Exploring Teachers’ Professional Space Using the Cases of Finland, Norway and the US

In this study, we explore teachers’ professional space as an alternative to, and/or expansion of earlier conceptualizations of teacher autonomy. Professional space is here understood both as an objective space with e.g., physical, juridical, economic features, and as the teachers’ subjective negotiation of this objective space, where teachers are viewed as producers of professional space (subjective space). Based on an analysis of storyline interviews with teachers from Finland, Norway and the US we argue that professional space, both as an empirical entity and as a theoretical construct, opens up exploration of external and internal factors, as well as the multi-dimensionality of the factors over time and beyond physical space which influence teachers’ decision-making capabilities.publishedVersio

Exploring Teachers' Professional Space Using the Cases of Finland, Norway and the US

In this study, we explore teachers' professional space as an alternative to, and/or expansion of earlier conceptualizations of teacher autonomy. Professional space is here understood both as an objective space with e.g., physical, juridical, economic features, and as the teachers' subjective negotiation of this objective space, where teachers are viewed as producers of professional space (subjective space). Based on an analysis of storyline interviews with teachers from Finland, Norway and the US we argue that professional space, both as an empirical entity and as a theoretical construct, opens up exploration of external and internal factors, as well as the multi-dimensionality of the factors over time and beyond physical space which influence teachers' decision-making capabilities.Peer reviewe

Scientific methods assignments as a basis for developing a profession-oriented inquiry-based learning approach in teacher education

Numerous studies emphasise the contribution of inquiry-based learning approaches to positive learning outcomes for students; however, in this study, we explore how a scientific methods assignment may qualify as a profession-oriented, inquiry-based learning approach in teacher education. The paper presents analysis of student teachers’ reports on a scientific methods assignment completed during their fifth school placement. The student teachers were each required to conduct a focus group interview with a group of pupils. The overall aim of the assignment was to integrate aspects of inquiry-based learning and a profession-oriented approach. Our analysis demonstrates that the scientific methods assignment qualifies in some ways as a profession-oriented, inquiry-based learning assignment. However, several aspects of the assignment need to be improved and further developed to optimise its potential. The paper is concluded with some suggestions for further developments.publishedVersio

Teacher educators’ professional agency in facilitating professional digital competence

This study builds on a comprehensive conceptualisation of teachers’ professional digital competence (PDC) that goes beyond the use of technology for teaching and learning. We investigate teacher educators’ facilitation of not only generic and didactic digital competence but also profession-oriented and transformative aspects. Drawing on professional agency, we analysed interviews with teacher educators in Norway. Most of them neglected the profession-oriented and transformative PDC aspects. The interplay of teacher educators’ competence, colleagues, task perception, and course descriptions contributes to their PDC facilitation. The findings imply the need to move beyond the tool focus and increase collaboration among teacher educators.publishedVersio

Academic reading as a social practice in higher education

In this study, an undergraduate teacher education course is used to explore whether and how academic reading seminars refect the theoretical notion of academic literacies and provide a learning environment for developing academic and professional learning and engagement. The data analyzed in this article are transcribed recordings of small group activities where students discuss scientifc articles based on a template. First, our empirical analysis shows that the use of the template facilitated dialogical discussions and the development of a cognitive skillset and disciplinary categories when used in a social setting. Second, we found that the most challenging part of designing a reading practice related to the academic literacies tradition was fostering a dialogical environment for discussing the validity of fndings across diferent contexts and provide for discussions encompassing complexity, nuances, and meaning making. We found traces of such discussions in all the transcripts; however, many examples were in a premature stage. The paper concludes with a discussion on, and some suggestions for, further development of the template used in the reading seminars.publishedVersio

Comparing and discussing positions on scientific literacy in teacher education and lower secondary school curricula

One of the purposes of science teacher education is to provide prospective teachers with a solid foundation from which to educate scientifically literate pupils. It is reasonable to assume that curriculum documents provide opportunities as well as imposing restraints on the interpreted, enacted, and experienced curriculum. Hence, we analyse Norwegian national curricula documents for science teacher education and lower secondary education to explore how they communicate in terms of positions on scientific literacy: we explore how knowledge, knowledge processes, and values related to knowledge are configured in the documents. Our analysis is a theoretically driven content analysis inspired by discourse analysis, through which we explore the configuration of the concepts and arguments in use in the curricula. Although both curricula emphasize a similar body of knowledge, the teacher education curriculum lacks the more elaborate approaches to communication and the nature of science (NOS) that are found in the school science curriculum. Moreover, both are concerned with science as enculturation but otherwise provide different arguments for learning science. Prospective teachers might thus be ill-equipped to address vital epistemic aspects of school science.publishedVersio

