Vision vs. Reality in the Education System: How Can We Ovecome the Disparity? Comment

1
Vision vs. Reality in the Education System How
Can We Ovecome the Disparity? Comment

• Sakari Karjalainen, Director General
• Ministry of Education, Finland

The Van Leer Education Conference, 18-20 May,
2009, Jerusalem
2
COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL
Basic Education in Finland

• Compulsory schooling starts in the year when
  children turn seven and ends after the basic
  education syllabus has been completed or after
  ten years. Nearly all children complete their
  compulsory schooling.
• Nine-year comprehensive school (pupils aged 7-15)
• It is possible to continue basic education on a
  voluntary basis (for a tenth year).
• The local/school curriculum is based on a
  national core curriculum.
• A school-leaving certificate is issued on the
  completion of the syllabus, but give no actual
  qualification.
• The certificate gives access to all upper
  secondary education and training.
• Teaching, textbooks, meals, health service and
  travel to and from school free of charge
• A pupil is entitled to remedial teaching and
  special-needs education, if necessary.
• There are around 15,000 school-age children with
  immigrant background, whose integration is
  supported in many ways. Total number of pupils is
  about 500,000.

3

4
The quality of the Finnish education system
Quality and effectiveness

• Excellent learning outcomes
• PISA 2000, 2003 and 2006
• drop-out during compulsory education less than
  0.5
• class repetition only 2
• more than 96 moves to upper secondary level
• Small between-school differences
• Effective use of resources
• 190 school days per year, 4 -7 hours per day
• moderate amount of homework, no private lessons
  after school
• 6 of GDP goes to education

5
Expenditure on educational institutions as a
percentage of GDP for all levels of education
(1995, 2004), Source OECD Education at a
Glance, 2007
6
Compulsory education starts late (age 7) and the
school days are relatively short, which leads to
the lowest instruction time within the OECD
Average annual instruction hours
Source OECD Education at a Glance 2008
7
Total number of intended instruction hours in
public institutions between the ages of 7 and 14
(2005) Source OECD, 2007 EU196926 (total)
8
Short history of the present Education System
Reform of Education System in the 1970's - does
it explain the success?

• Until 70s, a socially divided parallel education
  system with consequent achievement gap
• A long and heated debate preceded the 1968 Act on
  Basic Education Reform
• Implementation of comprehensive school gradually
  from North to South 1972-1976
• 1970 first national curriculum, strongly
  centralised
• Ability grouping until 1985 curricular reform
• Gradual decentralisation of education since 1980s
  
• Inspection system until early 1990s
• Teacher education to universities in mid-1970s
• Preschool education for 6-year olds as a
  subjective right 2001
• Municipal autonomy and empowerment of schools
• National Core Curriculum of Basic Education has
  been renewed in 1985, 1994 and 2003/2004

9
A comprehensive system built on the principle of
equity
Back to basics - equity, equity and equity

• The long term aim of the policy has been to
  provide equal opportunities for education
  irrespective of age, domicile, sex, economic
  situation or mother tongue.
• Equity means both the equal access to education
  and equal opportunities for good learning within
  every school.
• Education free of charge, incl. university
  education
• Flexible structure of the system no dead ends
• Comprehensive, inclusive policy - no tracking or
  streaming of students

10
Trend in global education movements
internationally and in Finland
Finland's way
(Sahlberg 2004 with modifications, cited in
Hautamäki al. 2008)
11
(No Transcript)
12
Local solutions on common basis

• Education Act and Decree
• general goals for education, subjects, general
  principles for providing education
• Governments Decree
• more detailed general goals of education,
  allocation of teaching hours
• National Core Curriculum (prepared and decided by
  the National Board of Education)
• basic principles in organizing teaching and
  learning, central goals and contents in different
  subjects, cross-curricular themes, guidelines for
  student welfare and for student assessment,
  description of good performance and
  final-assessment criteria
• Municipal/school curriculum
• implementation of the national guidelines,
  allocation of hours, goals and contents of
  subjects in different grades, organizing
  instruction and other activities of the school

