by
Tun Min
Finnish teachers are
highly trained professionals. Since they have strong professional autonomy,
they need to undergo high training level (Finnish National Board of Education
(FNBE), n.d.-a, para.1). Further, it is strongly believed in Finland that
pre-service teacher education is “the most important arena for developing
professional knowledge” (Afdal, 2012, p.169). Hence, this essay will first present
how teacher education policy originated and developed in Finland. Next, it will
turn to how student teachers are normally selected and how initial Finnish
teacher education is being implemented. Then, the author will make a brief
explanation of teacher recruitment and in-service teacher training that were
covered by one of the group members during the seminar presentation, before
concluding the essay.