Browsing by Author "Käräjäoja, Ella"

Objectives. The purpose of this study is to compare Mexican and Finnish classroom teachers’ perceptions of the role and status that teachers have in a society. I also aim to find out reasons for choosing a teaching career. The theoretical background of this study will introduce both Mexican and Finnish educational systems, as well as teachers’ training. In addition, the concepts of vocational selection and teacher’s role and status are under scrutiny. Methods. Eleven Mexican and nine Finnish classroom teachers participated to this qualitative and comparative study via semi-structured e-mail inquiry. Mexican respondents come from all over Mexico, while most of the Finnish respondents come from Southern Finland. Both ages and teaching experience of all the respondents vary significantly. The research material was analyzed by means of content analysis. The role of theory was directional in the analysis. Results and conclusion. The results of this study showed that Mexican and Finnish respondents had similar thoughts about their vocational choice and congruent understanding of teachers’ role in both school environment as well as in society at large. Among both respondent groups, there were six types of similar definitions concerning vocational choices: (1) desire to teach and help the children learn, (2) the possibility to have an impact on children, (3) attachment to work with children, (4) diverse and creative vocation, (5) the influence of family and friends on the choice of career, and (6) employment. Regarding teachers’ role in schools and in society, nine groups of similar perceptions emerged: (1) educator (2) a role model (3) a mentor (4) a ’parent’ for the childen, (5) many roles outside teacher’s profession (6) producer of good citizens (7) supporter, (8) authority, and (9) companion. The results indicate that teachers’ vocational choices and the variety of roles inside the teaching profession are a global phenomenon. However, the social status of teachers is, according to Mexican teachers, bad, while Finnish teachers consider their social status to be good. Regarding the social status of teachers, there were three groups of similar perceptions among both respondent groups: (1) low wage, indicating the lack of appreciation, (2) liberty to choose the teaching methods and, lastly, (3) good status/position in relation to the pupils.