Browsing by Author "Eurén, Inkeri"

The term lifelong learning is often associated with class teacher work. Lifelong learning continues after class teacher training, during which one's professional competence is developed and maintained. The development of one's professional skills can be sup-ported through continuing education. However, there are various opinions on the sub-ject of continuing education for class teachers. Criticisms have been raised, for exam-ple, regarding the poor organization of continuing education, fragmented content, and the lack of support for the development of knowledge and skills acquired in basic edu-cation. The work of class teachers is very diverse, and continuing education should meet teachers' wishes and needs for the development of their work. The purpose of this master's thesis is to explore the desires and needs of class teach-ers regarding continuing education. The focus is on any potential changes that may have occurred in continuing education for class teachers. The obtained research re-sults are compared with a study conducted in 1997, which examined class teachers' thoughts on the need for continuing education at that time. The research is qualitative, and the collected data is analyzed using content analysis. The research data was col-lected through an electronic questionnaire containing both closed and open-ended questions. 69 class teachers from different parts of the Uusimaa region participated in the study. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that class teachers' desires regard-ing continuing education have partly remained the same and have partly transformed over the past twenty-five years. Teachers feel that they need continuing education the most in digital skills, differentiation and special education, as well as in work well-being and stress management. Both digital skills and special education have maintained their positions in class teachers' desires for the past twenty-five years. On the other hand, work well-being and stress management as a topic have emerged more prominently in teachers' desires compared to the study conducted in 1997.