Teacher Education in the Nordic Region: Challenges and Opportunities (Evaluating Education: Normative Systems and Institutional Practices)

This open access book is the first account of the whole diversity of teacher education in the Nordic region: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, the Åland Islands and Sápmi (where the Sámi people live). Today, large parts of the world are looking to the Nordic model of social organization, and interest in the Nordic comprehensive school system and teacher education arrangements is no exception. A good education is a key to prosperity and well-being. And the quality of students’ education is undoubtedly linked to the quality of their teachers’ education. While teacher education in the Nordic region is globally admired, it also faces new challenges. The leading scholars writing in this volume discuss the challenges and opportunities that professional environments are facing. By providing solid portraits of each area as well as analyses across the region, this book will be a great resource to students, academics in teacher education and schooling as well as social scientists and policy-makers inside and outside the Nordic region. This is an open access book. Contents List of Figures List of Tables About the Contributors Chapter 1: Why Should People Outside the Nordic Region Be Interested in Teacher Education in the Nordic Region? 1.1 Purpose 1.2 The Nordic Region and Its Education Arrangements 1.3 Justifications for Nordic Co-operation on Teacher Education 1.4 Kinship Across the Nordic Region References Part I: The Evolution of Teacher Education in the North Chapter 2: An Overture: A Historical Overview of Political and Cultural Antecedents of the Nordic School System and its Variety of Teacher Education Programmes 2.1 Short Historical Overview 2.2 The Spread of Literacy 2.3 The Emergence of Northern Regencies 2.4 The Reformation 2.5 The Contours of the Current Five Nordic Countries Emerged 2.6 Waves of Scandinavianism 2.7 Social Development and Education 2.8 School Development Towards the Breakthrough of the Comprehensive and Extended School System in the Nordic Countries 2.9 The Nordic Route to Prosperity 2.10 Summing Up References Chapter 3: The Evolution of the Extended Comprehensive School Model and the Modern Profession-Oriented Teacher Education After World War II 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Comprehensive and Extended School System 3.3 The Economic Evolution of Modern Nordic Societies 3.4 The Evolution of the Nordic Welfare State 3.5 The Nordic Gold: Trust 3.6 The Scandinavian Version of Progressive Pedagogy 3.7 Reforms in Nordic Countries’ Teacher Education Systems 3.8 Importance of School Reforms for Learners’ Performance Levels 3.9 Significance of Large-Scale International Surveys for Society’s Assessment of Educational Quality 3.10 Economic Conditions and Their Influence on Education 3.11 Nordic Countries at the Crossroads References Part II: Teacher Education in Nordic Countries and Autonomous Areas Chapter 4: The Education of Teachers in Sweden: An Endeavour Struggling with Academic Demands and Professional Relevance 4.1 Teacher Education: A Societally Critical Activity 4.1.1 Education as a Central Societal Endeavour 4.1.2 What Is Teacher Education? Context-Based Notions of the Concept... 4.2 Education of Teachers in today’s Sweden in the Light of its Historical Context 4.2.1 A Varied Landscape... 4.2.2 ... but a Common Educational Structure 4.2.2.1 The Legacy: Old Models Influences Novelties 4.2.2.2 Structural Models in Change 4.2.3 Programme Funding and Funding for Studies in Teacher Education 4.2.4 Different Conditions in Different Institutions 4.2.5 The Many Reforms 4.2.6 Politics and Policy: The Relation Between Schools, Teacher Education and Educational Equity 4.2.7 Autonomous Higher Education Institutions Conducting Nationally Regulated Programmes: A Problematic Context? 