Pertti Kansanen

Professor Emeritus of Education

University of Helsinki
Department of Teacher Education
Finnish Comprehensive School

• Nine years for all

• Class teachers for the 6 first years
• Subject teachers from 7 to 9

• The National Board of Education gives

the frames of the curriculum
• Teachers write the curriculum for their
own school
 THE STRUCTURE OF
THE FINNISH EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

• Pre-School Education
• Basic Education
• Upper Secondary
Education
 General Upper
Secondary
 Vocational Education
• Higher Education
 University Education
 Polytechnic Education
 Special features of the Finnish
education system
• No streaming
• No selection
• No magnet schools
• No national curriculum
• Few national exams

• Teachers have pedagogical freedom

• Teachers write the curriculum of their schools
 All teachers are Masters

• To universities 1974; Kindergarten t. 1995

• All teachers in the comprehensive schools are
Masters
• Universities autonomous in their teaching
• The unity of research and teaching
• Master´s thesis (Research Master)
• Research-based teacher education
• Aiming at a reflective teacher
 Departments of teacher education
research departments

• All departments at universities are research

departments (evaluated in the same way)
• All have responsibility to do research
– Professors, university lecturers, doctoral students
• Subject didactics (Fachdidaktik) inside
departments of teacher education
• Professor chairs also in subject didactics
 To doctoral studies

• Teachers autonomous practitioner researchers

• Direct access to doctoral studies
– Class teachers in education
– Subject teachers in their subject or in education
after additional studies
• Kirdergarten teachers Bachelors, may continue
to Master and further to PhD
 Finnish Teacher Education
Class Teacher Model Subject Teacher Model
• To teacher education • To subject studies
• Education as a major • A subject as a major
• Studies at the • Studies at the Subject
Department of Teacher Department
Education • Teacher´s pedagogical
• How to get competence studies at the Dept of Ed
to a subject teacher? • How to get competence to a
class teacher?
 Entrance examination and
suitability

• Roots in Jyväskylä Teachers College 1863

• Book examination & interview
• Starting as class teacher students < 15%
• The same with subject teachers
• Entrance examination makes the research on
the validity of the selection possible
(performance, oral presentation)
 CALLING
MOTIVATION

QUALITIES COMPETENCIES
Basic level of teacher education

• Studies in education
• Subject matter studies
• Student teaching and practice

Aiming at
Competencies in everyday teaching
 Conceptual level of teacher
education
• Main organising principle:
Research-based approach
• Continuous courses of research methods
• Overall competence of research methods
• Teachers as practitioner researchers

Aiming at
Teachers’ pedagogical thinking
The Aims of the Conceptual Level of
Teacher Education

• Reflection
• Making pedagogical decisions
• Thinking skills
• Problem solving
• Methodological competence
• Purposiveness

Metacognition & Pedagogical Thinking

Theoretical Structure of Class Teacher Education
Helsinki

ORGANIZING THEMES STUDY PROGRAMME

TEACHER’S PEDAGOGICAL
CLASS
Communication and orientation studies 25 ECTS
THINKING
TEACHER EDUCATION AS A MAIN SUBJECT 140 ECTS
EDUCATION

Methodological studies
RESEARCH-BASED CULTURAL BASIS

Practicum studies
TEACHER EDUCATION
15 ECTS

20 ECTS

70 ECTS
PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS
15 ECTS
THEORY – PRACTICE
relation PEDAGOGICAL BASIS
20 ECTS

EDUCATION AS A MINOR SUBJECT

Pedagogy of school subjects 60 ECTS

OPTIONAL MINOR SUBJECTS

OPTIONAL STUDIES 75 ECTS
MAIN ORGANISING THEME

TEACHER’S PEDAGOGICAL
THINKING
Making Educational Decisions
• Choosing between alternatives
• Unconscious – Conscious
• Planning – Interaction – Evaluation
• Reflection-in-action
• Reflection-on-action
• Personal belief system >
A person’s philosophy of education

Fitzgibbons, R.E. (1981). Making educational decisions. An

introduction to philosophy of education. New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.
 Reasons for justifying
INTUITIVE RATIONAL
• Experiences • Principles
• Colleagues • Textbooks
• Traditions • Research results
• Feelings • Experiments
Teachers´ Pedagogical Thinking

