REPORT ON EDUCATION

Teachers training in Finland

An important piece in the building of a successful educational system

The main purpose of this report is to collect information and analyze teachers
training in Finland education, which is one of the most famous and successful
worldwide. Along with it, we are looking forward to learning from it, and try to reflect
and compare about these methods in the context of teachers training in Chile
Body:
Finland is a country that is worldwide known because of it successful education
system, In the last decade, Finland has emerged as the leading OECD country in
educational achievement, Sahlberg (2010). One of the protagonists of this
achievement are teachers. In Finland society, teachers are seen as respectable
and competent people. As this is a highly prized profession, which is put into the
same level with medicine, law and architecture, teachers enjoy great social
prestige, and wages that are accordingly fair for the work they do.
Even though these factors make the decision of becoming a teacher easier, it
should not be underestimated. Teachers training major is one of the most strict
and competitive in finnish universities. According to Sahlberg (2010), becoming a
primary school teacher in Finland is a very competitive process, and only Finlands
best and brightest are able to fulfill those professional dreams. Firstly, you are
required to have excellent qualifications from high school, which are going to allow
you to apply for this major, secondly, applicants pass through very strict written
exams, which measure their knowledge according to specific pedagogical topics.
Finally, candidates must complete an interview explaining why they would like to
become teachers.
Teachers degrees:
Regarding training itself, according to the finnish national board of education,
teachers are highly trained, and it is a minimum requirement to have a masters
degree; however, it is stated that teachers of different levels are required with
different types of degrees, for example: Teaching and guidance staff within daycare centers generally have Bachelors degrees. In vocational education, teachers
should have a Masters degree or Bachelors degree. Pre-primary teachers in
schools hold a Masters degree. In addition, guidance counsellors in basic and
upper secondary education and training must have a masters degree, in this case,
in guidance counsellor studies, which means that all of the people that are involved
in the learning process must be highly experienced.
After graduating university, teachers are encouraged to continue with their training,
having the possibility to study in a postgraduate program in order to increase their

knowledge. Most of teachers keep constantly studying to pursue doctoral studies in

education, which does not mean they will stop teaching in schools, contrarily,
teachers seek these opportunities always thinking on getting the best results for
their students.