The ideal teacher : orientations of teacher education in Sweden and Finland after the Second World War

There are many similarities between the Nordic countries of Sweden and Finland, but they have made different decisions regarding their teacher-education policies. This article focuses on how the objectives of teacher education, particularly the vision of the ideal teacher, have changed in Sweden and Finland in the period after the Second World War. In Finland, the period since the 1960s can be described as a gradual scientification of teacher education. The image of the ideal teacher has transformed according to a research-based agenda, where teachers are expected to conduct minor-scale research in the classroom. In Sweden since the 1980s, on the other hand, teacher education has oscillated between progressivist and academic orientations, following shifts in government between the Social Democratic Party and the centre-right. Since the turn of the millennium, however, a consensus in favour of a strengthened research base of teacher education has also emerged in Sweden.Peer reviewe

The rhetoric of the ‘digital leap’ in Finnish educational policy documents

This article discusses the rhetorical strategies in Finnish educational policy documents dealing with digitalization. The documents argue that the national education system is in dire need of digital technologies in order to modernize its pedagogy and secure national economic competitiveness. Finnish municipalities, schools and teachers have high levels of autonomy in implementing curricula, so there is a challenge to them to adopt digitalization at all levels of education.Peer reviewe

Development of Teacher Education in Finland 1945-2015

10.14413/HERJ2015.03.01Peer reviewe

Kirjoittajat

Vuosikirjan kirjoittajatiedo

Miesopettajat ja naisistuvan ammattikunnan kertomukset.

Kirjallisuusarvostel

Unmentioned Challenges of FinnishTeacher Education: Decontextualisation, Scientification and the Rhetoric of the Research-Based Agenda

Finnish teacher education has emphasised that academic standards and a research-based agenda are followed in the everyday activities of training teachers. Finnish teacher education has been recognised as a prime example of how to carry out teacher training. In our chapter, we reach beyond the myths and hype about Finnish teacher education with three interconnected concepts: decontextualisation, scientification and rhetoric. With these concepts, we expose unwanted side effects that have followed from pursuing academic standards. We also illustrate the swift transformation of Finnish teacher education.Peer reviewe

Esipuhe

Vuosikirjan 2017 päätoimittajan esipuh

Joukkoviestinnästä digiaikaan : Tieto- ja viestintätekniikka suomalaisen perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelmien perusteissa 1970-2014

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan suomalaisen peruskoulun ja perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteiden tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaan liittyviä merkityksiä ja niiden muuttumista viidellä eri vuosikymmenellä. Opetussuunitelmien perusteet heijastelevat muuttunutta suomalaista yhteiskuntaa, jossa myös tieto- ja viestintätekniikan merkitys on muuttunut. Kaikkia tutkittuja opetussuunnitelmia yhdistää tieto- ja viestintäteknisen todellisuuden myöntäminen, ja tieto- ja viestintätekniikan merkitys vain kasvaa tultaessa kohti nykyaikaa. Lisäksi opetussuunnitelmissa korostuu tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaan liittyvä aktiivinen, kriittinen suhtautuminen sekä sen merkitysten pohtiminen.Peer reviewe

Future jamming : Rhetoric of new knowledge in Finnish educational policy texts

The future is rarely problematised in education even though it is self-evident in everyday schoolwork and present also in the management of education. However, we should understand how different future visions influence our understanding of education. In this paper, we apply rhetorical analysis and study how the future of education is rhetorically constructed in Finnish policy texts. Also, we analyze the special characteristic of Finnish future visions, which are based on the idea of Finnish education being top-notch. We focus explicitly on the idea of knowledge and its future relations in school education. In our data, the current school is rhetorically contrasted with the future one. This hastens the need to modernize Finnish school system. This view is reinforced by the needs of the economy and working life. Pathos is frequently used as a rhetorical strategy. Finns are warned about remaining in the past and obliged to change their education immediately. Future visions of Finnish education seem to be limited only to positive aspects.Peer reviewe