Teachers’ professional space for decision-making when planning: The cases of Finland, Norway, and the United States

Abstract

This article explores how teachers in Finland, Norway, and the United States reflect on their professional space for decision-making when planning. Various planning activities are at the core of teaching practice, and contextual factors are also at play. Teachers’ reflections on decision-making when planning might therefore be expected to vary. Hence, this study explores in what ways the opportunities to make decisions for planning may vary across the three country contexts. Using “professional space” as an analytical lens, the analysis shows, firstly, that teachers’ opportunities to make decisions about planning take place in a multidimensional space between professional autonomy and external control. Secondly, teachers’ opportunities to make decisions about planning are contextually situated in time and space.