Teacher Professionalism Viewpoints On Best Practice, the Case of Finland

Teacher Professionalism Viewpoints On Best Practice, the Case of Finland Paper Code: TUO081146 AARE 2008 conference, Brisbane, Australia December 2008 By A/Prof. Juhani E. Tuovinen Introduction As we consider outstanding teaching in the international context, we can recognise it by international comparisons of student learning, i.e. the commonly accepted objective of teachers core activity. For example, the PISA international testing program has grown from testing 32 countries in 2000, to testing 57 countries in 2006. In these tests the Finnish education system has been recognised as one of the bestperforming education providers in the world (OECD, 2007), e.g. see the ranking of countries in reading, science and mathematics literacy tests in Table 1. Table 1 Position of Finland Mean Scores in PISA Tests 2000, 2003, 2006 Year Reading Literacy Rank Science Literacy Rank Mathematics Literacy Rank 2000 ( 32 countries) 1 3 4 2003 ( 41 countries) 1 1 2 2006 ( 57 countries) 2 1 2 Sources: (OECD, 2001, 2004, 2007) A strong argument can be made that these results are based on the outstanding professional practice of the Finnish teachers and therefore their professionalism is worth investigating. Focus of enquiry In this investigation the nature of the Finnish teacher professionalism that leads to such high student performance in schools has been under investigation. It is hypothesised that professionalism in teacher education, practice and further education provide the strong underpinnings for such high-class teaching. However, it is not suggested here that this is the only reason for Finland s high performance in education, unlike some other commentators who appear to argue that this is perhaps the only reason, e.g. see comments by Mr. Jari Koivisto, a counsellor with the Finnish National Board of Education, when he argued that: If you want expert teachers who are trusted and respected, make them do a masters degree before they enter the classroom. He also said: It will help a lot to improve the learning in the system if all the teachers have a masters degree. (Rout, 2007). Clearly many other reasons converge together with highly professional teaching force to lead to excellent educational outcomes in Finland (Pehkonen, Ahtee, & Lavonen, 2007; Tuovinen, 2008; Välijärvi, Linnakylä, Kupari, Reinikainen, & Arffman, 2002). Teacher Professionalism Viewpoints On Best Practice, the Case of Finland, TUO081146 1

Research methods and framework The research consisted of literature review and discussions with the educational researchers in Finland with the deepest expertise in international comparative education who have analysed the Finnish education scene in the light of the international research. For the literature review both English and Finnish language sources of evidence were consulted. Research Findings (a) Teacher and Education Esteem The Finnish societal context of teaching and teacher esteem were identified as very important factors (Laukkanen, 2008; Simola, 2005). In Finland teaching is a high prestige position and the best students are keen to enter the profession. In fact, only about 10 15 % of applicants are accepted into teacher education programs at universities (Niemi & Jakku-Sihvonen, 2006). The pre-service teacher education is thorough. To gain a permanent teaching position the applicant is expected to hold a Master s degree, which is a research-based degree (Niemi & Jakku-Sihvonen, 2006). The teaching profession is based on continuous professional development. Teachers expect to continue learning in a systematic manner throughout their working lives (Westbury, Hansen, Kansanen, & Bjorkvist, 2005). (b) Broad teacher autonomy The education system also both encourages and expects high teacher professionalism (Westbury et al., 2005). The national curriculum is specified in broad general outline and the teachers translate it into practice taking into account the local student, school and community issues (Laukkanen, 2008; Reinikainen, 2007). The teachers are trusted by the national education authority to provide the best possible education to the students (Linnakylä, 2004). They decide the school curriculum, have a say in the school budgets and they assess the students, free of external high-stakes testing until the final Matriculation examinations. There are no inspectors (Pehkonen et al., 2007). (c) Broad range of teacher functions The key features of professionalism in the Finnish teacher education and expected operation are that the teachers are expected to operate at a number of different levels on the basis of research-derived knowledge (Niemi & Jakku-Sihvonen, 2006; Westbury et al., 2005). These go beyond the basic teacher-classroom operations to the management of school operations and in particular curriculum development for a local context. This is important in Finland due to the decentralisation of the decisionmaking processes across the country from a centralised system in the 1990 s. The operation of schools and the expected teachers roles are based on the conviction that the local people in charge of the school, the municipal authorities, the school administration and the teachers, are in the best position to design the best learning programs and environments for the students in their care. Thus the teacher training programs are geared towards ensuring that this level of teacher professional operation is developed in a combined theory-practice program in the eight teacher education programs in the Finnish universities. (d) Research-based teacher education and operation Teacher Professionalism Viewpoints On Best Practice, the Case of Finland, TUO081146 2

