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The Idea of Finnish Comprehensive School – Grounding Principles and Future Challenges

The Idea of Finnish Comprehensive School – Grounding Principles and Future Challenges. Auli Toom, PhD, Adjunct Professor In Terms of Equity – Quality in Teaching and Learning Conference 30.9.-2.10.2009 Helsinki, Finland. Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki. Introduction.

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The Idea of Finnish Comprehensive School – Grounding Principles and Future Challenges

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  1. The Idea of Finnish Comprehensive School – Grounding Principles and Future Challenges Auli Toom, PhD, Adjunct Professor In Terms of Equity – Quality in Teaching and Learning Conference 30.9.-2.10.2009 Helsinki, Finland Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki

  2. Introduction • Orientation • The idea of Finnish comprehensive school • Current and future challenges in comprehensive school • Finnish research-based teacher education in the background • Conclusions and considerations of the future challenges between Finnish comprehensive school, teacher education and society

  3. Orientation The wide international interest towards Finnish schooling system among researchers and in public • PISA results • The secrets of Finnish comprehensive school • The specific characteristics of Finnish teacher education Current viewpoints and teacher’s responsibilities • High goals and demanding contents of national core curriculum • Pupils’ welfare and educational equity • Pupils with needs of special education • Multicultural issues • Size of classes • The future of Finnish comprehensive school and teacher’s work?

  4. Finnish comprehensive school:Historical perspectives and early stages • The societal situation and educational influences under which the development and decisions of present Finnish comprehensive school started to take form • The controversial issues • the structure of comprehensive school • teachers’ competence • demands of civilization • school administration

  5. Finnish comprehensive school:Basic ideas and practical solutions • The practical decisions and solutions framing the everyday practice at schools • Administrative organisation • Curricular issues • Subject matter issues • Teacher qualification issues

  6. Finnish comprehensive school:Current state and future challenges • The recent reforms and their influences to the present and future state of comprehensive school • Administrative changes between grades 1-6 and 7-9 of Finnish comprehensive school • Curriculum development and its responsibilities • High goals and demanding contents of national core curriculum • Development of new pedagogies • Diversity at schools: needs for special education and multicultural issues • Pupils’ welfare and educational equity

  7. Finnish comprehensive school:Current state and future challenges CIVILIZED CITIZEN humanity – ethical responsibility – zest for life TEACHER EDUCATION SCHOOL TEACHING curricular demands – needs for special education – multiculturalism – pedagogical challenges FINNISH SOCIETY diversity – economic issues – support for education

  8. Finnish research-based teacher educationin the background • The characteristics of Finnish teacher education have come into discussion as a part of the qualities of Finnish educational system • How does the teacher education influence into the Finnish comprehensive school? • What is the relationship between Finnish comprehensive school and teacher education? • What does it mean that Finnish teachers are academically educated? • What kind of strengths, possibilities, threats or challenges include in this relationship?

  9. Different teacher education programmes (Kansanen, 2005) D E D U C T I V E Pedagogical thinking The way of organizing activities School based Research-based I N T U I T I V E R A T I O N A L Experiential, personal Problem based, case approach I N D U C T I V E

  10. Two levels of research-based teacher education- the characteristics of twofold practice PRACTISING TEACHING PRACTISING RESEARCHING GENERAL LEVEL metacognition reflection pedagogical thinking producing research expertise BASIC LEVEL everyday thinking skills-based teaching teaching recipes, routines, tips adaptation consuming research knowledge-based Making pedagogical decisions Inquiring one’s own work RESEARCH-BASED TEACHER EDUCATION Krokfors et al., 2007

  11. Challenge 1:The complex working conditions at schools • Maintaining the research-based approach in TE • MA degree • Pedagogical thinking and decision making skills • The inquiry-oriented teachers produced by research-based teacher education are needed in the near future • Teaching in today’s world requires pedagogical thinking skills and dynamic professional competencies • Inquiring approach towards teacher’s work • Skills for interaction and extensive knowledge of teaching methods • High level practice calls for this kind of approach

  12. Research-based approach in teacher education • Every study unit connected with research • The conceptualization of practice • Continuous courses of research methods • Quantitative methods – qualitative methods • Overall competence of research methods • “All are known generally, one is known specifically.” • Master’s thesis • Teachers as practitioner researchers • Producer of the research: ability to conduct the research • Consumer of the research: ability to understand and use research results and information in own work • Direct access to doctoral studies

  13. The core of research-based teacher education DEVELOPING THINKING SKILLS • General cognitive structures and processes grow while methodological and argumentative thinking skills are developing. • Theoretical and methodological thinking skills are best developed by promoting student teachers’ knowledge of methodology as well as their know-how about research methods. • Argumentative thinking skills are developed through working methods which allow active and interactive approaches to teaching and studying. Pedagogical thinking skills Methodology Working culture THINKING AS LOGIC THINKING AS ARGUMENT Methodological thinking skills Argumentative skills (Krokfors, 2005)

