Purposeful teachers and teaching in Finland and Estonia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Finnish and Estonian teachers perceive their purpose in life (nFIN=238, nEST=376) and purposeful teaching (nFIN=11, nEST=8). A mixed-method convergent design and sequential explanatory design were utilised. Quantitative data (nFIN= 238, nEST=376) was first gathered and analysed; then, on the basis of this analysis, qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the quantitative findings in greater depth (nFIN= 11, nEST=8). The quantitative data revealed three different purpose profiles (fully purposeful, moderately purposeful, and potentially purposeful), of which fully purposeful teachers represented over half of all teachers (56.5%). According to the fully purposeful teachers we interviewed, purposeful teaching was realised through professionally competent and ethically competent teaching. These fully purposeful teachers represent an ideal picture of purposeful teachers’ thinking and practices. Finnish teachers emphasised communication skills as a part of ethically competent teaching more than did their Estonian counterparts. The results of this study indicate the need for future research on purposeful teaching in real teaching situations to capture the realities of purposeful teachers and teaching.