Browsing by Author "Öhberg, Ida"

All people who are involved in teaching or tutoring of some sort need to update their competences every now and then. This also applies to teachers. According to a report conducted by Gun Oker-Blom, Swedish- speaking teachers participate to a lower degree in in-service training than Finnish-speaking teachers. In international comparisons, Finnish teachers’ participation in in-service training is lower compared to other countries. Finnish teachers also report that they are less satisfied with the in-service training they participate in than teachers in other countries. Research has also shown that teachers feel that the in-service training offered does not meet the needs of the teachers and that the in-service training does not contribute to their professional development. The aim of this study is to examine Swedish-speaking teachers experiences of in-service training. The goal for this study was therefor to describe teachers’ participation in in-service training by answering three research questions. The study used qualitative methods. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven teachers. The teachers had worked between three and thirty years and they were all qualified teachers. The teachers worked in grades 1-6. To analyze the transcribed interviews, inductive content analysis was used. The results of the study showed that teachers viewed participation in in-service training as a way to develop as a teacher. Personal interest to learn new things and peer support were weighing factors for teachers to participate in in-service training. The teachers felt that participation in in-service and developing their skills is something that is a part of their job. When it came to the school leader’s role in teachers’ participation in in-service training, the teachers believed that it should be the principal’s job to encourage teachers to participate in training. Teachers also believed that the principal should have a clear picture of which kind of training individual teachers need but also what kind of in-service training the school needs as a whole