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Frá því að Kennaraháskóli Íslands öðlaðist lagaheimild til að útskrifa kennara með framhaldsgráður háskólanáms árið 1988 hefur þar verið boðið upp á fjölmargar leiðir í framhaldsnámi og starfsþróun kennara og fleiri stétta. Vorið 2014 stóð Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands fyrir könnun meðal grunnskólakennara með bakkalárgráðu í samstarfi við Kennarasamband Íslands. Spurt var um æskilegt inntak og skipulag framhaldsnáms, hugsanlega hvata til að sækja slíkt nám og hvernig mætti útfæra það. Af 734 svörum mátti ráða að umtalsverður áhugi væri á slíku framhaldsnámi. Haustið 2015 hófu 35 starfandi kennarar sérsniðið framhaldsnám byggt á niðurstöðum könnunarinnar og stefnu Háskóla Íslands um meistaranám grunnskólakennara. Hér er greint frá rannsókn á viðhorfum og reynslu þeirra sem sóttu hið sérsniðna nám á tímabilinu 2015 til 2019. Sjónum var beint að samhenginu milli fræða (teoríu) og starfs á vettvangi (praxis), hugmyndum þátttakenda um eigin fagmennsku og fagvitund og hugmyndum um möguleika og þarfir á starfsþróun. Niðurstöður benda til þess að tengsl fræða við starfið á vettvangi séu óskýr þegar kemur að starfsþróun og tilteknir þættir í kerfinu hindri jafnvel eðlilega þróun fagmennsku og fagvitundar kennara. Þar ber helst að nefna margþættar væntingar til starfsins og óljósar hugmyndir um það í hvers þágu starfsþróun kennara ætti að vera., This article addresses continuing professional development among experienced compulsory school teachers. In May 2014 a survey was conducted among practicing elementary and lower-secondary school teachers, where 734 participants gave answers to questions about a specially organised master’s program. The program was offered to all experienced teachers in elementary and lower-secondary schools, who had not finished a master’s degree. Nearly 80% confirmed that they were interested in the program, most arguing that it would strengthen their professional status, they would become more qualified in their professional environment and increase the possibilities of promotions in their work. When asked what kind of contents they would prefer, most participants answered that they wanted to develop their skills regarding ICT and knowledge about general literacy, mathematical literacy and science literacy. Furthermore, many said they needed to strengthen their competence regarding assessment and testing, arts and crafts and, finally, there was considerable interest in inclusive education. The first cohort that started the program in 2015 comprised 35 participants. According to official directives the program was defined as education on a second higher education cycle including a final master’s thesis of 30 ECTS. The purpose of this paper is to give an insight into the experience of those first participants in the program. University teachers involved in the program were also interviewed. The first problem organisers had to deal with was how to adjust this new program to the prescribed learning outcomes included in the M.Ed. program for general teacher education. The second hurdle was the fact that most of the students had not attended academic education for some time so they were not expected to be as well prepared for the theoretical part as regular students attending teacher education. Thirdly, the program was offered to teachers working full time in the field, some needing to travel a long way to attend courses at the university. Finally the organisers had to consider the university’s policy in adopting the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) stressing defined competences regarding teachers’ learning outcomes with respect to praxis and theory. Data comprised interviews and questionnaires. Collection started with the survey mentioned above. Collection of qualitative data took place in March and April 2017 featuring interviews with six students and five university teachers. Finally, a questionnaire was sent to all those who still participated in the program in spring 2019. All this data was organised and analysed from which three main themes emerged, leading to the results. The first theme concerned questions about theory versus praxis. The results indicated that some believed there was a good balance between theory and praxis, but it turned out to be a stronger belief among participants that courses were too theoretical and there was a call for more praxis. The results indicate that participants believe empirical experience in the field (cf. McDonough, 2012) is an important precondition for combining