Teacher Education in Finland a Review of a National Effort for Preparing Teachers for the Future

Open access peer-reviewed affiliate

Educating Professional Teachers in Finland through the Continuous Improvement of Teacher Educational activity Programmes

Submitted: Nov 17th, 2017 Reviewed: April 25th, 2018 Published: August 22nd, 2018

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.77979

Abstract

The chapter analyses teacher professionalism and how professional teachers are educated in Republic of finland and will exist educated in future. Second, successes and challenges in the Finnish educational context and the part of teachers in education are discussed. The tertiary section examines before long principal and secondary teacher pedagogy at the University of Helsinki as an example of a teacher education plan in Finland. The main topic concerns how Finnish teacher education is aimed to be improved through broad-based collaboration. The Minister of Education nominated 100 experts from universities, the ministry building, the teachers' spousal relationship, educatee unions and municipal union to a Finnish Teacher Education Forum and asked them to analyse research outcomes related to instructor pedagogy, to place best practices based on teacher didactics strategies and policy documents in other countries, organise a national brainstorming process related to the renewal of instructor teaching and, finally, prepare a Development Programme for Teachers' Pre- and In-service Education (life-long professional development) in Republic of finland. Furthermore, the forum was asked to identify key actions to undertake to improve teacher education and support the implementation of the development programme, and also to create the conditions through financing pilot projects and organising meetings for the renewal of Finnish teacher education through professional development projects.

Keywords

teacher education
education policy
professional teacher
constructive teacher
strategy and strategy implementation

Jari Lavonen*
- Section of Instructor Education, University of Helsinki, Finland
- Centre for Education Practice Research, University of Johannesburg, S Africa

*Address all correspondence to: jari.lavonen@helsinki.fi

1. Introduction

The Finnish didactics organization offers an interesting and internationally recognised example of a high-performing system that successfully combines high quality with widely spread disinterestedness and social cohesion through reasonable public financing [1, 2]. The Finnish system differs in several means from nearly other European countries and the The states.

The quality of Finnish education has been promoted through a decentralised approach since the 1990s, in all areas of governance. Following this decentralisation, only bones guidelines are prepared at a national level, such as framework curricula and teacher teaching strategies. Finland has never based its educational organization on standardised testing, every bit have many countries that follow an outcome-based educational model. Providers of education, typically municipalities, have been responsible for quality balls and the training of local curricula, in collaboration with local stakeholders and families.

Teachers in Finland are highly educated. All teachers at the elementary, middle and high school levels are required to have a Master's degree. In fact, the education of elementary teachers (Grades ane–6) at the Chief's level has been entrenched for 35 years, while secondary teachers (Grades 7–12) have been trained at Chief'due south-level programmes for more than 100 years. An essential characteristic of teacher education in Finland has been its accent on research [3]. Following this perspective, student teachers learn both how to swallow and how to produce educational cognition. This research noesis is needed for local curriculum planning and the development of didactics and schoolhouse practices, also equally for the assessment of instruction and learning. Consequently, quality is bodacious primarily at the teachers' level. Over recent decades, studies accept indicated that local curriculum processes have inspired and empowered teachers and principals to develop the local curriculum and their own work processes and, moreover, to increase the quality of education overall. Didactics authorities and national-level pedagogy policymakers trust professional teachers [4, 5].

The teaching profession in Finland has e'er enjoyed smashing public respect and appreciation [6]. There are several reasons why teaching is an attractive occupation in Finland. In addition to the bookish condition of teachers, they enjoy collaboration with and receive support from school leaders and communities. Moreover, national education policy and its practical implementation, including the strong culture of quality and the key function of teachers in assessment activities, back up the professional person ethos of teachers [7]. Decentralisation allows teachers to consider local contexts and to address diversity among the students they teach. Decentralisation in education is strongly linked to the Finnish manner of interpreting instructor professionalism and the status of teachers in Finnish society.

The aim of this chapter is to analyse how professional teachers are educated in the Finnish educational context and how teacher education has improved to position the teaching profession for new and challenging contexts in the future . First, a brusque overview of the research on teacher professionalism and effectiveness is introduced. Then, the successes and challenges of the Finnish educational context and the role of teachers in this environs are discussed. Third, primary and secondary instructor education at the University of Helsinki is shortly introduced as an case of a teacher pedagogy programme. Finally, an analysis of teacher education reform will exist offered, concentrating on how the pursuit of this goal has been supported through collaborative strategies.

ii. Teacher professionalism as an aim in instructor education

A primal goal of teacher educational activity in all countries is to educate high-quality, professional teachers through a high-quality post-secondary programme and then support teachers through their career in professional person development. Withal, different definitions and interpretations have been offered concerning teacher professionalism. Several other terms, including effective, competent, expert, or ideal teachers are used in a similar way equally a professional teacher [8, 9, ten]. Teacher quality is typically approached by analysing (1) the cognition base of operations of a professional instructor (input approach), (two) the process or the interaction that occurs in the classroom between the teacher and students (procedure approach) or (3) the outcomes of the teaching and learning process, such as students' learning outcomes measured by national tests or graduation rates (output approach) [10]. In the first instance, teachers reaching high levels of quality are typically called professional teachers and in the 3rd case, referred to equally effective teachers.

