Learning to Teach in Out-of-University and Out-of-School Environments in Primary Teacher Education in Estonia, Finland, and Sweden

  • Helene Uppin School of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University and Estonian Maritime Museum, Estonia
  • Kimberly Norrman Department of Education, Uppsala University, Sweden
  • Anne-Mai Näkk School of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University, Estonia
  • Linn Areskoug Department of Education, Uppsala University, Sweden
  • Inge Timoštšuk School of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University, Estonia
  • Solveig Cornér Department of Education, University of Helsinki, Finland
  • Erika Löfström Department of Education, University of Helsinki, Finland
Keywords: learning environments, pre-service teacher training, primary teacher education, reflective practice, case-study

Abstract

Learning in diverse settings during pre-service teacher training equips future primary teachers with the knowledge and skills to teach in authentic learning environments later in their work lives. This experience helps to meet the varying needs of their future students who have increasingly diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds with varying levels of access to learning and knowledge. During their university studies, pre-service teachers need to recognise the value of out-of-school environments, reinforce awareness in practice, and reflect on experiences to deepen pedagogical thinking about learning environments. This multiple case study describes the common practices in the pre-service training of primary teachers at Tallinn University, University of Helsinki and Uppsala University concerning teaching in out-of-classroom learning environments. Our aim was to explore the ways that the three universities support pre-service primary teachers in using out-ofschool learning environments in their future practice. We intended to identify practices regarding our respective national curricula and university courses for pre-service primary teachers. We have three main suggestions for teacher educators regarding learning to teach in diverse environments: enable meaningful and reflective practical tasks in out of university learning environments for pre-service teachers; ensure the sustainability of external partnerships by stating collaborative practices in course programmes while leaving flexibility in the details; and reflect on professional networking across the boundaries of institutions.

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Published
2025-03-25
How to Cite
Uppin, H., Norrman, K., Näkk, A.-M., Areskoug, L., Timoštšuk, I., Cornér, S., & Löfström, E. (2025). Learning to Teach in Out-of-University and Out-of-School Environments in Primary Teacher Education in Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 15(1), 245–272. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.1564