Lessons Learned from Finland’s
World Class Educational System
Dolores Davison
Foothill College
& ASCCC Executive Committee
Phil Smith
American River College
& ASCCC Executive Committee
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.
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.
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
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)
Finland, California:
Really? Comparable at All?
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?
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?
Instead of More Standardization…
<
Greater Personalization
Instead of Exclusive Focus on Literacy
and Numeracy…
<
Deep and Broad Learning
Instead of “Teaching to the Test” …
<
Teachers “Own” the Curriculum
Instead of External Innovations
From Business…
<
Finns Rely on Proven Educational
Techniques
Instead of High Stakes,Test-Based
Accountability…
$
$$
$$$
<
Trust and Responsibility
What Can CCCs Learn or
Reaffirm About Ourselves From
Finland?
Some possible themes:
• Individuality/Personalization
• Equal Opportunity
• Trust and Professional Responsibility
Importance and Worth
of the Individual
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
Equal Opportunities
Promoting Equity
• Intention to Provide Equal Educational
Resources (e.g., urban-rural, rich-poor, giftedspecial needs)
• Wrap-Around Support in Mainstream
Environments
• Equity-Excellence Hypothesis
Societal Trust in Educators
• Trust Between Educators and Citizens
Developed Over Time
• Highly Selective Profession
• Incremental Improvements Rather Than
Reform
Questions or Insights?
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-intriguingschool-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/whatamericans-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
•
Sahlberg, P. (2011). Finnish lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland?.
New York: Teachers College Press.