Finnish Teachers Research Articles

Experienced autonomy in the curriculum and Didaktik traditions

ABSTRACT This study investigates Finnish and Californian (US) elementary and secondary school teachers. The main objective of the study is to explore the experienced autonomy in different educational policy regimes. The ideologies and traditions that these two countries represent can be called Didaktik tradition and curriculum tradition. The research question is: How do the teachers’ perceptions of curriculum traditions in the two country contexts differ concerning experienced autonomy, and what might the theoretical and methodological implications of such comparison be? A total of 17 Finnish and 15 US teachers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The results show that both groups of teachers experienced a lot of autonomy despite of the fact that the US teachers operate in a more restricted accountability policy than the Finnish teachers. This raises some methodological and theoretical implications and limitations of self-reporting comparative studies on teacher autonomy.

Estonian and Finnish early childhood education teachers’ views of well-being and changes at work during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This study aimed to shed light on how the first wave of COVID-19 influenced well-being and changed the work of early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers in Estonia and Finland and how well-being and changes are associated with each other. The data used in this quantitative study were gathered via nationwide online surveys of early childhood education teachers (N = 378). The results revealed that there was no major change in teachers’ well-being at work. Likewise, changes in work were limited. However, there were large individual variations in these experiences between teachers and between countries. Finnish teachers’ well-being at work was only slightly explained by job changes, while Estonian teachers’ well-being was significantly more explained by them. The findings highlight the intertwined nature of well-being at work and work changes and the individual nature of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers’ work.

Finnish teachers’ experiences with transformative digital agency

Finnish teachers’ experiences with transformative digital agency

Teachers’ experiences of being unsettled within their relationships with parents: Shifting professional knowledge landscapes

In this study, we focus on exploring teachers' stories of their relationships with parents in times of digital communication. Employing the concept of teachers' professional knowledge landscape, we inquire into Finnish teachers' experiences with WILMA, a digital system used for teacher-parent communication in Finland. We discuss how teachers' experiences shaped by WILMA may disrupt their stories to live by, their identities, in relation with parents. Furthermore, teachers' stories suggest a problem for consideration in teacher education. What is called for are re-imagined ways for parents and teachers to collaborate, thus composing new partnerships on changing landscapes.

PRINCIPLES OF TEACHER TRAINING IN THE FINNISH EDUCATION SYSTEM

The article presents in detail the principles of the Finnish educational policy, which are the basis of the principles of school management and teacher training. It presents the principles that are widely used in the process of teacher training in developed European countries and the principles that are characteristic mainly of the Finnish education system. We reveal the peculiarities of the principles of Finnish teacher training by presenting the theories of adaptation of education and masterful learning based on them. The paper analyzes the principles of equality, continuity, teaching evaluation, teaching research, and trust at the same time. It presents the current stage of the teacher training process in the education system in Finland, as well as the factors that form the principles of teacher training, in particular the innovative policy of Finland in the field of education. The article analyzes the principles of systematization, consistency of state policy, strategic direction of reforms, taking into account the socio-economic goals of the country, correction and modernization of programs. It analyses as a special feature, adaptive learning theories, examines in the context of which evaluation approaches and standards. It singles out the principle of individual development of Finnish teacher training. It is noted that it acts as an alternative principle. The idea is emphasized that any principles of Finnish teacher training are based on the principles of educational reforms, which are the starting point in educational policy. The novelty of the research is that, as a result of historical comparative analysis, trends and features of the formation and development of Finnish teacher training principles were revealed.

Developing summative assessment literacy: Novice language teachers' perceptions in Sweden and Finland

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to investigate summative assessment (SA) perceptions and the sources of summative assessment literacy for novice second/foreign language teachers in Sweden and Finland. Data were collected through a questionnaire (N = 27) and a semi‐structured interview (N = 22) from a group of novice teachers who graduated from two Swedish universities and one Finnish university. Descriptive and content analysis of the data reveal that novice teachers perceive themselves to have a good understanding of most of the basic SA areas. They consider teacher education as the main source of their conceptual understanding while they attribute their skills mostly to experience in schools. Swedish and Finnish teachers present both similar and varied perceptions of the role of teacher education in developing their summative assessment literacy. Context and implications Rationale for this study What summative assessment literacy pre‐service teachers acquire during teacher education, and how this literacy reflects on their teaching are critical questions in understanding novice teachers' learning and use of summative assessment in schools. This study investigates the perceptions and experiences of novice teachers of second/foreign languages in Sweden and Finland. Why the new findings matter The findings provide an understanding of novice language teachers’ perceptions on key components of summative assessment and the sources and processes enabling development of this literacy. Insights into theoretical and practical aspects of summative assessment that novice teachers need are expected to guide teacher education programmes in realigning their programmes respectively. Implications for teacher educators and policy makers Novice language teachers are confident about their theoretical knowledge of summative assessment but need to develop skills to put their knowledge into practice. Hands on exercises through content‐specific materials and tasks are critical in developing skills such as test construction, grading, analysis of exams and exposure to national tests. Special needs and diverse sociocultural contexts should be taken into consideration in teacher education. Steering documents should make the summative assessment requirements and expected competencies clearer to guide TE programmes in organising learning experiences for pre‐service teachers.

