Management of teacher education: danish democratic discourse in postmodern era

Abstract

In postmodern area, flexible and innovative management should become an integral part of the European education system as every knowledge-based society demands to educate high-quality specialists. The present research combines two dimensions: structural and administrative, including a dual fringe of both management and teacher education environments in the Nordic democratic space. The article offers a comparative analysis of the structural model, administrative principles, and new management initiatives in teacher professional training within the tertiary education system of neo-liberal Denmark. The Danish context is the most essential because this country has gained a unique experience in creating an effective system of self-governing teacher education institutions existing on a relevant background of centralized and decentralized management principles. The methodological contribution of this research is based on a case study approach that includes methods of qualitative analysis, critical induction, information reinterpretation, and generalization. Neo-liberal management initiatives of the Danish democratic state aimed at improving pedagogical education after postmodern period are considered to be a part of the response to the ongoing need for high-quality professional training of teachers based on a solid foundation of autonomy and effective innovative practices.