge was handled very broadly from history to the present day during their teacher education, and all of them felt overall that the first year of RE teacher education was very theoretical. Sofia described the start of professional development and she characterised how theory-oriented the beginning of teacher education was:

“This [professional] development begins consciously from the beginning of university studies. And then it was really theory-oriented.” (Sofia, female, 23)

“The first-year courses were those basic studies, in a way, scratching the surface, but it also feeds your own motivation to go deep into something if you want.” (Sofia, female, 23).

The interviewees found teaching practices important because through those you could view the school world from a point of view of an RE teacher. In the characterisations of the student teachers, the teaching practices in this explorative phase were like seeking confirmation that the teaching profession was their thing. For instance, through the second teaching practice, all the interviewees felt that in that practice you could get a more holistic view of the teacher’s work. During the second teaching practice, Eetu felt that his professional development as a teacher had begun:

The first teaching practice was still an experiment phase, but after teaching practice two it was clear that this was not a random experiment. If I didn’t want to go here, I would have left it after teaching practice one. Yes, it started during second practice that I knew I would become a teacher (Eetu, male, 26).

In the same way, Milla found through the teaching practices that she could be an RE teacher and stated that the second teaching practice came with the realisation that she wanted to be a teacher:

At the end of teaching practice two, when you kind of understand what this is about after doing that job for a while, I understood that I really wanted to be a teacher (Milla, female, 24).

The confirmatory phase in professional reflection

The second phase we called confirmatory. Based on the characterisations of RE student teachers, it contained topics such as combining theory and practice, security about the management of content knowledge, and concepts related more to the educational practices and skills that an RE teacher needed in their work were coming up more than before. In the descriptions related to the confirmatory phase, all three interviewees highlighted how important the moment was when they realised how theory and practice could be and were combined. All the student teachers stated that they had discovered that theory and practice were both important and complementary. The interviewees highlighted that you have to think carefully about what is taught in teacher education because almost everything in instruction is research-based. They felt that it had taken quite a long time before they had noticed how pedagogical theory and practice could be combined. The pedagogical theories were seen in the background and used when processing teaching and developing their own skills. All the interviewees felt that by the time of the third teaching practice, theory and practice had established a connection in their thinking, for instance, the connection between instruction and evaluation:

At the end of H3 [teaching practice 3], at that point I learned how to combine theory and practice in teaching. For example, how evaluation relates to teaching and how theory is applied in teaching (Milla, female, 24).

Another aspect that was typical in the confirmatory phase was security about the management of content knowledge. In their characterisations, you can see that because they themselves no longer concentrated on the subject matter so much, they noticed more things in the classroom and how its management could be developed. From their descriptions, it seemed evident that they had gained more confidence as a part of their professional development. For example, the consideration of different ages in the context of teaching began to take shape. Sofia, for example, described it and also talked about the third teaching practice:

The third practice was the cherry on top of the cake. So, in a way, you can put into practice all that you have learned in a couple of years into class teacher studies or here in major studies and then in pedagogical studies. It was such a holistic practice in terms of teaching, and I was really happy to work with different age groups (Sofia, female, 23)

Because the management of content knowledge evolved and student teachers had gained more confidence about being a teacher, they could see the nature and different features of RE as a school subject, for example, sensitivity and a dialogue. Sofia, for instance, characterised RE teaching in the following way:

Well of course you know the content of that subject, but also about the cultures and social situations that those religions are part of. It requires combining all the information in the teacher’s work. And then the courage to open and bring up different spiritual backgrounds and deal with them as part of your teaching. And then to be sensitive to different experiences, backgrounds and opinions. The ability to create conversation and dialogue (Sofia, female, 23).

Milla also obtained confirmation that you need different skills like dialogue skills in the context of RE teaching:

More and more, the work of an RE teacher is not only about conveying content, but also helping students deal with their own spirituality and the different dimensions and views of their own religion (Milla, female, 24).

In this phase, the educational concepts were clearer than before and actively used to interpret different situations in the classroom. For instance, in their characterisations, they stated how they explicitly linked concepts with different educational situations in their assignments during their third teaching practice. The interviewees stated that the studies learned earlier were beginning to look meaningful and the connections of different studies were becoming apparent:

At the latest after H3 [teaching practice 3], people become aware that a pedagogical theory is such an important part of this. And at that point, you have enough theory regarding what you have studied to apply it in your teaching (Eetu, male, 26).

