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HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
FINAL PAPER
GROUP 7
Member’s name
Student’s ID
Võ Trường
70223015TPE2
Nguyễn Thị Bích Trâm
70223030TPE2
Nguyễn Hồ Trình
70223085TPE2
Lê Đồng Hồng Ngọc
70201029TPE5
HOW DOES FINLAND’S EARLY EDUCATION SYSTEM LAY THE FOUNDATION
FOR LIFELONG HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS?
ACADEMIC WRITING
Instructor: Nguyễn Trần Ái Duy
June 15, 2025
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Abstract
Finnish Early Childhood Education and Care is a developed model built and designed on the basis
of pedagogy focusing on children. This model has an inclination to the complete growth of physical
health, emotions, awareness and social relationships. This paper takes the educational philosophy
of play-based activities, hands-on experiences, self-regulation for young learners into
consideration. Finnish teachers are both children’s partners and supporters, respecting their
personal differences and stimulating their creativity. Meanwhile, the active participation of family
and community in educating the children is supposed to be a vital factor in providing a safe,
nurturing learning environment. The research shows the outstanding features of Finnish early
education system, which creates a sustainable educational model inspiring other countries to
reform their education system.
Research Paper
Education is considered an important part of national development, especially for developed
countries such as Finland, where education is paid special attention to keep up with global
development trends. Finland has shown its international recognition thanks to its achievements in
global rankings such as the World Happiness Report 2025;The Rule of Law Index of the World
Justice Project 2024; and the Fragile States Index 2024. All of these successes are dependent on
the continual research and development of foundations based on the values of education and
human ethics. In addition, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is the first educational
foundation and an important stage, which builds lifelong learning and personal development.
Encouraged by national policies, a strong culture of collaboration, and pedagogical guidelines, the
ECEC model adopts a child-centered approach to exploit each child’s full potential from the
earliest age. ECEC pedagogy, thoroughly grounded in both research and practice, offers one of the
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most disciplined and equitable techniques, with a special focus on interaction, guided learning,
and self-regulation. In this research, we will investigate early childhood pedagogy. In addition, we
will closely examine the important role of teachers, communities and families in developing
children's skills and mindsets. Finally, we can take notice of how Finland's early childhood
education system lays the foundation for lifelong well-being and well-being.
In Finland, education is considered one of the core values of the Finnish welfare society, in which
the future of the society is continuously developed with positive changes. According to the
National Core Curriculum (Finnish National Agency for Education, FNAE, 2022, p. 19), pedagogy
refers to systematic and goal-oriented activities based on multidisciplinary knowledge, particularly
in the fields of educational sciences and early childhood education, that are professionally
managed and implemented by professional personnel aiming to support children’s well-being and
learning. Because ECEC places a strong focus on pedagogy, all staff members must have both
pedagogical knowledge and emotional competence to support children's development and wellbeing. Using pedagogy to develop children's transversal competencies is one of the goals of early
childhood education and care. Transversal competencies encompass knowledge, skills, values,
attitudes, and will. ECEC is related to the supportive strategies that educators access to boost
children's learning and development. Throughout their stages of growth, children's interests are
noted in order to design tasks for cooperative group activities. This is one of the best methods
teachers may employ to assist children in improving their capacity for making decisions,
confidence, and independence. Moreover, the Finnish ECEC system planned to take advantage of
the pedagogy, using both planned instruction and prepared instruction. The emphasis of pedagogy
in the entity of ECEC requires pedagogical expertise as well as the personnel's shared
understanding of how to best promote children's learning and well-being. Emphasis is placed on
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subjects like science, math, and the arts, which provide students with the foundational knowledge
required for long-term cognitive development and lifetime learning; they place greater emphasis
on children's self-regulation. According to the Legatum Prosperity Index: “Finland ranks second
out of 167 countries in education. The global index measures access to education, quality of
education and human capital” (2025), demonstrating its status as a global model that is beneficial
for children's academic success and overall well-being.
The Finnish government concentrates not only on developing the quality of educational program
content but also emphasizes enriching the overall skills, thinking, and ethics of each child. This
long-term development is partly due to the enormous contributions of families, schools, and
communities to ensure this process has efficacious results in the future. On the one hand, both the
family and the school share equal responsibility; the role of the teacher is to employ effective
pedagogical techniques to closely support and actively guide children in areas such as self-learning,
self-awareness, and emotional development. Moreover, teachers should practice their social and
emotional management skills to show a deep empathy with children as it can have positive impacts
on the classroom and school environment, especially on children’s behavior. Teachers can aslo
accumulate more experience and share it with other teachers to have a better teaching outcome.
