The (mis)use of the Finnish teacher education model: ‘policy-based evidence-making’?

Abstract

Background: International achievement studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have an increasing influence on education policy worldwide. The use of such data can provide a basis for evidence-based policy-making to initiate educational reform. Finland, a high performer in PISA, is often cited as an example of both efficient and equitable education. Finland’s teachers and teacher education have not only garnered much attention for their role in the country’s PISA successes, but have also influenced education policy change in England.

Main argument: This article argues that the Finnish model of teacher education has been borrowed uncritically by UK policy-makers. Finnish and English philosophies of teacher preparation differ greatly, and the borrowing of the Finnish teacher education model does not fit within the teacher training viewpoint of England. The borrowed policies, thus, were decontextualised from the wider values and underpinnings of Finnish education. This piecemeal, ‘pick “n” mix’ approach to education policy reform ignores the fact that educational policies and ‘practices exist in ecological relationships with one another and in whole ecosystems of interrelated practices’. Thus, these borrowed teacher preparation policies will not necessarily lead to the outcomes outlined by policy-makers in the reforms.

Sources of evidence: Two teacher preparation reforms in England, the University Training Schools (outlined in the UK Government’s 2010 Schools White Paper, The Importance of Teaching) and the Master’s in Teaching and Learning (MTL), are used to illustrate the problematic nature of uncritical policy borrowing. This article juxtaposes these policies with the Finnish model of teacher education, a research-based programme where all candidates are required to complete a Master’s degree. The contradictions exposed from this analysis further highlight the divergent practices of teacher preparation in England and Finland, or the disparate ‘ecosystems’. Evidence of educational policy borrowing in other settings is also considered.

Conclusions: Both the MTL and the White Paper reforms overlook the ‘ecosystem’ surrounding Finnish teacher education. The school-based MTL contrasts with the research-based Finnish teachers’ MA. Similarly, the University Training Schools scheme, based on Finnish university-affiliated, teaching practice schools, contrasts heavily with the rest of the White Paper reforms, which contradict the philosophies and ethos behind Finnish teacher education by proposing the move of English teacher preparation away from the universities. The analysis highlights the uncritical eye through which politicians may view international survey results, looking for ‘quick fix’ options instead of utilising academic evidence for investigation on education and education reform.     

Whose quality? Social actors in the interface of transnational and national higher education policy

The article analyzes the construction of national reactions to a transnational higher education policy from the point of view of the representation of social actors in policy documents. The data are provided by the so-called Bologna Process, particularly the development of comparable quality assurance systems, and Finnish responses to those demands. Who is represented as active and who as passive, as European policies are discursively translated into national policies? How are those ‘quality actors’ represented in the policy documents directed at a transnational audience (i.e. the Bologna Process communiqués, as well as national reports on its advancement) as opposed to documents directed at a national, in this case Finnish, audience (i.e. national policy formation documents)? What kinds of policy fields emerge as a result of different representations of actors? This article takes the Bologna Process as an example of the ‘glocalisation’ of higher education policy.     

The Impact of the Bologna Reform on the Productivity of Swiss Universities

The Bologna reform aims to enhance several dimensions of the universities' activities, by favouring mobility and mutual recognition of higher education degrees across Europe, with the objective to create a European Higher Education Area. The radical changes induced by the Bologna Process affect universities' productivity both directly (for example, implementation costs, curriculum streamlining, evaluation intensity) and indirectly (for example, the ability to attract more students and higher levels of competition among institutions). The decentralised organisation of the Swiss university sector provides an ideal setting to test this hypothesis, as the panel data of departments permits the consideration of the unobserved heterogeneity across both universities and scientific fields. The empirical results support the claim that the Bologna reform enhances university productivity. Furthermore, there is no evidence of substantial costs of the system transformation.     

The academic career: contradiction as a key player in nursing education

ABSTRACT

Background: Within Europe, substantial changes in academia in recent years have transformed the work of academic nurses. The most important change has been a result of the Bologna Process, launched in 1999, as it has led to the implementation of significant reforms to higher education across participating European countries.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a theoretical understanding of the effect of the Bologna Process on academic nurses’ professional development and explore academic nurses’ perceptions of the challenges and opportunities they encounter in the teaching and research arena.

Method: A qualitative study was conducted. The participants were eight academic nurses and data were collected through 24 in-depth, semi-structured weekly interviews. The analysis was performed using the constant comparative method, leading to the construction of categories based on the constant comparison of similarities and differences between the participants.

Findings: The coding process led to the identification and interpretation of the core category. This category, identified as ‘The academic career: Contradiction as a key player’, emerged as a result of analysis of the interaction of four categories: (1) opportunity for change, (2) unnecessary difficulties, (3) growth of the discipline and (4) institutional requirements. Findings indicated that the academic nurses in the study viewed the Bologna Process positively but noted several obstacles to its implementation. According to the participants, the changes also led to conflict in terms of their work–life balance.

