Realizing the academic teacher ideal? Norwegian student teachers’ professional self-understanding between pedagogical traditions and academization

Following the introduction of a mandatory master’s degree in Norwegian teacher education in 2017, this article examines how political ambitions to recruit and shape academically oriented teachers are interpreted and negotiated by student teachers. Drawing on qualitative interviews, the study shows that student teachers aspire to become pedagogues and are motivated by practice-oriented learning aimed at developing this role. Academic knowledge is mainly valued when linked to teaching at higher educational levels or future careers beyond compulsory schooling. The analysis argues that this pattern is rooted in the historical organization of teacher education, where a strong pedagogical and practice-oriented tradition continues to shape students’ ideals, challenging the program’s new academic structure. By conceptualizing professional self-understanding as a process of socialization, the article contributes to research on professional education by explaining how enduring institutional traditions mediate the effects of academization reforms, producing professional orientations that only partially align with political ambitions.