This article provides a critical exploration of the textbook-based character of Finnish educational culture. The opening section points to the need to recognize and better understand the role of textbooks in Finnish education. The next section outlines how and why textbooks have become a characterizing feature of Finnish educational culture before…

This study examined student teachers' perceptions of how well their Teacher Education (TE) had prepared them for 21st-century competencies, and how well they applied these competencies to their teaching. In addition, the study sought to identify best practices, major obstacles, and suggestions to achieve these competencies. The study was…

Lesson study is a collaborative model of professional development that provides teachers with the opportunity to learn from the planning, conduction and reflection of a specifically designed research lesson. Lesson study is increasingly incorporated in initial teacher education (ITE) and calls have been made to further detail the lesson study…

The present study investigates the nature of Iranian student teachers' reflections and their professional development in the context of teacher education practicums. The participants were student teachers (N = 41) enrolled in teacher education colleges at Farhangian University in Tehran, Iran. A total of 620 reflective writing excerpts were coded…

This research used a tutoring scenario to examine the spontaneous use of knowledge for teaching, which was measured from four perspectives: assessment, explanation, comprehension checking, and strategy instruction. The objective was: (1) to investigate whether student teachers could spontaneously utilise adequate knowledge for teaching, and (2) to…

Although some research results indicate that joint reflection can improve student-teachers' reflection, it is not clear how the interaction between student-teachers during a joint reflection process helps this to happen. The aim of this paper is to explore how the organisation of joint activity in processes of joint reflection assists students'…

This research examines the emotional and ethical dimensions of identity shaping in student teachers' teaching practicum. By interviewing seven Chinese student teachers who had just finished their student teaching practice, the research examines the participants' emotional experiences and the ethical dilemmas they encountered in their practicum.…

This article examines a physics course for pre-service primary teachers in which physics, crafts and drama were taught together by connecting the standpoints of crafts and drama. The study was carried out by three university educators from these disciplines during an advanced optional course for student-teachers at the University of Helsinki in…

Strategies student-teachers employ in classroom interaction with pupils during teaching practice periods are surprisingly understudied, considering that the teaching practicum provides a central arena for student-teachers learning to become teachers. This study investigates the primary strategies student-teachers utilised in classroom interaction…

Teachers are confronted with complex and unexpected classroom situations that not only demand knowledge but also social-emotional competencies. Consequently, researchers have tried to identify conditions that support the development of relevant abilities in this domain. This study examined the frequently stated, but not yet empirically…

This study focuses on student teachers' team teaching. Two team teaching models (sequential and parallel teaching) were applied by 14 student teachers in a quasi-experimental design. When implementing new teaching models, it is important to take into account the perspectives of all actors involved. Although learners are key actors in the teaching…

Career-long teacher learning is essential to the teaching profession because it is strongly connected with teacher quality and practices. Student teachers in the first stage of their career-long learning continuum, however, vary in the extent to which they participate in learning activities. This study explores the relationship between beliefs…

This study examines the role of pre-service teacher research in facilitating early and meaningful links between research and practice. Results from this mixed methods study show that pre-service teacher research is a promising method of early acculturation. However, despite a programme-wide emphasis on research as a mechanism for learning to teach…

This paper presents research which compares the teaching beliefs of primary and secondary school trainee teachers. Participants were 177 trainee teachers, 92 enrolled in a primary school teacher degree course, and 85 enrolled in a postgraduate teacher training course specifically for music teaching at secondary school level (middle and high…

This article contributes to a body of work that addresses the process of "becoming a teacher" and focuses on the relationship of the higher education (HE) (theoretical) component of the teaching qualification to the (practical) placement experience that student teachers undertake. This study approaches the data through the concept of…