EDUCATION IN FINLAND

• History • From the 13th century a part of Sweden• In 1809 ceded to Russia as an autonomous Grand

Duchy • Independent parliamentary democracy since 1917 • A member of the EU since 1995

• People• Population 5.2 million• Two official languages: Finnish and Swedish• Monetary unit the euro, €• Labour force (2007) • Public service 32%

Manufacturing 18%Trade 16%Finance and business 14%

• Transport 7%• Construction 7%

Agriculture and forestry 5%

Wide international interest towards Finnish school system and teacher education:

• PISA results• The specific characteristics of Finnish teacher education• Huge amount of applicants in teacher education

• Equality of education has high priority

• Education for all

• Social and regional equality

• Well-educated parents -> promotes motivation

• Life-long and life-wide learning

• Pre-school teaching provided at schools and daycare centres

• Comprehensive school is a compulsory nine-year education for all children

• Post-comprehensive education is given by general upper secondary schools and vocational schools. Studies provide eligibility for higher education.

• Higher education system consists of universities and universities of applied sciences.

About 23% of the population have a higher level degree.

• Adult education is provided widely by post-comprehensive schools, universities of applied sciences polytechnics and universities.

The Education System of

Finland

Work experience

Compulsory schooling

Specialistvocational

qualifications

Furthervocational

qualifications

Work experience

Basic education

Preschool

MatriculationexaminationUpper secondary school

Vocational qualificationsVocational schools andapprenticeship training

Master’s degrees

Barcelor’s degrees

Universities

Doc.Lic.

Bachelor polytechnicdegrees

Polytechnics

Polytechnic postgraduatedegrees

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Work Experience(min. 3 years)

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Age

1. Preschool For 6 years old children, who will start compulsory education in the following year Voluntary Free of charge Provided in kindergarten or school environment inpre-school classes In 2004: 35 000 children in kindergarten classes 7 500 children in school environment classes Together 65 % of entire age group is participating preschooleducation; number is increasing

Aims and Key Contents “Physical and motor development” Aims: Physical and motor condition, movement control and basic motor skills shall be trained through exercise and play PE shall support children in acting independently, proactively and co-operatively and in being brave in physical exercise situations Contents: Daily physical exercise and everydayactivities (guided and self-motivated)

Pre-School Education

2. COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL The comprehensive school consists of9 grades Elementary level: 1-6 grades(7-12 years old children) Upper level: 7-9 grades(13-16 years old teenagers) PE is an obligatory subject (~2 h/week) Health Education is a new school subject(~1h/week in grades 7-9)

Free of charge (including teaching, food,books, papers, pencils etc.) Nearly all children (99.7%) complete thecomprehensive school syllabus in Finland

Basic Education

• Teaching groups in basic education are formed according to year classes.

• During the first six years, instruction is usually given by the class teacher, who teaches all or most subjects.

• Instruction in the three highest forms is usually in the form of subject teaching, where different subjects are taught by subject teachers.

• Basic education also includes pupil counselling and, if necessary, special education.

Features of basic education

• no admission requirements • no charges • a nine-year comprehensive school • may include voluntary one-year pre-school education

and voluntary one-year additional education (10th form) • provides eligibility for all upper secondary education • almost all Finnish children complete comprehensive

school • interruption and repeating a form is rare • compulsory education is fulfilled by completing the basic

education syllabus 

General Upper Secondary education

• Upper secondary school offers general education for students of about 16-19 years of age.

• It continues the educational task of comprehensive school and gives students eligibility for all studies at the tertiary level.

• Upper secondary school ends with the matriculation examination.

• Since 1982, instruction in upper secondary schools has been divided into courses, each consisting of about 38 lessons.

• The school year is usually divided into five or six periods. A separate timetable is drawn up for each period, concentrating on certain subjects.

• Students' progress and the composition of teaching groups thus depends on the students' choice of courses.

• Consequently, year classes have been abolished in all upper secondary schools, which now function without fixed forms Upper secondary school studies consist of compulsory, specialisation and applied courses.

• All students must complete the compulsory courses. Schools must provide specialisation courses for students to choose from.

Features of Upper Secondary School

• The admission requirement for the upper secondary school is the completion of comprehensive school – Upper secondary schools select their students mainly on the basis

of previous study record – Application takes place through the national joint application

procedure

• Upper secondary school gives students eligibility for all studies at the tertiary level

• More than half of each age group complete upper secondary school

Matriculation examination• The Matriculation Examination is held twice a year, in

spring and in autumn, in all Finnish upper secondary schools, at the same time

• here are four compulsory tests in the matriculation examination: mother tongue, the other national language, foreign language and either mathematics or general studies test. In addition, candidates may voluntarily take optional tests.

• A candidate must complete the examination during not more than three consecutive examination periods. The examination can also be completed in one examination period

2.6.2007 15

VET (Vocational education and training) in Finland

• Vocational upper secondary education and training is based on the basic education syllabus. A three-year vocational upper secondary qualification gives general eligibility for higher education in both polytechnics and universities.

• There are 52 vocational upper secondary qualifications and 116 study programmes in them.

• A vocational qualification can be obtained either through school-based education or in the form of apprenticeship training.

2.6.2007 16

The content of VET studies• Learning outcomes approach in education and training system

• The scope of a vocational qualification is 120 credits / 3 years. 90 credits of vocational studies including at least 20 credits of on-the-job learning that supports the studies, 10 credits of free-choice studies and 20 credits of core subjects

• The core subjects required in all vocational studies are: the mother tongue, second national language, a foreign language, mathematics, physics and chemistry, social studies, entrepreneurship and workplace studies, physical and health education, arts and cultural studies.