According to the 'input approach', a professional teacher is supposed to take a versatile cognition base, allowing him or her to act as an democratic professional. The term 'knowledge' is interpreted broadly in this context and is close in pregnant to 'competence' or 'skill'. This knowledge base of operations is supportive for the planning, organising and evaluation of teachers' ain teaching, students' learning and their learning outcomes. Planning, broadly conceived, includes all steps from the planning of the local curriculum to the planning of a single lesson. Republic of finland has followed this input type of orientation in the education of professional person teachers.

Teacher professionalism does not only refer to the competence of individual teachers simply also to their status. Overall professionalism depends on factors operating at the school level and on cultural and instruction policy as well as such private characteristics every bit their knowledge base, teaching philosophy and interaction and collaboration skills [xi]. Important school-level factors include the nature of school leadership, the culture of collaboration and the structure of networks and school-society-family unit partnerships. Cultural and education policy factors include the land-level context, including whether the state is following a more accountability-oriented educational policy or whether it trusts teachers without relying heavily on practices of inspection and testing.

2.1. Shulman'due south model of teachers' professional noesis

To characterise teacher professionalism, a clarification of their noesis base of operations is the logical starting point. One well-known approach for describing this knowledge base of operations is Shulman's work [12, xiii], in which he made the distinction between unlike domains of cognition for instruction, including content (subject matter) knowledge, pedagogical content noesis and curricular knowledge [14, 15]. The level and depth of teachers' noesis in these domains are the ground of professionalism [sixteen, 17].

Content (field of study thing) cognition in a certain domain includes both conceptual and procedural knowledge. Furthermore, a instructor needs to understand the nature of the knowledge, that is, the underlying epistemological and ontological issues. The second knowledge category is pedagogical content cognition (PCK), which is a knowledge domain that distinguishes teachers from other subject specialists [thirteen, 17]. PCK is the synthesis of all knowledge needed for education and learning a certain topic [fourteen]. In Finnish instruction context, instead of PCK subject pedagogy or didactics is used as a term. The tertiary main category of teacher cognition is general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) [xviii]. Morine-Dershimer and Kent [nineteen] debate GPK consists of the following areas: (ane) classroom direction and organization, (2) instructional models and strategies and (three) classroom communication and discourse. Schulman'south original model has been augmented, for example, Gess-Newsome and Lederman [15] introduced the topic of teachers' contextual knowledge and ascertain it as knowledge of the context of teaching.

Research on teacher knowledge typically focuses on the noesis teachers need in classroom situations; all the same, they also need certain noesis outside their classroom activities. For example, retaining and enhancing their professionalism requires competences for both networking and life-long learning.

2.2. Competence for networking and partnerships

Networking both in and out of school, and also cultivating partnerships, are important areas of competence for professional teachers. Networks allow the sharing of ideas, opinions and experiences and are also important in the cosmos and adoption of educational innovations [xx]. In a partnership, at least two parties are engaged in collaborating in pursuit of common aims. Networks such as form-level teams and principal teams and, moreover, networks with healthcare experts are of import in-school networks.

Moreover, networking and partnerships are needed in engagements with entities outside the school, including organisations and companies in the surrounding community, and especially with parents. School-family partnerships can be cultivated through schoolhouse-family events and personal meetings to support communication and the clarification of shared goals.

2.three. Competence for life-long-learning

Another competence that is missing from the knowledge base initially divers earlier is the competence for life-long learning. A professional person teacher is ready to learn new knowledge needed in the teaching profession. This competence is often assumed to be developed through the study of research methodology and date in enquiry activity. Therefore, a professional instructor is viewed equally both a disquisitional user as well as a producer of educational knowledge [21, 22].

A professional teacher is a user of educational knowledge when theory and practical experience are combined and when educational situations are interpreted through reflection. Reflection refers to the process in which an experience is recalled, considered and evaluated, usually in relation to a broader purpose. Rodgers [23] describes reflection as a meaning-making process comparable to the enquiry process and lists phases of reflection: setting aims and recognising the problem(s), observing 1's own behaviour in practise, describing observations and analysing observations and experiences. Moreover, this blazon of knowledge and competence is needed in planning, broadly conceived, including the training of the local curriculum, the implementation of teaching and learning activities and the assessment of teachers' teaching.

