Presentation by Hannele Niemi

1. Quality Culture
in Teacher Education
Symposium at ECER 2010 Conference
27.08.2010. Helsinki
Chair: Hannele Niemi (University of Helsinki)
Discussant: Priit Reiska (Tallinn University)

2. Teaching as a well-qualified profession
(Improving the quality of teacher education 3.8.2007)
 “All teachers are graduates from higher education
institutions”. (The recommendations 2007)
 “To ensure that there is adequate capacity within Higher
Education to provide for the quantity and quality of
Teacher Education required,
 and to promote the professionalisation of teaching,
teacher education programmes should be available in the
Master and Doctorate (as well as the Bachelor) cycles of
higher education.”
2

3. What is quality?
 No absolute, agreed definition
 No agreed way to measure quality
 It is culturally bound
 It is a value - Depending on
 Concept of knowledge and knowledge creation
 Concept on learning
 Concept of teaching

4. What do we know about teachers?
 Promoting quality of teachers –European
recommendations 2007 – based on many research and
working groups
 Teachers‟ knowledge of learning and different learners is
decisive
 Teachers‟ capacity to reflect on their own work is
important
 Teachers‟ moral sensitivity and intentions to scaffold
learners are important

5. What are good learning outcomes?
 Reproduction of contents?
 Understanding and mastering important concpets and
skills?
 Learning metaknowledge of learning: learning to learn
skills, direct and regulate one‟s own learning?
 Facing the future – having understanding of life and own
chances?
 Creating one‟s own identity and value basis?
5

6. The symposium explores the following
research questions
 RQ1.What kinds of QA methods are used at a national level and
what kinds of consequences they have on TE?
 RQ2.What kinds of QA methods are used at a HE institutional
level?
 RQ3.How do national and institutional QA methods ensure
teachers‟ competences in certain critical areas such as active
and collaborative learning, knowledge creation, ICT pedagogical
applications, and inclusive education.
 RQ4. How are QA methods applied to the continuum of teacher
education as life-long learning?
6
27.8.2010

7. Quality of Teacher Education
Scot- Singapore
FI SE SLO ? CA/US
land ?
Comparisons of TE policy and
practice: contexts and
resources,
Entrance criteria
Pre-service training
Induction
In-service training
International survey of teachers‟
competences
National case studies of teachers ‟ competences: working with different learners, quality
of learning outcomes, support of active and collaborative learning, cultural intelligence,
digital literacy
15 15 15 15 15 15 15

8. Singa-
Slovenia Sweden Scotland Finland ? US/CA
pore
Key players at the
TE Heads of
•Concept of professional TE
development and expertise departments
QA and • Reflection
quality
Teacher
culture in •Active learning and educators
TE, learning orientation
effect- •Collaborative learning
iveness •ICT and social media in
of Student
education and learning teachers
methods •Cultural intelligence and
and moral sensitiveness
practices
Teachers
and
principals in
Students in schools
schools

9. Quality Assurance in
Finland
9

10. The Finnish FINHEEC
Ministry of Education QA System (as an independent agency):
• Steering
• National responsibility
• Decision-making
• Audits of QA systems
• Evaluation by authorities
•Other evaluations
(accountability negotiations and
reports)
Quality assurance at HEIs - Main responsibility for quality and
improvement of education
•Establishment of QA system
•Participation in external evaluations and audits of FINHEEC
•HE institutions’ own internal and external evaluation of teaching and research
•Institutional Feedback systems
Strategic planning at faculties and
departments
TE Math & Humanities Social Arts Sport Other
Education Science Sciences
Curriculum development, feedback systems,
staff development

11. Quality assurance in TE at a national level (1)
 ” The FINHEEC evaluations use an enhancement-led
approach. The aim is to help higher education institutions
to identify the strengths and good practices in their
operations as well as development targets.
Audits
 Auditing focuses on two levels: the HEI‟s QA system as a
whole and the quality assurance related to the HEI‟s basic
mission. The target of the audit is the HEI‟s QA system,
developed by each HEI starting from its own premises
and objectives
 Very few remarks on TE
11

