Finnish Education System: Th k t Th k t The keys to success

Finnish Education System:
Th keys
The
k
to
t success
Reijo Aholainen
Ministry of Education and Culture
Madrid 16.11.2011
R Aholainen Finnish educatio
16.11.2011
Keys to Success in Finnish Education
Contents
1. Introduction
2 Social,
2.
Social cultural and historical factors
3. Educational “keys to success”
•
•
•
•
•
•
Comprehensive school
Teachers and teacher education
Welfare services and special education
Sustainable policy and continuous reform
Decentralisation
Evaluation and assessment
4. International influences
5. Other explanations
6. What can be learned?
”The Forging of Sampo”
by Unto Pusa, 1941
R Aholainen Finnish educatio
16.11.2011
1 Introduction:
1.
I t d ti
About
Ab t Suomi
S
i (Fi
(Finland)
l d)
•
Hi
History:
–
–
–
–
•
Under Swedish Crown until 1809
Grand Duchy of Russia1809-1917
Independent since 1917
EU member state since 1995
Large
a ge but spa
sparsely
se y popu
populated
ated
– 338 000 km², 5,3 million inhabitants
•
Two churches:
– Lutheran 80%
80%, Orthodox 1
1,1%
1%
•
Two languages:
– Finnish 92%,Swedish 6%
•
•
One of richest and most competitive
countries with GDP € 33600/capita
Unemployment rate 7.7%
7 7%
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Minister Taxell’s Comment
Mr. Christoffer Taxell,
Minister of Education 1987-90
" We are not as ambitious
as the Swedes who want
to be world's best in
education … We only
want to win Sweden!"
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How did Finland become a PISA Champion?”
2000
2003
Reading
Literacy
546
(1.)
543
(1.)
There is no one single explanation for the
result. … the successful performance of
Finnish students seems to be attributable to
a web of interrelated factors having to do
with comprehensive pedagogy, students’
own interests and leisure activities, the
2006 2009
structure of education system, teacher
education,
547
536school practices, and, at the
end, Finnish
(2.)
(2.) culture.
Mathematic
Literacy
536
(4.)
544
(1.)
548
(1.)
542
(2.)
Scientific
Literacy
538
(3.)
548
(1.)
563
(1.)
554
(1.)
Problem
S l i
Solving
548
2)
2.)
Professor Jouni Välijärvi
Director of the Education
Research Centre,
University of Jyväskylä
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2 Social
2.
Social, Cultural and Historical Factors
•
Late industrialization and
urbanization after WW II
–
•
•
much later but much faster than other
Nordic Countries - similar to e.g.
South Korea!
Exceptionally rapid structural
change in society since the 60ies
–
–
–
•
•
16.11.2011
from agricultural
to industrial society and
to post-industrial society
Rural society did not need a large elite
Industrial urban society and growth
required increasing skills and knowledge
Mass schooling
g and baby
y boomers
challenged the old school system
–
–
New schools were established
Education as a way to social progress
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3. Education factors:
Structural change of the education system
Elitist system of
agrarian society
Modern system of
information age
History of continuous reform
•
•
Comprehensive School Act was adopted in
1968 and implemented in 1971 - 81
Teacher education reform in 1973 – 75
–
–
–
•
Secondary education reform in 1982 – 88
–
–
–
•
•
teacher education was removed into universities
then upgraded into Master's level
new pedagogics were required
quantitative and qualitative reform of secondary
education, especially in secondary and post
secondary vocational and professional educatio
secondary education for all as policy goal
eligibility to higher education from secondary
education
Polytechnic reform in 1991 – 1998
Reforms in adult education, in higher
education etc. followed …
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3.1. The Political Context of
Comprehensive School Reform
16.11.2011
Political
P
liti l debate
d b t on the
th reform
f
Left and Centre parties as the drivers of the reform
– Welfare state and social and regional equality as the
common objectives of the reform
Conservatives, teacher unions and academics actively
resisted the reform
Governments (with the Social Democrats and the Centre)
consolidated the reform in 1975–87
The conflict calmed down first in the 1990ies
The reform created a positive circle of motivation
1) Education was seen as a way to social progress
2) Reforms and raising education levels contributed to growth
and paved way to information society
3) Economic growth and welfare responded to the need of
social mobility
-> Motivation to learning
g is still high
g among
g population
p p
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Co p e e s e School
Comprehensive
Sc oo
- local 9-year compulsory school for all
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Parallel school forms were merged togethe
Public municipal schools largely replaced th
previous p
p
private and state-owned schools
Standards according to the previous highe
level (grammar school)
No repeating of a class
Implementation province by province in
1972-81 with centralised top down method
Amendments to the blue print based on
experiences from the reform
In-service training of teachers
Research and monitoring
Social measures (free meals, free health car
free transports, guidance and counselling)
Access to upper secondary education and
additional
dditi
l 10th grade
d option
ti
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3 2 Teachers
3.2.
