Teacher Education Around the World

Changing Policies and Practices

Linda Darling-Hammond, ANN LIEBERMAN, Linda Darling-Hammond, ANN LIEBERMAN

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136729966
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

Teachers are the most important single element of the education system but what does it take to create high quality teachers in today's world?

Around the world, countries are struggling to understand how to change their schools to meet global demands. International comparisons have shown that schools in Finland lead the league tables, but why is this, what new policies and practices in teacher education have they developed and how do they support the changes? A number of European and Asian countries also top the list when it comes to providing high quality teacher education, but there is little information about what and how they are doing the work and how they have made changes.

The leading international contributors to this book describe the systemic policies and practices of teacher education in eight high-achieving countries and how they are dealing with teacher quality, equity, and the changing global society. Among the countries that are doing well – Finland, Singapore, the Netherlands, the UK, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia and the USA – there is an interesting diversity of policies and practices that support their changes in education, including:

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• emphasis on the preparation, induction, support and assessment of new teachers
• focus on teacher retention, teachers' professional knowledge and continuing professional development
• curriculum change and critical policies.

In addition the chapters highlight the local cultural imperatives that influence and shape the preparation of quality teachers and make change both possible and problematic.

Teacher Education Around the World examines what can be learned from the different countries, what policies and practices seem transferable; and which seem embedded in the particulars of the culture of the country. It describe themes that cut across all the countries, documenting not only what they are, but how the countries go about supporting and sustaining changes in teacher education. This book will prove itself an absolute essential for all those involved in teacher education, teaching and educational policy.

Chapter 1 The most wanted

Teachers and teacher education in Finland

Pasi Sahlberg

DOI: 10.4324/9780203817551-1

Introduction

Finland is regarded as one of the world’s most literate societies. As a nation of modest people, Finland never actually intended to be the best in the world. Finns like to compete, but collaboration is a more typical characteristic of this nation. In the early 1990s when Finnish education internationally was nothing but average, the Finnish Minister of Education visited her colleague in Sweden to hear, among other things, that by the end of that decade Swedish education system would be the best in the world. The Finnish Minister replied that the Finns’ goal is much more modest than that. “For us”, she said, “it’s enough to be ahead of Sweden.” And that, indeed, is what happened. This episode is an example of close sibling relationships and coexistence between Finland and Sweden. In fact, collaboration is more common than competition, also, between these neighboring Nordic nations.

High levels of participation and completion of education at all ages, equitable access to publicly financed education and high student achievement in recent international assessment studies indicate Finland’s sound overall educational performance. All these accomplishments have been established in a relatively short time and at modest expense. As a consequence, policy-makers and researchers are pouring into the nation to study this “Finnish miracle.” How did a country with an undistinguished education system in the 1980s surge to the head of the global class within just few decades?

Many factors have contributed to Finland’s current educational fame, of course, such as unified nine-year compulsory schooling that ensures equal educational opportunities for all in good schools with modern learning-focused curricula that successfully address students with varying needs, and local autonomy and responsibility for both delivery of educational services to citizens and also continuous development of schools. But research and experience both suggest one factor that trumps all others: excellent teachers.

This chapter examines the crucial role that teachers play in Finland and describes how teacher education is making major contributions to the transformation of Finland’s educational system into a global point of interest and object of study in this decade. Before describing the current structures and policies of Finnish teacher education, however, it is useful to review some historic and cultural aspects of teaching and teachers in Finland.

The traditions of teaching

Education has always been an integral part of Finnish culture and society. While access to basic education became a legal obligation and right for all as far back as 1922, Finns have understood that without becoming literate and possessing broad general knowledge, it would be difficult to fulfill one’s aspirations in life. Before formal public schooling, since the 17th Century, cultivating public literacy was the responsibility of priests and other religious brethren in Finland. Catechist schools offered religious-oriented initial literacy education in Sunday schools and itinerant schools in villages and in remote parts of Finland. By tradition, the ability to read and write was required for legal marriage by the church for both women and men. This is beautifully described by Aleksis Kivi in the first Finnish novel, Seven Brothers, published in 1870 (Kivi, 2005). Becoming literate, therefore, marked one’s entry into adulthood, with all its duties and rights. Teachers gradually too assumed these responsibilities as the public school system began expanding in Finland in the early 20th Century. Primarily due to their inherited high social standing, teachers enjoyed great respect and also trust in Finland. Indeed, Finns continue to regard teaching as a noble, prestigious profession—akin to physicians, lawyers, or economists and driven mainly by moral purpose, rather than by material interests or rewards.

Teachers are the main reason why Finland now leads the international community in literacy, as well as in science and mathematics achievement. Of course, many other factors have contributed to Finnish high educational performance, as well.

Until the 1960s, the level of educational attainment in Finland remained rather low. For example, in 1952, as Finland hosted the Summer Olympics and Armi Kuusela was crowned as Miss Universe, 9 out of 10 adult Finns had only completed seven to nine years of basic education — a university degree was regarded as an exceptional attainment at that time in Finland (Sahlberg, 2007). In other words, the educational level of the nation was comparable to that of Malaysia or Peru, and lagged behind its Scandinavian neighbors, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In the 1960s, elementary school teachers were still educated in two- or three-year teacher-preparation seminars, not by academic institutions, but rather by units that offered shorter practical training in teaching. One graduate of a teacher-preparation seminar in the 1950s is Martti Ahtisaari, formerly a primary school teacher in Oulu, then President of Finland, and now a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Today, when celebrating its educational achievements, Finland publicly recognizes the value of its teachers and implicitly trusts their professional insights and judgments regarding schools. To put it quite plainly, without excellent teachers and a modern teacher education system, Finland’s current international success would have been impossible.

