Teachers’ External Networking: Expanding Pedagogical Practices in Finland

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine Finnish teachers’ experiences of pedagogical activities carried out in collaboration with external stakeholders. For examining teachers’ cross-sectoral networking practices, we interviewed 63 teachers across six schools in Finland’s capital area, focusing on how external networks are utilized to enrich pedagogical practices. Content analysis was performed to examine who teachers collaborate with, how the partnerships are initiated and maintained, as well as what are the hindering factors limiting cross-sectoral collaborative activities. The analysis revealed external stakeholders at three network levels: 1) city, 2) school and 3) personal teacher level. Similarly, factors hindering cross-sectoral collaboration were related to 1) teacher’s personal 2) schools’ systemic and 3) institutional systemic factors. The results show that cross-sectoral activities are rarely collaborative in nature but appear instead as coordinated activities. Moreover, current organizational structures do not provide sufficient support to individual teachers to expand learning environments with external stakeholders.