Teacher educators’ understanding of research-based teacher education

Abstract

Background: Engaging teacher educators in improving the quality of teacher education is an ongoing process internationally. In some countries, there is growing conviction that professional teacher education should be based on research-generated knowledge. This trend has led to reforms in teacher education programmes as well as in teacher educators’ roles and professional practice.

Purpose: This study explores teacher educators’ understanding of research-based teacher education (RBTE) in Norway and Finland with an emphasis on Norway. Norway introduced RBTE in 2017, while Finland has had experience with this approach since the 1970s.

Method: The study is qualitative, part of a broader research project involving participants from Norway and Finland. It included inperson interviews with 16 teacher educators in Norway and five in Finland. An asymmetric design was adopted because we were particularly interested in exploring the Norwegian context. The analysis undertaken adhered to the principles of content analysis, identifying and categorising the viewpoints of the teacher educators through a grounded, inductive process.

Findings: Four data-driven categories emerged: Research-based teaching, comprising teaching methods and the acquisition of professional knowledge; Engagement in research, representing teacher educators’ understanding of student teachers’ participation in research activities; Role of research-based literature, referring to reflections on the use of subject literature; and Critical thinking, describing teacher educators’ assessment of developing a critical and self-reflective mindset when engaging in RBTE.

Conclusion: The participating teacher educators in both countries shared similar views on the key characteristics of RBTE. They were also generally positive about the role of research in their professional practice and its contribution to fostering critically thinking practitioners. However, the study revealed some tensions among Norwegian teacher educators, due to differing academic backgrounds and the cross-pressure demands of research and teaching.