NAFOL Seminar Jón Torfi Jónasson, School of Education, University of Iceland Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Icelandic education – Teacher education – NAFOL Joint PhD seminar School of Education University of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland August 27-31 Joint PhD seminar NAFOL Cohort 6 Cohort coordinator Professor Kari Smith Icelandic leader Professor Ólöf Garðarsdóttir Icelandic education – Teacher education – Grand Challenges for Education What is important in the educational discourse and why? Jón Torfi Jónasson, School of Education, University of Iceland jtj@hi.is http://uni.hi.is/jtj/en/

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Icelandic education The form – the system Characteristics of development Based on the paper: Jón Torfi Jónasson and Gunnhildur Óskarsdóttir. (2016). Iceland: Educational structure and development. In T. Sprague (Ed.), Education in non-EU countries in Western and Southern Europe, pp. 11-36. Series: Education Around the World. London: Bloomsbury. ePub: 978-1-4725-9250-7 Issues being discussed Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 A crude outline of the system. It is not clear what it describes. Until now this does not describe what actually happens, even though governments strive towards gradually fitting the reality into their boxes. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Pre-school enrolment rates for the period 1998-2014. Note how grouping together 0-2 year old children would give a misleading picture. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Why is comparative education more interested in differences than similarities? Which age groups are “compelled” to go to “school” even when it is not compulsory? Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Icelandic education – its development The importance of a long-term perspective. Preferably more than a century – half a century may be revealing. Ten or even twenty years may not be interesting as they don’t show the underlying developments. Still short periods are unfortunately often used. Note that history often is the best analytic tool. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Icelandic education – its development A report on the next 25 years. Written by JTJ for the years 1985-2010. Turned out to be essentially accurate. What should a book about the development of education 2015-2040 say about changes? Now, writing such book I would look at Constancy and recurrence in the discourse, continuity of development through identifiable phases, regularity, academic drift, institutional drift institutional conservatism Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Constancy and recurrence in the discourse The enrolment into vocational education and its status The conservatism in the curriculum debate and the reluctance to change The nature and importance of tests and measurement How to lead schools …. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Continuity of development through identifiable phases The most simple way to express this is to note that most institutional innovation has a precursor; something had be developing before often for a long time. Legal enactment often is just a confirmation of this development. There are a multitude of examples: The establishment of the University of Iceland in 1911 The establishment of most of the comprehensive schools The development of the pre-schools The national test entrance test to the gymnasia (1946) – which later became the national concluding at the end of compulsory education (1974) ….. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Regularity Number of compulsory years as defined by law Gradual development of enrolment for different cohorts Exponential growth of certain high status credentials The development of gender difference (upper secondary and higher education )– growing steadily for a century - a global development Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 A crude demonstration of how compulsory education has expanded – the last point show the duty of the State rather than compulsion for students. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Enrolment at any level within the system of education for cohort ranges, expressed as a percentage of the cohort. Notice the smooth development, take the age range 20-24 as an example. But this holds for all ranges shown. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 The growth of the UEE (university entrance examination is best described as an exponential growth of a credential. The exponents for males and females are different but very stable for a century. Same applies to all the Nordic countries. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 The number of Icelandic students enrolled at university 1911-1970. Then we fit an exponential curve and extrapolate for the next 40 years!! Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 The number of Icelandic students enrolled at university 1911-2011. We see that data from the first 2/3rds of the century predicted well the next 40 years. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Academic drift Note that all developments mentioned here can only bee seen by watching developments over long periods of time and are not linear changes. Found everywhere. Kindergarten curricula move towards school curricula Vocations go to school Vocational studies become more academic Outdoor and ICT education serve academic subjects …. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 One aspect of academic drift within upper secondary education. Number of students graduating from two major sectors within upper secondary education. Notice a) the parallel development from 1870s until 1970 and b) that this graph does not show the age of the students graduating. Some students graduate from both tracks. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Institutional drift The development of the compulsory system as a combination of primary schools and lower secondary schools (which were a continuation of a hybrid “realschulen” in Iceland. This had reached a fairly final stage with the law in 1946. Similarly the development of the upper secondary. The development of the upper secondary system into a “unified system” perhaps from 1946-1988, but it started earlier and is still going on. The moving of day care and kindergarten and play schools into the current formal pre-school system where it is now apart of the formal school system, with teachers and curricula. ….. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Issues in Icelandic education Testing (national exams at the end of 4th, 7th and 10th grade) Inclusion, The educational progress of immigrants, Evaluation mechanisms, National curriculum (general part the same for pre-primary, compulsory and upper secondary) – a 21st century skills emphasis Marking systems in compulsory education Directorate of Education (From October 1st 2015) Pay- agreements and who controls the working time of teachers Government White paper with emphasis on Literacy, vocational education and prevention of dropout Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Teacher education The form – the system Characteristics of development Issues being discussed Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Some landmarks Teacher education currently at three universities: UI, UnAk, IAA (arts college) Teacher education gained university status in 1971. Pre-school teacher education gains clear university status 1996 at the University of Akureyri and in 1998 at the Iceland University of Education. In 2008 the education for teachers was formally extended from three (bachelor) to five (+master) years for both primary and pre-primary school teachers (already for upper secondary teachers). In 2008 the Iceland University of Education was merged with the UI with express purpose of interweaving subject education and the subjects. There is a law http://www.althingi.is/lagas/nuna/2008087.html and a regulation (http://www.reglugerd.is/reglugerdir/allar/nr/872-2009) on the ingredients of TE. None other of the well established professions has such a detailed framework. A council for professional development for teachers (x 4 stakeholders) Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

A simplified picture of the main routes. A developing alternative for compulsory education, perhaps mainly for lower secondary, but in principle for all levels. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Number of graduated students in B.Ed. in compulsory school teacher education, 2005–2015 with a B.Ed. degree and 2014–2015 with a M.Ed. Degree. Borrowed from Draft: Challenges, contradictions and continuity in creating a five-year teacher education programme after the merger of two universities. Sigurðardóttir, Jóhannesson, Óskarsdóttir. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Overview of the Compulsory School Teacher Education, 1998–1999, 2012–2013 and 2015–2016. Percentage of ECTS for each category and ECTS. Borrowed from Draft: Challenges, contradictions and continuity in creating a five-year teacher education programme after the merger of two universities. Sigurðardóttir, Jóhannesson, Óskarsdóttir Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Issues for discussion related to TE – seven issues The forces, outside the purview or control of teacher professionalism that impinge on education The changing definition of teacher education The gradual drift of initial teacher education upwards (and outwards?) within the hierarchy of Higher Education The career development of teachers and lifelong professional learning The spectrum of teacher educators and their professional background. Are there common – or distinct identity elements? Modern developments and education. The place and role of teacher educators in those processes. To whom should we listen -- and what should we do, what role should we play? Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Grand challenges in education Mapping the future onto education Futures, aims of education, inertia among actors and systems Forging the research-praxis nexus within the system of education The importance of research and data The limits to relating research and the practice of education Education: ensuring democracy and equity Moving LLL to the centre of the educational system General system problems. The frozen idea of ITE. What it means for teacher education to institutionalize The teacher as the initiator of change dilemma Why the teacher must be better trusted for conducting education and why she cannot be made responsible for taking the initiative. The institutions within the educational edifice. The institutionalization of mistrust. The professional education of teachers – the fragmentation problem, the institutional question. Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016

Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016 Thank you Jón Torfi Jónasson NAFOL Reykjavík August 2016