UDC

37.013.74(480)(485)(045)

Authors

Orlova Lyudmila Vladimirovna
Institute of Pedagogics and Psychology, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (Arkhangelsk, Russia)
e-mail: l.orlova@narfu.ru
Pechinkina Olga Vladislavovna
Institute of Philology and Cross-Cultural Communication, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (Arkhangelsk, Russia)
e-mail: o.pechinkina@narfu.ru

Abstract

The relevance of the present research is determined by the growing interest to the organisation of teacher education in Russia and abroad. Due to the ongoing changes in our country, there is a pressing need for its development and modernization. One of the sources of innovative changes in teacher education in Russia is the study of other countries’ experience. In this sense, Finland and Sweden, two countries closely related to Russia both historically and geographically, are of particular interest. The article describes professional teacher training in the two Nordic countries and reveals the main ideas behind the reforms within teacher education in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It also compares the structure and content of teacher education, paying special attention to how teachers-tobe are selected and how their student teaching is organised. The education systems in Finland and Sweden are characterized by diversity in the content of education, flexibility of its structure and use of various technologies. In addition, students can design their own education route according to their interests. These Nordic countries offer a wide variety of technological methods helping teachers-to-be to discover their calling, develop their professional qualities and find their own teaching style. Teaching is seen in these two countries as a rather privileged profession, and the countries themselves rank high according to the international studies on the quality of education, with Finland being ahead of Sweden in many respects.

Keywords

teacher education, education system, structure and content of teacher training

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