WP3 Curriculum Analysis Results

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WP3 Curriculum Analysis Results
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• The Education System of Finland

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Basic Education

• Comprehensive school
• 9 years, starting at age 7
• First 6 years, class teachers (MA)
• Last 3 years, subject teacher (MA)

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Some Characteristics

• 3579 comprehensive schools
• 3418 public schools
• 27 private schools (Christian, Steiner)
• 5 state schools (teacher training)
• National framework curriculum 2004

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First six years

• Subjects
• Mother tongue and literature
• Foreign language (from grade 3)
• Mathematics
• Environmental and natural studies (grades 1-4)
• Biology and geography (from grade 5 as an own
  subject area)
• Physics and chemistry (from grade 5 as an own
  subject area)
• Religion
• History (from grade 5)
• Music
• Visual arts
• Crafts
• Physical education

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Crafts
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Cross-Curricular Themes

• Growth as a person
• 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
• Human being and technology
• Cross-curricular themes represent central
  emphasis of the educational and teaching work.
  Their objectives and contents are incorporated in
  to numerous subjects.

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Human being and technology

• Focus is on technology individual relationship
  and to see the importance of technology in our
  daily lives
• Understand technology, its evolution and impacts
• To use of ICT
• To take the position on technological choices

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Framework for Curriculum Analyses
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Framework for Curriculum Analyses
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Framework for Curriculum Analyses
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Subjects
Level 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 2 Level 2 Level 2 Level 3 Level 3
Analysis categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7
Mother tongue and literature                
Mathematics                
Environmental and natural studies (grades 1-4)                
Biology and geography (grades 5-6)                
Physics and chemistry (grades 5-6)                
Religion                
History (grades 5-6)                
Music                
Visual arts                
Crafts (grades 1-4)                
Crafts (grades 5-6) general contents                
Technical work (contents)                
Textile work (contents)                
Sports                
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Subjects where innovative processes are well
realized

• Visual arts
• creative problem solving, investigative learning
• learning process planning, making a sketch,
  completing a work and evaluation
• Crafts (grades 1-9)
• pupils learns to master entire crafts process
• projects experimentation, investigation and
  invention.
• Technical work (grades 5-9)
• - creative use of various materials and
  techniques for different purposes
• - searching creative solutions to the problems
  their perceive

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Subjects where innovative processes are only
partly realized

• Mathematics
• problem solving in mathematics (open-ended
  problem)
• Environmental and natural studies (grades 1-4)
• investigative and problem centred approach
• Music
• musical inventiveness (improvisation and use of
  various material)
• Crafts
• Textile work (grades 5-9)
• - appropriate and creative use of textile
  materials for different purposes, using
  different techniques

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Cross-Curricular Themes
Level 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 2 Level 2 Level 2 Level 3 Level 3
Analysis categories 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7
Growth as a person                
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                
Human being and technology                
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Cross-curricular themes where innovative
processes are well realized

• Participatory citizenship and entrepreneurship
• learn to act innovatively and perseveringly in
  achieving a goal
• Human being and technology
• brainstorming, developing, modelling, evaluation,
  assessment of technological ideas.
• pupils learn to understand technology and
  creative problem solving skills by making
  technology.

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Schools with technology emphasis

• Subjects where technology education is emphasized
  
• compared to National curriculum 2004
• Physics and chemistry
• History
• Visual arts
• Crafts
• Pupils have to choose craft and technology or
  textile work as their
• major area to study for grades 5.-6.
• Human being and technology

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Schools without technology emphasis

• Subjects which have some technology education
  contents
• Environmental and natural studies
• Physics and chemistry
• Visual arts
• Crafts
• Pupils dont choose technical- or textile work
  until 7.grade
• Information and communication technology are used
  to support the pupils learning process almost in
  every subject.

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Merci !
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Characteristic of Finnish basic education

• teaching, text books and teaching materials,
  school transport and school meals are free
• a nine-year comprehensive curriculum for the
  whole age group
• teaching is provided by schools near the home
• no degree a final certificate will be given for
  completing the syllabus
• provides the necessary prerequisites for all
  upper secondary education
• almost all children in Finland complete
  comprehensive school
• dropping out of school and repeating years are
  rare
• learning outcomes are excellent when compared
  internationally
• basic education includes a one-year long
  voluntary pre-primary education in a school or
  day-care centre
• pupils who have completed basic education are
  eligible for voluntary additional education
  (grade 10) that lasts one year.
• local authorities can also provide voluntary
  morning and afternoon activities for pupils in
  basic education