Finnish Teacher Education Forum celebrated its 10 years anniversary

Teacher Education Forum has made a variety of achievements during its existence. Visioning the future of the Finnish teacher education and concretizing the plans in broad collaboration is an established way of working together in the Forum. In the Anniversary Seminar Forum’s current and future work were demonstrated. In her opening speech, President of the forum Professor Auli Toom considered the research, practice and accountability turns evolved in enactment and development of teacher education in Finland, and how they have been realized in the Finnish Teacher Education Forum as well. to the seminar and elaborated on the forum’s achievements and impact from a variety of perspectives. Dean Dr. Tiina Silander reflected on the significance of forum’s continuing work for the best of the Finnish teacher education and educational system.

Professors Viv Ellis and A. Lin Goodwin of the Forum’s International Advisory Board brought their congratulations to the Forum and presented their ideas for an innovative and impactful future for the Forum. Professor Ellis pondered against the international research literature what innovations in teacher education mean. He perceived the forum as a highly unique collaborative and promising national educational innovation system. Professor Goodwin identified tensions and dilemmas that are present in collaborations like the forum and encouraged us to live with them to maintain continuous discussion and constant collaborative development.

Versatile introduced their ongoing research and preliminary findings. The collaborative projects, employing a variety of interventive designs, tackle the current challenges in teacher education and teaching, and in versatile contexts where teachers work. They aim to improve student teachers’ capabilities for enhancing pedagogical wellbeing in learning and instruction, early childhood education student teachers’ understanding of early motor and numeracy learning, pedagogical leadership in vocational teacher education, teacher educators’ cultural awareness, teacher collaboration and inclusive pedagogical practices in transition phase, AI-agents in teacher education, and use of AI-based emotion detection in teaching practice in teacher education.

A panel discussion with major stakeholders of teacher education, Päivi Lyhykäinen (Trade Union of Education in Finland OAJ), Henni Lahtinen (Teacher Student Union of Finland SOOL), Mari Sjöström (Association of Finnish Cities and Municipalities Kuntaliitto), and Päivi Ikola (Finnish Association of Principals SURE Suomen Rehtorit ry.), focused on upcoming challenges in teacher education and how the Forum could and should respond to those challenges. The major stakeholders all agree that the Teacher Education Forum plays a unique role in enhancing the development in pre-service and in-service teacher education, and thus, builds conditions for teachers’ continuous learning throughout the career.

The seminar addressed various future changes and challenges regarding the teaching profession and teacher education that the Teacher Education Forum should have in focus of research-based development. “It is important to prepare for future changes, but we should not forget the present day and what we can do right now”, as Professor Goodwin reminded us. Indeed, the discussions frequently highlighted the achievements resulting from the work of Teacher Education Forum and the importance and significance of current research projects.