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3. The context of Finnish education

Equality is an of import value in Finnish pedagogy. Complimentary education is available at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Moreover, free health care, counselling and library services are bachelor for students at all levels. Special education in Republic of finland aims to integrate all kinds of learners into the same classrooms and forbid students from dropping out. The goal of low early school leaving (ESL) levels is emphasised in Finnish education policy documents [24]. Even so, the equality of educational outcomes has deteriorated according to gender, students' socio-economic condition and migration groundwork and according to the area the students live in [25].

Another characteristic of the Finnish education organisation is its strongly decentralised structure and its culture of trust. Trust means that educational authorities and national-level policymakers trust teachers, together with principals, headmasters and parents, to know how to provide the best didactics for children and youth in a particular district. Schools and teachers have been responsible for choosing learning materials and education methods since the beginning of the 1990s, when national-level inspection of learning materials was terminated. Education providers or municipality-level education administrators, schools and teachers are responsible for quality assurance. Teachers are valued as professionals in curriculum development, didactics and assessment at all levels. On the other hand, decentralisation poses challenges for efforts to better educational practices and implementation of national level´ initiatives.

iii.1. Basic and upper secondary education

New national-level curricula for basic (primary and lower secondary) and upper secondary didactics were prepared between 2012 and 2014 in close collaboration with teachers, instructor educators and providers of pedagogy (municipalities) [26, 27]. Both curricula emphasise the learning of twenty-offset century competences and offering support to teachers every bit they confront such key questions as: what will educational activity mean in the hereafter, how tin pedagogy prepare all young people for the future, what competences will exist needed in everyday and working life and what kinds of learning environments and practices or pedagogy methods would all-time produce the desired pedagogy and learning outcomes.

3.two. Recognised challenges in Finnish didactics context

Several challenges have been recognised recently in Finnish educational activity. When the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 [26] and 2015 reported declines in the proficiency of Finnish youth, Finnish policymakers argued that the educational system is failing to promote the twenty-first century skills that volition fairly prepare students for the future. Another discussion concerns the challenges linked to the touch and use of new technologies in and out of schoolhouse situations [ii]. The 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) [28] demonstrated several weaknesses in the operation of schools and in teacher activities. According to the TALIS, virtually Finnish teachers find that they take influence over the factors that promote learning. However, teachers' participation in ongoing grooming to support professional development appears to be declining. Moreover, the orientation of new teachers to the profession is seen to be poorly organised in Finland. Teachers feel that initial teacher education does not fix its graduates well enough for collaboration betwixt home and schoolhouse, networks with healthcare experts, controlling disruptive behaviour in the classroom or managing the needs of more challenging students.

Considering of the reject in students' learning outcomes and low engagement in learning, perceived weaknesses in teachers' competences, the weak organisation of professional person development projects and the public debate suggesting gaps in crucial xx-kickoff century competences, several national projects have been launched in Finland since 2014, including the Time to come master and lower secondary education [29] and a national project aiming to renew upper secondary education [30]. The preparation of national core curricula for bones (chief and lower secondary) and upper secondary instruction [26, 27] has been function of these endeavours. Moreover, a special teacher education development program [33] was established in social club to overcome the challenges introduced earlier. These challenges were also introduced several times to the Finnish Teacher Didactics Forum by the author of this affiliate (chair of the forum) and, moreover, discussed while planning the new strategy in the forum.

4. Current teacher teaching practices in Republic of finland

Several researchers take argued that the well-nigh important reason for Finnish students' relatively high success in PISA is the professionalism of teachers. In general, the positive impact of good teachers on the learning and well-beingness of students is widely accepted (east.g., [34]). The professionalism of Finnish teachers is interpreted according to the perspectives gear up out in the previous section, on teacher professionalism. For example, the 2002 Finnish Teacher Teaching Development Plan [35] stated that Finnish teacher teaching programmes should help educatee teachers to get professionals and acquire, among other things, the following:

loftier-level content/subject thing knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, contextual knowledge and knowledge about the nature of knowledge; social skills, such as communication skills, skills involved in cooperation with other teachers and information communication technology (ICT) skills; moral knowledge and skills, including the social and moral codes of the pedagogy profession;
skills required for constructive cooperation with other teachers and those involved in partnerships with the school-customs (local contexts and stakeholders) and with parents; knowledge about schools equally an institution and their connections to wider gild;
academic skills, such as enquiry skills; skills needed for developing local curricula, planning teaching activities and organising the assessment of education and learning and the skills needed to develop one'due south own pedagogy practice and contribute to the teaching profession.

