The Challenge of Educating Purposeful Teachers in Finland

Elina Kuusisto,Kirsi Tirri

doi:10.3390/educsci11010029

Abstract

This article discusses the challenges of educating teachers in Finland. As a goal in teacher education for the 21st century we propose the purposeful teacher, referring to a teacher who has a long-term moral commitment to serve students, the school community and society. Our data collected from student (N = 912) and practising (N = 77) teachers yielded information on the purposes they identified as important in their lives. The survey included quantitative instruments and open- ended questions. The teachers identified happiness, relationships, work and self-actualisation as the most important contents of their aspirations. All the content categories could be understood as potential purposes in that the benefit extended beyond the teachers themselves. However, almost half of the student teachers (46%) and over half of teachers (55%) revealed only self-orientation. Less than half of them (43%, 36%, respectively) showed a beyond-the-self orientation, which is indicative of a purposeful teacher. Among the practising teachers, teaching appeared to be mainly a mediating factor in realising their purposes or aspirations. These results have implications related to contemporary teacher education in Finland. Both pre- and in-service teachers need to know about purposeful teaching in order to find meaning in their work.

Highlights

The changing situation in teacher education and the new demands of the 21st century call for teachers who find both a personal and a societal purpose in teaching, and who can commit to the teaching profession in the long term [1]
In this article we have discussed the challenge of educating purposeful teachers in Finland
Given the new demands of the 21st century and the decreasing number of teacher candidates in Finland, we perceive a need for more emphasis on meaningful teacher education that combines the personal and professional interests of future teachers

Summary

Introduction

The changing situation in teacher education and the new demands of the 21st century call for teachers who find both a personal and a societal purpose in teaching, and who can commit to the teaching profession in the long term [1]. We propose purposeful teaching as a goal in teacher education to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Finland needs teachers who are ethical professionals with the freedom and responsibility to teach in ways that build meaning and purpose for themselves and for their students. The new demands of the twenty-first century and the decreasing number of aspiring teachers emphasise the need for meaningful teacher education that combines the personal and professional interests of the learners [3]

Methods

Results

Conclusion