Finnish Student Teachers’ Visions for the Future of Sustainable Teacher Education
摘要
Sustainability is a growing concept and approach that has become more common in recent decades in addressing complex global problems. Although it has attracted attention in many fields, it has been neglected in the context of education and teacher education. However, future sustainability depends to a large extent on human learning and education, which themselves should be designed and implemented in a sustainable way. From these premises, the article asks: what visions do student teachers have for sustainable teacher education? The research data consisted of group discussions with 45 student teachers at a Finnish university. The data was analyzed using a dialogical thematic approach and six visions for sustainable teacher education were identified. The results show that sustainable teacher education is evolving, but is still incomplete. Improvements can be derived from the students’ visions, particularly in terms of the organization and interaction of training. In terms of scientific knowledge, students seem to want a stronger orientation, which is central to the principle of sustainable research-based teacher education. The findings suggest that students’ views should be systematically taken into account in the strategic development of sustainable teacher education, so that the principle of sustainability can be truly embedded in the practice and content of education and in society at large.