4.3 Present-Day Challenges: Aspects of Change and Continuity in Swedish Teacher Education 4.3.1 Critique and Critical Notions: How Can We Understand the Current Situation? 4.3.1.1 A Picture of the Criticism 4.3.1.2 Ambitions and Conditions for Realization 4.3.1.3 The Illusion of Simplicity 4.3.1.4 General Methods but Teaching Is About Specific Activities, Individual Students and Teachers 4.3.1.5 Teaching as an Epistemological Challenge 4.3.2 Problems and Challenges in and for Today’s Teacher Education Programmes 4.3.2.1 Quality in Terms of Programmes: Evaluations, Politics and Reforms 4.3.2.2 Quality in Terms of Students: Recruitment and Attractiveness of Programmes 4.3.2.3 Do Teacher Programmes Have the Wrong Students? Student Teachers’ Grades Dropouts from Teacher Education Programmes 4.3.3 Teacher Education Programmes and Teaching Capabilities – A Challenge for Academic Education? 4.3.3.1 Testimony from Alumni Surveys 4.3.3.2 Internship: The Crucial and Practical School-Based Education 4.3.3.3 Experiment Involving Re-introduction of Particular Teacher Training Schools and Improved Funding 4.4 Swedish Teacher Education: Quality and Equality 4.4.1 Today’s Teacher Shortage 4.4.2 Organizational Conditions for Effective Governance and Development of Teacher Education 4.4.3 Mass Higher Education with Quality Requires Exceptional Teacher Quality and a High Level of Individual or Small-Group Tutoring 4.4.4 Adequate Conditions for Teachers’ Lifelong Learning 4.5 Conclusions: Advancement by Making It Simple Chapter 5: Tension Patterns in Finnish Teacher Education – Recruitment, Reform and Relevance 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Finland and Reforms in Teacher Education 5.3 Tension Patterns and Improvement Ideas 5.3.1 How Can “the Right” Students Be Chosen? 5.3.2 How Can Research Orientation and Practice Be Integrated? 5.3.3 How Can Newly Qualified Teachers Be Supported? 5.4 Teacher Recruitment on the Åland Island 5.5 Discussion References Chapter 6: Teacher Education in Norway 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Teacher Education Accommodated the Comprehensive School System 6.3 New Competence Requirements for Teachers 6.4 Teacher Needs, Admission Requirements and Graduate Production 6.5 Training to Teach in Practice 6.6 Students’ Perceptions of Study Programme Quality 6.7 Debate on the Educational Theory Subject in Teacher Education 6.8 The Heyday of Progressive Pedagogy 6.9 Educational Theory Subject in Teacher Education 6.10 The Evolution of Subject Didactics 6.11 Mentoring Scheme for Newly Qualified Teachers 6.12 From Intentions to Realization References Chapter 7: Teacher Education in Denmark 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The External Framework for Teacher Education 7.3 The Struggle for the Professional and Educational Content of Teacher Education 7.4 The Teacher as a Generalist (with Teaching Competence in Many School Subjects) or a Specialist (with Teaching Competence in a Few Subjects)? 7.5 Teaching Practice and the Role of the Profession in Teacher Education 7.6 Basic Subjects: The Pedagogical Area 7.7 Enrolment in Teacher Education 7.8 Admission Requirements 7.9 Dropout from Teacher Education Programmes 7.10 Current Status of Teacher Education in Denmark 7.11 What Will the Next Steps Be? References Chapter 8: Five-Year Teacher Education for Compulsory School in Iceland: Retreat from Research-Based to Practice-Oriented Teacher Education? 