METATHEORY

2. Thinking level

OBJECT THEORIES

1. Thinking level

PRE- INTER- POST

Action level
MAIN ORGANISING
THEME
RESEARCH-BASED
TEACHER EDUCATION
 Two faces of research-based teacher
education
Evidence-based teaching
• Based on research results
• Literature research reviews
• Meta analyses
• Hattie, J.A.C. (2009). Visible
learning: A synthesis of over 800
meta-analyses relating to
achievement. London: Routledge.
Practitioner research
• Based on one's own research
• Metacognitive approaches:
reflection, purposiveness
• Pedagogical thinking
• Kansanen, P., Tirri, K., Meri, M.,
Krokfors, L., Husu, J., & Jyrhämä, R.
(2000). Teachers´ pedagogical
thinking. Theoretical landscapes,
practical challenges. New York:
Peter Lang.
 Research-based approach in teacher
education
• Every study unit connected with research
– The conceptualisation of practice
• Continuous courses of research methods
• Quantitative – qualitative methods
• Overall competence of research methods
• All are known generally, some are known specifically
• Master’s thesis
• Teachers as practitioner researchers
• Consumers of research: ability to understand and use research
• Producers of research: ability to conduct research
• Direct access to doctoral studies
Idea of a research based approach
For the individual development:
• To develop a critical awareness
• To train the ability to analyse: to deconstruct and to
reconstruct
• To train teachers to become good consumers of research
• To promote teachers’ intellectual and personal development
• To reflect is good in itself: quality of life

For the collective development:

• To expose perceptions and ideas for collective examination
• To think systematically together
• To develop a common conceptual language
• To open the potentiality of collective reflection
• To reflect collectively promotes quality and professionalism
• To develop the awareness of science as an ”open ended inquiry”
• To realise that science is crowded by temporary truths, not
eternal ones
 DEDUCTIVE

The way to organise the activities

School-based Research-based

Experiential Problem-based
Personal Case approach

INDUCTIVE
 DEDUCTIVE

CONCEPTUAL LEVEL

The model of structuring action

metacognition

education
reflection producing
pedagogical expertise

RESEARCHING
TEACHING
thinking
Research-
Practicing
School based thinking adaptation

Teacher
skills-based
basedconsuming
teaching
recipes knowledge-
routines, tips based
BASIC LEVEL

Experiential, Problem based,

personal case approach

INDUCTIVE
 CONCEPTUAL LEVEL

PERSONAL-PRACTICAL PRACTITIONER
THEORY (rational) RESEARCHER

education
pedagogical thinking producer
reflection expert
metacognition

PERSONAL-PRACTICAL PRACTITIONER

Teacher
THEORY (intuitive) consumer
everyday thinking adaptation of knowledge-
skill-based teaching based practice
recipes, tips, routines

BASIC LEVEL
MAIN ORGANISING
THEME
THEORY – PRACTICE
relation
Principles of Student Teaching
• Starting as early as possible
• Interaction between practice and theory
• Every study period has aims of its own
• From small units to larger combinations

Partnership with schools

• University practice schools
• Field schools
 University practice schools

• University practice schools belong to universities

• Supervisors experienced and educated mentors
• Safe and peaceful context for practising
• Practice integrated to the totality; to the theory
and research
• Practice also in the field schools (one third)
 Key features of teaching practice
• Theoretical aspects are integrated with
practice during the studies at all stages.
• The aims of the teaching practice are
 to mature as pedagogically thinking teachers
 to grow into the profession,
 to become aware of their practical theories and
views on educational matters.
• In teaching practice there are four
participants whose interaction with each
other plays an important role.
 a student teacher,
 peer student teachers,
 mentor teacher at the school were teaching
practice takes place,
 supervisor from the university.

Jyrhämä 29
 A SUPERVISORS’S TARGET AREAS REGARDING PEDAGOGICAL
THINKING IN TEACHING PRACTICE

TARGET AREA SCHOOL PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

VIEW PEDAGOGICAL VIEW

Pedagogical decision- Intuitive, rational, mixed Argumentative,focusing on

making forming on synthesis

Pedagogical context Professional Academic

Curriculum School curriculum Teacher education

curriculum
Goal-orientated Geared towards the needs Geared towards the needs
of pupils of students

Teaching process Teaching Supervision

Jyrhämä
Professional knowing Academic knowing
 Comparison at the basic level

• Recruitment
• Length
• Basic curriculum (theory, fachdidaktik, practice)
• Contents of the practicum
• Analyses of the curriculum content
– Similar courses, different courses, number of credits, etc.
• Competence of teacher educators
• University – College - Vocational high school
---------------------
Conclusion: Quite similar programmes
 Comparison at the conceptual level
• Structure (integrated, asymmetric matrix, matrix)
• University practice schools (Finland)
• Teacher educators (professors, doctors, doctorands)
• Unity of research and teaching (Humboldt ideal)
• Autonomy of teacher education vs. policy
• Level of qualification (BA > MA)
• To doctoral studies
• Continuous evaluation of teacher education
– evaluation of research (publications, congresses, etc.)
– evaluation of teaching (quality of teaching)
– self-study of teacher education
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