This study examines newly qualified teachers’ (NQTs) understandings of research-based teacher education practices by looking at two cases in Finland and Norway. The NQTs were interviewed after they had finished their master’s degrees and before they started their careers. The results of the individual semistructured interviews and a thematic analysis revealed a weak connection between research-based knowledge gained from initial teacher education (ITE) and the teachers’ professional work. The Finnish NQTs were highly research oriented, while the Norwegian NQTs focused on teachers’ development of their daily work. The results are discussed in relation to the theory of practice architectures, as well as how cultural-discursive, material-economic and social-political arrangements enable and constrain different kinds of research-based ITE practices in both countries.

In the Nordic countries, teacher education programmes are shifting towards a research-based design, thus placing new expectations and requirements on teacher educators. In this study, we aim to explore teacher educators’ understanding of professional knowledge in research-based teacher education. We interviewed 16 Norwegian and six Finnish teacher educators. The teacher educators’ views of professional knowledge could be divided into two main categories – academic characteristics and personal characteristics – and three dichotomies were discussed: educational sciences versus subject sciences, research versus teaching and collaboration versus autonomy. Teacher educators come from various backgrounds and bring different experiences into teacher education. Thus, their understanding of professional knowledge in research-based teacher education seems to be dichotomous and multifaceted. The dichotomies that were uncovered and the tensions between them provide the foundation for further development of teacher education in Norway and Finland.

Outdoor education has many benefits for students, and the interest among teachers in this teaching method is growing. The aim of this study is to examine Finnish and Norwegian student teachers’ views on outdoor education as a teaching method. Student teachers from one teacher education programme in Finland (n = 66) and one in Norway (n = 32) participated in the study. A web questionnaire with both multiple-choice and open-ended questions was used, and the data was analysed by statistical analysis and content analysis. The results showed that both Finnish and Norwegian student teachers have different kinds of previous experiences with outdoor education, although the Norwegian experiences were mainly around outdoor life in general. Both student groups expressed positive views on outdoor education, but the views of the Norwegian students were somewhat more positive. However, they both noted some negative aspects of teaching outdoors and communicated an insecurity regarding teaching outdoors.

This study aims to investigate teachers’ experiences regarding their master’s theses directly after finishing teacher education and after one year in the profession. Previous research exposes the field as problematising the relationship between teachers’ independent scientific work and their professional qualification. Healey’s (2005) model, characterising four distinctions between research and teaching, provides a frame for analysing the theoretical concepts used in the present study. In this empirical study, 18 teachers were interviewed twice, immediately after completion of teacher education and after one year in the profession. The qualitative content analysis results in three themes characterising the teachers’ experiences with their master’s theses, focusing on their learning experiences and their relation to the teaching profession. These themes are subject knowledge, research-related knowledge and self-knowledge. The results show that the master’s thesis can be perceived as a tool for developing teachers’ knowledge, yet there is a need to facilitate the integration of their knowledge into their daily work and its relevance for the school community. Svensk sammanfattning Svensk titel: Masteravhandling – ett redskap för professionell utveckling? Lärares erfarenheter från finländsk lärarutbildning Vår studie syftar till att undersöka lärares erfarenheter av att skriva masteravhandling. Studien undersöker erfarenheterna både i slutet av utbildningen och efter ett år i yrket. Ur tidigare forskning framgår att relationen mellan det självständiga vetenskapliga arbetet och dess betydelse för lärarens professionella kompetens är komplex. Healey’s (2005) modell visar fyra karakteristiska drag mellan forskning och undervisning och ger en referensram för analys av de teoretiska begrepp som används i studien. I den empiriska undersökningen intervjuades 18 lärare vid två olika tidpunkter, genast efter avlagd lärarutbildning och efter ett år i yrket. Den kvalitativa innehållsanalysen resulterade i tre övergripande teman som karakteriserar erfarenheter nya lärare har av att skriva en vetenskaplig avhandling och av kunskaper och relation till läraryrket. Temana benämns; ämneskunskap, forskningsrelaterad kunskap och personlig kunskap. Resultatet visar att avhandlingen visserligen utgör ett redskap för lärares kunskapsutveckling, samtidigt som lärarna understryker behovet av en tydlig koppling till det dagliga arbetet så att dess relevans för yrkespraktiken är framträdande.

This study aimed to investigate Finnish primary school teachers’ experiences of the three-tiered support system, which was launched in 2010–2011 with the goal of promoting the inclusive approach in Finnish compulsory school. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight teachers in Finland, and the analysis was based on a thematic analytical approach. Results show that the teachers experienced having a central role in providing continuous support to pupils with different learning disabilities within the support system. Generally, they had a positive assessment of the system, which they saw as a natural part of their regular job. Nevertheless, they expressed facing challenges, such as the extended documentation and too little time for supporting all pupils in the class. The support from colleagues (i.e. special education teachers) was seen as very important, although their experience of consultation time was limited. Regarding the teachers’ competences in handling the system, it was evident they had developed relevant skills by collaborating with the special education teacher and by being active themselves. Despite the challenges, the results show that Finnish primary teachers experienced the support system as a possible and practicable way of supporting pupils with learning disabilities.

During the last decade, Finnish teacher education (TE) has received special interest due to the Finnish students’ success in PISA. Although TE in Finland has many strengths, there are also challenges that need to be addressed. One of the main challenges is the relation between theory and practice. As action research (AR) has been suggested as one possible tool for bridging the theory-practice gap and simultaneously supporting the forming of the foundational steps for an inquiry stance to continue through the teaching career, an AR orientation in the pre-service stages is of particular interest in this study. The aim is to explore student teachers’ (STs’) experiences of AR-based projects within two different contexts of Finnish TE, characterized by various paradigms: a class and a subject TE programme. The analysis revealed experiences of both constraints and affordances. Some of these are identified among both groups of STs, albeit somewhat differently characterized in the two contexts, while others are context specific. The results show that both groups of STs value their experiences of the AR-based projects. However, the results give important insights into STs’ experiences of both constraints and affordances that merit further consideration when implementing AR-based projects within pre-service TE.