There is a long tradition in Finland of educating primary and secondary school teachers at universities in 5-year Master's-level programmes. Since the 1960s, the objective of teacher education has been to educate professionals who are able to plan, implement and assess their own teaching and their students' learning. Autonomy equally a part of Finish teachers' professionalism has contributed to instructor education being one of the most highly sought-afterwards training programmes at Finnish universities. For example, at the University of Helsinki only v–10% of applicants in 2016 were accepted to the programme.

4.1. Secondary instructor instruction at the Academy of Helsinki

Secondary instructor instruction is organised in cooperation with the departments of specific subjects at half dozen faculties within the University of Helsinki, along with the Kinesthesia of Education. Studies are divided into two parts: each of the subjects is studied within its ain department (e.grand., Physics) while pedagogical studies take place within the Faculty of Education and Teacher Training Schools. Students enrol in two subjects they intend to teach: one major and one small subject field. The Faculty of Didactics is responsible for organising the studies for the required lx credit points (cp) of pedagogical studies (identified as a second minor for the degree). In addition, 20 credit points are allocated for teaching practice, giving the students the qualifications necessary for teaching positions in all types of schools, in their major and minor subjects. The students ascertain topics for their Bachelor'southward and Master'due south theses (40 cp) and prepare the thesis under the guidance of a professor or within a inquiry group. In addition, each student prepares a pedagogical thesis.

An essential feature of chief and secondary teacher education in Finland is an emphasis on enquiry [three]. From the betoken of view of this orientation, student teachers acquire how to both consume and produce educational knowledge inside their pedagogical studies [21, 22]. Students consume noesis based on educational research when they combine theory and experience or translate situations during their exercise teaching. Students acquire a chapters to produce educational knowledge during their courses in inquiry methodology and while conducting their educational research projects (Bachelor's, pedagogical and Master's dissertations) [eighteen]. The knowledge and skills they larn during these thesis projects back up life-long learning practices.

Practice teaching makes upward one-third of the pedagogical studies credits. During practice didactics, the students are supported to transform practitioner (practical) knowledge into professional cognition through reflective activities and guided discussions in small groups. Reflection here refers to the process in which an experience is recalled, considered and evaluated in the effort to acquire from applied experience. Instructor mentors who supervise do teaching at instructor training schools support educatee teachers in their meaning-making process past facilitating goal-setting, self-observation and the description and analysis of observations and experiences to meliorate their didactics practice [23]. Supervision is critical at this stage, and trained mentors help the students to reflect on all the possible aspects of their work equally teachers. During the advanced stages of practice teaching, student teachers become increasingly independent, and discussions with supervisors are expected to become deeper and more detailed. Consequently, educatee teachers learn from their ain practice but besides main the process of reflection. Such reflective skills are essential to life-long learning.

iv.2. Main teacher teaching at the University of Helsinki

The structure of a Master'southward caste for primary teachers is quite similar at all Finnish universities to the structure of subject-based degrees for secondary educational activity. From the 140 cp allocated for education equally the major subject, 50 cp consists of studies of the actual knowledge base, such equally understanding the cultural, psychological and pedagogical features of educational activity and instruction. As much as seventy cp are devoted to methodological studies. Information technology is important that student teachers study quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods to develop a comprehensive agreement of methodological issues in the human sciences. A educatee in main education undertakes a Main's (M.A.) thesis of 40 cp during these studies. Conducting one's own research process improves a pupil'south understanding of the relationship between theoretical knowledge and do and offers the possibility of developing the orientation of a reflective practitioner-researcher to the everyday work of teaching.

Likewise the major in education, subsidiary bailiwick studies (60 cp) as a first modest subject adds to the noesis base of primary teachers. Subsidiary subject studies address the pedagogy of all primary school subjects, forth with cross-curricular themes to be implemented in various subjects at the primary level. The aim of this pocket-sized subject is to understand curriculum theory and its relevance to the planning, educational activity and evaluation of educational do. In addition, it is important to construct meaning for the singled-out characteristics of each field of noesis behind the primary school subjects. Pupil teachers need to sympathize the link betwixt the scientific orientation and the methods used in instruction subjects to learners in a school environment.

Too these subsidiary subjects studies courses, students in primary pedagogy may complete an elective minor subject (60 cp) in one of the schoolhouse subjects. The elective report module qualifies the pupil to teach this detail subject at the lower secondary level (Grades 7–ix). The minor subject studies are offered by subject departments and are based on scientific noesis of the field.

