1. EDUCATION IN FINLAND

2. History People From the 13th century a part of Sweden
In 1809 ceded to Russia as an autonomous Grand Duchy
Independent parliamentary democracy since 1917
A member of the EU since 1995
People
Population 5.2 million
Two official languages: Finnish and Swedish
Monetary unit the euro, €
Labour force (2007)
Public service 32% Manufacturing 18% Trade 16% Finance and business 14%
Transport 7%
Construction 7% Agriculture and forestry 5%

3. Equality of education has high priority Education for all
Wide international interest towards Finnish school system and teacher education:
PISA results
The specific characteristics of Finnish teacher education
Huge amount of applicants in teacher education
Equality of education has high priority
Education for all
Social and regional equality
Well-educated parents -> promotes motivation
Life-long and life-wide learning

4. Pre-school teaching provided at schools and daycare centres
Comprehensive school is a compulsory nine-year education for all children
Post-comprehensive education is given by general upper secondary schools and vocational schools. Studies provide eligibility for higher education. 
Higher education system consists of universities and universities of applied sciences.
About 23% of the population have a higher level degree.
Adult education is provided widely by post-comprehensive schools, universities of applied sciences polytechnics and universities.

5. The Education System of Finland

6. Finnish Education system
Doc.
Lic.
Polytechnic postgraduate
degrees
Work
Experience
(min. 3 years) 5
Master’s degrees
Barcelor’s degrees
Universities 4 4
Bachelor polytechnic
degrees
Polytechnics
Specialist
vocational
qualifications 3 3 2 2 1 1
Work experience
Further
vocational
qualifications 3 3
Matriculation
examination
Upper secondary school
Vocational qualifications
Vocational schools and
apprenticeship training 2 2 1 1
Finnish Education system 10
Age
Work experience 9 16 15 8 14 7 6 13 12 5
Basic education
Compulsory schooling 4 11 3 10 2 9 1 8 7
Preschool 6

7. Pre-School Education 1. Preschool
For 6 years old children, who will start compulsory education in the following year
Voluntary
Free of charge
Provided in kindergarten or school environment in
pre-school classes
In 2004:
children in kindergarten classes
7 500 children in school environment classes
Together 65 % of entire age group is participating preschool
education; number is increasing
Pre-School Education
Aims and Key Contents
“Physical and motor development”
Aims:
Physical and motor condition, movement control and basic motor skills shall be trained through exercise and play
PE shall support children in acting independently, proactively and co-operatively and in being brave in physical exercise situations
Contents:
Daily physical exercise and everyday
activities (guided and self-motivated)

8. Basic Education 2. COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL
The comprehensive school consists of
9 grades
Elementary level: 1-6 grades
(7-12 years old children)
Upper level: 7-9 grades
(13-16 years old teenagers)
PE is an obligatory subject (~2 h/week)
Health Education is a new school subject
(~1h/week in grades 7-9)
Basic Education
Free of charge (including teaching, food,
books, papers, pencils etc.)
Nearly all children (99.7%) complete the
comprehensive school syllabus in Finland

9. Teaching groups in basic education are formed according to year classes.
During the first six years, instruction is usually given by the class teacher, who teaches all or most subjects.
Instruction in the three highest forms is usually in the form of subject teaching, where different subjects are taught by subject teachers.
Basic education also includes pupil counselling and, if necessary, special education.

10. Features of basic education
no admission requirements
no charges
a nine-year comprehensive school
may include voluntary one-year pre-school education and voluntary one-year additional education (10th form)
provides eligibility for all upper secondary education
almost all Finnish children complete comprehensive school
interruption and repeating a form is rare
compulsory education is fulfilled by completing the basic education syllabus

11. General Upper Secondary education
Upper secondary school offers general education for students of about years of age.
It continues the educational task of comprehensive school and gives students eligibility for all studies at the tertiary level.
Upper secondary school ends with the matriculation examination.
Since 1982, instruction in upper secondary schools has been divided into courses, each consisting of about 38 lessons.

12. The school year is usually divided into five or six periods
The school year is usually divided into five or six periods. A separate timetable is drawn up for each period, concentrating on certain subjects.
Students' progress and the composition of teaching groups thus depends on the students' choice of courses.
Consequently, year classes have been abolished in all upper secondary schools, which now function without fixed forms Upper secondary school studies consist of compulsory, specialisation and applied courses.
All students must complete the compulsory courses. Schools must provide specialisation courses for students to choose from.

13. Features of Upper Secondary School
The admission requirement for the upper secondary school is the completion of comprehensive school
Upper secondary schools select their students mainly on the basis of previous study record
Application takes place through the national joint application procedure
Upper secondary school gives students eligibility for all studies at the tertiary level
More than half of each age group complete upper secondary school

14. Matriculation examination
The Matriculation Examination is held twice a year, in spring and in autumn, in all Finnish upper secondary schools, at the same time
here are four compulsory tests in the matriculation examination: mother tongue, the other national language, foreign language and either mathematics or general studies test. In addition, candidates may voluntarily take optional tests.
A candidate must complete the examination during not more than three consecutive examination periods. The examination can also be completed in one examination period

15. VET (Vocational education and training) in Finland
Vocational upper secondary education and training is based on the basic education syllabus. A three-year vocational upper secondary qualification gives general eligibility for higher education in both polytechnics and universities.
There are 52 vocational upper secondary qualifications and 116 study programmes in them.
A vocational qualification can be obtained either through school-based education or in the form of apprenticeship training.

16. The content of VET studies
Learning outcomes approach in education and training system
The scope of a vocational qualification is 120 credits / 3 years.
90 credits of vocational studies including at least 20 credits of on-the-job learning that supports the studies, 10 credits of free-choice studies and 20 credits of core subjects
The core subjects required in all vocational studies are:
the mother tongue, second national language, a foreign language, mathematics, physics and chemistry, social studies, entrepreneurship and workplace studies, physical and health education, arts and cultural studies.

