1. Lessons Learned from Finland’s World Class Educational System Dolores Davison Foothill College & ASCCC Executive Committee Phil Smith American River College & ASCCC Executive Committee

2. Finland’s Education System Prior to 1960s/1970s Finland had a somewhat mediocre educational system: Low Levels of Educational Attainment Deep Inequality and Elitist Educational System Modest Student Achievement Teachers Without Proper Education Big Performance Gap in Comparison With Other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Countries Source: Key Drivers of Educational Performance in Finland, Pasi Sahlberg, 2010.

3. Today… Finland has: High Graduation and Low Drop-out Rates (99% Complete Compulsory Basic Education) High Rates of Higher Education (Three out of Five Young Finns Enroll in and 50% Complete State-funded Higher Education After Upper Secondary School) Consistently High Performance (Often the Top Scorer) in International Assessments of Student Achievement With Other OECD Countries Moderate Educational Spending Equitable Outcomes and Equal Opportunities Teachers With Extensive Education (Highly Selective Profession) Source: Key Drivers of Educational Performance in Finland, Pasi Sahlberg, 2010.

4. Finland Stats Population: 5.35 million people Ethnic mix: Finn (93.4%) Swede (5.6%), Russian (0.5%), Estonian (0.3%), Roma (0.1%) Largest City: Helsinki Population: 564,521

5. California Stats Population: 37.25 million people Ethnic/Racial mix: White (40.1%) Latino (37.6%), Asian (12.8%), African-American (5.8%), Native American/Alaska Native (0.4%) Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (0.3%) Largest Cities: Los Angeles (pop. 3,792,621) San Diego (1,307,402) San Jose (945,942)

6. Finland, California: Really? Comparable at All?

7. How Did the Finns Achieve These Remarkable Results? Greater Standardization? Increased Focus on Core Subjects like Mathematics, Reading, and Composition? Determine Desired Educational Outcomes in Advance; Then Focus Teaching on Achieving Those Outcomes? Employ Innovations From the Business World? Greater, High Stakes Test-Based Accountability for Schools and Teachers? All of the Above?

8. Er, well, … Greater Standardization? Increased Focus on Core Subjects like Mathematics, Reading, and Composition? Determine Desired Educational Outcomes in Advance; Then Focus Teaching on Achieving Those Outcomes? Employ Innovations From the Business World? Greater, High Stakes Test-Based Accountability for Schools and Teachers? All of the Above?

9. Instead of More Standardization… Greater Personalization <

10. Instead of Exclusive Focus on Literacy and Numeracy… Deep and Broad Learning <

11. Instead of “Teaching to the Test” …

12. Teachers “Own” the Curriculum <

13. Instead of External Innovations From Business…

14. Finns Rely on Proven Educational Techniques <

15. Instead of High Stakes,Test-Based Accountability… $ $$

16. Trust and Responsibility <

17. What Can CCCs Learn or Reaffirm About Ourselves From Finland? Some possible themes: Individuality/Personalization Equal Opportunity Trust and Professional Responsibility

18. Importance and Worth of the Individual

19. Individuality Resistance to Prescriptive Standardized Norms Acknowledgement of Strengths and Weakness Avoid “Deficit Model” Thinking Provide Extensive Guidance, Advice, and Support Track Individual Student Progress

20. Equal Opportunities

21. Promoting Equity Intention to Provide Equal Educational Resources (e.g., urban-rural, rich-poor, gifted- special needs) Wrap-Around Support in Mainstream Environments Equity-Excellence Hypothesis

23. Societal Trust in Educators Trust Between Educators and Citizens Developed Over Time Highly Selective Profession Incremental Improvements Rather Than Reform

24. Questions or Insights?

25. Bibliography Anderson, J. (2011, December 12). From Finland, an intriguing school-reform model. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/education/from-finland-an-intriguing- school-reform-model.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/education/from-finland-an-intriguing- school-reform-model.html Partanen, A. (2011, December 29). What Americans keep ignoring about Finland’s school success. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what- americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what- americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/ Sahlberg, P. (2007, March). Education policies for raising students learning: the Finnish approach. Journal of Education Policy 22(2), 147-171. Sahlberg, P. (2010, April). Key drivers of educational performance in Finland. International Perspectives on U.S. Education Policy and Practice: What Can We Learn From High Performing Nations? Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/internationaled/pasi-sahlberg-finland http://www.slideshare.net/internationaled/pasi-sahlberg-finland Sahlberg, P. (2011). Finnish lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland?. New York: Teachers College Press.