2.6.2007 17

On-the-job learning as a learning method

• On-the-job learning is guided, focused and assessed training in compliance with the educational objectives determined in the curriculum

• implemented in a genuine working environment

• based on a written contract between the education providern and the workplace– the contracts specify the tasks and responsibilities of the

parties concerned, the goals, core contents, assessmentn of the students preformance, duration and timing of the studies

Polytechnic Education

• The Finnish polytechnic system was built during the 1990's to create a non-university sector in higher education. It is founded on the institutions which previously provided post-secondary vocational education and which have been developed to form a nationwide network of regional institutions of higher education, i.e. polytechnics. In the autumn of 2001, there were a total of 29 polytechnics.

• Polytechnics provide instruction for expert functions in the sectors of natural resources, technology and communications, business and administration, tourism, catering and institutional management, health care and social services, culture, and the humanities and education.

• Studies leading to a polytechnic degree take 3.5-4.5 years.• The Ministry of Education confirms the degree programmes, but

the curricula are independently decided by the polytechnics.

• One of the most comprehensive university networks in Europe

• 10 multi-faculty universities– Helsinki, Turku (2), Tampere, Oulu, Jyväskylä,

Joensuu, Vaasa, Kuopio, Rovaniemi• 3 universities of technology

– Helsinki, Tampere, Lappeenranta– + Faculty of Technology in Oulu: 4818 students

• 3 schools of economics and business administration

– Helsinki (2), Turku– + Faculty of Economics in Oulu:

1023 students• 4 art academies

Oulu

Rovaniemi

Vaasa

HelsinkiTurku

TampereLappeenranta

Joensuu

Kuopio

Jyväskylä

Universities in Finland in 2007

• There are twenty universities in Finland: ten multidisciplinary universities, three universities of technology, three schools of economics and business administration and four art academies. The network of universities covers the different parts of the country and provides a student place for almost one third of the age group. All universities are owned by the State.

• Universities select their own students independently.• Various types of entrance examinations form a central

part of the selection process. • The total intake of the universities guarantees a student

place for about a third of the relevant age group. • The average duration for completing a Master's degree

is about 6.5 years.

University Education

•The two-cycled basic degrees consist of

•the Bachelor’s degree• (180 credits / 3 years) and

• the Master’s degree • (120 credits / 2 years)

•The third cycle will consist of postgraduate studies •(leading to a doctoral degree)

•1 year = 1600 working hours = 60 ECTS

Two-cycle model for basic university degrees

KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

Teacher Education in Finland•

Teacher’s profession has a high status

• Popular field of study > high qualifications required

• Master’s degree necessary also for primary level teachers

• Integration of theory and practice (Teacher training school)

• Pedagogical knowledge and subject knowledge integrated

• Teachers are seen as life-long learners

• Teacher education is research-based

KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

Finnish Teacher Education has a long history

• Teacher education for primary and secondary schools was transferred to universities in 1971

• Typical features

- research-based orientation

- continuous national and international evaluations

- basic core curriculum in pedagogy

KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

Finnish Teacher Education

Classroom Teacher Model• Education as a major• Studies at the Department of

Education• How to get competence to a subject

teacher?

Subject Teacher Model• An academic subject as a major• Studies at the Subject Department• Teacher´s pedagogical studies at the

Dept of Ed• How to get competence to a class

teacher?

KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

A CLASSROOM TEACHER• The classroom teacher completes a Master’s Thesis

(M.A) and the study programme consists of 300 study points.

• Main subject: Education (140 sp) Minor subject (60 sp) consists of all the 13 school subjects a class teacher teaches at the first 6 grades of elementary school.

• Theory practice relation– Academic tradition of research-based teaching– Practice teaching– Methodology and method studies

KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

TEACHER’S PROFESSION

TEACHER’S PROFESSION

”TEACHERSHIP”

TEACHING

What is a proper knowledge base for a good teacher?

DON’T DO AS I DO, DO WHAT I SAY TO DO

TEACHERS TEACH AS THEY WERE TAUGHT

Finland in PISA Studies

• Finland came out top in the OECD´s 2003 PISA study of learning results among 15-year olds, with high performances in

• mathematics• science• mother tongue • problem solving

11 official explanations of the PISA success

by the Finnish National Board of Education • Equal opportunities for education irrespective of domicile, sex, economic situation or mother

tongue • Regional accessibility of education

• No separation of sexes

• Education totally free of charge • Comprehensive, non-selective basic education

• Supportive and flexible administration – centralised steering of the whole, local implementation

• Interactive, co-operative way of working at all levels; idea of partnership

• Individual support for learning and welfare of pupils

• Development-oriented evaluation and pupil assessment – no testing, no ranking lists

• Highly qualified, autonomous teachers

• Socio-constructivist learning conception

China is switching to course-based high school education in line with the Finnish model.

• Schools function without fixed forms, no year classes

• School year divided into 5 or 6 periods

• Instruction divided into 38 lessons, “courses”

• A separate timetable is drawn up for each period, concentrating on certain subjects

• Students' progress and the composition of teaching groups depends on the students' choice of courses.

The strengths of Finnish schools• good teachers• efficient teaching • uniform quality

We may have something to give to other countries, so they seem to think

“Foreign educators in droves want to visit Finnish schools for the simple reason that they are so good -- very likely the best

on Earth.”

Washington Post