13
Flexible curriculum strategy

• Consists of national core curriculum, municipal
  curricula and school curricula
• Curricula at all levels of action have been drawn
  up in extensive cooperation curriculum as a
  process
• The Finnish National Board of Education as a
  central actor
• Principals and teachers have central role in
  curriculum work and in developing education
• Parents and students are also involved
• National agreement about the participation of
  other sectors, health and social sector
  especially

14
Flexibility in organizing teaching and learning

• Flexibility and school/teacher autonomy in
  curriculum implementation allocating goals,
  contents, time and resources, selecting methods
  and materials and forming study groups
• Importance of goals which can be reached by means
  of different contents, methods and materials
• Goals and criteria for good performance are
  expressed mainly as competencies, not as detailed
  knowledge
• Teachers are encouraged to take into account the
  various needs of their students and to emphasize
  good basic competencies

15
Important principles for Basic Education

• Individual support for learning and welfare of
  pupils - effort to minimise low achievement
• Development-oriented evaluation and pupil
  assessment - no national testing, no ranking
  lists
• Small differences between schools and areas of
  the country
• Teachers are highly qualified and valued experts
  - all teachers have Master's degree from
  University

16
Background to Finland's success

• Education system
• Guarantees equal opportunities for basic
  education to all children and young people
  irrespective of their socio-economical standing,
  gender and ethnic background
• The main responsibility for providing education
  close to pupils and their families
• Free education and extensive benefits
• pupil welfare services
• school meals
• school travel benefits
• Teachers have high-level qualifications, which
• makes for quality teaching
• inspires confidence in education
• makes it possible for schools and teachers to
  have considerable latitude in implementing
  education
• highlights cooperation (home-school cooperation
  and multi-professional cooperation between
  authorities)

17
Basic Education Act, 1998, Section 2

• Objectives of education
• The purpose of education referred to in this Act
  is to support pupils' growth into humanity and
  into ethically responsible membership of society
  and to provide them with knowledge and skills
  needed in life. Furthermore, the aim of
  pre-primary education, as part of early childhood
  education, is to improve children's capacity for
  learning.
• Education shall promote civilisation and equality
  in society and pupils' prerequisites for
  participating in education and otherwise
  developing themselves during their lives.
• The aim of education shall further be to secure
  adequate equity in education throughout the
  country.

18
Integrative, cross-curricular themes

• Growth as a person (human being)
• Cultural identity and internationalism
• Media skills and communication
• Participatory citizenship and entrepreneurship
• Responsibility for the environment, well-being
  and a sustainable future
• Safety and traffic competencies
• Technology and the individual

19
What do the high-performing school systems have
in common?

• They get the right people to become teachers.
• They develop these people into effective
  instructors.
• They put in place systems and targeted support to
  ensure that every child is able to benefit from
  excellent instruction.
• - McKinseyCompany 2007 How the worlds
  best- performing school systems come out on top,
  p. 13

20
Teachers are the key

• Comparison of 25 education systems
• Three things that matter most
• - getting the right people to become teachers
• - developing them into effective instructors
• - ensuring that the system is able to deliver
  the best possible instruction for every child
• The only way to improve outcomes is to improve
  instruction
• Reference How the worlds best-performing
  school systems come out on top
• (McKinsey Company, Sept 2007)

21
Teachers as valued experts

• High quality and status of teachers in Finland
• kindergarten teachers have at least Bachelors
  Degree and school teachers at least Masters
  Degree, 3 obligatory in-service training days
  every year
• Teacher profession is popular, only 10-12 can
  be admitted
• profession is valued in society, creative and
  autonomous
• Teachers are active in the development of
  education
• Teachers are supported by
• good pedagogical/instructional leadership
• teachers co-operation, learning from each other
• municipal and national education authorities
• experts of health, social and psychological
  affairs

22
Finnish teachers are supportive

• Teachers act respectfully towards their students
• Teachers want to support individually their
  students
• Teachers prefer goals like learning to learn,
  problem solving, thinking abilities,
  responsibility and cooperation
• National evaluation of comprehensive school
  pedagogy and teachers preferences in instruction
  2008 (National Council for Evaluation in
  Education in Finland).