Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

PART 2: FINLAND
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Teacher education in Finland is provided through 11 universities and five vocational
teacher education colleges. Teacher qualifications are earned either directly from
education departments and their associated teacher education divisions, or through
departments specializing in certain subject areas. These programs produce basic
education, kindergarten, subject, and special-needs teachers, as well as counselors, for
the entire country.
Applicants to teacher education programs must possess a high school diploma. They are
also selected on the basis of their matriculation examination records, grade histories,
and relevant work experiences, as well as interviews and essays. Subject-matter teacher
applicants apply directly to university departments according to their primary subject,
while other types of teachers apply to the teacher education programs themselves.
Generally, there is no shortage of teacher education candidates, except in mathematics,
natural science, language, and a few vocational subject areas.
Students interested in basic (primary and lower secondary) education typically earn a
Master’s degree by taking 160 credits over five years. Their education degree includes
language and communication, multidisciplinary basic education, main subject and
subsidiary subject studies, as well as optional courses. These studies provide knowledge
about teacher–student dynamics, holistic student development, and educational
theories, as well as practical skills.
Students interested in subject teaching for various schooling levels earn a Master’s
degree by taking 160 to 180 credits over five to six years. These students focus primarily
on their main subject area and can choose to finish a pedagogical component of their
teacher education during or after their major degree. Specifically, students must take
a minimum of 55 credits in one subject area, at least 35 credits in a second subject,
and about 35 credits in pedagogical studies. The pedagogical studies portion for both
basic-education teachers and subject-matter teachers includes a practice component
that is arranged through the university and its affiliated schools. Some university
departments have also begun to offer a degree specifically for subject-matter teacher
education, perhaps in order to attract more subject-matter teachers into mathematics
and the natural sciences. Because almost all basic- and upper-secondary school teacher
applicants earn a Master’s degree, they possess fairly strong qualifications for working
in occupations outside of teaching.
Students pursuing a degree in vocational education must have prior work experience
of at least three years in the field in which they wish to teach. They also take about 35
credits in educational and vocational pedagogy, teaching practice, and the like, and have
the option of completing their teaching qualification in one year by studying full-time
or in one to three years by studying part-time. Overall, vocational education teachers
study for an average of one and a half years and earn a Master’s degree or equivalent.
Although most vocational teachers have at least three years of work experience when
they enter the teaching profession, a significant number of teachers in the labor force
have not actually completed the pedagogical studies component.
Because university tuition fees do not exist in Finland, general and vocational teacher
education students do not have to pay for their training. However, some teacher
education programs have begun to charge fees to potential subject-matter teachers who
complete teacher education after obtaining their major degree.