The noesis related to the teaching of schoolhouse subjects is strengthened past didactics do modules included in the program. One aim is to emphasise a theory-practice relationship by establishing connections between theoretical studies on campus and practise teaching at the partner schoolhouse. Birthday, 20 cp are allocated to pedagogy practise during these studies. The multidisciplinary teaching exercise module focuses especially on pedagogical content cognition relating to various classroom subjects. Student teachers have the opportunity to practice and amend their skills in teaching dissimilar subjects based on previous theoretical studies. During the final practice teaching session, normally completed during the quaternary or fifth year, the aim is to strengthen the interaction between particular schoolhouse subjects and the educational aims of upbringing young children in the primary school setting.

5. Recognising new aims for Finnish teacher education through collaboration and assay of research outcomes

Every bit described in the previous department, several challenges were recognised in Finnish education and instruction ecosystem based on the PISA and TALIS survey results [25, 28]. These challenges were discussed and summarised in the forum meetings as follows:

pupil-level challenges : lack of support for students' well-beingness and engagement in learning; challenges in guiding students to active learning processes; challenges in responding to the needs of individual learners and challenges in integrating formative and summative assessment;
classroom level-challenges : teaching in a heterogeneous multicultural classrooms; emphasising the learning of twenty-showtime century competences and designing and making effective employ of various learning environments;
schoolhouse and urban center-level challenges : working and planning curriculum in teams; teacher networking; evaluating current instruction practices; planning and implementing improvements or education reforms and using digital tools in pedagogy and administration;
society-level challenges : supporting sustainable development; preventing drop outs; how to take into business relationship machine intelligence and automation in instruction and concern.

As one response to these challenges, a Finnish Teacher Instruction Forum [31, 32] was established past the Ministry of Education in February 2016 to foster the development of teacher didactics equally a role of the national reform program [36]. The government minister nominated about 100 experts from universities, ministry, the teachers' marriage, student unions and municipal union to the forum and asked them

to analyse research outcomes related to teacher education,
to place best practices based on teacher education strategies and policy documents in other countries,
organise a national brainstorming procedure related to the renewal of teacher education and, finally,
to ready a Evolution Plan for Teachers Pre- and In-service Education (on life-long professional evolution).

The outcomes of the previously mentioned deportment i–3 and the recognised challenges were discussed collaboratively and transformed to strategic aims in the meetings of the Finnish Instructor Education Forum . This collaborative analysis of the actions and challenges supported the nominated experts to become aware of these challenges and new national aims. Moreover, the nominated experts were asked to exist responsible for the local level development projects and renewal of teacher pedagogy in each university.

The forum was as well asked to recognise key deportment to improve teacher teaching, to support the implementation of the evolution program and to create the weather condition for the renewal of Finnish teacher didactics through development projects. The programme was asked to describe the kinds of teacher education and continuous professional evolution that are necessary to ensure that teachers support students in the classroom to learn the competences (cognition, skills and attitude) needed today, tomorrow and in hereafter.

5.1. Outcomes of the literature review on enquiry on teachers and teacher education

The literature review [37] on inquiry on teachers and teacher pedagogy undertaken by the forum identified several important perspectives, which were discussed in the forum meetings and taken into account in the planning of the development programme. In particular, research outcomes related to the role of teaching in a social club; teaching and learning, engagement and private differences of learners; the design and use of educational innovations, like education technology, in teaching and learning and, moreover, the inquiry on teachers and teacher educational activity had an impact on the work of the forum (see e.g., [38]). One important topic discussed in the meetings was the link between teachers pre- and in-service training. Co-ordinate to the literature review, during pre-service training student teachers should exist willing and able to acquire new competences continuously in their work as teachers, including competences needed to organise inclusive classrooms, entrepreneurship instruction, networking and co-pedagogy.

I effect of the literature review emerging from the perspective of classroom interaction and learning identified best practices for professional teachers. They should:

support learners every bit they integrate new cognition with previous knowledge using effective instruction; anticipation and solution-oriented approaches;
guide learning through classroom interaction;
monitor learning and give feedback to learners;
take into account the melancholia dimensions supportive of learning, including respect for pupils and a passionate mental attitude towards educational activity and learning;
provide suitable challenges for learners; emphasise the acquisition of learning and self-regulation skills and encourage learners to develop self-confidence and self-esteem [39].

5.2. Outcomes of the benchmarking of teacher educational activity strategies in neighbour countries

Teacher education programmes and strategies were benchmarked in neighbour countries and discussed in the forum meetings. For case, the Norwegian 2016 unproblematic instructor didactics strategy (framework) aims to enhance the Norwegian instructor education credential to the Master's level and augment expectations of teachers, in improver to traditional pedagogical competences: 'for case, take responsibility for developing and leading inclusive, creative, safe and healthy learning environments (skill)' in the classroom, too equally competences needed to contribute to the professional community of teachers: able to ' contribute to both colleagues and the school'due south professional and organisational development ' [40]. Compared to previous national strategies, the new Norwegian strategy emphasises a research orientation in teacher education— bookish noesis and noesis on scientific thinking and research methods— forth with improved competences in teacher collaboration, personal and whole school environment development.