12. Quality assurance in TE at a national level (2)
 Specific evaluations
 Internal and external
 Research projects
 National working committees
 National cooperation as bench marking
 National projects in Bologna processes
 Meetings of Deans and Ministry of Educations and Culture
 Research projects in quality of TE
12

13. QA at HE institutional level- Main responsibility for
quality and improvement of education
•Establishment of QA system
•Participation in external evaluations and audits of FINHEEC
•HE institutions’ own internal and external evaluation of teaching
and research
•Institutional Feedback systems
Strategic planning at faculties and
departments
TE Math & Humanities Social Arts Sport Other
Education Science Sciences
Curriculum development, feedback systems,
staff development

14. The Teaching Evaluation Matrix, The
University of Helsinki
 http://www.helsinki.fi/arviointi/koulutuksenarviointi/loppura
portien%20pdfversiot/pdf-
versiot/Laatumatriisi2005_en.pdf
14

15. AREA OF QUALITY OR RESULTS in QA
Matrix
1. TEACHING AND RESEARCH
4. TEACHING
1.1. Teaching, studies and
research 4.1. Teaching methods
1.2. Higher education research in 4.2. Supervision of learning
support of teaching
and individual feedback
2. TEACHING OBJECTIVES 4.3. Study guidance and
2.1. Teaching objectives and core
advice
elements
2.2. Student-centred teaching 4.4. Use of information
technology in teaching
3. SUPERVISION OF TEACHING
3.1. Teaching strategy 4.5. Study material
3.2. Quality control in teaching 4.6. Contacts with the labour
3.3. Educational planning market
3.4. Teaching qualifications in
filling teaching posts
3.5. Teaching development
projects
3.6. Internationalism
15

16. 5. LEARNING RESULTS 7. FEEDBACK AND FOLLOW-UP
5.1. Core syllabus 7.1. Student feedback
5.2. Acquiring good learning strategies 7.2. Feedback from working life
5.3. The examination system and learning 7.3. Employment
evaluation
5.4. Grading criteria 8. POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
8.1. Recruitment and position of
6. RESOURCES postgraduate students
6.1. Management of human resources 8.2. Supervision and teaching
6.2. Teaching qualifications of teachers 8.3. Doctoral programmes and
6.3. Management of premises and postgraduate cooperation
equipment 8.4. Specialisation
6.4. Student recruitment
SELF-ASSESSMENT FORM
STATISTIC 16

17. Institutional Level: Models of evaluation the
subject teacher education programme,
University of Helsinki (Lavonen 2010)
 Students can give feedback twice a year through the
evaluation questionnaires:
- how teaching has helped them in achieving the goals
- quality of teaching
- general arrangements
 Teachers of the subject teacher program have evaluation
and planning meetings at least twice a term
Research on Research on National Student
teacher education subject and strategies evaluations
of the
 Teacher and students are planning
- Structure of teacher Research on
knowledge programme
- Forms of knowledge:
teaching and
professional … practical learning
→ Content
and evaluating a course together Co-operative planning of the programme: Teachers from
the subject departments, Department of teacher education,
school teachers and the student teachers
Subject teacher education programme
Own research Collection
on teacher of students’
education evaluations
17

18. Research on Research on National Student
teacher education subject and strategies evaluations
- Structure of teacher Research on of the
knowledge programme
- Forms of knowledge:
teaching and
professional … practical learning
→ Content
Co-operative planning of the programme: Teachers from
the subject departments, Department of teacher education,
school teachers and the student teachers
Subject teacher education programme
Own research Collection
on teacher of students’
education evaluations
Lavonen 2010 18

19. Student teachers’ evaluations of the course:
Psychological basis related to teaching and
learning a subject (10 cp.) (Lavonen 2010)
2005
2006
40.0%
2007
30.0%
Percent
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
1 2 3 4 5
Significance of a course small significance big
for development of for development of
a teacher profession a teacher profession

