CREATING 21st CENTURY CLASSROOMS

Rising Interest in Finland

Over the course of the last fifteen years Finland’s education system has received almost unwavering praise from popular global media as a result of their top scores on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) created Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test. Reports on Finland have spawned a wave of educators, administrators, and policy-makers to travel to Finland and learn its secrets. The understanding of country’s education system relies on much more than headlines of test scores. To visit classrooms and look only to behaviors of individuals and the institutions that educated them overlooks the structural, historical, and cultural factors that have contributed to the current system (Simola, 2005). The historical collectivist value of education and equality in addition to rapid changes of the 20th century has influenced Finland greatly.

 

Historical Influences

Finland as its own nation-state is young in the context of the European continent. The geographic region of Finland has had it’s own culture and language for hundreds of years but operated under the umbrella of other governments.  Finland was a part of the Swedish kingdom from the 14th-18th century. In the early years Sweden referred to this area as, Österland, or eastern land. Swedish heritage and culture remains a part of Finland today. All children learn Swedish in school as it is considered national language by the Finnish constitution. In addition, 78% of Finns identify themselves as part of the Lutheran church (Korpela, 2012). The Lutheran church institution was built during Swedish rule.

 

Swedish influence declined in northern Europe in the 18th century as a result of a series of wars. Russia had increasing control in eastern Finland from lost territories of Sweden and eventually seized Finland from Sweden in the Finnish War 1808-1809 (Meinander, 2011). Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy allowing a level of self-governance. This autonomy created an atmosphere for a national movement. Great works of literature, music, and art were produced using Finnish. Turku historian, A.I. Arwidson’s motto, “Swedes we are no longer, Russians we cannot be—so let us be Finns” was a part of the national awakening (Meinander, 2011). During the 1860s Parliament began meeting regularly again and Finland was able to retain an army. The devastation to Russia as a result of World War I and the revolutions in 1917 allowed a window for Finland to declare independence on December 6, 1917. Russian influence is also seen in contemporary Finland. After Swedish, Russian is one of the top foreign languages spoken. During students religious studies in comprehensive school they study the faith of their family. Russian Orthodox is an option and many of the larger cities in Finland house beautiful Orthodox churches and people with Russian heritage.

 

The first half of the 20th century had a tremendous impact on Finland’s reforms in the second half of the century. Not long after declaring independence Finland broke out in a civil war in 1918 between the ‘Whites’ (nationalists) and the ‘Reds’ (Soviet backed forces). The Whites were victorious but with deaths of 40,000 in the small country of 3 million it impacted the collective consciousness of society. Within 20 years, Finland was again fighting off the Soviets in 1939-1940’s Winter War. Finland defeated the Soviets in 105 days but 9% of its prewar territory was lost as well as 20% of its industry (Alderin, 2014).  At the end of World War II, Germans attacked Lapland to get to the Soviet Union. From 1939-1945, Finland suffered 95,000 military deaths. Scholars suggest that the collective trauma of these periods of violence led to greater social consensus on issues like education in the later half of the 20th century.

 

School Reform

In the years following WWII, Finland passed a series of education reforms that transformed schooling opportunities for children in Finland. In the 1950s the majority of the population’s education ended by age 13 with most of the population employed in agriculture or forestry (Buchardt, Markkola, & Valtoinen, 2013).  The people of Finland recognized the need for education; enrollments went from 34,000 in 1950 to 270,000 in 1960 (OECD, 2010). The demand for education exceeded the supply of municipal run schools. Children were attending private schools that were later subsidized by the government.

 

The basic comprehensive school, persukolu, reforms put into place offered all children across Finland a common schooling experience for the first nine years of education. Finnish education expert Pasi Sahlberg recognizes the significance of this legislation, “The comprehensive school is not merely a form of school organisation. It embodies a philosophy of education as well as a deep set of societal values about what all children need and deserve” (OECD, 2011). The new school system required new sets of skills from teachers. Teachers’ education changed from the teacher’s college to university and eventually requiring all teachers to have a master’s degree to be eligible for employment. The education reforms were a part of the larger social and economic reforms put in place to increase human capital in Finland.

