Teachers, Teacher Education, and Professional Development
Teacher Education Specific to Reading
At the time of the PIRLS 2016 assessment, most teachers working in Norwegian primary schools were trained in a four year general teacher education program at a teacher college or a university. Each year of full time study equals 60 academic credits. Another way of qualifying as a teacher is to complete a university degree not in education comprising a minimum of four years of study, followed by an additional year of teacher training and practice.
General teacher education is typical for teachers in primary school, but teachers with general teacher education also may teach at the lower secondary level. Teachers qualified to teach preprimary education may teach primary Grades 1 to 4 if they complete an additional year of teacher training.
Teachers with a university degree that is not in education may teach only the subjects they have studied, primarily as subject teachers in lower secondary schools. In upper secondary schools, all teachers are subject specialists. The academic or vocational subject(s) a teacher is qualified to teach will determine the type of class and the school where he or she will teach.
A differentiated teacher education program introduced in 2010 as a replacement for general teacher education allows prospective teachers of compulsory grades to choose between two programs: one that qualifies them to teach Grades 1 to 7, and another that qualifies them to teach Grades 5 to 10. The first students finished the new program in 2014. Teacher Education will become a five year master’s degree program in Norway starting in autumn of 2017.13
Requirements for Ongoing Professional Development in Reading for Teachers
In-service training for teacher professional development is encouraged and is part of an additional week (the 39th week) of the school year. Universities, state teacher colleges, and a number of public and private institutions offer a range of courses and seminars. In 2014, the Norwegian government introduced a program called Laererloeftet (teacher development) for further education for teachers.