One aspect of the confirmatory phase was that, in their perceptions, skills in the context of RE teaching were becoming important. It can be seen logically that, when they managed the content knowledge better, they could better focus on and develop skills in their teaching. For instance, in their interpretations, they described how the teacher uses different skills in the classroom. Applying skills to the different teaching situations were also seen as relevant. For instance, through teacher education, Eetu, Sofia and Milla all particularly felt that information and communication technology skills were important to learn as a part of professional development. Eetu described technological skills as a part of the competence of an RE teacher and how they are important to take into account in teacher education:

And then of course there will be even more of this technological development. I believe its significance will increase. You can ask dramatically whether this is a threat or opportunity. I’d say it’s more of an opportunity. You have to be prepared to do that, keep up with technology. I wouldn’t be surprised even though teachers today, in a way, need to be trained in how technology works. As new technologies emerge, pedagogy and theories will evolve in this direction as well (Eetu, male, 26).

The induction phase in professional reflection

The third and final phase was called induction. Typical things in this phase were that, in the characterisations of interviewees, they wanted more practice, they increasingly thought about issues related to combining life and career, applying knowledge and skills to the work of an RE teacher, they saw wide-ranging effects of RE teachers’ work on society, and they realised that professional development being continuous and reflecting on their own professional development were important in the future.

The first thing that was typical of this phase was that the interviewees felt that they wanted more and more practical experience from the work of an RE teacher, and the development of working life skills was seen as important. They perceived final work life practice as relevant because the learning environment is uncontrolled, and you can have experiences regarding the autonomy of the teacher. Milla described how she wanted more practice and rehearsal of working life skills:

I want working life expertise. That’s the part I want to develop. Especially now when the latest practice comes. And in the future, once you have been there at the workplace, you will develop yourself in your own field (Milla, female, 24).

Another aspect that characterised the inductive phase was that the questions surrounding combining life and career seemed to be increasingly actual and realistic for the three interviewees. In their descriptions, combining life and career was considered to be an important issue in the future, and the interviewees really believed this. They had realised how great a workload teachers had, and how it was really important for career resilience to learn to find a balance between personal life and the demands of work. They thought that during their education they had not gained enough practice in this. Eetu gave his views about life and career skills:

Life and career skills are probably just those, which develop in working life. There is already some taste of them here, but it has not been such a big part of my own development (Eetu, male, 26).

The perceptions connected to the induction phase emphasised the application of content knowledge and skills in the work of an RE teacher. For instance, in their characterisations, they really expected that you can put your knowledge and skills into the practice in the last (fourth) teaching practice. Milla described the expectations of the final teaching practice:

Especially when the practice [the fourth] starts, then you really get into working life so those skills develop there. And then in the upcoming practice you are going to expand all the earlier parts of your teacher education (Milla, female, 24).

In the descriptions related to the induction phase, all the interviewees showed a realisation of how wide-ranging the work of a teacher is. The perspective of the work of an RE teacher started expanding in their characterisations, for instance, collaboration with other subjects and social awareness. All the interviewees had begun to view collaboration with other subjects as important, and it can be viewed as one part of seeing how wide-ranging the work of a teacher is, and that it is not just limited to teaching a subject. In addition, they had realised the societal impact and importance of RE teaching. Milla said that through RE teaching you prepare pupils to live in society:

It teaches you to appreciate the opinions and beliefs of others. In a way, it also teaches about society and about the world where these religions and worldviews exist (Milla, female, 24).

In the characterisations of the induction phase, the continuum of professional development was highlighted. Professional development was seen as continuous, strengthening and changing by all interviewees. For instance, information was seen as changing and there were more perspectives on how to view things. They also said how they wanted to learn teaching methods more in the future. They described how they wanted to grow as a person and a teacher, and it seemed that they had realised this during the teacher education. They described how they had gained good competence which they can further develop. All the interviewees felt that the dimension of research will continue to be taken into account in the development of their own competence in the future. Eetu saw the continuum of his professional development as follows:

Evolving in many ways. Maybe I now have pretty good content knowledge (Eetu, male, 26).

