Training of village school teachers in Finland: Multi-grade teaching and inclusion
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores the practices and teaching approaches used in the diverse and inclusive multi-grade classrooms of Finland’s village schools and the holistic Nordic model of schooling. It also shows how teacher training in Finland might be developed. The context of Finnish village schools are explored together with background to initial teacher education and continuing professional development. A new model for village teacher education (CPD) in Finland was developed in 2016 and is presented here together with results of research projects carried out in 2017 and its more recent developments in 2022/24. The locality based teacher education model is informed by multi grade school systems such as the Nucleo school model and the Escuela Nueva model. This research also explored what teachers working in village schools see as the advantages of these small, multi-grade teaching and learning contexts. The research showed that teachers desire training in the new Finnish core curriculum, multi-grade teaching and ICT. The features of multi-grade teaching and learning identified by teachers include: freedom of teaching and learning, cooperation with parents, getting to know the child, a safe environment with classroom rules, strategies and a good atmosphere, the possibility to create learning situations for all kinds of learners, individuality and non-comparability between pupils and learning from other pupils. We argue that ITE and CPD for teachers in Finland should increase the effectiveness of all teachers in multi-grade settings. This would help teachers optimise pupil learning in all kinds of diverse, heterogeneous classes and develop their preparation for inclusive and simultaneously respond to the need to learn 21st century skills. We argue all teachers need to be supported in their efforts to develop different teaching Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation approaches and to increase their freedom of choice and that multigrade school settings are a perfect place to develop these skills.
Authors: Taina Peltonen, Risto Kilpeläinen
Institution: University of Oulu
Language: English
Topic: Education in Rural Contexts
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,470
OpenAlex ID: W4411867998