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| Finnish National Agency for Education |
Hei, hei!!
Today, we had two fascinating tours. Our morning visit was to the Finnish National Agency for Education. This organization looks at education through an administrative and government perspective. Senior Advisor Paula Paronen spoke to our group about the work the agency does and provided general information about the Finnish education system. A few notable points include:
- Finland's population is 5.5 million (similar to Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or South Carolina).
- 2 official languages are spoken, Finnish & Swedish (although everyone we have met speaks English as well!).
- Finnish education is a constitutional right at all 4 levels (pre-primary, basic, upper/vocational, university) and therefore is fully subsidized.
- Pre-primary students learn through play and independence.
- The National Curriculum provides goals and targets that teachers are free to achieve as they see fit.
- General education and vocational education have equal value in Finnish society with credits & licensing applicable throughout the EU.
- TRUST is a recurring theme that underpins educational beliefs across stakeholders. The agency is responsible for steering ideas versus control.
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| 2016 Revised Competencies |
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| University of Helsinki |
In the afternoon, at the University of Helsinki, we had the opportunity to meet with the Vice Dean of the Department of Educational Sciences who spoke with us about teacher preparation within the context of the overall education system. Ideas that stood out include:
- In the last 50 years, Finland has shifted from a developing country to become one of the world's most literate societies.
- Daylight impacts start age of school (7) as most students walk to school on their own.
- Schools in Finland have shifted from those of a traditional industrial nation to reflect an innovation/knowledge-based economy.
- Student-centered. Culture of TRUST.
- Goal: teachers stay with students (loop) for up to 6 years.
- Teacher preparation is a minimum of 5 years at University. All teachers have masters degrees.
- Teacher prep programs typically admit students from the top 10% of their graduating class. The chart below shows the most recent acceptance statistics.
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| Teacher preparation programs are very difficult to get into! |
Tomorrow, we will visit our first school! Below is a picture of us with our fabulous Finnish guide Johanna. Johanna is a secondary level French teacher who has been home with her children for the past several years. In Finland, teachers who give birth get nine months of paid maternity leave (and fathers get two months paid leave) but can take up to three years of leave (paid at a reduced rate) without losing their job if they have permanent status.
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| Jen, Johanna & Annine |
Kippis!
This is such a wonderful way to follow you on your journey! It sounds like such an amazing place to grow and learn. The idea about sunlight is so intriguing and teachers looping for 6 years both make such sense to me. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
ReplyDeleteSorry...that was from Lindsay, I don't know why it didn't come up as me!
DeleteLindsay, mine also showed up as "unknown" at first. I updated my name by clicking into my email and added my name on the profile. I then deleted my original comment (copy/paste first!) and added again so that my name showed up!
DeleteLooping for many years certainly is fascinating! With Finnish and Swedish as the two official languages, what does language learning look like? Are there language programs in school or do most households speak both official languages?
ReplyDeleteFewer people speak Swedish, but it is still considered an official language due to the history of the country. Learning English is done by immersion. We saw a pre-k class (age 5 in Finland) of students who had come into school speaking no English and they are were all practically fluent at this point in the year. Also, American TV is not dubbed in Finland, so if a child wants to watch popular shows, they must understand English.
DeleteThe idea of TRUST really resonates with me. There seems to be a definite shift in language/perspective in Finland around education. I appreciate the positive and open-to-change phrases (such as "steer" rather than "control") that support a "SIMPLE" educational experience for the students while at the same time supporting their cultural values. I, too, am curious about their looping system and look forward to learning more about it!
ReplyDelete