In Finland, teachers at all levels of education are required to have a Master’s degree at all levels, with the exception of early childhood education teachers whose training is a bachelor’s level degree.
Finnish teachers are autonomous professionals, with a great deal of professional freedom and opportunities to impact on their work and work community. They decide on their own teaching methods, teaching materials and student assessment. Most teachers also participate in joint decision-making, the drawing up of local curricula and acquisitions.
The basis for this trust is a high-quality teacher education.
At the core of Finnish teacher training is the question of how people learn best. Throughout their training, Finnish educators learn how to creatively approach different parts of the classroom, from planning and executing activities to assessing learners and providing individual support. In addition to broad expertise in learning and teaching, the teacher qualification covers social, ethical and moral skills.
In addition to a master’s level degree, the link between teaching and research is emphasized in the education. The objective is to educate teachers with a research orientation in their work who are capable of independent problem solving and have the capacity to utilise the most recent research in the fields of education and the subjects taught.
All teacher education also involves mentored teaching practice, which is implemented in the universities’ own schools for teaching practice or other schools nominated for the purpose. There, students get to practice their pedagogical skills in the supervision of mentoring teachers. Mentored teaching practice involves the giving of lessons, guidance discussions and familiarisation with tasks and responsibilities related to various issues arising in the everyday life of schools. This way, graduates get both theoretical knowledge from their courses and practical knowledge from their internships.
