Continuing Professional Development of Teachers in Finland

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

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2. Introduction: Contextualizing Teacher Continuing Professional Development in the ‘Miracle’ of Finnish Education

   • Yongjian Li, Fred Dervin

   Pages 1-28

3. Framing CPD to Understand and Explore the Finnish Context

   • Yongjian Li, Fred Dervin

   Pages 29-42

4. Finnish Initial Teacher Education and CPD

   • Yongjian Li, Fred Dervin

   Pages 43-82

5. Data and Methodologies

   • Yongjian Li, Fred Dervin

   Pages 83-88

6. Providers: Offerings and Critiques

   • Yongjian Li, Fred Dervin

   Pages 89-114

7. Teachers’ Views on CPD

   • Yongjian Li, Fred Dervin

   Pages 115-128

8. Paratexts to CPD: Decision Making, Leadership, Teacher Education and Project Work

   • Yongjian Li, Fred Dervin

   Pages 129-156

9. Conclusions

   • Yongjian Li, Fred Dervin

   Pages 157-170

10. Back Matter

    Pages 171-214

    PDF

This book examines continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers in Finland. As one of the best-performing countries in terms of education, the Finnish education system is often revered and held up as an example to follow. However, the authors argue that CPD actually constitutes the Achilles’ heel of this ‘miraculous’ system, demonstrating that in fact it is a victim of contradictory discourses and actions among decision-makers, teacher educators and practitioners. Including extensive interviews from CPD providers, teachers and other educational actors, the authors critically discuss the ‘wonders’ of Finnish education, in the process debunking various myths created both inside and outside Finland. The authors also call for a new approach to comparative and international education.  Based on over 20 years of experience in Finnish education, this pioneering book will be of interest and value to students and scholars of Finnish education, continuing professional development and international education branding more generally.

• Professional development
• Teacher development
• CPD
• Initial Teacher Education
• ITE
• Finland

• School of Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

  Yongjian Li

• Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

  Fred Dervin

Yongjian Li (李咏健) is Researcher at the School of Education of Renmin University of China and the University of Helsinki, Finland. His research interests include public affairs in education management.


Fred Dervin is Professor of Multicultural Education at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is the director of several research groups, and holds several professorships in Australia, Canada, China, Luxembourg, Malaysia and Sweden.

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