Teacher Training: History, Part Two

Independence in 1917 further emphasized the need for a united teacher training system. In 1934, the Jyvaskyla College of Education trained teachers after completion of secondary school. Even at this early time, teaching and teacher training held great respect in Finland, eventually achieving an established academic status (Kivinen & Rinne, 1994).

The reforms of teacher education in Finland illustrate the educational change so closely interwoven with politics, the economy, and society, and the reassessment and reconstruction the Finnish government underwent in the twentieth century (Begrem, Bjorkvist, Hansen, Carlgren, & Hauge, 1997). Post World War II forced Finland to reconsider the role of education in social and economic development.

Despite the founding of post-secondary teacher training institutions, many of the teaching seminaries continued to exist. In 1968, however, a committee determined that all teacher training courses would require an upper-secondary school qualification and that they would consist of a four-year course of study, culminating in a master's degree in education. Therefore, all teacher training would take place in universities (Kivinen & Rinne, 1994).