Initial schooling: A familiar, but unclear concept. A qualitative analysis of teachers’ perspectives on initial schooling

Fenomenet begynneropplæring er selvfølgelig nært knyttet til det som skjer i klasserommet de første skoleårene. Men hva begynneropplæring er og består i, er ikke selvfølgelig. Begrepet blir ikke definert i faglitteratur eller styringsdokumenter. Denne artikkelen er et bidrag til diskusjonen om hvordan begynneropplæring kan forstås. Vi tar utgangspunkt i læreres praksis og forståelse av begynneropplæring. Data fra syv fokusgruppeintervjuer med til sammen 37 lærere danner utgangspunktet for vår diskusjon av hvordan begynneropplæring kan forstås. I analysen løftes informantenes forståelse av fenomenet begynneropplæring frem, og en drøfting av to forståelser av begynneropplæring identifiseres og diskuteres. Analysen viser at begynneropplæring kan forstås som mer enn opplæring i fag, og vi deler derfor forståelsen av begynneropplæring i det vi har kalt smal og vid forståelse av begynneropplæring.The need for emphasizing initial schooling (begynneropplæring) for children starting the first year of primary school and in teacher education has been strongly advocated by policymakers and researchers in Norway the last two to three decades. The concept initial schooling is usually related to various classroom and school activities in grade one, including activities leading to literacy and numeracy. However, a clear-cut definition or conceptual discussion is almost absent in research literature and policy documents. The aim for this article is to contribute to such discussion on how initial schooling may be conceptualized. Based on analyses of seven focus group interviews with 37 teachers, we have identified a narrow and a wide understanding of initial schooling. The narrow understanding delimits initial schooling to development of literacy and numeracy, while the wide understanding may be related to the childrens’ socialization process into becoming a pupil as well as the wider educational aim of bildung in Norway.publishedVersio

Constructing knowledge for the teaching profession. A comparative analysis of policy making, curricula content, and novice teachers’ knowledge relations in the cases of Finland and Norway

In this thesis a study of the construction of knowledge for the teaching profession is presented in the format of a collection of three articles and an extended abstract. The thesis shed light on important processes and relations constructing teachers’ professional knowledge, and offers an analysis of (1) policy making processes, (2) organization of knowledge in teacher education curricula; and (3) novice teachers’ relations to professional knowledge. Teacher education in this thesis is limited to professional programs (four years in Norway, five years in Finland) educating primary school teachers. The three research contexts selected or perspectives taken in this thesis enable to address the questions on how knowledge is made available through policy making, what kind of knowledge is selected and how it is organized, and finally what kind of relations to knowledge may be developed among novice teachers. The thesis is based on three folded empirical material: (1) Interviews with policy makers in Norway and Finland (2) curriculum texts for teacher education at institutional level (Oslo University College and University of Helsinki) and (3) interviews with novice teachers from Finland and Norway educated after the curricula mentioned above. Secondary data such as national policy documents regulations and former research have also informed the analysis. Two different but somehow related theoretical perspectives are integrated in the analytical framework, one from political science and one from sociology. The first one is dealing with policy making from an institutional perspective (Gornitzka, 1999) focusing on structures, actors and rules in the policy making processes, the other focusing on the relationship between knowledge structures, actors and action in construction of educational knowledge and pedagogical identities (Bernstein, 2000). The overall findings of this thesis show that construction of knowledge for the teaching profession is embedded in complex socio-historical contexts and processes. The analyses reveals significant differences in the way in which knowledge for the teaching profession is constructed in the two country contexts: The analyses of policy making processes show that teacher education policy processes in Norway rely heavily on political actors and changes in political conditions, while Finnish teacher education policy processes rely more on academic expertise and research knowledge. The analysis of organization of knowledge in curriculum documents reveals that the Norwegian curriculum emphasizes contextual coherence, connecting conceptually to the logics of practice, while Finnish curriculum emphasizes conceptual coherence, that is, the curriculum are more conceptually tied to the core of the academic discipline. The analysis of novice teachers’ knowledge relations revealed many similarities on the surface, but a closer examination of the teachers’ use of professional language revealed significant differences. The Finnish teachers describe a field of knowledge in which conceptual coherence is given more emphasis, while the Norwegian teachers’ stories are dominated by contextual coherence. Knowledge relations brought to the fore by the Finnish teachers may allow for clearer definitions of professional challenges than those identified among the Norwegian teachers. This means that the epistemic profile of the teacher education curricula was reflected in the novice teacher knowledge relations. In sum, the findings suggest that transforming teacher education policy involves changing and developing deep and complex epistemic structures which involves a far more comprehensive and time-consuming processes than merely changing policy- and curricula texts