17. On-the-job learning as a learning method
On-the-job learning is guided, focused and assessed training in compliance with the educational objectives determined in the curriculum
implemented in a genuine working environment
based on a written contract between the education providern and the workplace
the contracts specify the tasks and responsibilities of the parties concerned, the goals, core contents, assessmentn of the students preformance, duration and timing of the studies

18. Polytechnic Education
The Finnish polytechnic system was built during the 1990's to create a non-university sector in higher education. It is founded on the institutions which previously provided post-secondary vocational education and which have been developed to form a nationwide network of regional institutions of higher education, i.e. polytechnics. In the autumn of 2001, there were a total of 29 polytechnics.
Polytechnics provide instruction for expert functions in the sectors of natural resources, technology and communications, business and administration, tourism, catering and institutional management, health care and social services, culture, and the humanities and education.
Studies leading to a polytechnic degree take years.
The Ministry of Education confirms the degree programmes, but the curricula are independently decided by the polytechnics.

19. Universities in Finland in 2007
Oulu
Rovaniemi
Vaasa
Helsinki
Turku
Tampere
Lappeenranta
Joensuu
Kuopio
Jyväskylä
One of the most comprehensive university networks in Europe
10 multi-faculty universities
Helsinki, Turku (2), Tampere, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Joensuu, Vaasa, Kuopio, Rovaniemi
3 universities of technology
Helsinki, Tampere, Lappeenranta
+ Faculty of Technology in Oulu: 4818 students
3 schools of economics and business administration
Helsinki (2), Turku
+ Faculty of Economics in Oulu: students
4 art academies

20. University Education
There are twenty universities in Finland: ten multidisciplinary universities, three universities of technology, three schools of economics and business administration and four art academies. The network of universities covers the different parts of the country and provides a student place for almost one third of the age group. All universities are owned by the State.
Universities select their own students independently.
Various types of entrance examinations form a central part of the selection process.
The total intake of the universities guarantees a student place for about a third of the relevant age group.
The average duration for completing a Master's degree is about 6.5 years.

21. Two-cycle model for basic university degrees
The two-cycled basic degrees consist of
the Bachelor’s degree
(180 credits / 3 years) and
the Master’s degree
(120 credits / 2 years)
The third cycle will consist of postgraduate studies
(leading to a doctoral degree)
1 year = 1600 working hours = 60 ECTS

22. Teacher Education in Finland
Teacher’s profession has a high status
Popular field of study > high qualifications required
Master’s degree necessary also for primary level teachers
Integration of theory and practice (Teacher training school)
Pedagogical knowledge and subject knowledge integrated
Teachers are seen as life-long learners
Teacher education is research-based
KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

23. Finnish Teacher Education has a long history
Teacher education for primary and secondary schools was transferred to universities in 1971
Typical features
- research-based orientation
- continuous national and international evaluations
- basic core curriculum in pedagogy
KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

24. Finnish Teacher Education
Classroom Teacher Model
Education as a major
Studies at the Department of Education
How to get competence to a subject teacher?
Subject Teacher Model
An academic subject as a major
Studies at the Subject Department
Teacher´s pedagogical studies at the Dept of Ed
How to get competence to a class teacher?
KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

25. KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN
A CLASSROOM TEACHER
The classroom teacher completes a Master’s Thesis (M.A) and the study programme consists of 300 study points.
Main subject: Education (140 sp)
Minor subject (60 sp) consists of all the 13 school subjects a class teacher teaches at the first 6 grades of elementary school.
Theory practice relation
Academic tradition of research-based teaching
Practice teaching
Methodology and method studies
Students select from 1 to 3 elective minors (to 75 sp) and they can select voluntary courses up to 15 sp.
KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

26. KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN
TEACHER’S PROFESSION
TEACHER’S PROFESSION
”TEACHERSHIP”
TEACHING
We have had lots of discussions about the competensies a teacher needs in todays society. One thing is sure. It is not possible to include everything to the study programme and it is not possible to keep everybody happy.
What is a proper knowledge base for a good teacher?
KRISTIINA KUMPULAINEN

27. DON’T DO AS I DO, DO WHAT I SAY TO DO
TEACHERS TEACH AS THEY WERE TAUGHT

28. Finland in PISA Studies
Finland came out top in the OECD´s 2003 PISA study of learning results among 15-year olds, with high performances in
mathematics
science
mother tongue
problem solving

29. 11 official explanations of the PISA success by the Finnish National Board of Education 
Equal opportunities for education irrespective of domicile, sex, economic situation or mother tongue
Regional accessibility of education
No separation of sexes
Education totally free of charge
Comprehensive, non-selective basic education
Supportive and flexible administration – centralised steering of the whole, local implementation
Interactive, co-operative way of working at all levels; idea of partnership
Individual support for learning and welfare of pupils
Development-oriented evaluation and pupil assessment – no testing, no ranking lists
Highly qualified, autonomous teachers
Socio-constructivist learning conception

30. China is switching to course-based high school education in line with the Finnish model.
Schools function without fixed forms, no year classes
School year divided into 5 or 6 periods
Instruction divided into 38 lessons, “courses”
A separate timetable is drawn up for each period, concentrating on certain subjects
Students' progress and the composition of teaching groups depends on the students' choice of courses.

31. The strengths of Finnish schools
good teachers
efficient teaching
uniform quality
We may have something to give to other countries, so they seem to think
“Foreign educators in droves want to visit Finnish schools for the simple reason that they are so good -- very likely the best on Earth.” Washington Post