Teacher autonomy and collaboration as part of integrative teaching – Reflections on the curriculum approach in Finland

Abstract

This study builds on previous work in curriculum studies by providing insight into manifestations of the interplay between curriculum traditions, that are interested in education on a global scale and emphasized in the newest curriculum reform in Finland. This reform proposes a shift towards a competency-based curriculum, emphasizes integrative teaching and obligates to multidisciplinary teaching. Here, the suggestions are analysed from teachers' perspectives. This data-based case study uses qualitative content analysis to examine interviews conducted with five teachers from three Finnish schools.The results reveal growing diversity as a result of multiple implementations of integrative teaching in Finland. Autonomy was maintained in teaching activity and provided possibilities for professional development. That being said, some limitations and challenges for integrative teaching were identified. This study argues that the ongoing curriculum reform process, which emphasizes integrative teaching, is a fruitful starting point for expanding teacher autonomy and collaboration. Further study is needed to follow the teachers' changing perceptions of teacher autonomy.

Health‐oriented ‘Bildung’ or an obligation to a healthy lifestyle? A critical analysis of current PE curricula in Germany

“…The concept of Bildung has a long tradition in Germany which originates in philosophical ideas related to Enlightenment at the end of the 18th century (e. g. Horlacher, 2015; for reception in Scandinavia see Beck et al ., 2015; Haapaniemi et al ., 2020; Madsen & Aggerholm, 2020; Ryen, 2020; in Russia Meyer & Rakhkochkine, 2018). The distinction between Bildung and education, which are closely complementary, is a special feature of the German language and cultural area (for the following discussion Ruin & Stibbe, 2020).…”

A touchstone of Finnish curriculum thought and core curriculum for basic education: Reviewing the current situation and imagining the future

“…Multidisciplinary learning modules represent an integrative approach to teaching-that is, teaching aimed at educating integrative thinkers with interdisciplinary skills. Teachers guide students toward understanding relations between the same topics in different school subjects (Haapaniemi et al 2020). Emphasizing multidisciplinary skills and cross-curricular themes in curricula, grows, however, from the critique of the subjects' contents and those contents'ability to provide students with future skills (see Halinen and Jääskeläinen 2015, p. 27).…”

Towards a didactic model for multidisciplinary teaching - a didactic analysis of multidisciplinary cases in Finnish primary schools

“…Curricular thinking has been guided by respect for disciplinary knowledge (Vitikka et al, 2016). During the last decades, there has been a shift towards more normative and regulative educational policies, of which the latest national curriculum of 2014 is one example (Haapaniemi et al, 2020). The Finnish curriculum reform of 2014 introduced mandatory competence-based and multidisciplinary teaching in basic education.…”

“…Two different approaches to school curricula are found in the two cases of this article (see more in the analysis). In a recent study by Haapaniemi et al (2020), Finnish lower secondary teachers perceived that the local curriculum development work and multidisciplinary teaching strengthened their teacher autonomy. The sense of autonomy was consolidated by the teacher collaboration, which enabled professional development and collaborative reflections.…”

“…Teacher collaboration can thus be utilized in various ways, providing opportunities for both shared sense-making and individual reflection (cf. Haapaniemi et al, 2020). The national and local curricula form the school culture and frame the teaching.…”