T
h
and
d Teacher
T
h Education
Ed
ti
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Teachers
T
h
in
i Finland
Fi l d
• Large independency in the classroom
in schools with large
g autonomy
y
• Set high standards for literacy skills
and students' interests and make
the student assessment
• Highly appreciated and trusted in society
Teacher Education
• Master’s Degree at the University
• University education makes teachers able
to adapt
p education research in classroom
• Teacher education programmes are very
popular – only 10 % of applicants accepted
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AC
Critical
iti l C
Commentt
16.11.2011
The […] paradox is that the
politically and pedagogically
progressive comprehensive
school reform is apparently
being implemented in Finland
by politically and
pedagogically rather
conservative
ti tteachers.
h
Wh
Whatt
is more, the outcomes seem
to match the aims better than
in a few other countries.
Professor Hannu Simola,
U i
University
it off H
Helsinki
l i ki
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3.3. Welfare services and other
measures to support pupils with special needs
What have these men in common?
•
•
•
a) they are all innovative genies
b) they are all men and dead
c) they all had dyslexia
•
•
Early interventions are seen as
the most costs effective way of
preventing exclusion
Remedial teaching and pupils’
welfare in cooperation with social
p
and health care experts
Teachers are trained to identify
and help pupils with learning
difficulties with special
p
methods
Integrated special needs
education by specialized teachers
Dyslexia indicates that all people
have different brains but has
nothing to do with intelligence
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3.4. Relative consensus on education policy
•
•
•
•
Three perspectives for understanding
Tradition of multiparty coalition
educational change in Finland
governments has promoted
consensus and
d iincreased
d stability
t bilit
Education policy consensus has
survived the recession of the 90ies
and the decentralisation off public
management
Public education funding has
remained relatively sustainable
Critical factors
–
–
–
Tension between consensus and reform
How much actually has changed?
Is the source of consensus sustainable?
Sahlberg 2009
Sahlberg,
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3.5. Decentralisation of decision making
•
Centralised system of the 70ies and 80ies
was rapidly turned decentralized in the
turn of the 1990ies and in the early 90ies
–
–
–
–
–
•
”Downsizing”
by Kaj Stenvall, 2011
New public management removed decisionmaking power from central to local level
Inspection of schools was abolished and
replaced with evaluation
Inspection of textbooks was abolished
National framework curricula increased
flexibility and local power in tuition
Funding reform increased the local
autonomy on how to use Government grants
Yet, the questions remain:
–
–
IIs decentralization
d
t li ti necessary ffor high
hi h quality?
lit ?
Is decentralization a threat to equality?
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AC
Critical
iti l C
Commentt
Professor Hannu Simola,
University of Helsinki
16.11.2011
The purpose of decentralisation
in the 1990ies was to replace
normative steering with
evaluation Then something
evaluation.
unexpected happened - the
recession of 1991–93 was the
deepest peacetime crisis in
Finland’s economy.
Without shifting decisionmaking
ki tto th
the local
l
l level
l
l the
th
municipalities could not have
been required to cut spending
as much as they did.
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3 6 Evaluation and Assessment
3.6.
•
•
•
•
•
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The leading principle of educational
evaluation is to support to school
development with feed-back
O l one national
Only
ti
l test:
t t the
th lleaving
i
exam of upper secondary general
Evaluation of learning outcomes on
sample
l basis
b i – no league
l
tables
t bl
Municipalities and schools are obliged
to evaluate their own functioning and
instruction
Critical questions:
– Who evaluates?
