In 100 years as a nation-state, Finland has become the world's benchmark for quality in school education. Despite the fact that Finland is consistently top ranked by international performance measures, the country continues to rapidly change their curriculum and educational policies. This book documents these main curricula changes, telling the…

There are many similarities between the Nordic countries of Sweden and Finland, but they have made different decisions regarding their teacher-education policies. This article focuses on how the objectives of teacher education, particularly the vision of the ideal teacher, have changed in Sweden and Finland in the period after the Second World…

This article explores effective mathematics teaching as constructed in Finnish and Swedish teacher educators' discourses. Based on interview data from teacher educators as well as data from feedback discussions between teacher educators and prospective teachers in Sweden and Finland, the analysis shows that several aspects of the recent…

This study sought to explore the ideological and implementational spaces for mainstreaming multilingual pedagogies (MPs) in initial teacher education (ITE) policies and curricula across the European Union. The concept of linguistically sensitive teaching (LST) was used as a lens to examine inclusive, equity-centred MPs in ITE. A multi-sited…

This study examines successful and internationally renowned mathematics teacher training programs in Japan, the United States, and Finland. Using interview data from program instructors, prospective mathematics teachers, and program directors, as well as from my own experiences as a teacher and researcher in each of these countries, I examine…

This paper explores the effects of neoliberal education policies, by examining how the Finnish pre- and in-service teachers engage with the discourses of "external" and "internal entrepreneurship", create related inclusions and exclusions, and implement or challenge the aim of educating enterprising and entrepreneurial…

Reading and understanding texts of all kinds form a basic competence for participating in social and cultural life and for being successful on a job. Although most European adolescents have adequate reading competences at their disposal by the end of school, about a quarter of them cannot meet the minimal standards. The urgency of this societal…

Despite the national strategies and major efforts to promote pedagogical use of ICTs in education, training programs for in-service teachers have often failed to develop sustainable pedagogical practice. For sustainable development, teachers need to be offered opportunities to explore the role of technology in relation to their concept of language…

This paper describes the primary school teacher education curriculum reform currently under way in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. A general overview of the Finnish context and relevant inclusive education policy issues are presented. The process of developing inclusive education in the curriculum and…

The success of Finland in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) highlights the quality of Finnish teacher education underpinning its consistently high performance in the survey. In 2010 the UK government initiated a masters in teaching and learning (MTL) in order to raise the education level of teachers, following Finland's…

Highlights characteristic features of decentralization and school reform in the Nordic countries with a focus on possible measures to be taken in teacher education in order to face restructuring of the profession. Illustrates the move from centralized to decentralized systems with a recent Finnish curricular reform process. (DSK)

Describes changes that are being made in mathematics teachers' subject studies in order to provide students with sufficiently deep knowledge of mathematics and science and with present-day expertise in their profession as teachers. Provides an abstract algebra course as the ultimate example of a pedagogical experiment where co-operative learning…

Reports on the status of teacher education in Finland, discussing initial teacher training, in-service training, educational reforms, research, and resource problems. Includes statistics and a table displaying a hierarchy of decision making concerning teacher education in Finland. (AEM)

A collection of papers discusses preservice teacher education in Belgium, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Finland, and the United States, focusing on teacher professionalization and noting the politics of education in each country. (SM)

This paper is presented as one stage of a dissertation project titled "Educational Reform as a Social Field: Structuration of Discourse in Teacher Education in Finland." It examines educational transformations and continuities through a discourse analysis of governmental committee reports on teacher education, focusing primarily on the…