Comparing Finnish and Chinese national teacher education frameworks from the teacher competency perspective

ABSTRACT Finnish and Chinese teacher education have gained worldwide attention because of their pupils’ significant achievements in international assessments. Focusing on the manifestations of teacher competencies in the respective teacher education frameworks, this article compares Finnish and Chinese teacher education and their curricular traditions. The mixed-method analysis of the two national frameworks draws attention to significant differences and similarities. Due to particular cultural contexts, while the Chinese Framework emphasises ethics, student management, and assessment competencies, Finnish teacher education focuses comparatively more on adaptive teaching, innovation, and partnering. The competencies of subject matters, pedagogy and subject didactics, teaching technologies, communication, multidisciplinarity, reflection and inquiry, and professional development are emphasised in both countries. This article provides insights into manifestations of teacher competencies in the context of hybrid curriculum traditions in Finland and China through adapting and applying an international framework, offering alternative perspectives on quality teacher education beyond Anglo-American approaches.

Multimodal practices of unpacking and repacking subject-specific knowledge in CLIL physics and chemistry lessons

BackgroundDifferent school subjects have their specific meaning-making practices for building and conveying knowledge. Research drawing on the Semantics dimension of the Legitimation Code Theory has noted the importance of shifting between levels of abstraction and context-dependency in knowledge-building. There is a need to better understand how such shifting between different levels of abstraction is accomplished with multimodal resources in classroom interaction. AimsThis study aims at exploring subject-specific knowledge construction as a form of translanguaging, i.e., as movement between different registers and multimodal resources of meaning-making. DataThe data comes from a Finnish teacher development project aimed at supporting CLIL teachers' professional development. This exploratory study analyses teachers’ knowledge-building practices in two STEM lessons video-recorded in the project, Physics and Chemistry. MethodsThe data is analysed using multimodal conversation analysis and analysis of semantic waves. Analysis focuses on how the teachers engage in unpacking and repacking subject-specific knowledge by talking, gesturing, as well as displaying, handling, and modifying various kinds of multimodal materials and artefacts. ResultsThe teachers were found to use a versatile set of multimodal translanguaging practices for unpacking and repacking. The findings also indicate complexity in semantic waves due to multimodal resources accomplishing simultaneous shifts in semantic gravity and density, with either aligning or diverging functions. ConclusionsThe simultaneous use of different multimodal resources and their potential to serve different functions point to the need to acknowledge the multidimensionality of semantic waves. The multimodal translanguaging approach also has implications for conceptualising subject-specific knowledge-building as inherently multimodal.

Pedagogical sensitivity in successful drama educational reader’s theatre – experiences of the teachers

ABSTRACT Reader's theatre is a well–used and studied method for practicing oral reading. We examined teacher's experiences implementing our drama educational reader's theatre (DERT). We interviewed 12 Finnish teachers to find out what benefits teachers see in reader's theatre. The participants saw the approach as beneficial, not only considering reading but in various other areas as well. We also wanted to examine what kind of teacher actions lead to successful DERT. We found out that teachers' sensitivity on embodied level is essential, and the teacher should meet student needs carefully. Overall, implementing the programme seemed successful and beneficial for the students.

Exploring the reliability and validity of multiple mini-interviews in admission to teacher education

ABSTRACT This study addressed the need to explore the reliability and validity of the recently renewed aptitude test based on the multiple mini-interview (MMI) format in Finnish teacher education programmes. Utilising a nationwide dataset (N = 3306), we explored the reliability of the format using intraclass correlations and multilevel modelling. Furthermore, we validated the intended structure of the MMI with confirmatory factor analysis and contrasted the scores of the MMI with other admission scores, i.e. cognitive measures. The results showed mostly small effects of clustering of the applicants according to the different interviewers and circuits. The largest variance component for the MMI total score was the applicant (73.3%), followed by measurement error (15.09%). The intended structure was validated, and the MMI seemed to measure different attributes from other admission measures. Thus, the study demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity of MMI in admission to teacher education, yet the stations need further development.

