THE FINISH TEACHER EDUCATION. TEACHERS FOR EQUITY AND PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY

The aim of the article is to describe the major features of the Finnish educational system and Finnish teacher education. The analysis is based on national core curricula and other official documents from the educational system as well as on recent research literature regarding education in Finland. During the last 30 years, Finland has built an education system with two visions: equity and lifelong learning (LLL). Since 1979, all teachers have been required to have five years education, consisting of both MA and BA degrees (degrees of the Bologna Process in the European Higher Education Area). The main principle of Finnish teacher education is to educate teachers as high-quality autonomous professionals with an emphasis on strengthening the following areas: creating a research-based professional culture in which each teacher possesses critical scientific literacy; establishing the social and moral code of the teaching profession; integrating theory and practice; and educating teachers to be responsible for local curriculum design and students’ assessments. Teacher education attracts highly talented applicants as many students are motivated to become teachers. However, Finnish teacher education also faces the following challenges: developing a teaching culture which incorporates more active learning; enabling teachers to develo