Learning to Teach in Out-of-University and Out-of-School Environments in Primary Teacher Education in Estonia, Finland, and Sweden

Abstract

Learning in diverse settings during pre-service teacher training equips future primary teachers with the knowledge and skills to teach in authentic learning environments later in their work lives. This experience helps to meet the varying needs of their future students who have increasingly diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds with varying levels of access to learning and knowledge. During their university studies, pre-service teachers need to recognise the value of out-of-school environments, reinforce awareness in practice, and reflect on experiences to deepen pedagogical thinking about learning environments. This multiple case study describes the common practices in the pre-service training of primary teachers at Tallinn University, University of Helsinki and Uppsala University concerning teaching in out-of-class-room learning environments. Our aim was to explore the ways that the three universities support pre-service primary teachers in using out-of-school learning environments in their future practice. We intended to identify practices regarding our respective national curricula and university courses for pre-service primary teachers. We have three main suggestions for teacher educators regarding learning to teach in diverse environments: enable meaningful and reflective practical tasks in out-of-university learning environments for pre-service teachers; ensure the sustainability of external partnerships by stating collaborative practices in course programmes while leaving flexibility in the details; and reflect on professional networking across the boundaries of institutions.