20. Study of Finnish Teacher Education
(Niemi 2010) – Survey of student teachers
 What has teacher education provided to you?
 How do you study? (Self-Regulated Learning)
 ICT in Teacher Education
 Cultural intelligence
 Active learning – Collaborative learning
 Questions about research component teacher
education
 Qualitative descriptions of experiences on TE
21

21. Here you see different images of experiences in
teacher education. Which of them does describe best
your own experiences?
10% 59.09% 20.17%
8% 3%
22

22. Web-based questions to TE
experts: Promoting professional
1. p
• romote a culture of
values and attitudes in the
reflective practice
teaching profession
2. t
•eachers to be autonomous
learners
3. t
•eachers to engage in
research, develop new
knowledge and innovate
4. •teachers to take part in
school development
5. t
•eachers to collaborate with
colleagues, parents etc
1 2 3 4 5 6 6. to substantially increase
teachers‟ learning mobility so
that it becomes the norm, not
the exception

23. Web-based questions to TE experts: Make
recruitment and selection more effective to
promote quality education
1. Our country attracts
and retains the best
candidates for
teaching profession
2. We have methods in
our country to review
teachers recruitment,
placement, retention
and mobility policies
3. Teaching as an
1 2 3 attractive career/
profession.

24. Web-based questions to TE experts:
1. To provide professional
and personal support
(„induction‟) for all
beginning teachers,
during their first years in
the profession
2. To make available
mentoring support
throughout the career
3. T
• o provide teachers
with enough support to
1 2 3 be effective

25. How do different levels interact?
 National AQ methods
 Accreditation
 Auditing
 Internal and external assessments
 Resource allocations and infrastructure
 Institutional QA methods
 In the whole HE institution (evaluations, entrance criteria etc)
 In TE faculties and departments (feed back systems etc.)
 Resource allocations and infrastructure
 QA methods of teachers
 Responsibility of quality of teaching and learning
environments -> learning outcomes
 QA of students -> learning outcomes
26

26. • Thank you!
Kiitos!

27. We need deeper analysis of relationships between
contextual factors, teachers’ competences and
student learning?
Starting a European/global project?
 - A pilot phase in Finland
 - Parallel projects in Sweden, Scotland, Slovenia
 - Other countries?
28

28. Quality of Teacher Education - QUALTE
Scot- Singapore
FI SE SLO CA/US
land ?
TE policy and practice: national QA procedures
and contexts in TE and to find how they promote 2010-
Inter- quality culture in teacher education 2011
national
co-
Quality of teacher education as a career long 2011-
operatio
training and development 2012
n
Relationships between high quality teacher
education and students’ learning outcomes in 2012-
schools 2013
2013-
International conclusions and recommendations 2014

29. How to promote active learning (Niemi 2002)

30. How to make change?
 There is a mutual reinforcing process between and in
cultures of teacher education and schools. These maintain
the status quo in educational settings, but they can also act
as supporting forces in a positive case.
 We are an integral part of our contextual cultures and
traditions, and we reproduce them through our own acts.
Culture is a social structure, and it can be changed by social
interventions.
 This is a great challenge to quality assurance methods and
practices. We must seek new values and practices creating
quality culture in TE. It is also reforming of learning and
supporting the learning of different individuals and groups.
31

31. Quality of Teacher Education
Scot- Singa
FI SE SLO ? CA/US
land pore
Comparisons of TE policy and
practice: contexts and
resources,
Entrance criteria
Pre-service training
Induction
In-service training
International survey of teachers‟
competences
National case studies of teachers ‟ competences: working with different learners, quality
of learning outcomes, support of active and collaborative learning, cultural intelligence,
digital literacy
15 15 15 15 15 15 15

32. Singa-
Slovenia Sweden Scotland Finland ? US/CA
pore
Key players at the
TE Heads of
•Concept of professional TE
development and expertise departments
QA and • Reflection
quality
Teacher
culture in •Active learning and educators
TE, learning orientation
effect- •Collaborative learning
iveness •ICT and social media in
of Student
education and learning teachers
methods •Cultural intelligence and
and moral sensitiveness
practices
Teachers
and
principals in
Students in schools
schools

33. • Thank you!
Kiitos!