In Sweden, a renewal of teacher didactics aims to update information technology to the Main'south level, similar to the initiative in Kingdom of norway [41]. According to Swedish documents, for the caste of Main of Arts or Science in secondary instruction the student shall demonstrate the competences needed to participate autonomously in the teaching profession the knowledge and skills required to work autonomously as a subject instructor in the specialisation and competence needed in the development of learning environments—the capacity to create conditions in which all pupils can learn and develop (skill) —and the school surround: the chapters to plan, implement, evaluate and develop teaching and educational processes individually and together with others .

five.iii. Outcomes of the national spider web-based brainstorming procedure

As one of its activities, the Finnish Teacher Teaching Forum organised a national web-based brainstorming process related to the renewal of teacher didactics following the concept of the 'wisdom of crowds' [42]. According to this principle, a big group of people is collectively smarter than a few experts and is more than likely to come to wise decisions. In practice, a phone call to participate was sent to instructor educators in all Finnish universities, every bit well as to all teachers and administrative employees working in the field of educational activity at both national and local levels. The goal of this invitation was to solicit diverse opinions related to the development of teacher didactics, encouraging decentralisation of idea generation and independent thinking. The participants were first guided to generate ideas well-nigh what will be important in the future of teacher didactics and to evaluate or rank about 10 ideas contributed by others. In the ranking, participants assigned a number (from 0 to 100) evaluating the importance of these ideas. The web-based brainstorming tool combined similar ideas and reduced the number of ideas offered for ranking. Co-ordinate to participants, the most important priorities for students to learn in instructor education are learning-to-larn skills, along with interaction and collaboration skills. The same skills were besides emphasised in the recent Norwegian and Swedish teacher educational activity strategy papers and emerged from the teacher pedagogy literature review. The competences involved in generating ideas, readiness for change, research-based action and collaboration in partnerships and networks are all needed and then that teachers can participate collaboratively to develop classroom practices and culture in particular school contexts. Most of the acme-ranked skills and competences identified are needed outside the classroom. This means that, in teacher education, participants believe that more attention should exist paid to the skills and competences needed for effective instructor collaboration. Meanwhile, interaction and collaboration skills, pupil-centredness and the competences to meet variation, integration of school subjects, digitalisation and the use of various learning environments are skills, competences and attitudes needed past effective, professional teachers in a classroom environment.

5.4. Strategic aims for Finnish teacher instruction

Altogether, the forum organised eight total-day meetings of the entire forum, along with several meetings of smaller thematic groups, during 2016 and 2017. The steering committee of eight people met every month, discussing outcomes of the literature review, best practices based on teacher education strategies and policy documents in other countries and the brainstorming procedure and designing the Development Programme for Teachers Pre- and In-service Education . This evolution programme [31] set out holistic competence goals for teachers' pre- and in-service education and continuous life-long professional evolution. According to this document, a professional instructor should have:

5.five. A broad and solid knowledge base of operations

Subject matter noesis, pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge, contextual knowledge;
Interaction skills and skills for collaboration in different networks and partnerships (experts at school, family unit and society collaboration);
Knowledge almost learning and variety among learners (including special needs and multicultural backgrounds);
Competence to deed as an autonomous professional who tin plan, implement and assess his or her own practices and students' learning;
Competence to deed in various digital and concrete learning environments, including digital skills and learning in settings outside the classroom;
Professional ideology, including a shared understanding of professional person values and ethics codes (east.g., expectations for ethical conduct towards (1) students, (ii) practices and functioning, (3) professional colleagues and (4) parents and community);
Research skills (skills required to swallow inquiry-based knowledge);
Awareness of the different dimensions of the teaching profession: the social, philosophical, psychological, sociological and historical bases of education as well as schools' societal connections;
Sensation of various cross-curricular topics, including those related to human rights and democracy, entrepreneurship education, sustainable evolution and globalisation.

5.6. Expertise in generating novel ideas and educational innovations

A positive attitude towards continuous change, which requires tolerance of uncertainty and new and innovative ways of thinking;
Willingness to create a positive atmosphere supportive of artistic processes and curiosity, risk-taking related to classroom teaching and learning, creation of educational innovations and, moreover, sensation of the importance of this attitude for creative outcomes;
Competences necessary for the implementation of creative processes, the generation and evaluation of ideas related to classroom teaching and learning and the cosmos and adoption of educational innovations;
Competences required to pattern a school-level curriculum, to implement it and continuously to evaluate and amend information technology;
Enquiry skills (skills to produce inquiry-based knowledge).

