The Finnish educational system is considered the best in the world. Reformed more than four decades ago, it is based on six key foundations that put in the foreground the student and its successful integration in society. Totally different from the Romanian educational system.
Students in Finland photo learningnglish.voanews.com
The Finnish educational system is famous worldwide for equity, quality and student -focused approach. In short, it is considered the best education system in the world, which is demonstrated by statistics, performance indices and studies. The success of the Finnish education system was demonstrated internationally after 2000, due to the first results of the program for the International Evaluation of Students (PISA). This program involves a standardized test applied to 15 -year -olds, in over 40 places around the world. According to PISA tests in the year 2,000, Finnish students were the best in the world.
Many of them, at the age of 15, already had a cosistic reading luggage. In 2003, the same Pisa tests indicated that Finnish students were already the best in mathematics. In 2006, they were in the top (from a 57 countries) in science. In 2009, based on extended tests in almost the whole globe, Finnish students ranked second in sciences, third place in reading and sixth place in math. They have far surpassed countries with education systems that excessively valued students’ school performance, with severe teachers and a high level of homework. Including Romania. And this is when Finnish students almost have no homework at all, they are not subjected to standardized and stressful evaluations and the school is a friendly environment with a light teaching.
“I am still surprised, I did not realize that we are so good”confesses the Arjiriata Heikkinen, the director of a general school in Helsinki for “Smithsonian Magazine”. There are specialists who say that the secret of the Finnish educational system is in the six key principles after which they are guided.
Students prepared for life
Maria Muuri is a Finnish who knows their educational system very well. She was a teacher, school principal, but she is also a well -known author in the educational field. Maria Muuri is a true pioneer in the field of educational technologies in Finland. The Finnish specialist says it all starts with transverse skills. That is, the competences that the Finnish state considers important in the education of a child. Through them, Finnish schools teach children especially practical things, to help them in real life but also to build a future adapted to the world they belong to.
“The transverse skills refer to the ways in which you help children learn, to cultural skills, to the interaction in society but also to self-expression. These skills focus on personal care and daily life. But they also focus on the technological skills that prepare for their professional life. Entrepreneurship, participation, involvement and creation of a sustainable future ”says Maria Muuri, in an article on the educational site edsurge.com.
Basically, each municipality has the freedom to choose with teachers, often and parents and students, which will be the most appropriate educational objectives for the next period. It is precisely that the students will be in step with the new technologies but at the same time to acquire all the basic skills, which they will need later. “An increasing society requires more and more transverse skills and skills, so the teachers in each subject promote them. When I was a teacher, I did this attributing very open tasks to the students, with the idea that there will probably be more correct answers.”adds Maria Muuri in the same article.
A different theme every year
In the Finnish schools, every year a different theme or a project that must be completed by the entire educational unit is addressed. Usually this theme or this project year combines the content of different disciplines and addresses the selected theme from the perspective of several disciplines. “These are called multidisciplinary learning modules. Schools plan and implement multidisciplinary learning modules, and topics and duration may vary depending on local needs and interests. Students participate in module planning, and teachers ensure that, during this process, students from different levels work together.”adds the Finnish specialist. In this way, students are forced to collaborate effectively.
Every student matters
“Students are all different individuals, so we cannot teach everyone in the same way. Teachers have to differentiate their lessons, which means that there are usually at least five different levels in the same class, at the same time.”says Maria Muuri. In short, in Finland student -centered learning is applied. Unlike the Romanian educational system with standardized objectives and subjects, in Finland of each student has its own specific objectives.
They are drawn by the teacher along with the student and parents. Each student has its specific tasks, depending on the level at which it is but also the possibilities. It is not excluded, cataloged, humiliated. Students from different social and cultural environments are helped to work together. In addition, in Finland the teachers pay individual attention to students with problems or heavy school progress. Precisely so that this is possible, in Finland there are fewer students in the classroom than in the Romanian schools. That is, we are not talking about classes with 20-30 students. Teachers spend less time at school, they are paid as well as doctors, but they have the responsibility to deal with each student.
A stressful education and exams
While many educational systems in Europe, including the one in Romania apply standardized tests for competences and emphasize competition among students, in Finland each student is gradually evaluated, based on the individual objectives, according to its level. It is an evaluation that promotes learning. The student’s learning progress is frequently provided to parents, with remedial solutions and tips. There is only one national exam in Finland, equivalent to the Romanian baccalaureate.
It is given at the end of the high school classes. The Finnish system involves a nine -year cycle of mandatory school, called primary, followed by a secondary cycle of three years. After that, the students choose if they go on technological branches (generally trades) or at the university. In the Finnish system, competition is not encouraged but rather the collaboration between students to solve different tasks. Students have notes but the way of learning, evaluation, teaching is relaxing. Students have from three hours (small classes) up to six hours a day (high school) with frequent breaks for relaxation and socialization. At school, students receive a free table.
Little homework, students’ opinion matters
An important part of the Finnish educational system is the involvement of students in the learning process. From the point of view of the Finnish educational system, teachers have to speak less and let the students express themselves more. Teachers facilitate teaching, give discussion topics and moderate, but students set goals, reflect and solve real life problems. In fact, the whole program is also based on real life examples. In order to stimulate students’ curiosity and help you learn better, hours often take place in unconventional environments. That is, in the school yard, in the forest, at the library or even in shopping centers. Students have very few homework. That is, themes that require maximum half an hour to solve.
A system based on equity, investments and well -trained teachers
In Finland not everyone becomes a teacher. After the university studies, each aspirant to the position of professor has to make a master and then to prove their skills. Only the best are selected in the public education system. And they are very well paid, compared to teachers in Romania, for example. A Finnish teacher, from a public school, also earns 4,300 euros per month. In addition, the state invests a lot in the public education system. The Finnish National Agency for Education always invests in new tools to support the educational process. For example, Finnish students benefit from augmented reality in the teaching-learning process.
Perhaps the most important thing in the Finnish educational system is equity. There are no good schools and bad schools in this country. All schools offer the same educational standard. It goes on the principle that all communities need quality education, which the state has to offer. There are no elite schools and marginal schools. According to a survey of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCDE), the differences between Finnish students, as a school training level, is the lowest in the world. That is, any Finnish child, whether it is from the village or the city, benefits from the same education. “Equality is the most important word in Finnish education. All right and left political parties agree in this regard.”said Olli Luukkainen, president of the powerful union of teachers in Finland, for Smithsonian Magazine. Ninety -three percent of Finns graduates theoretical or vocational high schools, and 66% go to college. It is the highest rate in the European Union.
