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Comprehensive school teachers’ professional agency in large-scale educational change

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Abstract

This article explores how comprehensive school teachers’ sense of professional agency changes in the context of large-scale national educational change in Finland. We analysed the premises on which teachers (n = 100) view themselves and their work in terms of developing their own school, catalysed by the large-scale national change. The study included theory-driven interventions in the case school communities, as well as pre- and post-test measurements. The results suggested that the learning of active professional agency was facilitated among teachers during the 2 years of development work. A significant number of teachers had adopted a more holistic orientation towards the reform. Moreover, the number of teachers who considered themselves as the subjects of the development work increased slightly. This increase suggests that teachers’ intentional and responsible management of new learning proceeds from the interpersonal meaning-making process to the internal process that regulates the elements of a teacher’s professional agency.

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Notes

  1. Within the Finnish comprehensive school system, all comprehensive school teachers must hold a master’s degree in either educational sciences or some other domain, such as mathematics or biology, with compulsory additional studies (35 credits) in educational science. Class teachers, who typically work in primary schools (grades (0)–1–6), must hold a master’s degree in educational science, the main subject being applied educational sciences or educational psychology. Subject teachers, who typically teach in grades 7–9 (lower secondary school), usually possess a master’s degree in some subject with an additional, compulsory one year of study in educational science. Special education teachers who teach in both primary and secondary schools in grades (0)–1–9 hold master’s degrees in educational science, the main subject being special education. In other types of comprehensive school, various teacher groups dominate, and different kinds of competencies are emphasised. Class teachers typically work in schools where teaching focuses on grades (0)–1–6, and subject teachers work in schools where teaching focuses on grades 7–9. In schools where teaching focuses on all grades (0)–1–9, the teaching responsibilities between teacher groups can be allocated in many ways. For instance, a class teacher can also assume responsibility for lessons for some of the upper grades. Special education teachers’ competencies are used flexibly in all school types.

  2. The essay task and instructions were validated on an in-service teacher education day in/with a pilot essay before using the final instrument in the case schools. A total of about 50 teachers from different parts of Finland participated in this pilot project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education, Institute of Behavioral Sciences, University of Helsinki, Siltavuorenpenger 5A, P.O. Box 9, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Kirsi Pyhältö

  2. School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, Eastern Finland, Finland

    Janne Pietarinen

  3. School of Education, University of Tampere, Åkerlundinkatu 5, 33014, Tampere, Finland

    Tiina Soini

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  1. Kirsi Pyhältö
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Pyhältö, K., Pietarinen, J. & Soini, T. Comprehensive school teachers’ professional agency in large-scale educational change. J Educ Change 15, 303–325 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-013-9215-8

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