TEACHER EDUCATION IN FINLAND PROFESSOR KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN DIRECTOR, CICERO Learning

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TEACHER EDUCATIONIN FINLANDPROFESSOR KRISTIINA
KUMPULAINENDIRECTOR, CICERO Learning
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INTRODUCTION

• I FINNISH SOCIETY AND INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION
• II THE PRINCIPLES OF FINNISH TEACHER EDUCATION
• III FUTURE CHALLENGES AND ACTIONS

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Current situation

• Wide international interest towards Finnish
  school system and teacher education
• PISA results
• The specific characteristics of Finnish teacher
  education
• Huge amount of applicants in teacher education

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Popular vocations in Finlandland

• Teacher 26
• Psychologist 18
• Artist, musician 18
• Architect 15
• Physician 10
• Nurse 09
• Priest 02
• (Lähde Suomen Gallup/Helsingin Sanomat, 2004)

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Educational Policy in Finland

• Equality of education has high priority
• Education for all
• Social and regional equality
• Well-educated parents -gt promotes motivation
• Life-long and life-wide learning

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Educational system in Finland

• 9 years comprehensive school
• Free for all
• No private school system
• High quality in all schools
• 3 years secondary school leading to Higher
  education
• Upper secondary school
• Vocational institutions
• Higher Education access to 65 for a age
  cohort no tuition fees
• Polytechnics
• Universities

• (

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Universities in Finland in 2007

• One of the most comprehensive university
  networks in Europe
• 10 multi-faculty universities
• Helsinki, Turku (2), Tampere, Oulu, Jyväskylä,
  Joensuu, Vaasa, Kuopio, Rovaniemi
• 3 universities of technology
• Helsinki, Tampere, Lappeenranta
• Faculty of Technology in Oulu 4818 students
• 3 schools of economics and business
  administration
• Helsinki (2), Turku
• Faculty of Economics in Oulu 1023 students
• 4 art academies

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Two-cycle model for basic university degrees

• The two-cycled basic degrees consist of
• the Bachelors degree
• (180 credits / 3 years) and
• the Masters degree
• (120 credits / 2 years)
• The third cycle will consist of postgraduate
  studies
• (leading to a doctoral degree)
• 1 year 1600 working hours 60 ECTS

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Finnish Teacher Education has a long history

• Teacher education for primary and secondary
  schools was transferred to universities in 1971
• Typical features
• - research-based orientation
• - continuous national and international
  evaluations
• - basic core curriculum in pedagogy

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Teacher Education in Finland

• Teachers profession has a high status
• Popular field of study gt high qualifications
  required
• Masters degree necessary also for primary level
  teachers
• Integration of theory and practice (Teacher
  training school)
• Pedagogical knowledge and subject knowledge
  integrated
• Teachers are seen as life-long learners
• Teacher education is research-based

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Finnish Teacher Education

• Classroom Teacher Model
• Education as a major
• Studies at the Department of Education
• How to get competence to a subject teacher?

• Subject Teacher Model
• An academic subject as a major
• Studies at the Subject Department
• Teachers pedagogical studies at the Dept of Ed
• How to get competence to a class teacher?

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A CLASSROOM TEACHER

• The classroom teacher completes a Masters Thesis
  (M.A) and the study programme consists of 300
  study points.
• Main subject Education (140 sp)
• Minor subject (60 sp) consists of all the 13
  school subjects a class teacher teaches at the
  first 6 grades of elementary school.
• Theory practice relation
• Academic tradition of research-based teaching
• Practice teaching
• Methodology and method studies

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The main idea of teacher education

• The central idea is to support students
  professional development by
• collective working and action culture
• different working methods
• students argumentation skills
• Teachers expertise is based on
• pedagogical thinking
• active and wide knowledge base
• ability to work as a researching teacher
• Teacher education guides the students
• to think on the ethical issues of education
• to be active agents of change in the school
  community, teacher education and society.

INTERACTION
EXPERTISE
SOCIETY
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TEACHER EDUCATION
THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL THINKING SKILLS
IS LINKED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF METHODOLOGICAL
THINKING AND INQUIRY-ORIENTED TEACHING AND
STUDYING.
is to educate pedagogically thinking
individuals who are active members in the society
at its various levels. student teachers
personal growth, understanding of human
developmental structures and processes growth in
historical, cultural and social understanding of
schooling the development of meta-cognitive
pedagogical thinking skills, understanding the
aims, contents and strategies of teaching
THE IDEA
THE AIMS
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THE IDEA OF TEACHER EDUCATION
S O C I E T Y
EXPERTICE
INTERACTION
Collegiality The working culture
different methods argumentation
skills
Teacher as a researcher
pedagogical thinking skills
methodological understanding
personal practical theory of education
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Research-based approach

• Research-based approach is the central guiding
  theme of teacher education in Finland
• Research-based approach is integrated into every
  course and courses in research methods are
  introduced from the very beginning of the studies
• Another central aim of the teacher education is
  to promote professional thinking and identity
  building as a teacher
• Every unit connected with research
• Continuous courses of research methods
• Overall competence of research methods
• Teachers as practitioner researchers
• Masters thesis
• Direct access to doctoral studies

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RESEARCH-BASED TEACHER EDUCATION
DEVELOPING THINKING SKILLS

• General cognitive structures and processes grow
  while methodological and argumentative thinking
  skills are developing.
• Theoretical and methodological thinking skills
  are best developed by promoting student teachers
  knowledge of methodology as well as their
  know-how about research methods.
• Argumentative thinking skills are developed
  through working methods which allow active and
  interactive approaches to teaching and studying.

