Education in Finland

§  Population: year 2012: 5,421,827 density: 16/km2

§  Area: total 338,424 km2

water 10 %

§  GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate: total $254 billion per capita $47. 262

Historical Development of Finnish Society §  Poor agricultural country, large geographical area §  Independence 1917 §  Heavy losses in war 1939-1945 §  Fast growth, investment on education,

creation of welfare state structures - Good education FOR ALL - High employment rate - Broad-based taxation - Public services

 

Finland is one of the innovation leaders  Human resources in rankings

INSEAD  Global  Innova/on  Index  2013  Human  Capital    and  Research  

World  Economic  Forum  2012-­‐2013  Higher  Educa/on  and  Training  

WEF  and  INSEAD  The  Networked  Readiness  Index  2013    

Innova/on  Union  Scoreboard  2013  Human  Resources  

Global  Crea/vity  Index  2011  Overall  rankings  

1.  Finland   1.  Finland   1.  Finland     1.  Sweden   1.  Sweden  

2.  Rep.  of  Korea   2.  Singapore   2.  Singapore   2.  Finland   2.  United  States  

3.  Singapore   3.  Switzerland   3.  Sweden   3.  Ireland   3.  Finland  

4.  Sweden   4.  Belgium   4.  Netherlands   4.  United  Kingdom   4.  Denmark  

5.  Iceland   5.  Germany   5.  Norway   5.  Slovakia   5.  Australia  

6.  United  States   6.  Netherlands   6.  Switzerland   6.  Slovenia   6.  New  Zealand  

7.  Denmark   7.  Sweden   7.  United  Kingdom   7.  France   7.  Canada  

8.  Israel   8.  United  States   8.  Denmark   8.  Netherlands   8.  Norway  

9.  Ireland   9.  Taiwan,  China   9.  United  States   9.  Lithuania   9.  Singapore  

10.  Austria   10.  New  Zealand   10.  Taiwan,  China   10.  Belgium   10.  Netherlands  

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Education above all §  Finnish people place great value on education. §  Equal opportunities, professional teachers and

a student-centred approach lie at the heart of learning.

§  Research shows that three quarters of the Finnish population believe that the Finnish comprehensive school system is one of the most noteworthy factors in Finnish history and creates a foundation for wellbeing.

Cornerstones in Finnish education §  Political decisions in 1960s and 1970s

good education for all §  Faith and trust in the importance of education

§  Universal and free education with free school meals §  Equal opportunities to all pupils whatever their

place of residence, gender, family background or financial standing §  No ´dead ends´ in the system

§  Focus on learning, not steering §  The evaluation of the learning outcomes of schools

and students is encouraging and supportive by nature. §  Information that helps both schools and students

develop. §  No national testing of learning outcomes, school

ranking lists or inspection systems. §  Strong role of municipalities and schools §  Competent teachers with master´s degree and

autonomy in their work …Cornerstones in Finnish education

Flexible system

§  The education system gives each student great flexibility.

§  Binding decisions are not expected to be made at an early stage.

§  The road all the way to tertiary education is untracked, with none of the paths leading to a dead end.

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•  50 % to general upper secondary schools

•  45 % to vocational education and training

•  60 % to universities and polytecnics

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50% 45%

60%

Kupiainen, Hautamäki & Karjalainen (2009): The Finnish Education system and PISA

Kupiainen, Hautamäki & Karjalainen (2009): The Finnish Education system and PISA.

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Student performance in Finnish primary and lower secondary schools is one of the best in the world. Finnish students’ proficiency in reading, mathematics and science in the international PISA assessments has been ranked among the best from year to year.

Efficient and effective §  Students spend much less time

in the classroom than in other countries

§  The average class size is 20 students.

§  Good learning outcomes are achieved at just average expense.

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Competent teachers

§  On all school levels, teachers are highly qualified and committed.

§  They require Master’s degrees, and teacher education includes teaching practice.

§  Teaching profession is very popular in Finland, and universities can select the most motivated and talented applicants.

§  Teachers work independently and have strong autonomy towards their work.

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The attraction of vocational education and training has been

steadily growing; at present some 45 per cent of 9th grade students (certificate received)

continue immediately in vocational education and training.

Basic skills of Finnish adults one of the best in

the OECD countries

The good average scores of Finland are largely thanks to the good skills of 20 to 39-year-olds.

The Survey of Adult Skills

(PIAAC 2012) OECD

The Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC 2012)

Ability to solve problems in technology-rich environments

•  Altogether 41% of all Finns have either good or excellent ability to solve problems in technology-rich environments. This is well over the OECD average (34%).

•  The only country to exceed Finland in this area is Sweden. •  Japan was 10th •  Korea 16 th

17 PIAAC 2012

Higher education system §  The Finnish higher education system comprises

of 14 universities and 24 polytechnics. §  Both sectors educate, based on research, at bachelor

and at master degree level. §  Only universities confer doctoral degrees. §  The focus of universities is in scientific research,

whereas polytechnics are more engaged in research and development and leveraging close ties to job sectors.

§  Despite their autonomy and legal entity, 66 % of universities’ and 85 % of polytechnics’ funding is directed from the state budget.

Two parallel sectors

•  University sector –  14 research universities –  Student enrollment 168 000, (114 000 FTE), of which 18 000 doctoral

students –  All institutions funded by the state

•  Polytechnic sector [universities of applied sciences] (est. in the mid-1990s) –  24 institutions –  Student enrollment 148 000, (114 000 FTE) –  Institutions partly funded by the state, partly by municipalities –  Regional development tasks –  Bachelor degrees (vocational and professional degrees) –  (Professional) Master’s degrees in selected fields

Higher education institution network

•  Population of 5,4 million •  Higher education

institution network covers the populated parts of the country –  14 universities (four in the

great Helsinki area) –  24 polytechnics

•  Student enrollment altogether ca. 316 000

University (blue) Polytechnic (green) Research institute (red)

Challenges now

•  Economically hard times, growing social disparities

•  Youth unemployment

•  Growing impact of socio-economic background

•  Ageing society; growing welfare expenditure

•  Regional development (rural vs urban)

•  Migration and multiculturalism

•  Gender disparities

•  Pupil welfare and safe school environment

•  Group size in basic education

•  Digital learning and new technologies