Building a world class education system - Education in Finland

GETS 2010, Calgary, Canada15th July, 2010

Tarmo Toikkanen, http://tarmo.fi tarmo.toikkanen@aalto.fi

Finland, Europe

PISA results for Finland

Literacy Math Science

2000

2003

2006

1st 4th 3rd

1st 2nd 1st

2nd 2nd 1st

The official explanation for PISA success

• equal opportunities to education

• localized educational responsibility

• free education and welfare (school meals, commutes, health care)

• Master level teachers

• high quality teaching

• great degree of autonomy to schools and teachers

• collaboration between schools, homes, and officials

My unofficial explanations

Teaching is a valued profession

Teacher’s curriculum

School curriculum

School district curriculum

National curriculum framework

Textbooks Healthy market and competition

Less classes, less homework

The Finnish language

Ethnically homogenous

Role of technology

Pedagogical / Andragogical principles

Educational results

Didactic practices

Teaching activities

Tools

Studying

Official future focus areas

• smaller group sizes

• special education

• student counseling

• afternoon extra-curricular activities

• school-home collaboration

Unofficial future trends

• open content

• non-formal and informal learning

• progressive inquiry, PBL and other “advanced” pedagogies

• blended learning and social media

• school-society collaboration

Thank you!More information: tarmo.fi, tarmo.tel, aalto.fi