Milla also felt that she wanted to develop herself constantly:

But it [professional development] is changing continuously. I am ready to develop myself as a teacher later and view knowledge through new eyes (Milla, female, 24).

Finally, the interpretations connected to the induction phase highlighted the reflection as an important tool for thinking and developing one’s own professional skills. In their characterisations, they said, for instance, that reflection is a good way to learn from your mistakes. Sofia reflected on the whole teacher education and her professional development in the following way:

Well the expectations have been fulfilled and exceeded very positively. I was expecting to learn content knowledge but in a way those skills, the pedagogical side, have been totally new (Sofia, female, 23).

Conclusions

This study investigated the perceptions of three RE student teachers about their professional development throughout their initial teacher education. The purpose was to investigate what kind of phases are identifiable in their reflections. The study identified emphases during their reflections, which we called the explorative, confirmatory and induction phases. In literature, the development of professionalism during teacher education has been found to be complex (Day and Sachs 2004). Likewise, and based on the data, these phases should not be read as mutually exclusive, as certain topics are bound to be present at different times of teacher education (Ubani 2018), but rather as emphases of foci that could be related to how the student teachers perceive themselves in the profession of the teacher.

The explorative phase was characterised by the student teachers seeking certainty about their choice of profession and finding out how they personally could fit into the profession of teacher. Previous studies have also indicated that, during the initial RE teacher education, at least in Finland (Ubani 2015, 2016) and UK (Everington 2012, 2016), student teachers do not have enough time for reflection on their own professional identity and professionalism. However, according to this study, in this phase, the student teachers did show an emphasis on the aforementioned issues: they emphasised questions surrounding the use of their personality as a tool and a basis on which to build their own professionalism. In addition, in this phase, reflection on the importance of having and acquiring content knowledge was highlighted. The emphasis on exploration coincided with the first and second teaching practices during which the students reported that they had started increasingly to observe the school world from the point of view of RE.

The confirmatory phase was characterised by issues surrounding the connection between theory and practice. This phase was also characterised by the students having more confidence about their own professionalism, and placing more importance on skills in the work of an RE teacher than merely content knowledge. According to the data, the resolution of questions concerning combining theory and practice began to occur noticeably, mainly during the third teaching practice. The student teachers recollected how, during that time, they realised how the concepts were linked more with classroom situations. This also enabled them to analyse the classroom situation better. In previous research, teacher education has been criticised for problems in combining theory and practice in pedagogical reflection: it is claimed that the content of teacher education remains fragmented (Korthagen, Loughran, and Russell 2006). Arguably, the content and emphases of teacher education may vary over time and contexts, so past criticisms may not apply fully in this case and one cannot make stronger claims about the quality of teacher education. However, the study seems to indicate that it is possible to bridge the gap between theory and practice in teacher education and that students are actively trying to do this.

In the third induction phase, the interviewees reported focusing increasingly on generic work-life skills and thinking about issues related to combining life and career. Subsequently, they wanted to emphasise the aspect of gaining experience in the fourth teaching practice. The interviewees perceived their professional development as continuous and changing and wanted to base it on research in the future. They also described the reflection on their own professionalism as important. Recently in literature, lack of support in the first years as a professional in teacher education has been increasingly debated (Niemi 2015; Harju and Niemi 2016). In literature, ‘induction’ refers to the first years in teacher education (Niemi 2015). Teacher education is increasingly recognising itself as a continuum that ranges from pre-service teacher education to teacher education in service (Conway et al. 2009; Livingston 2012; Niemi 2015). At the same time, teacher development has been reported to lack support for induction in the practices of many, if not most European countries (Niemi 2015; Harju and Niemi 2016). It seems that the topics of reflection among student teachers when they are nearing the end of their pedagogical training could offer possible grounds for developing support scaffolds for teacher development in which in-service teacher education is bridged with some kind of teacher education during the first years of practice.

