Abstract
Integration of theory and practice is the key element in the research on teachers’ professional knowledge. Traditionally, this topic has created a polarization between practical and theoretical knowledge. The reform in the new Norwegian teacher education has introduced a new and watered-down concept of knowledge and research-based knowledge in education. With the reform, conflicting perceptions have arisen of what we can understand with professional knowledge in teacher education. Based on Maton’s Legitimation Code Theory, and with examples from a study of students’ R&D papers, this paper sheds light on the conflicting concept of professional knowledge in new Norwegian teacher education. The paper refutes a generic concept of knowledge and argues that teachers’ professional knowledge is based on practices that are informed by specialized forms of knowledge in the subject area.
Highlights
To investigate these issues, related to the new knowledge base for teachers’ professional practice, this paper will examine students’ research and development thesis (R&D) papers in the new Norwegian teacher education. is project includes all R&D papers submitted in the Spring of 2020 at Nord University, Nesna, a total of 25 papers (P1, P2, . . ., P25). e R&D papers are stored in Inspera in Nord University, and after an approved application from Norwegian Center for Research Data (NSD), an extract of these R&D papers has been made. ese papers are well suited for uncovering the students’ understanding of research-based professional knowledge, and we will draw attention to the students’ perceptions of knowledge and the tension between knowledge in the subject area and pedagogical approaches
According to the authorities’ guidelines, this assignment must combine a special subject area and pedagogy, a combination that has been included in the curriculum at Nord University (Curriculum for MAGLU 1–7, 2017, p. 27) [42]. e goal of the students’ R&D papers is to develop a research-based and profession-oriented form of knowledge, which can strengthen the practice of the profession, and lay a foundation for the student’s work on the Master’s thesis [33]. is study includes 25 student papers submitted at Nord University, Nesna. e analysis of the students’ papers was carried out based on the LCT-dimension semantics, with emphasis on the concepts of semantic gravity and semantic density [28]
E semantic analysis shows that the students’ R&D papers are characterized by two different forms of knowledge, here categorized as generic knowledge (68%) and professional knowledge (32%). e analysis of student papers reveals two different semantic profiles and shows two very different versions of what can be understood as legitimate forms of professional knowledge in teacher education
Summary
Introduction e reform ofNorwegian teacher education, which was initiated in 2017, is associated with a fundamental shift in education policy in Norway in the 2000s. is shift is related to profound societal changes [1], with a transition to a knowledge society [2, 3], but can be localized to the introduction of international, large-scale surveys in Norwegian schools [4]. e introduction of the large-scale, international surveys (Programme for International Student Assessment [PISA]; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study [TIMSS]; and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study [PIRILS]), and especially the PISA-test, legitimized a fundamental change in Norwegian education policy [5], with subsequent reforms in Norwegian schools and later in Norwegian teacher education. ese changes are part of an international and neoliberal reform wave as discussed in [6, 7] and introduce new content in school and teacher education. e new Norwegian teacher education acquired crucial inspiration fromFinland, a country that has achieved high scores in PISA tests in schools [4, 8]. E concept of professional knowledge, as it is expressed in Education Research International the new Norwegian teacher education, appears with a Janus face, in the span between a progressive pedagogy and specialized knowledge in the subject area. With these changes, two different versions of the concept of professional knowledge are developed in [12, 16], something that has transformed teacher education into a contested space. In the new and reformed Norwegian teacher education, this tension has taken a new form, which especially is expressed in the question of what kind of knowledge should form the basis for teachers’ professional practice
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