theory and practice. The second theme concerned professionalism and professional identity. According to the findings professional identity appears to be declining and the notion of conceiving teaching as a ʻjobʼ seems stronger than conceiving it as a ʻprofession ʼ. The third theme was professional development, and questions about how to organise it and for whom? According to literature and research regarding professional development, the kind of education offered here has been considered an important part of a three step model of teacher development (Donaldson, 2010); firstly, initial teacher education; secondly, enculturation into the field of practice and; thirdly, actual life-long professional development. Results indicate that after being employed as teachers, most participants appear to find themselves trapped in a ʻjobʼ that needs to be done rather than having joined a community of ʻprofessionalsʼ. Opportunities for professional promotion and development seem hard to find, and lack of support from the environment, especially from administrators and local authorities, was confirmed.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein), Í greininni er fjallað um sameiginlega hópleiðsögn þriggja leiðbeinenda meistaranema. Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar var að sýna fram á gildi þess að búa til námssamfélag nemenda og kennara um vinnu að meistaraprófsverkefni. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að auka skilning á vinnuferli nemenda í meistaraprófsverkefni og lýsa því hvernig við byggðum upp námssamfélag þeirra yfir sex ára tímabil. Við nýttum aðferðafræði starfstengdrar sjálfsrýni til að geta betur skilið ferli nemenda í meistaraprófsverkefninu og hvernig við unnum úr áskorunum. Rannsóknargögn eru skráð ígrundun, fundarupptökur og gögn um samskipti við nemendur. Fræðilegur rammi rannsóknarinnar er byggður á hugmyndum um tengsl fræða og kennarastarfs og um ígrundun í anda starfstengdrar sjálfsrýni. Enn fremur byggjum við á hugmyndum um námssamfélög og um nám sem ferðalag um landslag þekkingar. Niðurstöðurnar sýna að nemendur upplifa fundina sem námssamfélag sem veitir þeim stuðning, dregur úr einmanaleika og heldur þeim við efnið í meistaraprófsverkefninu. Ólíkir styrkleikar okkar leiðbeinendanna nýttust vel í samstarfinu og efldu sameiginlega getu okkar til að leiðbeina.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein), Fyrstu tvö árin í starfi hafa mikilvæg áhrif á fagmennsku kennara. Í greininni er sjónum beint að mótun starfskenningar nýrra framhaldsskólakennara til að skilja betur hvaða þættir ráða þar för. Rannsóknin er byggð á eigindlegum gögnum.1 Í ársbyrjun 2016 voru tekin viðtöl við átta nýliða í framhaldsskólum. Niðurstöður benda til þess að nýir kennarar átti sig á því að starfskenning þeirra er í stöðugri þróun. Nokkrir þættir virðast vega þyngra en aðrir í því ferli. Þar má nefna samskipti við nemendur, áhrif leiðsagnar og skólamenningu viðkomandi skóla. Leiðsögn fyrir nýliða er víða ómarkviss og skólamenning framhaldsskólanna veitir ekki nægan stuðning. Engu að síður virðast nýliðar þróa með sér seiglu sem er mikilvægur þáttur í starfskenningu.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein), Háskólar þurfa að bregðast við aukinni fjölbreytni í hópi nemenda með því að mæta ólíkum þörfum þeirra. Í greininni eru kynntar niðurstöður rannsóknar á upplifun og reynslu nemenda sem stunda nám við Félagsvísindasvið Háskóla Íslands. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að varpa ljósi á reynslu nemenda sem glíma við námsvanda. Leitað var svara við eftirfarandi rannsóknarspurningu: Hvað styður og hvað hindrar nemendur í HÍ sem glíma við námsvanda í að takast á við nám sitt? Tekin voru þrjú einstaklingsviðtöl og rýnihópsviðtal við sex nemendur í BA-námi við félagsráðgjafardeild. Niðurstöður sýna að viðmælendur voru ánægðir með ýmsa þætti í skipulagi námsins og fannst skilningur kennara á stöðu þeirra vera góður en töldu þó að í kennsluháttum væru ýmsar hindranir sem gerðu þeim erfitt fyrir. Þær hindranir felist meðal annars í erfiðleikum við aðlögun að háskólasamfélaginu, álagi í námi sem veldur streitu og kvíða og því að of lítið tillit sé tekið til námsvanda þeirra. Slík innsýn í viðhorf nemenda sem glíma við námsvanda getur gagnast kennurum við að taka tillit til fjölbreytileikans í nemendahópnum og stuðlað þannig að bættri sálfélagslegri líðan nemenda, sem aftur hjálpar þeim við námið. Auk þess sýna niðurstöður að aukin áhersla á kennslu í fræðilegum vinnubrögðum ásamt virkri endurgjöf í námi getur hjálpað nemendum með námsvanda.