– On what grounds?
– With what consequences?
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4.1. International
te at o a influences
ue ces –
Finland learning from other countries
•
•
•
•
Comprehensive School Reform was
designed after Swedish model
Models for Polytechnics Reform were
sought from Germany and the
Netherlands but the name was copied
Netherlands,
from the UK
Many ideas on Adult Education are
from Scandinavia,
Scandinavia but the competencebased qualifications were inspired by
British initial qualifications
Higher education reforms have been
influenced by the recommendations of
the OECD
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4.2. International trends
NOT FOLLOWED IN FINLAND
16.11.2011
Dr Pasi Sahlberg,
g, Director,, CIMO
Global Educational Reform
Movement (= GERM)
Finnish Practice and Principles
Centrally prescribed standards for
schools, teachers and students
National framework with flexibility for
school-based curriculum
Focus on literacy and numeracy as
prime targets
Focus on broad learning with creativity,
creativity
giving value to the growth of students
Teaching for pre-determined results
Encouraging new approaches in
leadership, teaching, and learning
Transferring external innovations
Learning from the past and respecting
traditional pedagogical values
High-stakes accountability and control
by standardised testing of outcomes
Intelligent accountability with trust-based
professionalism.
Targeting support to those at risk.
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5. Other explanations to the ”Finnish PISA Wonder”
•
PISA tests favour Finland!?
– PISA tests focus on the
competence to adapt knowledge,
knowledge
just like the Finnish curriculum
– Finland has a reading culture
with internationally high number of
newspapers, magazines, public
libraries and subtexts in television
– Finnish language is pronounced
as it is written which makes
learning to read easier
– Finnish population is relatively
homogenous
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6. Is
6
s Finnish
s education
educat o e
experience
pe e ce
applicable in Spain?
•
16.11.2011
Are we talking
A
lki about
b
Spain or its 17
autonomous regions?
– Are the suggestions same
depends on whether the
problems are same
– Are regions are more
comparable to Finland?
”Don Quijote and Sancho Panza”
by Honoré Daumier, 1886
•
•
•
History and culture are
difficult to copy, but can
we learn something?
All education systems
prepare for the future
Some suggestions
"Kullervo
u e o Goes to
o War"
a
by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1901
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6 1 History
6.1.
Hi
and
d culture
l
are diffi
difficultl to copy
•
•
•
•
Policies and practices may be
transferred
but only in adapted form
Research knowledge can improve
decisions
but research and policy have
different agendas
Changing laws and structures is easier
than changing classroom
practices
Instead of asking “How reforms shape the
schools” we should ask
“How schools shape the reforms”!
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6.2. Future challenges common to all
education systems
•
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The education
Th
d
ti systems
t
cannott ignore
i
global megatrends…
–
e.g. climate change, sustainable energy,
transition of world economy
…and threats
–
•
e.g. poverty, hunger, wars, terrorism
…and
and their impact on the world of work.
work
The premises of education are
changing
– Knowledge and knowledge paradigms
– Communication methods
– Demand for creativity,
y, innovation and
spirit of enterprise
– Understanding human brain
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6 3 Some suggestions
6.3.
1. Making teacher profession
more attractive and prestigious
–
–
–
–
Upgrading initial teacher education
Continuing training for teachers
Management with respect
Communication and co-operation
within school and with the local
community, parents and the school
environment
– Stressing on
• Skills to motivate and support the
weakest and for emotional and
ethical education
• Creativity and spirit of enterprise
• Taking benefit of new technologies
2. Supporting motivation and
learning
– Early intervention
• dyslexia, dyscalculia and other
learning difficulties
• children with special needs
– Zero tolerance to bullying, school
violence, racism, xenophobia
– Valuing learning in all subjects – incl.
arts,
t crafts
ft and
d sports
t
– Assessment with emphasis on feedback and motivation to learn
– Co-operation
Co operation with parents,
parents local
community and enterprises
– Education system without dead ends
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¡Muchas gracias!
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