The study conducted by Teacher Education Forum "Demographic Trends and Teacher Education in Finland" examines what changes need to be made to teachers’ initial and in-service education in light of demographic trends to ensure that teacher education and teachers’ competencies meet the needs that Finland will face in the near future.
The study consists of three phases. First, we will review recent studies on how demographic changes affect the provision of basic education. Next, we will gather perspectives from universities responsible for basic education teacher education on how demographic trends in their regions affect teacher education and what changes are deemed necessary for teacher education. In the final phase, stakeholders representing various types of municipalities—such as heads of education departments, school principals, and teachers—will be interviewed to determine their views on the changes and their specific impacts in their municipalities.
The study is being conducted at the request of the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the results will be published in the form of a final report by the Teacher Education Forum, as well as in subsequent academic publications.
The study will be completed by the end of 2026.
In line with the Teacher Education 2050 vision, the Teacher Education Forum is developing a research-based quality assurance design to collect evidence on the quality of all teacher education programs and of continuous learning throughout a teacher’s career. The aim is to collect empirical data that can be used to determine what teachers learn during initial and in-service teacher education, as well as throughout their careers in the diverse contexts in which they study, work, and operate. The aim is to identify which individual and contextual factors promote and are optimal for teachers’ learning, or conversely, may hinder teachers’ learning, and how these factors are realised in teacher education and in the various contexts of teachers’ work. Once the design is complete, the aim is to collect data from all teacher education programs and from practicing teachers to obtain answers to the fundamental questions described above. As a result, it would be possible to focus on those factors that particularly require attention in initial and in-service teacher education and continuous professional learning.
The quality assurance design will be completed in the fall of 2026, and data will be collected during 2027.