Conclusions: This study is of relevance to nursing education and to clinical nursing practice. It suggests that the implementation of the Bologna Process in nursing studies has helped nurses to regard research as part of their autonomous professional role, and to be aware that research contributes to improve clinical practice, providing an evidence base on which to design and assess nursing interventions. However, the notion that academic nurses consider research within a contradiction paradigm is a potential barrier to the advancement of nursing science and evidence-based practice.     

Aspired Convergence,Cherished Diversity: Dealing with the contradictions of Bologna

This article addresses the inherent tension in the Bologna process between the aim of convergence and the will to maintain the diversity of national higher education (HE) systems, as well as the decentralised and autonomous nature of national policy formulation on Bologna reforms. Starting from an analytical discussion of the concepts of convergence versus diversity in the Bologna documents, it assesses empirically the degree of convergence achieved so far between the HE systems of Germany, the Netherlands, France, and England. The result is that convergence in several dimensions was only modest between 1998 and 2004. The article concludes by reflecting upon this finding and discusses the implications. The policy proposals put forward are (1) to acknowledge and stress the merits of the Bologna process other than convergence, (2) to engage in a second round of reforms more clearly targeted at convergence, and (3) to address mobility and recognition issues independent from convergence of degree structures.

     

博洛尼亚进程中的法国高等教育改革研究

博洛尼亚进程对欧洲各国,特别是以法国为代表的高等教育体制高度集权的国家产生了重要的影响.法国在博洛尼亚进程框架内进行的高等教育改革对原有的高等教育体制产生了巨大冲击.法国通过进行高等教育体制结构调整、实行欧洲学分转换系统、建立专门的质量评估机构等措施增强了大学之间的合作,推动了学生的流动性,密切了高等教育领域与社会经济部门的联系.法国这次的高等教育改革增强了高等教育体制的开放性和流动性,提高了高等教育体制对社会发展的反应能力,促进了法国高等教育质量的提高.     

Finnish Higher Education Policy and the Ongoing Bologna Process

|spagf|it|epagf|The Bologna train is running at full speed. The next stop at ministerial level is the Berlin follow-up meeting to be held on 18-19 September 2003. This article is an attempt to investigate the background to the Bologna Process, which, with all the haste, has remained rather obscure. It examines how the educational policy of the EEC/EU has reached a stage at which one can speak of a European Higher Education Area with reference to the concepts of harmonization and the Bologna Process. It will also examine possible future scenarios, focusing particularly on the Finnish situation. Why has Finland been so keen to embark on reforms? What does Finnish higher education policy aim to achieve through the Bologna Process, and what does it stand to gain from it?|spagf|ro|epagf|     

A Different View of the Bologna Process: the case of Turkey

Since the beginning of the 20^th century, integration with the Western world has been a determining driver of higher education policies, as well as many other policy areas in Turkey. Becoming a signatory country of the Bologna Process in 2001 brought a new impulse to the higher education policies in this direction. The Bologna Process reforms introduced necessary changes and set new challenges. This article discusses the main implementation activities in the context of the Bologna Process in Turkey and the governance of the reform at the national level with a focus on the roles of the key national bodies.     

The Establishment of Quality Assurance Mechanisms at the University of Nis and Other Systemic Changes in Serbian Higher Education

The author, the Rector of the University of Nis in Serbia and Montenegro, describes the recent introduction of quality control mechanisms and other reform measures in his university. These reform measures are intended to help adapt the university to the Bologna Process. The carrying out of these reforms has been aided by a university-wide evaluation that was conducted in 2002 by a team of the European Association of Universities. A second impetus for reform has been the participation of the University of Nis in the activities of the Regional University Network on Governance and Management of Higher Education in South East Europe.     

欧洲高等教育一体化改革:博洛尼亚进程的结构与过程分析

为应对全球竞争的挑战,顺应欧洲一体化的大趋势,29个欧洲国家于20世纪末启动了旨在整合欧洲高等教育体系的博洛尼亚进程。博洛尼亚进程以可比较、兼容、透明原则构建高等教育系统框架,以达成多样性与一致性的统一;注重整体设计,系统推进;在政策的制定上注重利益相关者的参与,为其顺利推进赢得了广泛的社会支持。博洛尼亚进程的设计、组织与管理,对我国实施系统的高等教育改革具有重要的启示和借鉴意义。     

波洛尼亚进程框架下俄罗斯高等教育系统的改革

波洛尼亚进程是欧洲高等教育一体化进程的重要组成部分,俄罗斯于2003年签署了<波洛尼亚宣言>.本文主要介绍了俄罗斯在该进程框架下所采取的一系列改革措施.     

Anything goes: Or,how the accommodation of Europe's universities to European integration integrates an inspiring number of contradictions

Abstract

This article analyses the implications for the integration of higher education in Europe as presented by the Bologna process. It examines the evidence presented in official documents which claim a wide‐spread consensus for this initiative. The article analyses the particular ideological commitment built into the Bologna process in the light of its four objectives Mobility, Employ ability, Competitiveness and Attractiveness. It questions whether that consensus, largely taken for granted at the higher levels of political discussion, is fully reflected in ‘le pays reel’ ‐ at the chalk face. It argues that the main test of the Bologna ‘principles’ will come when talk gives way to implementation, both at the level of first degrees and in the area of research training.     