Pedagogical thinking skills
Methodology
Working culture
THINKING AS LOGIC
THINKING AS ARGUMENT
Methodological thinking skills
Argumentative skills
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Principles of Teaching Practice

• Starting as early as possible
• Interaction between practice and theory
• Every study period has aims of its own
• From small units to larger combinations
• Partnerships with schools
• University practice schools
• Field schools

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THE CORE ELEMENTS OF THE CURRICULUM

• The structures and processes of student teachers
  personal theory of education are the basic
  elements of the curriculum.
• Research based teacher education paradigm
  stresses that the study programmes knowledge
  base is dynamic and the student teacher is an
  active processor of knowledge.
• To see pedagogical elements and to ask
  pedagogically meaningful questions in educational
  situations is one of the most important skills a
  future teacher needs.
• 
  

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Curriculum for teacher education
COMMUNICATION AND ORIENTING STUDIES 25 ECTS
MASTERS DEGREE 300 ECTS
OPTIONAL STUDIES 15 ECTS
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The Development of Expertise in Teacher Education
SCIENCE
THEORETICAL BASE
EXPERTISE
THEORY PRACTICE INTERACTION
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
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Why evidence-based teacher education? Ideas
behind the principle

• prepare teachers to respond to the evolving
  challenges of the knowledge society
• the most recent knowledge of
• subject matter
• curriculum content
• pedagogy
• social and cultural dimensions of education
• make decisions to improve education to different
  learners

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Research-oriented attitude and continuous
learning in teaching profession

• Teachers learn to take an analytical and
  open-minded approach to their work and are ready
  to learn new methods for their professional
  practise.
• The aim is that they can see their profession
  intellectually, socially and morally challenging
  career.

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Teachers responsibilities and current challenges
in Finland

• High goals of the national core curriculum
• Number of students in the classroom
• Pupils with special educational needs
• Multicultural issues
• The core of teachers work?
• The correspondence between competence and
  qualification?

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TEACHERS COMPETENCE

• Wide responsibility in upbringing
• Education frustrates teachers more than before
• Teachers find their competence to be at risk.
• The core of teachers work has blurred.

COMPETENCE
QUALIFICATION
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CHALLENGES IN ACADEMIC TEACHER EDUCATION
ETHICAL DIMENSION Values and choices
ETHICS
Teaching profession
COGNITIVE DIMENSION Knowledge base
PRACTICAL DIMENSION Interaction
EXPERTISE
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Policy decisions on studies at the University of
Helsinki

• Personal study plans to all students
• Minor subjects to be included in degrees
  (multidisciplinary)
• studies abroad to be recommended
• to be accepted as part of the degree programmes
• Teacher education as a part of the Bologna
  Process
• Pedagogical studies 60 credits (2535) MA
  gives a qualification
• Grading scales is standardised 0-5
• Students progress will be followed up regularly
  at checking points

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Specific aims of the Bologna Process at the
University of Helsinki

• The quality of degrees in the faculties will be
  enhanced
• The emphasis on research
• The Strategic Plan of the University
• The Masters degree will be the primary aim, the
  Bachelors degree an interim aim
• The multidisciplinarity of degrees will be
  furthered
• Quality assurance systems will be further
  developed
• student feedback systems, follow-up of graduates,
  feedback from employers, the feedback systems
  will be used in the development of education

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Kiitos!Kristiina KumpulainenCICERO
LearningUniversity of Helsinkikristiina.kumpulai
nen_at_helsinki.fiwww.cicero.fi
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THE BASIC IDEA OF TEACHER EDUCATION

• INTERACTION is based on
• collegial working culture
• the development of teachership
• EXPERTICE is based on
• pedagogical thinking
• teacher as a researcher thinking
• active and wide knowledge base
• THE ORIENTATION TO THE SOCIETY is based on
• the ethical base of teachership
• activity as a member of school community and
  society

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TEACHERS PROFESSION
TEACHERS PROFESSION
TEACHERSHIP
TEACHING
What is a proper knowledge base for a good
teacher?
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Strengths in Finland

• The best Pisa results
• The best educated teachers (MA degree since 1979)
• Among the younger age group, the proportion of
  people with higher education degree one of the
  highest in the world
• The growth of the economy fastest in the world
  since the middle of 1990s
• 3,5 of GDP for research and development
• High competitiveness (WEF and International Inst.
  for Management Development), Finland is among the
  top countries
• Creativity Index ranks Finland in position 2
  after Sweden