The Swedish primary teacher education programme: at the crossroads between two education programme traditions

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn 2011, new teacher education programmes were introduced in Sweden. This policy case study examines the outcome of the reform, focusing on the pedagogic discourses in the examination practise of the primary teacher education programme, but also on the possible effects of dividing teacher education for primary teachers into two specialisations: for teachers of grades F-3 and 4–6. The point of departure is that the Swedish, and Nordic, teacher education programmes have been shaped by two traditions: the seminar tradition and the academic tradition. The study is based on Bernstein’s theories of pedagogic discourses and how these affect teachers’ professional knowledge base and professional identities. The results show that the primary teacher education above all prepares student teachers for everyday classroom life, but also that the examination practice and the pedagogic discourses differ to some extent between the two specialisations and that the primary teacher education (PTE) students who choose to specialise in grades 4–6 now encounter pedagogic discourses that more resemble an academic tradition than what is encountered by students who choose to specialise in F-3.