Tracing the Quality From Selection to Graduation by Following Student Teachers' Achievement in Finland

• In Event: Developing Quality Teachers: International Insights From Europe, the United States, and Hong Kong

Abstract

Objectives
This study examines varying profiles amongst student teachers’ by following candidates achievement from entrance examination through their participation in a five-year Masters’ program. In Finland, teachers as university-degree holders, belong to a group of highly valued professionals making teacher education programs popular amongst applicants. Thousands of potential teacher candidates participate in the two-phase entrance examination every year. Once applicants’ are selected and preservice teachers complete a five-year Masters’ program, they are automatically qualified as teachers, with a certificate to teach. Hence, an essential question is how to select the most suitable candidates for the teaching profession in order to guarantee the further development of great schools while maintaining strong learning outcomes for students in a changing society. Therefore, this study asks:
• What profiles of student teachers emerge by examining levels of achievement in the period from selection to Masters’ completion?
o To what extent do the profiles identified at selection predict student teacher success in the five-year Master’s degree program?
Theoretical framework
An increasing body of research has shown that entry characteristics such as intrinsic motivation, good high school grades are associated to pre-service teachers’ competence (Blömeke & Kaiser, 2017). These cognitive and non-cognitive factors are included and tested during two-phase selection in Finland. However, selection system varies in Finland as well other countries. Hence, there is an ongoing pressure and need for a research-based development of selection methods, as well as standardized selection processes and valid criteria for teacher education in Finland and other countries (Darling-Hammond, 2017; Clinton & Dawson, 2018; Klassen et al., 2018). Hence, this study focuses on identifying competencies of pre-service teachers.

Methods
Two student teacher cohorts (N=158) were chosen for this study, consisting of students accepted into the teacher education program at the University of Turku in 2010 and 2013. Our longitudinal latent profile analysis examined their performance across three stages of the program: their basic studies, the Bachelor stage, and the Master’s stage.

Results
Our descriptive results indicate that cognitive factors identified in entrance phase, like high scores of first language (Finnish language) correlated positively with study success in Basic studies and Subject didactics. However, LPA analysis revealed two subgroups (group 1, n=93), 57 % on a high level and (group 2, n=65), 47 %) on the lower level who shows differences in study achievement especially in Bachelor phase. Results show that male students are in the lower level group, whereas female students represent high level profile.

Scholarly Significance
Our study contributes to identify different pre-service teacher profiles from entry phase to graduation. We need to increase our understanding of how different selection system works and how study program supports pre-service teachers learning. Especially, how to support applicants’ with immigrant background, who has Finnish as second language. Selection system must follow society’s changes by enabling pre-service teachers’ diversity of strength considering their learning profiles. The challenge is to keep the selection system open for finding diversity in looking for potential.

Authors

• Marko Lähteenmäki, University of Turku

• Anu Warinowski, University of Turku