Nordic Student Teachers’ Evaluation of Educational Theory, Subject Didactics, Practice Training, Time on Task and Turnover Intentions

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter compares the quality of aspects of teacher education in the Nordic countries. Scandinavian countries employ nationwide surveys in higher education that provide essential information for education authorities of each country; these measurements are used in public sector debates concerning teacher education, and in individual teacher education environments. The results from these measurements can be used for benchmarking.This chapter compares the quality of various aspects of teacher across Nordic countries via a survey of student teachers. We collected data from all Nordic countries using similar surveys that were translated into the various Nordic languages by native speakers. All student teachers who participated in the study were in the final phase of their teacher education programme. Student teachers’ evaluations of educational theory, subject didactics, practice training, time-on-task, as well as several motivation categories were examined. The analyses show several similarities. However, the biggest difference between average scale values is found between the Danish and Finnish data sets. There is a standard deviation in difference in favour of Denmark between the relevance of educational theory teaching experienced in Denmark and Finland. Further, the time on task in Danish teacher education is far higher than in the other Nordic countries.