8.1 Introduction 8.2 External Frames for Teacher Education 8.2.1 The Five-Year Education Introduced in 2008 8.2.2 A New Act in 2019 — One License for all School Levels 8.3 Iceland’s Higher Educational Institutions Offering Teacher Education 8.3.1 The Three Universities 8.3.2 University of Iceland – School of Education 8.4 The Organization of Teacher Education 8.4.1 Integrated Five-Year Teacher Education 8.4.2 Consecutive Teacher Education Program 8.4.3 Study Format – On-Campus or Distance Education 8.5 Challenges for Teacher Education in Iceland 8.5.1 Dropouts and Slow Educational Progress 8.5.2 Measures to Graduate More Student Teachers 8.6 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Teacher Education in the Faroe Islands 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Overview: The Origins and Development of Teacher Education in the Faroe Islands, 1870–2008 9.3 2008: A New Bachelor of Education Degree 9.4 The Latest Iteration: The Structure of the Degree in Teacher Education, 2016-Present 9.5 Recruitment Barometer 9.6 The Academicization Barometer 9.7 The Pitfalls Barometer 9.8 The Resilience Barometer 9.9 The Competence Barometer 9.10 Future Perspectives References Chapter 10: Teacher Education in Greenland 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Education and the Future of Greenland 10.3 Challenges 10.4 The Historical and Geographical Context of Teacher Education in Greenland 10.5 The Teacher Education Programme: The Development of a University Degree 10.6 Teacher Education Programme in 2021: The Current Structure 10.6.1 Recruitment 10.7 Discussion References Chapter 11: The Long Road to Sámi Teacher Education 11.1 Introduction 11.2 The Sámi People’s Languages 11.3 Sápmi 11.4 Early Sámi Education: The Colonization Policies Towards the Sámi 11.5 The Assimilation Policies Towards the Sámi 11.6 A New Turn: The Recognition That Sámi Learners Must Learn Sámi at School 11.7 The Emergence of Sámi Parliaments 11.8 The Evolution of Sámi Teacher Education 11.9 An Outlier: Russian Sámi Education 11.10 Discussion References Part III: Crossnational and Comparative Studies of Teacher Education Chapter 12: Nordic Student Teachers’ Evaluation of Educational Theory, Subject Didactics, Practice Training, Time on Task and Turnover Intentions 12.1 Introduction 12.2 A Cross-Sectional Survey of Student Teachers in All Nordic Countries 12.3 Nordic Student Teachers’ Evaluations of Educational Theory, Subject Didactics and Practice Training 12.4 Nordic Student Teachers’ Time on Task: Comparisions 12.5 Which Factors Are Related to Nordic Student Teachers’ Turnover Intentions? 12.5.1 The Situation in Different Nordic Countries 12.5.2 Results and Discussion 12.6 Conclusions Appendix. Overview of Single Items Underlying the Constructs References Chapter 13: Bringing a Global Teacher Education Model to Scandinavia: Examining Teach First in Norway 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Conceptual Background 13.3 Research Context 13.4 Sample and Methods 13.5 Data Sources 13.6 Core Findings 13.6.1 Motivation for Joining TFN 13.6.2 Professional Identity Development 13.7 Discussion 13.8 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 14: Teacher Education in the Nordic Remake: How Transnational Policymaking Transforms Regional Collaboration 14.1 Introduction: The Transnational Turn in Nordic Collaboration on Education 14.2 Teacher Education, the Bologna Process, and the European Union 14.2.1 How Teacher Education Turned Transnational: A Brief Genealogy 14.2.2 Impact Upon National Teacher Education in the Nordic Region 14.2.3 How Quality Assurance Turned Transnational 14.3 The Paradigm Shift Toward Anglo-American School Effectiveness and Evidence 14.4 The Effects of Transnational School Policy on Teacher Education 14.5 Conclusion: How Transnational Collaboration Intersects with Nordic Collaboration and Teacher Education References Chapter 15: Teacher Education of the Future: Trends and Possible Scenarios in the Nordic Context 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Theoretical Framework for Discussion of Possible Scenarios 15.2.1 Globalization as a Trend and its Impact on Teacher Education 15.2.2 Institutional Dynamics of Teacher Education 15.2.3 Partnership and Roles in Teacher Education 15.3 School Development and Teacher education’s Need to Change 15.4 Increased Legalization and its Implications for Teacher Education 15.5 Teacher Education Institutions and Management of Educational Research 15.6 Instrumentalist Trend? 15.7 Conclusions References