Book 25 Sep 2024 PDF

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Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?

1he country} achievements in education have other nations doing their homework
A At Klri<kojarvl Comprehensive School In Espoo, asuburb west In high school. There Is no competition between students,
of Helsinki, Karl Louhlvuort, tl1e school's principal, decided schools or regions. Finland's schools are publicly funded.
to try something extreme by Finnish standards. One of his The people in the government agencies running them,
sixth-grade students, arecent Immigrant, was falllng behind, from national offlclals to local authori~es, are educators
resisting his teacher's best efforts. So he decided to hold rather than business people or politicians. Every school
the bOy back ayear. Standards In tt1e country have vastly has the same national goals and draws from the same
1111)(0VOO In reading, math and science literacy over the past pool of university-trained educators. The result is that
ctecade, In large part because Its teachers are trusted to do aFinnish child has a good chance of getting the same
\\4latever It takes to tum young lives around. 'I took Besart on quality education no matter whether he or she lives in a
that year as my prtvate student,• explains Louhlvuorl. When rural village or a university town.
he was not studying science, geography and math, Besart E It's almost unheard of for a child to show up hungry to
was seated next to Louhivuort's desk, taking books from atall school. Finland provides three years of maternity leave
stack, slowly reading one, then another, then devouring them and subsidized day care to parents, and preschool for
by the dozens. By the end of the year, he had conquered his all five-year-olds, where the emphasis is on socializing.
adopted country's vowel-rtch language and arrived at the In addition, the state subsidizes parents, paying them
realization that he could, in fact, learn. around 150 euros per month for every child until he or
B This tale of asingle rescued child hints at some of the she turns 17. Schools provide food, counseling and taxi
reasons for Finland's amazing record of education success. service if needed. Health care is even free for students
The transformation of Its education system began some taking degree courses.
40 years ago but teachers had little Idea It had been so F Finland's schools were not always a wonder. For the first
successful until 2000. In this year, the first results from half of the twentieth century, only the privileged got a
the Programme for International Student Assessment quality education. But In 1963, the Finnish Parliament
(PISA}, a standardized test given to 15-year-olds in more made the bold decision to choose public education as
than 40 global venues, revealed Finnish youth to be the the best means of driving the economy forward and out
best at reading in the world. Three years later, they led in of recession. Public schools were organized into one
math. By 2006, Finland was first out of the 57 nations that system of comprehensive schools for ages 7 through 16.
participate in science. In the latest PISA scores, the nation Teachers from all over the nation contributed to a national
came second In science, third in reading and sixth in math curriculum that provided guidelines. not prescriptions,
among nearly half a million students worldwide. for them to refer to. Besides Finnish and Swedish (the
c In the United States, government officials have attempted country's second official language), children started
to improve standards by introducing marketplace learning athird language (English is afavorite) usually
competition Into public schools. In recent years, agroup beginning at age nine. The equal distribution of equipment
of Wall Street financiers and philanthropists such as Bill was next, meaning that all teachers had their fair share of
Gates have put money behind private-sector Ideas, such teaching resources to aid learning. As the comprehensive
as charter schools, which have doubled In number in the schools improved, so did the upper secondary schools
past decade. President Obama, too, apparently thought (grades 1Othrough 12). The second critical decision came
competition was the answer. One policy Invited states to In 1979, when it was required that every teacher gain a
compete for federal dollars using tests and other methods fifth-year Master's degree in theory and practice. paid
to measure teachers, a philosophy that would not be for by the state. From then on, teachers were effectively
welcome In Finland. 'I think, In fact, teachers would tear granted equal status with doctors and lawyers. Applicants
off their shirts,' said Timo Heikkinen, a Helsinki prlnclpal began flooding teaching programs, not because the
with 24 years of teaching experience. 'If you only salaries were so high but because autonomous decision-
measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect.' making and respect made the Job desirable. And as
D There are no compulsory standardized tests In Finland, Louhlvuorl explains, •we have our own motivation to
apart from one exam at the end of students' senior year succeed because we love the work.'
253

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Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?

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