芬蘭教師教育帶給我們的思考

摘 要：PISA測試的報告都吸引著越來越多的國家反思本國教育系統。在很多國家將芬蘭在PISA中名列前茅的優秀表現歸因于其高質量的教師教育體系的前提下，本文以芬蘭教師教育作為主要研究對象，研究芬蘭在教師教育領域，相關政策制定與項目，研究型教師教育，以及實習在教師教育領域所起到的作用，總結出芬蘭在教師教育在選拔與培訓方面的成功經驗。

關鍵詞：PISA；教師教育；芬蘭教師教育

一、Introduction

In the recent report of PISA project， Finnish comprehensive schooling has been turned into a successful story . As education is essential for a nation’s comprehensive development， it is necessary to dig out the successful experience in the field of teacher education in Finland for the quality of teachers is one of the most frequently cited factors explaining the quality of an education system .

二、Teacher education in Finland

（一）Policy and programs in the field of teacher education

The rules and procedures for policy making in teacher education determine who is allowed to organize the content of teacher education policy， what kind of experts are consulted， and what kind of ideology and educational theory are emphasized . The Finnish policy makes clear requirements for selection. First， there is a nationwide literary test including academic articles， about 180 pages altogether. Second， an aptitude test including an interview and a group discussion task aiming to evaluate applicants’ suitability， motivation and commitment， is hold. The major issue in teacher education is demonstrated through the teacher education programs which are provided by eight universities .

Although recently， there has been some pressure to remove the teacher education programs from some universities， Finnish universities have been quite successful in promoting the argument that keeping teacher education programs in all existing units still an effective approach guaranteeing a constant supply of new qualified teachers throughout the country.

（二）Research-based teacher education

In Finland， teacher education puts strong emphasis on a research-based curriculum and all courses in the teacher education program have integrated with research. From this， it can be known that the objective of Finnish teacher education has been to develop an academically high standard of education for future teachers. It can also be learned that teachers as professionals have been required to take an active role in decisions affecting education and not merely implement decisions came from others.

This unique approach has aimed to train autonomous and reflective teachers capable of adopting a research-oriented attitude toward their work. Research-based model of teacher education requires teachers to be reflective practitioners actively investigating their work and critically apply evidence-based educational knowledge to practice ， which requires open-minded and analytical approach to the work and has important effect on their students.

（三）The role of practice teaching in teacher education

Practice teaching is one of the most essential approaches for student teachers to develop their core competencies. Through the practice， student teachers can develop their skills， attitudes， values， personalities and the competency to combine knowledge dynamically， to empower teachers to perform more professionally and appropriately in different teaching situations. In Finland， practice starts as early as possible and provides students with readiness to continue professional growth before they formally enter working schools， which is integrated with theoretical pedagogy and professional studies.

Finnish practice teaching consists of four modules of reaching from the first study year to the final year. Through the first module， student teachers are provided opportunities to observed school life， teacher’s work and the pupils from the perspectives of education and educational psychology. In the second and third phases， practice teaching focuses on teaching of specific subject areas of different teachers and guiding and evaluating of pupils’ learning processes. Finally， the forth module provides more opportunities to expand student teachers’ perspective and supports them to take a more holistic responsibility in their teaching.

三、Conclusion

All in all， teacher education in Finland does make outstanding achievements in promoting students’ learning performance， and schools and students do benefit from the high standard and high quality teacher education. Although teacher education in Finland is not free from outside pressures of the current education system， Finland has opted for alternative ways and strategies to try to improve quality of education. Thus， Finnish teacher education is still appreciated by several countries and it is vital for the policy makers to analyze the foundation behind Finnish outstanding achievements and adopt some useful measures according to each nation’s specific situation.

Notes：

①Simola， H. （2005）. The Finnish Miracle of PISA： Historical and Sociological Remarks on Teaching and Teacher Education. Comparative Education， 41（4）， 455-470.

②Malinen， O.， V?is?nen， P.， Savolainen， H. （2012）. Teacher education in Finland： a review of a national effort for preparing teachers for the future. The Curriculum Journal， 23（4）， 567-584.

③Soh， K. （2014）. Finland and Singapore in PISA 2009： similarities and differences in achievements and school management. Compare： A Journal of Comparative and International Education， 44（3）， 455-471.

④Rasmussen， J.， Bayer， M. （2014）. Comparative study of teaching content in teacher education programs in Canada， Denmark， Finland， and Singapore. Journal of Curriculum Studies， 46（6）， 798-818.

⑤Krokfors， L. （2007）. Two-fold role of pedagogical practice in research-based teacher education. In R. Jakku-Sihvonen H. Niemi （Eds.）， Education as a societal contributor， 147-160.