The Bologna Process in Italy

Italy was among the promoters of the Bologna Process and the early adopters of the reform. If one looks at its impact on the formal structure of curricula and study programmes, the reform undertaken under the Bologna banner seems to have been one of the major educational reforms ever achieved in Italy. This article describes how the Bologna Process has unfolded in Italy, looking at the reasons why a reform that for long eluded Italian policymakers and higher education managers finally succeeded. The theme is approached from the point of view of the contemporary theories of institutional change, looking at the actors and interactions that made this reform possible despite strong opposition. In fact, it was a series of contingent events that weakened the balance of powers governing Italian HE, thus making institutional change possible.     

Internationalisation Network: A Finnish Experience

One of the main issues of internationalisation is networking. The network way of action within higher education institutions (HEIs) represents new modes of the information work. Networks are worth evaluating more precisely in the future, and social network analysis (SNA) is a useful tool for this evaluation. This article describes the network of people working with internationalisation in Finnish universities of applied sciences (UASs). The study combines SNA and knowledge‐sharing between HEIs. The model of knowledge creation introduced by Nonaka and Takeuchi is used in the analysis. On this ground of network evaluation, we study the network structure, relations and roles in the internationalisation network and discuss appearance of trust and competition in co‐operation between HEIs.

     

A competence-based constructivist tool for evaluation

Abstract

Recently the educational system in general, and the university in particular, have suffered a transformation in the way learning, teaching, and subsequently, evaluation are considered due to changes in the European context, including the Bologna Declaration and the constructivist view of learning. There are several adjustments required to implement successfully traditional university teaching practices, such as the use of new technologies in teaching, new ways of tutoring, different groupings, the teaching of competencies and social skills, and, as a result, new forms of evaluation, which constitute the object of this paper. Thus, we show an objective alternative —or complement—to traditional evaluation: a very exhaustive tool for evaluating oral and written presentations which includes four sections: general aspects, contents, questions concerning design and layout, and psychological aspects concerning general competencies. Throughout the paper, the constructivist notions of learning, teaching and evaluation are substantiated and validated with the use of this tool for group or individual presentations or end-of-degree dissertations.     

Teacher Education Curricula after the Bologna Process – a Comparative Analysis of Written Curricula in Finland and Estonia

During the Bologna process, from 2003 to 2006, degree programmes, including teacher education curricula, were developed in line with the two-tier system – the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and modularization. The purpose of the present study is to contribute to the development of teacher education profiling measures by comparing the Finnish and Estonian curricula covering initial teacher education. The aim was to analyze and compare studies in the science of education as part of the class teacher education programs through the development of a sufficiently universal meta-structure. The written curricula were subjected to discipline-based content analysis, which covered the main elements of the curricula and the contents of the theoretical substance studies in the science of education. The resulting differences and similarities between the Finnish and the Estonian curricula are reported.     

解读“博洛尼亚进程”

＂博洛尼亚进程＂目的在于通过资源整合在欧洲实现高教一体化,这个进程始于由29个国家签署的《博洛尼亚协议》。从经济学的视角来看,＂博洛尼亚进程＂是顺应经济全球化的一项举措。学位体系变革是＂进程＂中最为重要的一项改革,尽管对这个进程存有不少质疑,但欧洲各国仍积极推进,因为＂博洛尼亚进程＂已经不是单纯的教育问题。     

A Cross-section of Women Engineers in Italy

In Italy as in other European countries, the percentage of women who graduated with a degree in engineering is still very low. However, in past years, matriculation of women in engineering has been increasing, although the trend is still lower than in other departments, where an overall average of 50% increase is projected.

Using statistical data from the oldest and one of the most important universities in the world, the University of Bologna, we have analysed the historical and social reasons why particular careers for women,i.e. teaching and medicines, were chosen over other careers. Other data were used to study why women had difficulties being accepted at the University; who were the famous female teachers at the University of Bologna (18th century); who were the first female graduates in engineering in Italy (Turin, 1908) and in particular, in Bologna (1915).

In addition, we studied the distribution of women in the various fields of engineering. A survey was sent to a sample of woment graduates in engineering from the University of Bologna in which they responded to questions concerning their present status in the field, job possibilities, prejudices, problems, etc.     

博洛尼亚进程中西班牙研究生教育改革措施与启示

博洛尼亚进程作为欧洲高等教育发展的重要方式,体现了高等教育发展需要国际化、完善制度建设、加强培训评估机制,以保障国际化沿着科学方向发展的趋势。西班牙作为接收留学生和送出学生最多的国家,在研究生教育改革方面开展了促进师生流动、加强培训评估的积极探索,依托＂伊拉斯谟＂计划积极开展＂欧洲硕士点＂学位建设推动研究生联合培养进程;在保障机制方面探索了教师发展培训机制和教师发展评估认证机制。这种＂外联内修＂的发展模式为我国高等教育发展提供了参考。