5.seven. Competences required for the development of their own and their schools' expertise

A supportive mental attitude towards different occupational groups;
Self-regulation skills and skills for command over their piece of work (skills for cocky-cess);
Competences involved in working in networks and teams, such every bit networking with healthcare experts at the school site;
Competence in curriculum design and every bit an innovator for pedagogical approaches and learning environments;
The ability to facilitate, coach, mentor or train other teachers;
Competence to reflect on their own personal pedagogical views (reflection for, in, and on activeness);
Competence for quality work, the competence to use assessment outcomes for school development and the ability to develop school civilization through networks and partnerships with students, parents, other experts and stakeholders;
Competence to develop their own expertise through reflective activities, inquiry-based knowledge, mentoring, in-service grooming and seminars and workshops, forth with the willingness to employ this competence.

v.8. Implementation of the strategy

During the years 2017 and 2018, the forum has supported and will proceed to support teacher pedagogy institutes to organise pilot projects according to chief development areas, recognised in the development plan. In society to support the pilot projects, the forum has allocated two times 15 million euros co-ordinate to the proposals submitted past the Finnish universities. The development projects were asked in the following areas:

holistic view to teacher education,
option and anticipation,
supporting the development of competences needed in generating novel ideas,
collaboration culture and networks,
supportive leadership,
research based instructor education.

The experts nominated to the Teacher Pedagogy Forum were responsible for supporting the writing of proposals and back up the starting of the development projects. Only the proposals, which were written according to the strategic aims, were funded.

Altogether, 32 evolution projects were funded and started. According to the content analysis conducted past the author of this chapter, the evolution projects were designed in collaboration between the universities and in collaboration with the providers of educational activity (working life connectedness) and, moreover, they were research-oriented projects. The projects were emphasising the following topics:

competence model to teacher educational activity programme according to the strategic aims (21 projects),
models for pedagogy and supervision in teacher education (fourteen projects),
teacher leadership and leadership at school level (13 projects),
digital environments in teacher educational activity (12 projects),
supervision of educational activity practice (eight projects),
multiprofessional team work, (7 projects),
equity in education (7 projects),
multicultural education and language education (6 projects),
selection and anticipation (4 projects),
special need education (two projects).

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6. New meaning and approaches to teacher professionalism

The Finnish teacher education policy and teacher education programmes have always emphasised the acquisition of a professional cognition base of operations, networking skills and the competence for life-long-learning, in a way similar to that emphasised in recent international enquiry literature on teacher professionalism. The 2016 Development Programme for Teachers Pre- and In-service Education emphasises similar competencies. Even so, this new programme enhances the role of inventiveness and innovation in the didactics profession every bit new areas of competence. Teachers should go more than able to generate ideas to solve problems or overcome challenges at a local level. Inventiveness is needed, for example, in the design of new learning environments or to organise an inclusive classroom. 2nd, the programme emphasises the development of the whole schoolhouse context, specially versatile leadership, in addition to the competences of private teachers.

Although new areas of competence have come to national policy attention, traditional areas of teacher knowledge are withal emphasised. For case, Finnish secondary teachers in the time to come will continue to learn versatile subject thing knowledge in departments specialising in specific subjects. During these subject field studies, student teachers become familiar with the epistemological and ontological ground of their subjects under the guidance of professors who are conducting their own research in the field. This kind of knowledge is relevant in school contexts when teachers guide students in different kinds of activities and problem-solving. Furthermore, pupil teachers learn pedagogical cognition and pedagogical content knowledge during their studies, both at subject departments and at the Kinesthesia of Pedagogy.

In addition to previous traditional domains of teacher knowledge, students volition keep to learn how to critically eat and to produce educational research, as student teachers have learned since the 1960s. This research orientation in teacher pedagogy is of import for the development of competences for life-long learning. The research orientation in instructor education also supports the development of competences involved in planning of teaching activities, broadly conceived, as well equally versatile assessment. Finnish teachers must follow their students' progress formatively and support the learning of their students besides as pay attending to students with special needs. Instructor effectiveness is not considered a characteristic of individual teachers; rather, it is strongly associated with the characteristics of the whole educational context, including national Finnish educational policy and the organisation of educational activity in practice through the national and local-level curricula. These competences are needed in life-long-learning.

