There is a great interest around the world in how teachers are prepared, the content of their education and training programmes, measurements of their effectiveness, and the role of the ‘good’ teacher in society. While many of the issues are common across different national contexts, the direction of policy and how it is enacted varies considerably. There is therefore a need to understand how current situations have developed historically.

In Historical Development of Teacher Education in Finland, Välimaa offers a critical reading of secondary sources and existing research literature to chronically analyse the development of Finnish teacher training. Much of this development has depended on the political history of Finland. The analysis offers an exploration of the founding of teacher education and training in the 1860s, through Finland’s independence following the First World War and Civil War, after which the development of schooling was seen as vital for the unity of the nation. The book continues to chart the development of teacher preparation through the twentieth century, including the severe economic downturn of the 1990s which challenged norms of teacher education in the country.

An important historical synthesis that tells us as much about the future of teacher preparation, and education’s role in society, as it does about how we got here, Historical Development of Teacher Education in Finland will be crucial reading for historians of education, current teacher educators, and students and researchers interested in the development of teacher education globally.

Jussi Välimaa is Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Finnish Institute for Educational Research located in the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. During his career he has studied higher education as a social and cultural phenomenon and, especially, the history of Finnish higher education. His publication record consists of more than 200 publications including 21 books and numerous articles and book chapters.