Teacher Education of the Future: Trends and Possible Scenarios in the Nordic Context

Abstract

This chapter uses current trends to outline possible scenarios in teacher education programmes in the Nordic countries. The starting point is that, aside from Finnish teacher education, teacher education programmes in Nordic countries have almost never been considered genuinely excellent. Therefore, teacher education has become a policy problem. As the developmental features of today’s teacher education in the Nordic region are deeply complex and partly characterized by inherent tensions between contradictory considerations, making predictions is a daunting task. There is considerable diversity among teacher education programmes in Nordic countries, and future developments might take several paths. Therefore, one cannot talk about a single current or future model for Nordic teacher education.Several premises for discussing the future of teacher education are considered in this chapter, including the idea of a knowledge economy and an emphasis on equality values. Policy-making is often set within general critical discourse about teaching and teacher education. The question is how teacher education institutions will respond to the various challenges that exist. In this chapter, trends and possible scenarios for teacher education in the Nordic context are discussed on the basis of a complex theoretical framework.

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