Teachers’ External Networking: Expanding Pedagogical Practices in Finland

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.

Competence Learning Brought to Life

As a Fulbright Fellow in Finland, I researched Finnish pedagogical strategies and systemic norms that implement competence based learning. In working with classroom teachers, school administrators, and university experts, I learned how Finnish teachers are responding to new curriculum directives, as well as structural barriers that make teaching towards competences difficult. This paper is an abridged recollection of my findings, with specific emphasis on tangible strategies, norms and ideas that American teachers can implement in their classrooms immediately.

Cultural adaptation, content, and protocol of a feasibility study of school-based "Let's learn about emotions" intervention for Finnish primary school children.

Emotional awareness and emotion regulation are crucial for cognitive and socio-emotional development in children. School-based interventions on socio-emotional skills have the potential to prevent these problems and promote well-being of children. The Japanese school-based program, Universal Unified Prevention Program for Diverse Disorders (Up2-D2), has shown preventive effects on mental health of children in Japan. The aims of this protocol paper are to describe the unique process of adapting the Up2-D2 from Eastern to Western context, and to present a feasibility study of the intervention, conducted in Finland. The cultural adaptation process started with the linguistic translation of materials, followed by the modification of language to fit the Finnish context. While the Japanese ideology was saved, some content was adapted to fit Finnish school children. Further modifications were made based on feedback from pupils and teachers. The Finnish version of the program was named "Let's learn about emotions" and consisted of 12 sessions and targeted 8- to 12-year-old pupils. A teacher education plan was established to assist Finnish teachers with the intervention, including a workshop, teachers' manual, brief introductory videos, and online support sessions. A feasibility study involving 512 4th graders in the City of Hyvinkää, South of Finland, was conducted. It assessed emotional and behavioral problems, classroom climate, bullying, loneliness, perception of school environment, knowledge of emotional awareness, and program acceptability. The originality of this study underlies in the East-West adaptation of a cognitive behavioral therapy-based program. If promising feasibility findings are replicated in Finland, it could pave the way for further research on implementing such programs in diverse contexts and cultures, promoting coping skills, awareness, social skills and early prevention of child mental health problems. The ethical board of the University of Turku gave ethics approval for this research. The educational board of the City of Hyvinkää accepted this study.

Современные аспекты обучения школьников и студентов среднего профессионального образования в Финляндии иностранному языку

Introduction. Within the framework of this article, the author made an attempt to consider some features of teaching a foreign language in Finland at school and in institutions of secondary vocational education, which allow the Finns to speak a foreign language at a fairly good level. Theoretical analysis. Consideration of the reasons for these results made it possible to reveal the fact that in recent years a system of early learning of a foreign language has been introduced in Finnish education. Much attention is paid to the formation of communication and interaction skills. The study of a foreign language in the secondary school is aimed at familiarizing the student with the culture of the language being studied. When teaching a foreign language to students of secondary vocational education institutions, there is an active integration of general education and vocational training. Conclusion. When studying their native language, students consider general linguistic concepts that are also inherent in other languages and contribute to a common understanding of the language structure. Finnish teachers in their professional activities rely on the teachings of L. S. Vygotsky about the zone of proximal development. Language learning is seen as a lifelong process that aims to develop multilingual competence.

Who has the power to define the ideal teacher? Insights into the social structure of Finnish teacher education

In Finland, graduating teachers are expected to become “transformational agents” who are able to critically reflect upon and evaluate what types of changes are necessary in education and who can also implement the required changes. However, based on previous studies, teacher education seems to have little influence on future teachers’ core perceptions of teacher’s work. Instead, previous studies have demonstrated that new teachers’ perceptions might draw on tradition and cultural-historical phases of the Finnish teacher profession, and normative ideas concerning the ideal characteristics of a “good” teacher or student teacher. In this study, we examine how student teachers’ perceptions of teacherhood build upon and who has the power to define the “ideal teacher.” Based on our study, we suggest that to understand how the perception of the ideal teacher is formed and how teacher education could better influence the transformation of these perceptions, we must consider the unofficial power relations among student teachers. These power relations seem to originate from the hegemonic discourse of the “typical student teacher,” which contains and renews traditional perceptions of teaching and teachers as authorities and experts transmitting subject content knowledge and skills to pupils. This discourse seems to be renewed among student teachers and has more impact on students’ perceptions than the official aims of teacher education. Hence, in our study, the unspoken sociocultural power relations come to light in different ways, in the peer relations between student teachers but also in the students’ conceptions of the teacher educators. We suggest that by unraveling the unofficial power relations in the sociocultural context of teacher education and by focusing on supporting every student teacher’s agency and critical reflection, it is possible to transform the perceptions about the ideal teacher.

