primary teacher education w/ dr. heidi krzywacki

www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto

Primary Teacher Education:towards professional autonomy

Dr. Heidi Krzywacki

[email protected] of Teacher Education

• Teachers’ role in the Finnish school system

• Teacher education at the University of Helsinki• Primary Teacher Education• Teaching practice

2

Outline of the presentation

Department of Teacher EducationDr. Heidi Krzywacki EduVisit, March 25, 2013

www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto 3

Finland in facts

• Population: 5.4 million, 17 inhabitants / km2

• Languages: Finnish (spoken by 91%)Swedish (~ 5%)Sámi (about 1,800 people)

• Religion: 79.9% Lutheran and about 1.1% Orthodox, other 1.7 % and none 17.7 %

• Independence: Declared on December 6, 1917. Previously a grand duchy in the Russian empire (1809-1917), and before that, a part of Sweden for 600 years

• Currency unit: Euro• Area: 338,424 km²• Capital: Helsinki (population ~600 000)



Teachers’ role in the Finnish school system

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Main cornerstones of the Finnish education policy

The following themes can be found in policy documents and educational publications

A. Common, consistent and long-term policy• basic models for teacher education and compulsory education

are 40 years old• support to the development of broad (full) literacy

B. Educational equality• compulsory education free of charge to all, including books,

meals, transport and health care• well-organized special education• In practice, no streaming, no selection, no magnet schools with

a special curriculum to draw students from wider areasDepartment of Teacher EducationDr. Heidi Krzywacki EduVisit, March 25, 2013

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Main cornerstones of the Finnish education policy

C. Devolution of decision power to the local level• a headmaster is a pedagogical director• local authorities (together with the teachers) plan local

curricula, organise general assessment and use this data for evaluating the schools and for allocation of resources

D. The culture of trust• no inspectors, no national exams, only sample-based

monitoring…• no private tutoring or grammar schools

(e.g., Halinen, 2008; Jakku-Sihvonen & Niemi, 2006; Laukkanen, 2008)



Assessment as part of everydayschool work

• Teachers are seen as autonomous academic professionals, who are able to plan, implement, and assess teaching and learning

• Assessment data is used in the classroom for improving teaching and learning• Internal assessment including all assessment forms is

carried out mainly by teachers themselves

NOTE: no national level examination of the whole age group takes place before the end of upper secondary school (grade 12)

• only sample-based monitoring in the core subjectsDepartment of Teacher EducationDr. Heidi Krzywacki EduVisit, March 25, 2013


• Devolution of decision power and responsibility at the local level

• No school inspections, national exams or pre-evaluation of learning materials

• Teachers autonomous academic professionals

• Assessment data is used within the classroom

26.3.2013 8

Finnish assessment system



• Devolution of decision power and responsibility at the local level

• No school inspections, national exams or pre-evaluation of learning materials

• Teachers autonomous academic professionals

• Assessment data is used within the classroom

26.3.2013 9

Finnish assessment system



Teachers in Finnish comprehensiveschool

A primary school teacher• teaches grades 1 to 6 (ages 7 to 13)• is typically qualified to teach all 13 school subjects at

primary school level

A secondary school teacher• typically teaches grades 7 to 12 (ages 13 to 19)• is qualified to teach only in his/her major or minor subject• typically teaches one major and one minor subjects

(e.g., math and physics)According to PISA school questionnaire data, almost all

teachers at the participating schools were qualified teachers.

10Department of Teacher EducationDr. Heidi Krzywacki EduVisit, March 25, 2013


Some key facts and figures

• Compulsory and intended instruction time is the lowest among OECD• A class teacher: 667 hours per year• A subject teacher: 592 hours per year

( ~ a half of US lower secondary teachers’ duties)NOTE: the number of teaching hours does not reflect

explicitly the teachers’ total workload

• Schools are various size and rather small• About 44% of all schools < 100 pupils (12% of all pupils)• About 22% of all schools > 300 pupils (54% of all pupils)• Average class size: primary 19.8 (OECD 21.4) and

secondary 20.1 (OECD 23.7)Department of Teacher EducationDr. Heidi Krzywacki EduVisit, March 25, 2013

(FNBE Kyrö, 2012 )


Teacher Education at the University of Helsinki

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FACULTY OF BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES

Fields of study: - educational sciences- psychology- speech sciences

DEPARTMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Fields of study:- educational sciences- home economics- craft science

TEACHER TRAINING SCHOOLS

Viikki teacher training school- comprehensive school

(lower and upper levels)- upper secondary school

Helsingin normaalilyseo - comprehensive school (upper level)- upper secondary school


Teacher Education Programmes at the University of HelsinkiThe Department of Teacher Education provides six

different educational programmes

• primary (class) teacher education • craft science and textiles teacher education • home economics and home economics teacher

education • kindergarten teacher and early childhood

education (BA) • secondary (subject) teacher education • special education



Research-based teacher education

• Study programme is structured according to the systemic educational structure

• All teaching is based on research• Teacher educators hold PhD’s• Teacher educators are required to research• Their teaching is based on their or others’ research

• Activities are organized so as to give students the opportunity to practise argumentation, decision making and justification when inquiring into and solving pedagogical problems.

