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Tampere University introduces the Finnish teacher training model to Brazilians

Published on 12.4.2021
Tampere University
Universidad Feevale main building
Universidade Feevale main building in Novo Hamburgo
Tampere University begins to export the Finnish teacher education model – which is known for interweaving theory and practice – to Brazil. The goal is to create a new kind of supervision model for students doing teaching training at the teacher training school of the University of Feevale.

The first training that takes a year and a half is scheduled to begin in the autumn of 2021.

Tampere University and the Universidade Feevale in Novo Hamburgo, on the Brazilian coast, signed an agreement on transnational education in the beginning of April. This education export product is the first of its kind for Tampere University.

Teacher training school combines theory with practice

“The actual teacher training at the University of Feevale is of a high standard, but they have said that they want theory to be more strongly interwoven with practice,” says Key Account Manager Mirka Gustafsson from the Working Life Relations and Continuous Learning Unit.

“There is also a desire to build a new dialogue between the university and the teacher training school. Finnish teacher training schools have the know-how that is needed for this type of co-operation,” Gustafsson mentions.

“Co-operation between a faculty of education and a teacher training school is quite unique worldwide. This type of co-operation is a significant quality assurance factor in Finnish teacher education,” says Niina Nyyssölä, Key Account Manager from the Working Life Relations and Continuous Learning Unit.

Tampere and Feevale universities and transnational education experts have developed the concept of the training for a couple of years. The programme is called Mentored Teacher Education.

The COVID-19 pandemic took the entire programme online

The original plan was to organise the training in the traditional way, partly on-site in Brazil and partly online, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed the plans.

The training includes video lectures, expert interviews, online assignments, and live webinars. The plan is also to shoot material at Tampere University’s teacher training school.

The programme is produced by the Faculty of Education and Culture (EDU). Since last autumn, the Faculty has modified the training materials to be suitable for online implementation.

The University of Feevale wants Finnish partners

Talks about the programme began a few years ago when Finland University was planning and organising education export in Brazil.

The University of Feevale and Tampere University have had a student exchange agreement for about a decade. The beginning of transnational education was accelerated by the fact that the University of Feevale is committed to international co-operation with Finland in particular.

Feevale also actively co-operates with the Häme University of Applied Sciences.

“The programme at Feevale aims to take the training of especially primary education teachers to the next level. The project also seeks effectiveness nationwide,” Nyyssölä says.

The programme can have a major impact on teacher training in Brazil

Teacher training is one of the largest areas of Finnish education exports. For Tampere University, the new programme is a significant achievement.

“This is one of the largest projects in the history of education exports at Tampere University. The programme can have a significant impact on Brazilian teacher education. We hope that the project will get a good start and that it will arouse interest in other Brazilian universities as well,” says Marja Sutela, Vice President for Education.

Tampere University has previously trained teachers from, for example, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. University pedagogy training has been exported to Thailand, Brazil, and Palestine.
 

Inquiries:
Key Account Manager Mirka Gustafsson, mirka.gustafsson [at] tuni.fi