Hér er fjallað um reynslu kennara á unglingastigi grunnskóla af því að vinna í anda stefnu um skóla án aðgreiningar. Tekin voru eigindleg viðtöl við sex umsjónarkennara í jafnmörgum grunnskólum í fjórum bæjarfélögum á höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Niðurstöður leiddu í ljós að þeir upplifðu miklar skorður af völdum: a) formgerðar grunnskólans á efri stigum sem þeim þótti hafa tekið mun minni breytingum í átt að skóla án aðgreiningar en yngri stig grunnskólans, b) tiltekinna menntastrauma og stefna sem þeim fannst vinna gegn skóla án aðgreiningar og loks c) skorts á faglegum stuðningi í takt við starfsaðstæður þeirra. Það var skoðun kennaranna að jaðarsetning sumra nemenda yrði meira afgerandi eftir því sem á skólagönguna liði. Kennararnir upplifðu sig oft og tíðum eins og milli steins og sleggju þar sem þeim væri gert erfitt um vik að tengja hlutverk sitt sem umsjónarkennarar þekkingu og björgum sem þeir hefðu yfir að ráða. Hjá öllum viðmælendunum kom fram að faglegt sjálfstæði hefði rýrnað og björgum fækkað á síðustu árum, sem rekja mætti til aukinnar markaðs- og stjórnunarvæðingar, og lítið svigrúm gæfist fyrir vangaveltur um siðferðilegt hlutverk og inntak skólans. Kennurunum varð tíðrætt um mikilvægi þess að þeir væru hafðir með í ráðum í hvers kyns stefnumótun í kennslu., Inclusive education is based on core values of human rights, democracy and equality. The research question is inspired by the authors’ experience of how some students move silently closer to the social margins as they draw nearer to the end of compulsory education in spite of the teacher’s full intention and effort that all students feel equally valued and active participants from beginning until the end of compulsory school. In the Icelandic Compulsory Education Act (Lög um grunnskóla nr. 91/2008) it is stated that any form of alienation is rejected and the aim is to protect students who for any reasons are socially vulnerable or in danger of not gaining full access to everyday school life. The aim of this research is to explore teachers’ experience of inclusive teaching of students in secondary classroom settings (14-16 year-old). The macro structures, as well as policy and institutional features are the main focus, and how these shape and influence teachers’ professional autonomy, ideals and values. This is a qualitative interview study. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers in six compulsory schools in four different municipalities which were all part of the metropolitan area of Reykjavík. The schools were located in socially different areas of the Reykjavík metropolitan area. The socio-cultural classroom situation was different for each of the teachers as can be gathered from their narratives. All the teachers shared a long-term professional experience (15 years or more), as well as being positive and proactive towards inclusive education. Results indicate that teachers feel openness to schooling practices and opportunities for inclusivity diminish closer to the end of compulsory schooling. The teachers sometimes felt stuck between a rock and a hard place as it was made difficult for them to balance their role between being a classroom teacher and their working conditions and resources. All participants felt that formal access to resources was delivered and defined by other professions, as for example how much and what kind of assistance or support is needed. Teachers’ ideas of democracy in education with active student participation were clearly defined but had no resonance with the individualization that emphasizes competition and, as a result, often works against the ideology of the inclusive school and its educational principles. Values that do not pertain to rules of the market are marginalized and there is little space for questions on the content and ethical value of schools, teachers and other influences on school work. Teachers mentioned the importance of their direct participation in policy making or agenda pertaining to teaching. There was a clear call for increased flexibility in the school framework, smaller classes and more emphasis on offering art and craft

Article, With increased development of medical technology (MT), new challenges emerge related to education and training of pharmacists and other healthcare specialists. Currently, only a few universities in the EU promote MT education and research. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the current status, views on, and need for the education on MT for the pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists in the Baltic and Nordic countries. Methods: The representatives of higher education institutions and community/hospital pharmacists from six Baltic and Nordic countries participated in a qualitative cross-sectional exploratory internet-based study from May to October 2014. Results: Approximately two-third of the respondents considered professional knowledge about MT products important for pharmacists, but half of them had never participated in any MT courses. More practicing pharmacists than representatives of academia underlined the need for increased MT education for pharmacy students in the future. Conclusions: The pharmacists in the Baltic and Nordic countries consider the professional knowledge about MT as pertinent in their education and work. The limited number and status of MT courses available today, however, is a major concern among both pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists in these countries. In the future, increasing education combining theory and practice about MT products would be one possible solution to overcome this challenge., published version, peerReviewed

This paper reports a research project that aimed to explore the value of study tours abroad for elementary and lower-secondary school-teachers professional development. During the period 2008–2011 grants from the educational funds of the Teacher Union in Iceland (Verkefna- og námsstyrkjasjóður FG og SÍ) were spent to promote such visits but the fund´s main function is to allow union members the opportunity to gain further education and enhance professional development. The paper focuses on three aspects related to study tours abroad. First, the preparation and aims of such visits are analysed. Second, the planning of these visits is described and lastly the overall gains in the light of the fund’s main function for the participating schools in terms of professional development are evaluated. Visit reports were analysed covering the period 2008–2011. In addition, six interviews were conducted with principals representing schools that participated in such visits in the year 2011. The overall conclusion indicates that the value of study tours and study visits may be limited for professional development. They aimed rather at promoting the staff´s ethos than contributing to the development of the whole school organisation.