The professionalism of teachers in Finland is also not a property of individual teachers merely, rather, it refers to characteristics of teachers as a group and depends on cultural and pedagogy policy factors at both national and school levels. The Development Program for Teachers Pre- and In-service Teaching emphasises teachers' collaboration and the development of the whole school context; this social interpretation of teacher professionalism is emphasised more in previous policy documents. Collaboration and the development of school civilisation have also recently been emphasised in Finland'southward neighbours, Kingdom of norway and Sweden. In contrast to the pinnacle-down systems established in many other countries, the Finnish educational system is characterised by the devolution of decision-making power and responsibility to the local level: based on the National Core Curriculum, teachers plan the local curriculum collaboratively [13, 14]. In addition, teachers are responsible for pupil assessment and for the evaluation of their own education; there is no national-level testing or inspection in country-funded educational activity. Therefore, teachers accept an of import and influential part in schoolhouse education and teaching.

Both Finnish education policy and the Finnish education organization support teachers in their professional role [xi]. This role as well every bit the cognition and skills (competences) needed in the teaching profession are learnt during instructor education. These competences help teachers to deed every bit bookish professionals, collaborate in school communities and continuously acquire new competences. This professional orientation, including the cultivation of enquiry skills, has recently also been emphasised in Finland'due south neighbouring countries, Norway and Sweden.

When Finnish didactics and teacher education policy and their implementation are compared to the global education trends, a couple of contrary movements can exist recognised [i]. In general, Finnish education policy represents a long-term orientation and is not based on advert hoc ideas coming from the politicians. New strategies are planned collaboratively and in partnership with unions of teachers and other employees and aim at consensus in the planning process. Resource are made bachelor for the piloting and implementation of innovations.

An important motility globally, showtime in the 1980s, was the tendency towards outcome-based pedagogy reforms. This movement was followed in the 1990s by standards-based education policies, get-go in the UK and the US, including centrally prescribed performance standards for schools, teachers and students. Nationwide testing of students' learning outcomes is another outcome-based policy. By contrast, inside the framework of the Finnish national-level curriculum, teachers collaboratively create local curricula at the municipal and school levels. The local curriculum is both a process and a product. The nature of the procedure empowers teachers in their planning processes and increases their ownership of the curriculum. Therefore, teachers need training and grooming to work in this context and, in their teacher education, acquire the necessary competences.

In the Finnish educational context, external demands are not visible in everyday schoolhouse practice to guide teachers' work, including their assessment practices. This temper supports teachers in developing school environments and educational activity collaboratively. Competition and rankings hardly exist in Finnish education—the educational context supports collaboration, networking and partnerships. Finnish teacher teaching aims to support student teachers to acquire how to collaborate, also as how to programme and assess educational activity and students' learning outcomes. However, sure challenges face the development of collaboration and broader networking skills through teacher education programmes.

One global trend has been consequential accountability systems for schools. Success or failure of schools and their teachers is often determined past standardised tests and external evaluations that devote attention to limited aspects of schooling. Over again, in Finnish primary and lower secondary schools another direction has been chosen: trust based on the professionalism of teachers. An important pre-status for trust is the high quality of teacher education and a broadly supported overall strategy. A culture of trust within the instruction system values teachers' and headmasters' professionalism in judging what is best for students and in reporting on the progress of their learning. While heavy testing and inspection do not characterise the Finnish organization, schoolhouse satisfaction is non high amongst students. Therefore, during initial instructor instruction, student teachers should acquire how to take full benefit of the potentials inherent in the non-consequential accountability organisation in Finland. At that place is infinite for increasing co-planning, project piece of work and encouraging and motivating forms of cess.

To conclude, the Finnish approach to teacher professionalism and effectiveness is the 'input approach', according to which a professional teacher should have a versatile knowledge base and competence for networking, developing the school culture and life-long-learning. The construction of this noesis base begins during Finnish teachers' initial teacher education. This education supports Finnish teachers' strong autonomy in curriculum design and in choosing instructional strategies and approaches to assessment. This autonomy is too supported through Master'south-level teacher education, which supports pedagogical thinking and autonomous decision-making. Moreover, autonomy is supported through the cultural respect accorded to the teachers. Third, Finnish didactics policy offers a supportive surroundings for teachers in their autonomous roles.

The influence of the new Development Programme for Teachers Pre- and In-service Teaching and implementation of the development projects is too early to evaluate. The development projects have been working only half-twelvemonth when this affiliate has been written. However, based on the meetings of the forum and directors of the evolution projects, the Finnish instructor educators are eager to brand progress in teacher education. All 32 development projects take started and they are having nationwide connections and meetings. There have been two meetings between Nov 2017 and Feb 2018. Altogether four national meetings are scheduled for the residue of the year 2018. The bear on of the Evolution Programme for Teachers Pre- and In-service Education will exist evaluated in the end of year 2018 by the forum itself and by external evaluators, nominated past the Finnish national quality office.

Acknowledgments

This textile is based upon work supported by the Finnish Academy (No. 298323 and 294228). The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and practice not represent the views of the funding agency. The authors admit Finnish Academy.

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