Those educational accomplishments seem all the more remarkable given that Finnish children do not start primary school until the age of 7. The educational system in Finland today consists of an optional pre-school year at the age of 6, followed by nine-years of basic school (peruskoulu), compulsory for all. In principle, basic school consists of six years of primary school and three years of lower secondary school (junior high school). This is followed by voluntary three-year upper secondary education that has two main optional streams: general (lukio) and vocational school (ammattikoulu). Both streams lead to higher education, either in a university or polytechnic. Content experts and subject-focused teachers provide instruction in the upper grades of basic school as well as at general and vocational upper-secondary levels.

Enrollment and completion rates in Finland are, by international comparisons, very high. According to data from Statistics Finland (2009), nearly 98% of the six-year-old cohort attend pre-school classes, 99% complete compulsory basic education (mostly without repeating grades or delays), and 95% of basic school graduates immediately continue their studies in the upper secondary school of their choice. Drop-outs from general and vocational upper secondary school (high school) have become rare, declining from high figures in the 1980s. Intensive student counseling and personalized study programs help Finland attain an average 95% graduation rate compared to 82% in the OECD countries on average (OECD, 2011; Välijärvi & Sahlberg, 2008). The challenge in Finland is to make more young people complete their upper secondary studies on time. There is a considerable gap between intended graduation time and actual graduation time particularly in vocational schools.

All Finnish education is publicly financed, including higher education. About 2% of all expenditures in Finnish educational institutions are paid for by private resources (OECD, 2008). This is significantly less than comparable averages in industrialized OECD countries (14%) or in the European Union (10%). Local authorities and municipalities assume primary responsibility for providing public education. Local tax revenues, on average, finance 58% of all pre-tertiary education, with the national budget financing the rest. In short, Finland’s education administration is decentralized.

The Finnish education system has many differences compared to public education in the United States or the United Kingdom. The Finnish system lacks rigorous school inspection, does not employ external standardized student testing to inform the public about school performance, and has adopted equality of educational opportunities as the main driver in its education policies. A National Matriculation Examination at the end of upper secondary education is the only external high-stakes instrument used in Finnish schools. Teacher education is fully congruent with these characteristics of educational policy in Finland.

Finland defines five categories of teachers:

1. Kindergarten teachers work in kindergarten classrooms and are also licensed to teach pre-school classes.
2. Primary school teachers teach in grades 1 to 6 of unified nine-year basic schools. They normally are assigned to one grade and teach several subjects.
3. Subject teachers teach specific subjects in the upper grades of basic school (typically grades 7 to 9) and in general upper secondary school, including also vocational schools. Subject teachers may be specialized to teach one to three subjects, e.g. mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
4. Special education teachers work with individuals and groups of students with special needs in primary schools and upper grades of basic schools.
5. Vocational education teachers teach in upper secondary vocational schools. They must possess at least three years of work experience in their own teaching field before they are admitted to a vocational teacher preparation program.

In addition to these five teacher categories, there are also teachers in adult-education institutions where similar pedagogical knowledge and skills are required. There are approximately 5700 new openings in all teacher education programs in Finland each academic year. This article focuses on the education of primary and subject teachers, who constitute about two-thirds of all teacher-education students in Finland.

Dreaming of teaching and teachers

Teaching as a profession is closely tied to Finnish national culture. Indeed, one aim of formal schooling is to transfer the cultural heritage, values, and aspirations from one generation to another. Teachers are, therefore, essential players in nation-building. Throughout the centuries, Finland has struggled for its national identity, mother tongue, and its own values: first, during four centuries under the Kingdom of Sweden, then for more than a century under the Russian Empire and its five czars, and then for yet another century as a newly independent nation positioned between its former patrons and powers of globalization. There is no doubt that this history has left a deep mark on Finns and the desire for personal development through education, reading, and self-improvement. It has become part of the cultural DNA in Finland.

It is no wonder, then, that teachers and teaching are highly regarded in Finland. The Finnish media regularly report results of opinion polls that document favorite professions among general upper-secondary school graduates. Surprisingly, among young Finns, teaching is consistently rated as the most admired profession, leading the ratings of medical doctors, architects, and lawyers (Helsingin Sanomat, 2004). Teaching is congruent with core social values of Finns: social justice, caring for others, and happiness. Teaching is also regarded as an independent profession that enjoys public respect and praise. It is a particularly popular career for young women—more than 80% of those accepted for study in primary teacher education programs are talented women.

Indeed, teachers are admired individuals in Finnish society. In a national survey, about 1300 adult Finns (ages 15–74) were asked if their spouse’s (or partner’s) profession had influenced their decision to commit to a relationship with them (Helsingin Sanomat, 2008). Interviewees were asked to select five professions from a list of thirty that would be preferred for a selected partner or spouse. The findings were rather surprising. Finnish males viewed a teacher as the most desired spouse, rated just ahead of a nurse, medical doctor, and architect. Women, in turn, admire only a medical doctor and a veterinarian ahead of a teacher as a profession for their ideal husband. In the entire sample, 35% rated a teacher as among the top five preferred professions for their ideal spouse. Apparently, only medical doctors are more sought after in Finnish mating markets than are teachers. This clearly documents both the high professional and social status teachers reached in Finland—in and out of schools.

Only Finland’s best and brightest are able to fulfill those professional dreams, however. Every Spring, thousands of Finnish general upper secondary school graduates su...