A key aspect of the development of a professional teacher is the development of the understanding and use of the research process and increasing knowledge of the best research literature relating to the issues of concern to teachers. In practice this means that all teacher education students study research methods and undertake research projects integrated throughout their normal studies, culminating in a Masters thesis at the end of their studies (Westbury et al., 2005). These projects are usually focused on issues that arise from their practice teaching experiences. The fundamental purpose of the research-based teacher preparation program is to develop the teacher education students capabilities to operate as autonomous professionals in the field who are able to think and act on the basis of theory and research, and to justify educational decisions using formal, systematic arguments, (Westbury et al., 2005). Westbury et al. (Westbury et al., 2005) encapsulate the Finnish perspective of research-based teacher education in the following words: To summarise, the research-based teacher education that is the heart of Finnish teacher education and formalised by the writing of the master s thesis, is directed at preparing students for both critical thinking and autonomous decision making, and thus for action guided by a gradually elaborated practical theory. (e) Expertise in meeting learning difficulties The Finnish education system shows practical concern for the weakest students (Linnakylä, Kupari, Törnroos, & Reinkainen, 2005; Välijärvi et al., 2002). The extra effort to help students in their learning difficulties is recognised, i.e. teachers are paid for the hours of extra tuition they provide to students with learning difficulties. In preparation for the teachers role to provide specialised learning assistance to students the teachers receive specific preparation for dealing with students learning difficulties in their pre-service studies (Vauras, 2006). The basic teacher education programs have integral components helping the teachers to identify and deal with learning problems. For example, in the basic preparatory program to become a classroom teacher (for the first 6 years of schooling) significant studies on dealing with learning difficulties are included. These studies are based on the premise that 15 20 % of the children will experience developmentally-significant learning problems during their schooling, and in fact, according to the 2003-2004 national figures, 21 % of the Finnish basic school students accessed special education services, and 6.7 % of the students were assigned to special needs education programs (Vauras, 2006). As an example of how different universities ensure that there is suitable special education preparation for teachers, in the Turku University basic teacher education program 300 credits are required to qualify as a classroom teacher. Out of these 300 credits 60 credits may be used to study a minor (a particular subject, such as mathematics, arts, music, etc.), which will allow the graduates to teach this subject at years 7-9 levels, or these 60 credits may be used to qualify them to become specialist special education teachers. A key principle in designing the special education component in the teacher education program was to ensure the studies in learning difficulties are integrated in the existing class teacher studies all the way from the first stage three-year program to the final two-year Masters program. In the early introductory studies the key foundational concepts are covered to lay the basis for the Teacher Professionalism Viewpoints On Best Practice, the Case of Finland, TUO081146 3

context of learning disabilities and special-needs education. The educational psychology course provides the developmental basis for understanding the children s interaction with their environment and learning and teaching. The learning difficulties aspect of this course is focused on cognitive and socio-emotional development in relation to environmental factors. A significant final study requirement for the first three-year program is a specific study in the basics of special education. At the Masters level, which is the normal second stage of teacher preparation in Finland, the teacher preparation to deal with learning difficulties consists of social psychology studies, field studies in real classrooms and a practice period under guidance. The research program that is a key part of the teacher preparation in Finland may be a focused study in special education or learning difficulties. Thus in brief, every class teacher will be regularly exposed to the special education/learning difficulties aspects of teacher preparation studies within other course components, including working on aspects of the preparatory programs with real students, as well as undertaking specific studies in special education which includes dealing with learning difficulties of different types and intensities (Vauras, 2006). Conclusion So multiple factors converge in Finland to produce a high level of teacher professionalism. Every teacher is expected to operate in much wider role than simply as a classroom teacher. In order that these varied identified functions and roles can be fulfilled, the teacher education preparation has been designed to explicitly develop these capabilities. However, there are also follow-up processes in place where teachers expect and do continue to develop their professionalism as a life-long learning process. But that is a topic for another day. References Laukkanen, R. (2008). Finnish strategy for high-level education for all. In N. C. Soguel & P. Jaccard (Eds.), Governance and performance of education systems (pp. 305-324): Springer. Linnakylä, P. (2004). Finland: A quest for understanding the PISA results. In H. Döbert, E. Kileme & W. Stroka (Eds.), Conditions of school performance in seven countries (pp. 150-218). Münster: Waxmann. Linnakylä, P., Kupari, P., Törnroos, J., & Reinkainen, P. (2005). Sukupuolierot lukutaidossa, matematiikan ja luonnontieteen osaamisassa sekä ongelmaratkaisussa. In P. Kupari & J. Välijärvi (Eds.), Osaaminen kestävällä pohjalla. PISA 2003 Suomessa (pp. 105-114). Jyväskylä, Finland: Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä. Niemi, H., & Jakku-Sihvonen, R. (2006). Research-based teacher education. In R. Jakku-Sihvonen & H. Niemi (Eds.), Research-based teacher education in Finland (pp. 31-50). Turku, Finland: Finnish Educational Research Association. OECD. (2001). Knowledge and skills for life. First results from OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 (Research). Paris, France: OECD. OECD. (2004). Learning for tomorrow's world. First results from PISA 2003 (Research). Paris, France: OECD. Teacher Professionalism Viewpoints On Best Practice, the Case of Finland, TUO081146 4

OECD. (2007). PISA 2006. Science competencies for tomorrow's world. Volume 1: Analysis (Research). Paris, France: OECD. Pehkonen, E., Ahtee, M., & Lavonen, J. (2007). How Finns learn Mathematics and Science. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Reinikainen, P. (2007). Sequential explanatory study of factors connected with science achievement in six countries: Finland, England, Hungary, Japan, Latvia and Russia. Unpublished PhD, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland. Rout, M. (2007, 3.10.2007). Teachers advised to obtain masters. The Australian, p. 25. Simola, H. (2005). The Finnish miracle of PISA: historical and sociological remarks on teaching and teacher education. Comparative Education, 41(4), 455-470. Tuovinen, J. E. (2008). Learning the craft of teaching and learning from world's best practice. The Case of Finland. In D. M. McInerney & A. D. Liem (Eds.), Teaching and Learning: International Best Practice (pp. 51-77). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Välijärvi, J., Linnakylä, P., Kupari, P., Reinikainen, P., & Arffman, I. (2002). The Finnish success in PISA - and some reasons behind it. Jyväskylä, Finland: Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä. Vauras, M. (2006). Learning difficulties as content in teacher education. In R. Jakku- Sihvonen & H. Niemi (Eds.), Research-based teacher education in Finland (pp. 173-187). Turku, Finland: Finnish Educational Research Association. Westbury, I., Hansen, S.-E., Kansanen, P., & Bjorkvist, O. (2005). Teacher education for research-based practice in expanded roles: Finland's experience. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 49(5), 475-485. Teacher Professionalism Viewpoints On Best Practice, the Case of Finland, TUO081146 5