Teacher Training Program at the U. of Jyvaskyla

During my first week in Jyvaskyla, I met my University of Jyvaskyla adviser who is a lecturer in the Department of Education and her specialty is textiles.  The University of Jyvaskyla has one of the largest teacher training programs in Finland.

Later that week, she took me to the Norssi school (grades 1-9) located on the University campus to observe a practicum student. In Finland, students attend their neighborhood school and Norssi is the neighborhood school for the area around the University. It is where teacher candidates from the University begin to teach lessons. My adviser and I along with the students’ classroom teacher were scheduled to observe a young woman teaching her first textile lesson.

When we arrived at the classroom, the young woman, who looked like a high school student herself, was preparing for the lesson and came over to sit with us for a few minutes before the class started. After a moment of introductions, she broke down in tears from nerves.  She exclaimed, “this my dream job, one I have been preparing for it for all my life.” She was shaking she was so nervous. I was taken aback by her emotion and desire to be a teacher. In that moment, I reflected on the status of teaching in primary and secondary school as a career in the U.S.: it is not highly respected. 

In Finland, teaching is one of the most respected professions and only students at the very top of their class are accepted to teacher education programs. At the Fulbright Finland Orientation, we learned that in Finland it is harder to be accepted to a teacher training school than to medical school. Imagine.

My adviser explained the process for acceptance at the University of Jyvaskyla Education program.

• Students are given two months to read and study specific information about education. At the end of the two months, students take a written test on the information.  (My adviser showed me the exam from last year. It was 33 pages long!) 
• Students who score high enough on this test are invited to come to the University for an interview.
• Students have in person interviews with faculty members.
• Students take an another written test which includes analyzing articles and papers about education theory.
• Students take a general psychological profile test which sounds similar to the Gallup TeacherInsight Assessment to determine if their temperament aligns with teaching.
• National matriculation test scores are evaluated.

This is not for a job but for place in a teacher education program. Imagine. 

Teaching is a complex and complicated job. A successful teacher needs content knowledge and a variety of skills and characteristics to do the job well. They are:

• Depth of content knowledge
  The deeper a teacher knows their subject the more they can challenge their students to think critically and understand more complex ideas.
  
  
• Emotional, social and psychological awareness and intelligence
  Students are people first and their lives are complicated.
  
  
• Appropriate temperament
  A level headed person with a non-reactionary temperament builds trust with students.
  
  
• Problem solving and "thinking on your feet" skills
  Planning helps manage the unexpected, but there will always be new and challenging situations and conditions in classes.
  
  
• Flexible thinking
  Despite a structured schedule and the same class rosters everyday,
  no two class periods or days are alike.  What works fantastically with one
  group can bomb with another. Like entrepreneurs, successful teachers embrace failure,
  ​learn from it and make changes.  

In the long term, more rigorous requirements and assessment of  whether a person is well suited for the profession might benefit  teacher candidates and school aged students.  Imagine. ​

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