The schools of the 21^st century make the task of the teacher arguably more challenging and demanding than ever before (Niemi 2015). As teacher preparation programmes are educating teachers for schools based on skills-based schools with ‘new learning’ and ‘transformable skills’, it is essential to recognise that ‘skill’ as a teacher includes more holistic and fundamental attributes that define success. In the development of such as teacher, we argue that a model ranging from initial teacher education to in-service training and recognising the induction phase as something that functions as a developmental bridge between the two should provide grounds for good teaching today and in the future.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kaisa Viinikka

Kaisa Viinikka (ThM, MSS, RE teacher) is a PhD student and doing research in the ‘21st century skills, multiple literacies and development of RE teacher education’ -project at the University of Eastern Finland. Her research interests are focus on religious education, teacher education and professionalism.

Martin Ubani

Martin Ubani (PhD, M. Theol) is a Professor of Religious Education at the school of theology and the school of applied sciences in education and teacher education at the University of Eastern Finland. His research interests include religion, multiculturalism and education and professionalism in religion and education.

Appendix.

A structure of semi-structured interview for three (3) RE student teachers at the University of Eastern Finland

GENERAL THINGS AND THE START

Could you tell in general about yourself, what you have been studying and for how long?

Are you going to teach at a secondary school or high school? Or both?

At what stage are you studying now?

1. INTERPRETATIONS ABOUT RE TEACHER AND TEACHING

1.1 Work of teacher

How do you see the work of a RE teacher today?

What kind of knowledge, skills does the work of a RE teacher require?

How do you feel about the relationship between subject content knowledge and skills in religious education?

1.2 Competence

What do you think what kind of is a competent RE teacher?

What is expertise in religious education?

How do you see your competence currently?

How have different studies (major and pedagogical) influenced your understanding of competence?

What factors do you think have influenced your perception of competence?

How do you see whether the competence required for a RE teacher has changed over time?

What kind of competence do you think a RE teacher needs in the future?

What have you thought about the post-graduation development as a RE teacher?

1.3 The future of religious education

How do you see religious education in the future?

How do you see the work of RE teacher in the future?

2. RE TEACHER EDUCATION

2.1 RE teacher education

What is your overall picture of the subject teacher education at the University of Eastern Finland?

What did you initially expect from the education?

Did you meet your expectations concerning teacher education?

Do you think that current RE teacher education meets your understanding of a competent RE teacher and the job requirements of a RE teacher?

How would you possibly develop the RE teacher education (e.g. to better answer the requirements of the previous question)?

2.2 Major studies

What is your understanding and an overall picture of major studies (theological studies)?

What kind of competencies have major studies brought to you?

How would you develop major studies?

2.3 Pedagogical studies

What is your understanding and an overall picture of pedagogical studies?

What kind of competencies have pedagogical studies brought to you?

How would you develop pedagogical studies?

3. OWN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Trajectory of own professional development

Instructions = You need a paper and a pen = Please, draw a trajectory that describes your development as a RE teacher. Please, mark important moments/things along the way.

What kind of is your whole trajectory?

When do you feel your development as a RE teacher has begun?

What important moments have you had along your trajectory?

3.2 Areas of own professional development

What do you think your professionality consists of (areas)?

What kind of expectations did you have for the professional development of a RE teacher at the beginning of your studies?

How do you feel your professionalism has evolved during the various studies (major and pedagogical)?

What is the significance and role of subject content knowledge in your professionalism?

What is the significance and role of skills in your professionalism?

How do you feel about the relationship between the subject content knowledge and skills in your professionalism?

What areas of professionalism do you want to develop in the future?

How do you see your professional development continuing?

3.3 Developing competence in different studies

How do you feel your competence has evolved in different studies (major and pedagogical)?

How do you see the development of subject content knowledge and subject-related skills during theological studies have been noticed (in studies)?

How do you think the development of content knowledge (subject management) and subject-related skills has been taken into account/reflected in the studies of theology department?

Instructions: Showing a paper of four groups of 21st century skills; learning and innovation skills, information, media and technology skills, life and career skills, and dialogue skills.

What do you think about these skills for professional development?

What significance do they have?

In your opinion, which of the following skills (four groups of skills) have you developed during your RE teacher education (major and pedagogical studies) in relation to your professionalism?

How have your skills developed?

Which of the skills would you have needed for further education in terms of professional development?

How could these skills be developed during studies in the future?

THE END OF THE INTERVIEW