This week’s evidence, published on April 8, 2025, concerns teacher education programs and their use (and failure to use) of evidence-based teaching practices. It is interesting to contrast teacher education in Finland and Norway—the subjects of this study—with teacher education in the US.
Four data-driven categories emerged: Research-based teaching, comprising teaching methods and the acquisition of professional knowledge; Engagement in research, representing teacher educators’ understanding of student teachers’ participation in research activities; Role of research-based literature, referring to reflections on the use of subject literature; and Critical thinking, describing teacher educators’ assessment of developing a critical and self-reflective mindset when engaging in research based teacher education (RBTE).
This international study focuses on Norway and Finland, often regarded as exemplars of successful education systems. Clearly, there are many variables in student success, but the quality of teaching – and the ability of school leaders to insist on quality teaching – is close to the top. This is not an overnight development, as Finland and Norway have worked on evidence-based teaching since the 1970s. And there are many other factors, including compensation and a culture of respect for teachers, that contribute to their success. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that in the US, many colleges of education have resisted systematic evaluation and the president of Columbia’s Teacher’s College wrote an critical evaluation of teacher education generally (https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/arthur-levine-known-for-harsh-critiques-of-teacher-preparation-programs-to-step-down/2019/06). Moreover, a substantial number of professors of education either fail to teach evidence-based practices or actively oppose them (https://fordhaminstitute.org/sites/default/files/publication/pdfs/carnine9.pdf).
This comes at a time when the US faces a major teacher shortage, and the pipeline of new teachers entering the profession is diminishing. This challenge will worsen with budget cuts and increased class sizes.
To be clear, there are some wonderful teacher education programs, and I have supported them as well as mentoring programs that are especially important for teachers in poor and rural areas. Too many teachers, however, are left to their own devices, inadequately trained, and supervised by administrators who are unable to define what effective instruction is. And as CLS colleagues see, too much professional learning is fragmentary and poorly implemented.
A summary of the article on Norway and Finland is here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131881.2025.2480547#abstract
I encourage you to listen to the Fearless Schools Podcast. A new episode dropped this week. Dr. Peter Noonan discusses how to survive the superintendency. You can follow the Fearless Schools Podcast wherever you listen.