Today I had a very informative discussion with Professor Jari Lavonen, who is an expert in education and is considered the most influential educator in Finland.
 |
| Professor Jari Lavonen Photo Credit: University of Helsinki |
“Dr. Jari Lavonen is a Professor of Physics and Chemistry Education at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is a director of National Teacher Education Forum and member of the steering committee of the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre. He is a visiting professor at the Michigan State University and University of Johannesburg. He has been researching science and technology education and teacher education for the last 31 years and his main research interests are science and technology teaching and learning, curriculum development, teacher education and use of ICT in education. He has published altogether 150 refereed scientific papers in journals and books, 140 other articles and 160 books for either science teacher education or for science education. He has been active in international consulting, for example, involving the renewal of teacher education for example in Norway, Peru and South Africa”.
I have been very interested in teacher education all this time, so this discussion with Jari was truly amazing. I believe that the success in learning is the teacher; how she/he motivates and excites a student to learn.
Here are the notes from our discussions.
A secondary subject teacher typically teaches grades 7-12 (ages 13 to 19)
Teachers must have a knowledge of one major and one minor subject; e.g. physics and math, chemistry and math, biology and geography.
University of Helsinki has 7 departments where you can study education; Faculty of Education, Arts, Science, Biosciences, Theology, Social Sciences and Medicine.
If you want to become a subject teacher, first you have to get a bachelor’s degree in your field. You must complete 180 credit units for a bachelor’s degree. This is a combination of two subject, your primary and secondary subjects. You have to take more courses for your primary subject than your secondary one. This takes three years.
OK, let's do some math!
1 credit = 27 hour of work in a classroom. According to my math, this means 4860 hours. You usually complete your bachelor’s degree in 3 years. 4860 hours /3 years =1620 hours a year. You can study 9 months/ year. 1620 hours / 9 months = 180 hours/ month. There are approximately 4 weeks in a month. 180 hours / 4 weeks per month = 45 hours a week. This is pretty intensive! 45 hours of classroom work per week + homework assignments! This is more work than working in a regular 9 to 5 job! Do you still want to be a teacher?
OK, let's do some math!
1 credit = 27 hour of work in a classroom. According to my math, this means 4860 hours. You usually complete your bachelor’s degree in 3 years. 4860 hours /3 years =1620 hours a year. You can study 9 months/ year. 1620 hours / 9 months = 180 hours/ month. There are approximately 4 weeks in a month. 180 hours / 4 weeks per month = 45 hours a week. This is pretty intensive! 45 hours of classroom work per week + homework assignments! This is more work than working in a regular 9 to 5 job! Do you still want to be a teacher?
You also must complete a BSc theses. The topic has to deal with education. You can apply to teaching program while you are studying for your undergraduate degree.
After your bachelor’s degree, you must complete 120 credits for you master’s degree in order to teach. This means pedagogical studies + teacher training in the Department of Education. It takes 2 years to complete this + master theses. Finland is known for its excellence in teacher education. Teachers benefit of the research orientation while they make the school curriculum, plan, implement and evaluate teaching and learning. Subject matter knowledge, knowledge about teaching and learning, and school practice are integrated into pre-service teachers’ own personal pedagogical view.
If you want to become a primary teacher, you must complete 180 credit units in pedagogical educational studies or educational psychology + theses. This entitles you to a bachelor’s degree. Next you complete 120 credit units for your master’s degree. This can be a combination of pedagogical studies or a minor subject.
OK. How popular is the teaching career? Very popular! There are about 3000 applicants to the University of Helsinki elementary teaching program (grades 1-6) every year. You must take an entrance exam that is based on a text book. The top 300 are invited to a psychological interview. The top means the combination of your GPA, high school exit exam (matriculation exam) and the text book exam. The psychological interview consists of questions regarding your excitement of teaching, your knowledge of what you are getting into, and your personal interactions with others. Of the 300 top students, 120 make it to the teaching program.
So, why do the students want a teaching career? According to Professor Lavonen here are three major reasons;
1. Teachers are appreciated. Their status in Finland is as high as medical doctors or lawyers.
2. Master’s degree in education attracts students. You get to socialize with people.
3. Work is enjoyable. Once you get your job, you are the boss in your classroom. The principal will never visit your classroom, you are never pressured to give a test, you never have to show your lesson plans to principal. You are like a boss in a company. You cannot get fired unless you do something criminal. This seldom happens. You have the full trust of the education system.
4. Let’s say something unexpected happens in your life. You have behavioral changes in your performance. Maybe alcohol. First the principal communicates with you. Next you get help. If it does not help, you will be let go. If there is a criminal act, you will be dismissed immediately.
If you want to be a pre-school teacher. You only need to have a bachelor’s degree in education. But, about half of the pre-school teachers have a master’s degree.
Children can enroll in pre-school up to 6 years of age. This is not mandatory because the pre-school education can also take place at home. This is rare, about 98 % of the children go to pre-school.
Professional Development: It’ s mandatory for all the teachers to have 3 days of professional development activities per year. This can be met at school wide activities or personal experiences. About 80 % of the high school teachers seek outside activities. There are so many teacher communities that offer professional development activities that every teacher can find something interesting to explore. These teacher community activities are sponsored by the Government and are free for teachers.
Thoughts about girl vs. boys.
The question that has baffled educators worldwide is why the girls in Finland score so much higher in tests than boys. PISA results show this clearly. Professor Lavonen has few theories.
1. Girls love social media. They are constantly texting to their friends, this builds up in language skills. Boys play games. No educational value!
2. The books teachers choose for class work are geared towards girls. Girls are interested in the topics. They read more, they get excited about studying.
3. The tests are geared towards girls. The questions relate more to girls than boys.
Girls in Finland know more than boys, but they have lower self-esteem. They think science is hard, they don’t believe in themselves, but they still score higher in tests. They are high achievers, seek perfection but don’t want to make a big deal about it. Boys on the other hand have very high self-esteem. They think highly of themselves but the test scores are lower than the girls' scores.
A science survey conducted among girls revealed that girls know, but they are not interested in the topic. Boys on the other hand are interested in the topic but do not know as much as girls.
In turns of STEM careers, especially engineering, girls stop applying because of the pressure from the environment (it's not for girls) and feeling of inadequacy.
