The changes in teacher's work from the point of view of three counterpoints

Authors

• Janne Säntti Helsingin yliopisto

Abstract

The article starts with a description of the changes in teachers’ work and status in Western countries in the last two decades. Many teachers find the trend alarming. Three counterpoints are introduced in order to understand the background of these transitions especially in Finland. The first is change vs. stability, which demonstrates how forces of change have become increasingly demanding while at the same time national macro level alterations are not necessarily acknowledged by teachers. Communal vs. individuality constitutes the second counterpoint. In the analysis of this dimension the focus is on how teachers should encounter their pupils and colleagues. Is this encounter a meeting between individuals or groups? The third counterpoint is open vs. enclosed. It has been said that the school has become a more transparent institution as people spend there more and more time there. Yet at the same time educational institutions have at least partly lost their monopoly on learning, a situation which has raised the requirement of pedagogical persuasion of and negotiation with students.