Study Guide

Description

The professional special needs teacher education is based on inclusive pedagogy, which involves a reflective, inquisitive and development-oriented approach.

The education emphasises the activity of student teachers, shared production and assessment of information, and the development of new practices and special needs teaching skills.

The education focuses on special pedagogical competencies, pedagogical competencies of professional special needs teachers, work community competencies and development competencies.

Professional special needs teacher education builds a new professional identity. The identity of a professional special needs teacher is formed in a process that involves the past, present and future. Forming the identity of a special needs teacher in addition to the identity of a teacher requires that phenomena are studied from new perspectives.

The perspectives included in the studies involve individuality, guidance, authenticity, cooperation and plasticity.

The studies are multimodal.

Completing the studies entitles the person to use the abbreviation AmE (ammatillinen erityisopettaja, professional/vocational special needs teacher) to signal their qualification.

Curriculum development and working life cooperation

The background materials include interviews and workshop results of students in professional special needs teacher education, professional special needs teachers working in the field, and parties arranging education. We have also used information gained through networks, such as the PAEK expert and supervision groups as well as the network of providers of professional special needs teacher education. The background materials for development also include the teacher survey regarding the competency needs of professional teachers, carried out in 2018 during the Parasta osaamista project. In addition to the above, the studies also make use of the national and strategic curriculum policies for teacher colleges created in the OPEKE project.