Teachers, especially those in secondary education, are increasingly required to obtain a master’s level qualification to teach. In 11 of the 35 OECD countries with available data, a master’s degree is required to teach at the primary level, and in 17 and 22 countries it is required to teach general subjects at the lower secondary and upper secondary levels. Only in England, France, Iceland and Italy is a master’s degree required of pre-primary school teachers. (OECD, 2014[1]).
However, the research base is inconclusive about the value of a master’s level qualification with regard to teaching. Some studies report a slight positive correlation between master’s qualifications and student outcomes (Darling-Hammond, 2000[2]), whereas other research from England and the United States draws an unclear picture (Brooks et al., 2012[3]; Ronfeldt and Reininger, 2012[4]; Thomas, 2016[5]). This may be because the quality of teacher preparation is a more important factor. For example, the extent to which an initial teacher education (ITE) programme fosters schools-based research capabilities in teacher candidates and provides opportunities for deeper school-university collaborations may better ensure preparedness for teaching. The possible long-term positive impact of policies designed to “raise the bar” for entry to the teaching profession, such as raising the status of teaching or increasing the general attractiveness of the profession, has been little researched.
Norway is transitioning teacher preparation from a four-year bachelor’s level programme into a five-year master’s level programme. From 2017, all teachers training for primary and lower secondary school (years one to seven and five to ten) will be enrolled in a five‑year master’s degree. This transition is part of a series of reforms launched in 2014 to improve the quality of teachers called the Promotion of the Status and Quality of Teachers (Ministry of Education and Research Norway, 2017[6]). Other reforms include increasing specialist subject training (see Promising Practice 2), piloting new career paths for teachers, and building teams and strong subject-based communities within schools.
Norway is introducing master’s degrees to strengthen the status of teaching, raise the quality of teacher education, and ensure newly qualified teachers are better prepared for their jobs. The Norwegian government wants teachers to have better skills in using observation, research, and reflection to adjust their own and their colleagues’ practices.
Prospective teachers will be trained in research methods and try out roles as researchers themselves (Toom et al., 2008[7]). They will prepare a master’s-level thesis, choosing to focus on subject-specific teaching, general pedagogy, or special needs education. Trainees will read research literature, national regulations, curricula and other sources to formulate and carry out school-based research projects for their thesis. Practical training will increase from 100 to 110 days with the new programmes.
National regulations to guide the learning outcomes of degrees (“framework plans”) (Ministry of Education and Research Norway, 2011[8]) and more detailed national guidelines for each subject in teacher education (owned by teacher education institutions with input from the school sector through the National Association for Teacher Education) (Ministry of Education and Research Norway, 2011[9]), were updated in 2017 for the new master’s-level programmes.
The OECD Review Team in its visit to Norway from 24-28 April 2017 concluded that the transition to master’s-level training for all teachers is an opportunity in that could:
However, the OECD Review Team also noted there could be:
Ministry of Education and Research Norway (2017), Promotion of the status and quality of teachers, Ministry of Education and Research Norway, Oslo, (accessed on 09 February 2018). [6]
Disclaimer
This case study describes a “promising practice” drawn from an OECD review of initial teacher preparation in Norway from 24-27 April 2017.
The OECD Review Team – Hannah von Ahlefeld (OECD), Philippa Cordingley (Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education), Liesbeth Hens (Ministry of Education and Training, Flanders) and Danielle Toon (Learning First) – identified a number of “promising practices” in each country. These practices may not be widespread or representative, but seen in the context of other challenges, they represent a strength or opportunity to improve the country’s initial teacher preparation system – and for other countries to learn from them.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries.
This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgement of OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to rights@oecd.org.
Copyright
Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at info@copyright.com or the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) at contact@cfcopies.com.
