Newly Qualified Teachers in Northern Europe – Research and Development Network (NQTNE) is an international network of researchers focusing Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT) and development of systems promoting NQTs professional development. The NQTNE-network was in 2005 initiated by participants from the University of Gävle (Sweden); University of Jyväskylä (Finland); University College Copenhagen (Denmark); University College of Telemark and University College of Oslo (Norway); Tallinn University and University of Tartu (Estonia). The main aims of the network are to stimulate and co-ordinate international co-operation in research focusing NQTs in a broad sense as well as Research and Development of professional support systems. Matters of importance in the network are comparing perspectives, exchanging of experiences and developing joint research projects. In Europe and the US, there has been rather extensive research focusing on newly qualified teachers and their working conditions for several decades. In the Nordic and the Baltic countries, however, research focusing on newly qualified teachers has not received very much attention until the last few years – and the development is uneven. The main challenge in an international network is to come to the point where the participants share each others perspectives. However, depending on what kind of cooperation going on and what kind of research-focus elaborated, there are different needs of sharing perspectives. When analysing and trying to understand each others systems and approaches to promote new teachers professional development; specific efforts has to be made to consider the cultural, social, economical and political conditions forming the national educational contexts and philosophies. Comparative research will be facilitated if there are a movement towards shared perspectives and understandings in the analysis. This is not only a question of learning, but also a question of quality in research, if different contexts are understood, communicated and analyses on the same premises (or at least as near it is possible to come). In the kind of research performed within NQTNE, specific efforts has to be made to consider the cultural, social, economical and political conditions forming the national educational contexts and philosophies. When analysing and trying to understand each others systems and approaches to promote new teachers professional development, these conditions emerge on macro-level as well as on a micro-level.

During the years 2009-2012, NQTNE is running the project NQT-COME financed by Nordplus.

Fransson, G. & Gustafsson, C. (Eds.) (2008): Newly Qualified Teachers in Northern Europe. Comparative Perspectives on Promoting Professional Development. Teacher Education: Research Publications no 4. Gävle: Gävle University Press. Which includes the following chapters: Chapter 1: Fransson, G. & Gustafsson, C. (2008): Becoming a Teacher – an Introduction to the Theme and the Book. (pp. 11-26). Chapter 2: Fransson, G. (2008): International Co-operation and the Challenge of Sensemaking (pp. 27-44). Chapter 3: Bjerkholt, E. & Hedegaard, E. (2008): Systems Promoting New Teachers’ Professional Development. (pp. 45-75). Chapter 4: Jokinen, H., Morberg, Å., Poom-Valickis, K. & Rohtma, V. (2008): Mentoring Newly Qualified Teachers in Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. (pp. 76-106). Chapter 5: Heikkinen, H., Jokinen, H. & Tynjälä, P. (2008): Reconceptualising Mentoring as a Dialogue. (pp. 107-124). Chapter 6: Eisenschmidt, E., Heikkinen, H. & Klages, W. (2008): Strong, Competent, and Vulnerable – Experiences of the First Year as a Teacher. (pp. 125-147). Chapter 7: Hedegaard, E. (2008): Development of Networking and Networks. (pp. 148-166). Chapter 8: Fransson, G. & Gustafsson, C. (2008): Summary, Future Perspectives, and Conclusions. (pp. 167-192).