On the other hand, families provide a nurturing environment where children receive an adequate
source of nutrition to support their physical development and benefit from meaningful family
involvement for their mental well-being. Although children are taught many things at school, they
spend most of their time on family activities and learn a great number of things from their family
members. Furthermore, schools frequently provide numerous opportunities for children to
participate in volunteer activities in the community to practice their social skills in real-life
experiences. Thereby building trust not only in personal relationships but also extending to public
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institutions, management systems and even strangers, the practice of observing and forming ethical
behavior for children. Individual cases of health and psychology also need to be noted by schools
and teachers to have a special care regime to avoid the problem of children isolated at school and
in the community. Another essential component that influences a child's developmental capacity
is family engagement, parental behavior at home directly shapes a child's learning such as
promoting reading habits or supporting math skills through shared digital tools. In addition,
schools should create more opportunities for communication and connection with families, for
example, teachers sharing their lessons with parents to help them understand a holistic and
systematic pedagogical approach. This teamwork guarantees that home and school support
children’s overall development. As a result, children can establish strong social relationships,
which can considerably achieve their future career success.
Finland has exerted its global influence on the fields of education and the national happiness index
over the years; for instance, it has held the first grade of the World Happiness Report for eight
consecutive years. According to Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS, 2021),
Finnish fourth-grade kids rank tenth globally in reading comprehension, one factor that enhances
reading performance in Finland is the early development of reading habits, which not only helps
students succeed academically but also fosters a lifelong love of learning. These achievements
reflect the ongoing efforts of the government which places great emphasis on promoting highquality early childhood education, not only through effective teaching methods but also by
ensuring high-quality early childhood centers themselves. In Finland, children have the right to
attend early education centers from the age of 3-6, where teachers act as both facilitators and
emotional caregivers to support each child’s development. These centers have access to the most
modern educational models based on research conducted by Ph.D. scholars from prestigious
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universities, for example, the play-based STEAM learning model developed by Dr. Jenni
Vartiainen at the University of Helsinki and the Arkki program, which integrates architectural
design into STEAM education. The Arkki program, by encouraging children to explore design
principles in the real world through hands-on projects, forms the basis for innovation and design
thinking from early childhood, with a long-term impact for future careers in technology,
architecture, and creative industries. In addition, the Finnish government prioritizes educational
equality not only to improve academic achievement but also to promote social cohesion to improve
the "happiness infrastructure" index. Moreover, the STEAM model is also applied as a researchbased pedagogy, in line with Finland’s National Core Curriculum for ECEC, which emphasizes
the integration of digital technologies in interactions with young children. Support for the
provision of broadband Internet connections, digital devices, digital educational videos, films, or
music was most common for materials such as digital toys, coding kits, virtual labs, or other
learning tools. While parents, carers, and guardians have traditionally been at the center of efforts
to enhance children’s safety in the digital environment, no screen time is recommended for
children under the age of 2, and a maximum of one hour per day is suggested for children aged 2–
4 years. With the support from the government and the dedication of highly qualified teachers, a
talented future generation with the necessary abilities and skills is being developed. These welleducated teachers, including 60% of whom hold master’s degrees (OECD reported from Education
at a Glance, 2023), also help equip the future generation with essential skills for success in science,
technology, and the economy. All these factors contribute to Finland’s strong global reputation,
having its third-place rank as stated in the 2024 Fragile States Index.
In summary, Finnish early childhood education effectively utilizes pedagogy, significantly making
comprehensive progress of children and enabling them to grasp the learning process more
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accurately. Besides, the roles of educators, parents, and the community are extremely important in
acquiring the proficiency and know-how of children, and their positive attitudes to their academic
and general studies. In addition, numerous scientific educational methods are carried out by
qualified teachers, leading to enhancing children’s creativity and critical thinking. Through a wellbalanced and well-designed combination of social and play-based learning activities, offering
every child an equal opportunity to obtain access to educational facilities, cultural activities, and a
firm reliance on the expertise and dedication of teachers, Finland has successfully created a wideranging approach. If societies are to prepare future generations more effectively to face the
demands of tomorrow's world, they must first begin by laying safe and firm educational
foundations during a child's earliest years.
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