• Students learn formal research skills during their studies when they move up to the M.A. thesis level.



Primary and secondary school teachers

Primary school teacher• 5 year program

(3 BA + 2 MA)• Majoring in education• Minoring in school subjects

(Finnish, math, biology, geography etc)

• Minoring also in one or twoother subjects

• E.g. primary school teacher minoring in Finnish and music

• Are eligle for doctoralstudies!

Secondary school teacher• 5 year program

(3 BA + 2 MA)• Majoring in one subject• Minoring in one or two other

subjects• Minoring in education

(= teacher’s pedagogicalstudies)

• E.g. Math major, chemistry + physic minor

• Are eligle for doctoralstudies!



Primary Teacher Educationat the University of Helsinki

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Admission to the teacher education programmes (primary and secondary)

Primary teacher education: Master’s of education degree

• Over 1783 applicants, 120 study places (6.7%, 2012)

• Two-phase entrance exam:1) book exam, based on which25 % are invited to2) an interview.

• The applicants need to haveupper secondary education.

Secondary teacher education: pedagogical studies module

• ~ 780 applicants, about 430 accepted (2011)

• More study places (587) available than applicants.

• Entrance exam consists of an interview.

• The applicants need to havea study place in a subjectfaculty and certain amountof studies OR a completedMaster’s degree includingstudies in a school subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTg29LGp9fE&list=PLEE385BC5A0125995&index=1&


The core aims of Primary Teacher Education

Students will acquire readiness for• acting as an expert in education and teaching, who

recognise their educational responsibility and maintain their professional competence

• cooperation with all members of the school community, pupils and their parents as well as the various societal bodies.

• working as part of school administration, organisations or enterprises

• teaching various disciplines and combining educational theory and practice into their own practical pedagogical theory



Structure of the Master degree of a primary teacher: 3 + 2 years

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Major Subject

Education

Multi-disciplinarystudies

ElectiveMinorSubject

Communicationand language

studies

Bachelor’s level (180 Bachelor’s level (180 cr) Master’s level (120 cr)

Master-thesisMaster-thesis

cr=

27 h

ours

of w

ork

Stu

dy c

redi

ts

BSc thesis

FinnishMathematicsPhysicsGeographyBiologyHistoryScienceReligionSportsArtsMusicCrafts


The structure of the curriculum(Primary Teacher Education)

Teaching practice 20 cp

~ max. 120 supervised lesson hours

(teaching in pairs)

Research studies in education

70 cp

Multidisciplinary studies

(minor subject studies)60 cp


Teaching practice as part Teacher Education

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Key features of the teaching practiceTheoretical aspects are integrated with practice during the

studies at all stages. The aims of the teaching practice are• to mature as a 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 him/herself• peer student teachers• supervisor from the university (university lecturer)• supervisor at the school where teaching

practice takes placeDepartment of Teacher EducationDr. Heidi Krzywacki EduVisit, March 25, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDCm1fIPKH8&feature=BFa&list=PLEE385BC5A0125995


University Teacher Training SchoolsUniversity Teacher Training Schools• Organising teaching of “ordinary” school pupils• Mentoring student teachers• Educational research• Organizing in-service education in cooperation

with the Department of Teacher Education and other instances



Teaching practice in field schoolsTeaching practice in field schools

• Mainly the advanced practice takes place in schools that cooperate with the department of Teacher education

• Only teachers who have taken a special course in mentoring student teachers are allowed to supervise student teachers



Some further information

Finnish National Board of Educationwww.oph.fi/englishhttp://www.oph.fi/download/124278_education_in_finland.pdf

http://www.oph.fi/english/publications/2012/international_comparisons_of_some_features_of_finnish_education_and_training_2011

Ministry of Education and Culture http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/?lang=en

Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinkihttp://www.helsinki.fi/teachereducation/


Kiitos!

primary teacher education w/ dr. heidi krzywacki

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