 

Readiness to Learn

Finnish children begin their formal schooling at the age of seven but their success in school cannot be discussed without thinking about their readiness for school socially and emotionally. The Finnish welfare state provides for families and children from birth. Families receive a baby box in anticipation of their child, which includes clothing, books, and other necessities for baby’s first year (Lee, 2013). Families are given flexible parenting leaves and a stipend to assist in supporting children’s needs. Furthermore, children under seven have an “unconditional municipal right” to child-care with the assurance that child-care workers are highly educated in child development (“Finland…”, 2014). The services provided to children and families outside of school impact the child’s wellness and ability to learn. It is a classic case of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, when physiological and safety needs are met they have the capacity for meeting higher needs socially and academically. The American education system faces tremendous challenges in issues of equity, the 2010 United States Census reports that 22% of children are living in poverty. According to UNICEF, fewer than 5% of Finnish children live in poverty. Schools serve beyond educational needs as they provide a hot meal every day, counseling, and special education services. None of these services are administered because of special testing; if a child is struggling in school they receive extra support (OECD, 2010). Finland spends less per capita on education than the United States but their ability to do so is off-set by social services that are provided outside of school.

 

Multiple Educational Pathways

Basic education in Finland begins at age seven and is followed by nine years of comprehensive schooling in curriculum that is common across the country. Children learn about the basic subjects such as math, science, and reading but also the curriculum is also rich with content on textiles, art, music, religion, and ethics. According to the Finnish National Board of Education, 90% of students continue their studies after basic education.

 

After year nine, students have a choice between general upper secondary education and vocational education and training. General upper secondary education prepares students for university coursework and culminates in the taking of the national matriculation exam for graduation. Vocational education and training students choose coursework based on their chosen field and have theory as well as on-the-job practice. The vocational training is assessed by skills demonstrations ensuring they are well prepared for the workforce. Within these options there is also a dual-degree program for students interested in vocational training and attending university. The wealth of choice for students allows for all students needs to be met.

 

Lifelong learning is also a key value in the institution of education. There are no dead ends in learning. If a student in upper secondary school changes their mind they can enroll in vocational training. If an adult decides they want to change careers or get additional training the government pays for tuition. 

 

The culmination of these factors is important to understand when analyzing the Finnish system. In making comparisons between the United States and Finland, a more fair comparison can be made by looking to individual states education as education varies greatly across the country.

 

References:

Alderin, J. (2014) “Trauma portrayed with heroism: more than seven decades since the Winter War began”. Life & Society. This is Finland: things you should and shouldn’t know. Retrieved from: http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx?contentid=180095&nodeid=41806&culture=en-US

 

Buchardt, M., Markkola, P., & Valtonen, H. (Eds.), Education, state and citizenship. (Vol. 4, pp. 7-30). Helsinki: Nordic Centre of Excellence NordWel.

 

“Finland: universal services and financial benefits to promote the well-being of all children and families”. (2014). European Union Platform for Investing in Children. Retrieved from: http://europa.eu/epic/countries/finland/index_en.htm

 

Finnish National Board of Education. (2014). Education Policy. Retrieved from: http://www.oph.fi/english/education_system_education_policy

 

Korpela, S. (2012) “Finnish church aims to be down-to-earth”. Life & Society. This is Finland: things you should and shouldn’t know. Retrieved from: http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx?contentid=160099&nodeid=41800&culture=en-US

 

Lee, H. (2013). “Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes”. BBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22751415

 

OECD. (2010). “Finland: slow and steady reform for consistently high results”. In Strong performers and successful reformers in education lessons from PISA for the United States. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/46581035.pdf

 

Meinander, H. (2011). A History of Finland. (T. Geddes Trans.) Hurst & Company, London.

 

Sahlberg, P. (2009). “A short history of educational reform in Finland”.

 

Simola, H. (2005). “The Finnish miracle of PISA: historical and sociological remarks on teaching and teacher education”. Comparative Education, 41:4. 455-470. Retrieved from: http://matex.zozlak.org/DataBases/PISA%202000-2009/Simola_2005_Finnish%20PISA%20Miracle.pdf