5-årig grunnskolelærerutdanning på masternivå - ny og utfordrende : Et følgeforskningsprosjekt ved Høgskolen i Østfold : Delrapport I

Følgeforskningsprosjektet MaGlu-forsk ble igangsatt sommeren 2018. Prosjektet ser på innføringen av femårige grunnskolelærerutdanninger ved Høgskolen i Østfold (HiØ), og vil pågå til det første studentkullet som startet på femårig MaGlu høsten 2017 har gjennomført sitt studium våren 2022. Dette er den første delrapporten fra prosjektet. I utgangspunktet ble prosjektet initiert som et følgeforskningsprosjekt knyttet til implementering av nye femårige grunnskolelærerutdanninger på masternivå ved Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge (USN). Gjennom faglig samarbeid mellom forskere ved USN og Høgskolen i Østfold ble prosjektet utvidet til også å omfatte implementeringen av grunnskolelærerutdanning på masternivå ved HiØ. Grunnskolelærerutdanningene for 1-7 og 5-10 ble fra høsten 2017 femårige utdanninger der de tre første årene er på bachelornivå (syklus 1) og de to siste på masternivå (syklus 2). Formålet med innføringen av femårige grunnskolelærerutdanninger er at neste generasjon lærere skal få mer forskningsbasert kunnskap, mer faglig fordypning og mer praksis før de skal ut i jobb. Prosjektet ser på hvilken betydning innføring av femårig utdanning har for opplæringen (undervisning, arbeidsformer, vurderingsformer, praksisopplæring), samt hvordan studenter, faglærere, programkonsulent og studieledere og praksislærere opplever den femårige grunnskolelærerutdanningen ved HiØ. Denne delrapporten baserer seg på en spørreundersøkelse til alle studenter som begynte på femårig MaGlu 1-7 og 5-10 høsten 2017, altså det første kullet. Undersøkelsen ble gjennomført høsten 2018 etter at studentene nettopp var begynt på sitt andre studieår. I tillegg baserer den seg på gruppeintervjuer med 12 studenter, to studieledere og en programkonsulent. Til slutt i rapporten oppsummeres og diskuteres hovedfunnene i spørreundersøkelsen og intervjuene kort. Vi tar utgangspunkt i fire hovedtemaer i denne oppsummerende drøftingen: (1) rekruttering, (2) organisering og kommunikasjon, (3) fagligfordypning versus profesjonsretting og (4) fra fireårig til femårig lærerutdanning på masternivå. I tillegg legger vi frem anbefalinger for hvordan programmet og utdanningen kan utvikles videre. Denne rapporten er utformet av Hilde Afdal og Fred Rune Bjordal. I arbeidet med rapporten har vi hatt samarbeid Eva Maagerø, Tine S. Prøitz, Ellen Rye og Birte Simonsen ved USN. Den samme spørreundersøkelsen og intervjuguide er brukt ved begge institusjonene, og en tilsvarende rapport som denne foreligger fra USN

Teachers' professional space for decision-making when planning : The cases of Finland, Norway, and the United States

This article explores how teachers in Finland, Norway, and the United States reflect on their professional space for decision-making when planning. Various planning activities are at the core of teaching practice, and contextual factors are also at play. Teachers' reflections on decision-making when planning might therefore be expected to vary. Hence, this study explores in what ways the opportunities to make decisions for planning may vary across the three country contexts. Using "professional space" as an analytical lens, the analysis shows, firstly, that teachers' opportunities to make decisions about planning take place in a multidimensional space between professional autonomy and external control. Secondly, teachers' opportunities to make decisions about planning are contextually situated in time and space.Peer reviewe