Towards more positive conceptions and sustainability for teacher profession in Finland

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Abstract

In Finland, the current societal discourse surrounding teaching and the teaching profession includes concerns such as teacher shortages and attrition. The profession is often framed in a relatively negative light, which makes it crucial to explore solutions and improvements in both teacher education and career support. As one potential solution, this paper discusses how Lesson Study and mentoring can be used to support future teachers’ career engagement.

In our own educational research, we have examined the use of Lesson Study (LS) to strengthen student teachers' self-efficacy, as well as the application of strengths-based mentoring during teacher induction in Finland. LS is an internationally recognized and widely used method in teacher education and in-service teacher training and is based on an interactive and cyclical development process that focuses on the development of pupils´ competences. Our findings highlight the importance of supporting teachers’ positive perceptions of their profession during both the pre-service and in-service phases. We are particularly interested in whether a broader approach to positive guidance could influence teachers’ career commitment and professional development. Additionally, we consider whether LS and mentoring could enhance the transferability of key teacher competencies and skills from teacher education into professional practice.

In this paper, we approach the topic through two dimensions of dialogue. First, we explore the potential positive effects of LS and mentoring during both the pre-service and in-service phases. Second, we envision how teacher education and induction could be further developed by integrating and implementing these two methods. We introduce this implementation as a Collaborative Professional Development Model later on in this dialogue paper.

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Keywords

teacher training, teacher induction, lesson study, mentoring, sustainable teacher profession

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