Purposeful teachers and teaching in Finland and Estonia

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate how Finnish and Estonian teachers perceive their purpose in life (nFIN = 238, nEST = 376) and purposeful teaching (nFIN = 11, nEST = 8). A mixed-method convergent design and sequential explanatory design were utilised. Quantitative data (nFIN = 238, nEST = 376) was first gathered and analysed; then, on the basis of this analysis, qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the quantitative findings in greater depth (nFIN = 11, nEST = 8). The quantitative data revealed three different purpose profiles (fully purposeful, moderately purposeful, and potentially purposeful), of which fully purposeful teachers represented over half of all teachers (56.5%). According to the fully purposeful teachers we interviewed, purposeful teaching was realised through professionally competent and ethically competent teaching. These fully purposeful teachers represent an ideal picture of purposeful teachers’ thinking and practices. Finnish teachers emphasised communication skills as a part of ethically competent teaching more than did their Estonian counterparts. The results of this study indicate the need for future research on purposeful teaching in real teaching situations to capture the realities of purposeful teachers and teaching.

Różnorodne wymiary zmiany edukacyjnej – przykłady z Finlandii i Polski

The article begins with a review of literature on particular reasons for implementing educational change. The subsequent part analyses the causes of educational stability in Finland. The next part of the paper refers to the features characterizing the prestige of Finnish teachers and their professional stability in society. Finally, the third part stipulates the reasons for the instability of Polish educational transformation since 2017. It scrutinises politically-driven educational changes, the sources roots of teachers’ lack of prestige and stability in Polish society. The documents concerning the subject of the analyses were studied by means of a problem method, taking into account factors related to time and the influence of society.

The Interrelation between teachers’ sense of professional agency and perceived professional recognition: five-year follow-up study of Finnish teachers

ABSTRACT Teachers’ engagement in active learning from and within their professional community is highly dependent on the support they receive from their colleagues. In this study we examined teachers’ sense of agency in the professional community and its relationship with received professional recognition over a five-year follow-up. The sample comprised 2310 Finnish comprehensive schoolteachers who responded to a survey in 2011 and 2016. The results showed that the teachers’ sense of agency in the professional community in terms of the reported engagement in transformative practice, collective efficacy, positive interdependency, mutual agreement and active help seeking, was strong and somewhat stable over time. The professional recognition they received from colleagues contributed to the teacher’s sense of professional agency in the professional community, enhancing their motivation, efficacy beliefs and skills to learn in the professional community. The study contributes to the research on teacher learning by showing that active learning within the professional community can be enhanced through professional recognition.

Teachers' work today: Exploring Finnish teachers’ narratives

This study employs narrative as a theoretical perspective and methodological approach, looking at the current nature of teachers' work from the viewpoint of 25 Finnish basic education teachers. Several categories such as multiple teacher roles and fragmentation of teachers' work, teamwork and multi-professional cooperation, pupils' diverse backgrounds, changed learning skills and behaviour, opportunities and challenges of digitalization, schools' open architecture, and pandemic were identified. These categories illustrate teachers' work today as hectic and changing, involving relational intensification, and as challenging and redefining teachers' identities. The implications for pre- and in-service teachers’ professional development are discussed.

Finnish pre-service teachers’ understandings of the role of language(s) in learning mathematics

ABSTRACT We examined Finnish pre-service primary school teachers’ understandings of the role of language(s) in learning mathematics and how these understandings developed during a period of teaching practice. We also examined how the participants experienced the usefulness of the ready-made multilingual digital material Binogi and how the teaching practice period influenced their thoughts on multilingual pedagogies. Our results indicate that the teacher training period increased awareness of linguistic challenges and of the importance of students’ L1s in learning. However, some participants’ views reflected monolingual ideologies, especially regarding the conditional use of L1s. Regarding linguistic support, the participants reported using visual supports and explaining vocabulary and structures. Although many participants perceived Binogi as beneficial and motivating, less than half used it. Some participants emphasised that the practice period reinforced their understanding of the importance of multilingual pedagogies. It is important to critically reflect on the language policies and practices of Finnish teacher education and support the dialogue between research and practice regarding a shared understanding of valuing linguistic diversity in teacher education.