The Participation Experiences of Chinese Teacher Trainees and Their Finnish Teacher Trainer on an In-Service Teacher Training Program Exported From Finland to China

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

Purpose: This paper examines participation experiences of a sample of Chinese teacher trainees and their Finnish teacher trainer on an in-service teacher training program exported from Finland to Beijing, China. Design/Approach/Methods: Six Beijing science teachers and their Finnish trainer took part in semi-structured interviews; eight interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: Interviewees showed strong motivation to learn from the other education system and culture; outcomes differed in broadening understanding. Challenges included language barriers and adaptation of learner-centered practices.

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Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

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Originality/Value

Introduction

Background on Finland’s education export

China’s investment in foreign teacher training programs

Literature review

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The Participation Experiences of Chinese Teacher Trainees and Their Finnish Teacher Trainer on an In-Service Teacher Training Program Exported From Finland to China Suhao Peng (彭素豪) University of Eastern Finland Ritva Kantelinen University of Eastern Finland Pekka Räihä Tampere University ECNU Review of Education 2023, Vol. 6(3) 385–409 © The Author(s) 2023 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/20965311231168415](DOI: 10.1177/20965311231168415)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/20965311231168415)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This paper aims to examine the participation experiences of a sample of Chinese teacher trainees and their Finnish teacher trainer on an in-service teacher training program exported from Finland to Beijing, China. Design/Approach/Methods: Six science teachers from Beijing and their Finnish teacher trainer participated in semi-structured interviews. From the ideological perspective of international education, a total of eight semi-structured interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Findings: The results show that all interviewees were highly motivated to learn from the Other’s education system and culture. Some participants beneﬁted from a broader understanding of the Self’s and the Other’s education systems, while others did not. The interviewees also described Corresponding author: Suhao Peng, School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, P.O. Box 111, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, FI-80101, Finland. Email: suhao.peng@uef.ﬁ Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as speciﬁed on the SAGE and Open Access page ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). some participation challenges, such as language barriers and practices that adapted learner-centered teaching approaches in Beijing schools. Furthermore, the interviewees mentioned future expectations of more in-depth communication between Finland and China. Originality/Value: Some recommendations for better training outcomes, improving the quality of participation experiences, and reaching more mutual understandings were discussed at the end of this study. Keywords Education export, in-service teacher training, internationalization, Sino-Finnish teacher education, teacher professional development Date received: 13 July 2022; revised: 21 January 2023; accepted: 6 March 2023 Introduction The Finnish education system is globally renowned for “equality, playful learning and wellbeing” (Liu & Dervin, 2017, p. 530) . Consequently, since the early 2010s, Finland has engaged in education export (Koulutusvienti) with a view to commercializing the whole Finnish education system for foreign authorities, employers, and individuals, and exporting in-service teacher training programs is one of the national priorities (Opetushallitus, 2020) . Unlike traditional Anglophone education exporters (e.g., the UK), Finland mainly exports the Finnish basic education system instead of university degree provisions and has had a long tradition of avoiding educational marketization (Schatz, 2016b) . Because of this inexperience and the difﬁculty of learning from other experienced education exporters, the implementation process of Finnish education export is inefﬁcient and estimated to remain that way until 2030 (ibid.) . Although the Finnish government publishes national guidelines for education export every four years (e.g., Opetushallitus, 2020), the

FAQs

What is the purpose of this study?

The study investigates the participation experiences of Chinese teacher trainees and their Finnish teacher trainer in an in-service program exported from Finland to Beijing.

How was the data collected and analyzed?

Six Beijing science teachers and their Finnish trainer participated in semi-structured interviews, and eight interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis from an international education perspective.

What key findings were reported about participants’ experiences?

All interviewees were highly motivated to learn from the other’s education system and culture; some reported broader understanding benefits, while others did not, and participants described implementation challenges such as language barriers.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk