Conference Agenda

This symposium seeks to explore and discuss research aimed at investigating and comparing the situation of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) across the Nordic countries and Estonia. The discussion draws on a new project, “Flourishing and Becoming”, with a mixed-methods research design that is the current focus of the Nordic Cross-sectoral network Nordic Teacher Induction (NTI).

The research network Newly Qualified Teachers in Northern Europe (NQTNE) began in 2004. In 2017, it expanded to include cross-sectoral perspectives through representatives from the main Nordic teachers' unions in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The Faroe Islands joined in 2024. Earlier projects in the network comprise Sustainable Ecosystem of Mentoring for newly qualified teachers (NTI-SEM) and Promoting Professional Development (NTI-PPD).

The current project focuses on newly qualified teachers, and aims to reframe induction and mentoring around the principle of human flourishing. The concept ‘flourishing’ is understood from an Aristotelian Eudaimonian perspective as a vital goal of education. It emphasizes that education should not only prepare individuals for work but also foster a meaningful and well-rounded life. Drawing on Gert Biesta’s three domains of education – qualification, socialization and subjectification. The project places particular emphasis on subjectification as a central dimension of teacher development and education highlighting teachers’ growth as unique individuals and active agents of change in their communities. The project investigates NQTs in the light of flourishing and becoming in two different work packages, each with its own methodical approach: questionnaire and narrative interview.

The symposium presents the aim and design of the project, followed by the project’s status and main discussions points. Participants are invited to discuss main concepts, design, and status. We aim to facilitate discussion on how NQT's can be understood in the light of flourishing and becoming and to qualify how different methods can capture this understanding.

The papers:

1. Paper 1 presents the development, scope, and impact of the NTI network, highlighting its unique contributions to teacher induction, mentoring practices, and educational policy across the Nordic countries and Estonia. Founded in 2004, NTI has evolved into a robust cross-sectorial collaboration that bridges research, practice, and policy.

1. Paper 2 examines the project’s core concepts of flourishing and becoming, providing a framework for recognising the strengths and resources that NQTs bring as developing professional subjects. Traditionally, research on the induction phase has viewed new teachers from a deficit perspective. It has been assumed that NQTs still have a lot to learn before becoming proficient teachers (Kelchtermans, 2019; Skytterstad et al., 2025). This project instead focuses on their potentials. Drawing from Kristján Kristjánsson (2020) and Gert Biesta (2020), the theoretical concepts of “becoming” and “flourishing” refocus attention on the agency of new teachers.

1. Paper 3 discusses the current mixed method study the network is conducting. We are conducting narrative interviews to give voice to the newly qualified teachers and their experiences to enable their flourishing and becoming in the induction years across the region. A quantitative questionnaire is conducted to map induction contexts, processes and structures that NQTs have access to within and across region and develop an understanding of how NQTs are actually supported.

1. Paper 4 discusses the knowledge building and collaborative actions of NTI, how we work, how we bring in new perspectives (apprenticeship of observation)- help new life to flourish. How do we deal with diversity, different foci and dilemmas that arise? Two concrete examples are presented of how these dialogic processes evolve and discusses the potential for deepened collaboration within and beyond NTI, emphasizing the importance of academic generosity (Windsor et al, forthcoming), shared understandings, and the provision of time and space for sustained conversation.

Founded in 2004, NTI has evolved into a robust cross-sectorial collaboration that bridges research, practice, and policy. NTI operates on the understanding that, while the Nordic countries share common educational values and historical foundations, they have adopted distinct approaches to governance, policy formation, and the implementation of induction systems for new teachers. These national variations provide a rich basis for comparative analysis, enabling the network to examine how differing policy models influence the structure and quality of induction, the practices and expectations surrounding mentoring, and the overall working conditions of early career teachers. A core strength of the NTI is the interplay between experience-based knowledge from teachers’ unions and research-based knowledge from academic partners. This exchange creates a dynamic arena for dialogue, enabling the identification of emerging issues and the development of innovative approaches to recruitment, retention, comprehensive induction, and mentoring. Moreover, the network’s dissemination practices through each partner’s national and professional channels extend its influence, enriching public discourse and informing both policy and practice across the region. By cultivating cross-national learning and promoting a continuum of professional development from teacher education to full professional practice, NTI contributes to a more sustainable and coherent approach to supporting early career teachers. The collaborative model presented here illustrates how regional networks can inspire meaningful change, support the resilience of the teaching workforce, and encourage continued development in induction and mentoring systems across the Nordic and Baltic regions.

None

The second paper examines the project’s core concepts of flourishing and becoming, providing a framework for recognising the strengths and resources that newly qualified teachers bring as developing professional subjects. Traditionally, research on the induction phase has viewed new teachers from a deficit perspective. It has been assumed that NQT still have a lot to learn before becoming proficient teachers (Kelchtermans, 2019; Skytterstad et al., 2025). This project instead focuses on their potentials. Drawing from Kristján Kristjánsson (2020) and Gert Biesta (2020), the theoretical concepts of “becoming” and “flourishing” refocus attention on the agency of new teachers. In recent years, international education policy discussions have increasingly framed the purpose of education in terms of human flourishing (e.g. OECD 2025). In this project, we draw on neo-Aristotelian educational theory on flourishing (Kristjánsson, 2020, 2023; 2025). Kristjánsson summarizes the contemporary flourishing theories as (1) eudaimonic (neo-Aristotelian), (2) liberal, (3) self-determination-theory, and (4) positive psychology perspectives. In this project, we focus specifically on the eudaimonic view, based on Aristotle's idea of the good life (eudaimonia) as the goal of life. The aim is to realize the human potentials and strengths of new teachers, striving to become the best versions of themselves. The concept of ‘becoming’ builds on Biesta‘s (2020) concept of subjectification which is about becoming an autonomous and responsible subject who can take a stance and act in the world – not just follow norms or adapt to established practices. Subjectification invites mentors to create spaces where NQTs can appear as autonomous, responsible, and agentic professional subjects capable of making pedagogical decisions by themselves. The subjectification-based approach does not view new teachers as objects of mentoring but as autonomous subjects with whom experienced teachers act as peer learners and facilitators. Beijaard et al. (2023), in their empirical review, also refer to becoming in discussing the interrelated processes of professional learning and identity formation. The latter is an ongoing process of validating learning experiences considering one’s “image-of-oneself-as-teacher,” that is, the teacher that one is and wants to become. Hence becoming refers to the dynamic and ongoing process of developing a professional identity involving both personal growth and professional formation – finding one’s voice as a teacher. However, the pursuit of flourishing and subjectification is not understood as promoting individualism, but rather the opposite: it emphasizes agency as a collective commitment to deliberation, through which the value base underlying education is corroborated.

Beijaard, D. et al. (2023). Reframing teacher professional identity and learning. In I. Menter et al. (eds). The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research, p. 763-785. Palgrave Macmillan Biesta, G. (2020). Risking ourselves in education: Qualification, socialization and subjectification revisited. Educational Theory 70(1), 89-104. Kelchtermans, G. (2019). Early career teachers and their need for support: Thinking again. In A. Sullivan et al. (eds.). Attracting and Keeping the Best Teachers, p. 83-98. Springer Kristjansson, K. (2020). Flourishing as the Aim of Education. A neo-Aristotelian view. Routledge. Kristjánsson, K. (2023). The New Flourishing Agenda in Education: A Report on the Current Theoretical State of Play Report commissioned by OECD, Directorate for Education and Skills. Kristjánsson, K. (2025). Flourishing, Education, and the Good Human Life: The Search for a Theoretical and Practical Synthesis. British Journal of Educational Studies, 1-21. OECD (2025). Education for human flourishing: A conceptual framework, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/73d7cb96-en. Skytterstad, R., Antonsen, Y., Aspfors, J., & Heikkinen, H. 2025. Reframing new teacher induction: Opportunities over deficiencies. Teaching and Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2024.104910

The paper explores the situation of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and their opportunities to become, thrive and develop as professional teachers in and across the Nordic countries and Estonia. Using a mixed-methods design, it combines qualitative narrative interviews with a quantitative questionnaire to broaden insights beyond a single-method approach (Roberts et al., 2024). Mixed methods provide a deeper understanding of how and why things work for NQTs in complex contexts (Ponce & Pagan-Maldonado, 2014). Previous NTI projects show that conceptions of quality induction and mentoring vary across countries due to differences in funding, policy, research-based knowledge, and priorities (ECER, 2025; Windsor et al., 2025). High-quality induction and mentoring are essential for the well-being, professional development, and retention of NQTs (Olsen et al., 2020; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). This study examines how NQTs experience and interprets opportunities for professional growth, with or without support, during their first and third year, and how they envision their future. The qualitative component invites NQTs in their first and third years to share their “life story” and experiences, enabling their flourishing and becoming during the induction years across the region. This relates to the time, relationships, and context in which they became teachers, the kind of teacher they aspire to be, and their professional development goals. Interviews, scheduled for spring 2026, are context-sensitive and involve collaborative meaning-making (Clandinin, 2006). The quantitative survey, piloted and refined, captures variables related to induction programs, mentoring, support mechanisms, and teacher background. It will be administered in 2026 to max 3000 early-career teachers per country. This presentation focuses on how the interview guide and questionnaire evolved from initial drafts to final versions through collective analysis and discussion after piloting, and how this process fostered a shared interpretative framework among researchers. The concepts of “flourishing” and “becoming” guided the development of questions. The collected data will undergo both descriptive and inferential statistical analysis to identify trends, national differences, and cross-regional similarities in induction practices. This analysis will explore the relationships between program structures, support experiences, and indicators of professional satisfaction and engagement.

Clandinin, D. J. (2006). Narrative Inquiry: Methodology for Studying Lived Experience. Research Studies in Music Education., 27(1), 44–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X06027001030 1 Olsen, K.-R., Bjerkholt, E. M. & Heikkinen, H. L. T. (2020). Introduction: Mentoring and Induction in Nordic Countries. In K.-R. Olsen, E. M. Bjerkholt & H. L. T. Heikkinen (Eds.), New teachers in Nordic countries – ecologies of mentoring and induction (pp. 11–26). Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.105.ch0 Ingersoll, R. M., & Strong, M. (2011). The impact of induction and mentoring programs for beginning teachers: A critical review of the research. Review of educational research, 81(2), 201-233. Roberts, C.A., Snodgrass, M.R., Love, H.R., Madgett, N.M., Gilson, C.B., Yang, X, & Peterson, J. (2024). Individuals with extensive support needs and mixed methods research: A systematic literature review. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 49(4), 303–326. DOI: 10.1177/1540796924129147 Ponce, O. A., & Pagán-Maldonado, N. (2015). Mixed Methods Research in Education: Capturing the Complexity of the Profession. International Journal of Educational Excellence, 1(1), 111–135. Windsor, S., et al. (2026). Mentoring new teachers in the Nordics. In M. Helmz-Lorenz, H. L. T. Heikkinen, H. Plauborg, & Bjerkholt. E (Eds.), Making Sense of European Teacher Induction and Mentoring Practices. (5). The Netherlands: Brill.

This paper explores the collaborative knowledge-building processes and dialogic practices at the core of the Nordic Teacher Induction (NTI) network. While NTI brings together diverse partners (from researchers and teacher educators to union representatives and student teachers ) it is precisely this diversity that enriches the network’s collective learning. The paper examines how NTI has created the conditions for constructive dialogue, shared exploration, and mutual influence across sectors, enabling the emergence of new insights into teacher induction, mentoring, and support for teachers generally. A central theme to this part of the symposium is how NTI actively invites new and works with multiple perspectives by making visible the often-unexamined assumptions that participants bring into discussions. Drawing on the concept of the “apprenticeship of observation,” the paper shows how the network surfaces implicit beliefs about teaching, learning, mentoring, and professional roles. By acknowledging and critically engaging with these assumptions, NTI opens space for alternative interpretations and new professional possibilities. This dialogic work supports what the network conceptualises as flourishing within the broader ecosystem of teacher induction. To illustrate this aspect of the NTI’s approach to collaborative knowledge building, we will present two concrete examples of how these dialogic processes evolve in the network. The first example explores how NTI partners jointly re-examined the concept of mentoring by integrating research perspectives with union insights into workload, role clarity, and teacher wellbeing (Windsor et al, 2026). The second example highlights a cross-national discussion on the induction continuum, where participants compared structural models and identified shared challenges, leading to the development of new conceptual tools for understanding early career trajectories. In both instances, dialogue served not only to exchange knowledge but to generate it. The paper further discusses the potential for deepened collaboration within and beyond NTI, emphasizing the importance of academic generosity (Windsor et al, forthcoming), shared understandings, and the provision of time and space for sustained conversation. By examining how NTI’s dialogic culture supports collective inquiry, this paper demonstrates how such networks can foster meaningful professional growth, cultivate trust across sectors, and nurture innovative thinking about the future of teacher induction.

Windsor, S., Bjerkholt, E. M., Brokke, T. H., Bonde, Å., Båvner, P., Börjesson, M., Frederiksen, L. L., Halse, E., Hauksdottir, J., Havre, S., Heikkinen, H. L. T., Lyhykäinen, P., Poom-Valickis, K., & Svanbjörnsdottir, B. (2026). Mentoring new teachers in the Nordics. In M. Helms-Lorenz, H. L. T. Heikkinen, H. Plauborg, & E. Bjerkholt (Eds.), Teacher Induction and Mentoring in Europe. BRiLL. Windsor, S. Antonsen, Y. & MacDonald, K. (accepted for special issue) Researchers’ professional learning shaped by negotiations, opportunities, and tensions in inter(national) Researcher - Practice Partnerships. Higher Education