Democratic citizenship and Teacher Education in Finland

Abstract

Finland is considered to be among the most democratic countries in the world according to various international surveys. However, the level of student participation in Finnish schools is below average compared to other European Union countries even though national curricula for comprehensive education have been emphasising values of democracy since the1970s. In this chapter, we analyse how Finnish teacher education contributes to the development of education for democracy. We do this by analysing how education for democracy has been developed in teacher education in Finland, and what kind of ideals form the foundation for education for democracy in Finnish teacher education. The findings are analysed in relation to the Competences for Democratic Culture produced by the Council of Europe.