  14. Challenge 2:High goals of national core curriculum • Relevant contents of research-based teacher education • High learning goals of national core curriculum • PISA success • Increased diversity and heterogeneity at schools • Eclectic basic values, ideals and ambitions • Increased needs of special education • Interaction skills, pedagogical skills  Civilized citizens to Finnish society

  15. Research-based approach GUIDING PRINCIPLE – GENERAL IDEA Theories models CONCEPTUALISATION OF ACTION Teaching Planning Evaluating EVERYDAY ACTION Three levels of research-based teacher education:Organising theme – theories – action SCIENCE THEORETICAL BASE EXPERTISE THEORY – PRACTICE INTERACTION PROFESSIONAL SKILLS IN ACTION (Kansanen, 1994; Krokfors, 2005)

  16. MAIN SUBJECT STUDIES Education 140 ECTS CULTURAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND 50 ECTSPEDAGOGICAL BASES OF EDUCATION RESEARCH STUDIES IN EDUCATION 70 ECTSResearch methodsBachelor’s thesisMaster’s thesis TEACHING PRACTICE 20 ECTS MINOR SUBJECT STUDIES 120 ECTS MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 60 ECTSIN SUBJECTS TAUGHT IN SCHOOL OPTIONAL MINOR SUBJECT STUDIES 60 ECTS The contents of class teacher education COMMUNICATION AND ORIENTING STUDIES 25 ECTS MASTER’S DEGREE 300 ECTS OPTIONAL STUDIES 15 ECTS

  17. Challenge 3:Suitable and professional teachers at schools • How are we able to choose the best and most suitable applicants to teacher education, who will enjoy teacher’s work and stay at schools? • Student selection in teacher education • Needs of everyday practice at schools • New requirements for teachers • New criteria of student selection

  18. The attractiveness of teacher profession • Teacher’s work attracts young people in Finland • High number of applicants to teacher education • Possibility to choose the best applicants to teacher education • Two-phase selection procedure • Book test (multiple choice questions) for all • Interview for a selected group of applicants • After some years of teaching at schools, (too) many young teachers consider to change to some other profession

  19. The qualities of a future teacher COMMITMENT Motivation Personality Educability SUITABILITY (vrt. Kansanen, 2004)

  20. The core competencies of a future teacher • Social and interaction skills, empathy • Ability to tolerate uncertainty, incompleteness, and imperfectness • Metacognitive skills • Self-confidence • Pedagogical skills for creating relevant teaching-studying-learning environments

  21. Challenge 4:Continuous in-service teacher education • The importance of continuous in-service teacher education to make sure that our academically educated teachers would not escape to other professions • The continuum between pre-service and in-service teacher education • General pedagogical content knowledge • Contentual knowledge of school subjects • Competence of various teaching methods • Knowledge of recent research • Support for life-long learning and professional development

  22. How to become – and stay – as a reflective teacher? (Krokfors 2005) STUDIES IN EDUCATION STUDIES IN SUBJECT DIDACTICS RESEARCH STUDIES THEORY PRACTICE Reflective teacher Pedagogical core contents PRACTICUM Pre-service education In-service education

  23. Challenge 5:Continuous societal support for basic education • General social and political ethos supporting basic education and schooling as well as teacher education • Social and political consensus of educational issues • Sufficient and stable financial resources for schooling • What would happen if the support was diminished or lost? • How would pupils and teachers manage and ”survive”? • What would happen for the aims of educational equity in comprehensive school?

  24. Social dimension of education and schooling I N T E R A C T I O N S O C I E T Y Teacher as researcher pedagogical thinking mastery of methodological skills personal practical theory ethical issues of education active agent of change in school and society S C H O O L Pupil(s) as active learner(s) pedagogical thinking mastery of learning skills personal knowledge structures ethical and responsible ways of action active agent of change in school community (cf. Krokfors, 2005)

  25. The core of teacher profession THE ETHICS THE ETHICAL DIMENSION Values and choices The profession THE COGNITIVE DIMENSION Knowledge base THE PRACTICAL DIMENSION Interaction THE EXPERTISE (Krokfors, 2005)

  26. Conclusions:Future challenges of comprehensive school • Challenge 1: The complex working conditions at schools • Challenge 2: High goals of national curriculum • Challenge 3: Suitable and professional teachers at schools • Challenge 4: Continuous in-service teacher education • Challenge 5: Continuous societal support for basic education

  27. Final considerations • Close interaction and reciprocal relationship between • Finnish society, • comprehensive school, and • teacher education • Congruent general conceptions of the directions in Finnish education and schooling • The aim of educating the civilized citizens to current and future society • The aims, current challenges and future visions of all these three parties are taken into account

  28. THANK YOU!For further information, please contactPhD, Adjunct Professor Auli Toom (auli.toom@helsinki.fi)

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