tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/finnish-education-system-12573/articlesFinnish education system – The Conversation2015-03-25T16:20:49Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/393282015-03-25T16:20:49Z2015-03-25T16:20:49ZFinland’s school reforms won’t scrap subjects altogether<p>Finland’s plans to replace the teaching of classic school subjects such as history or English with broader, cross-cutting “topics” as part of a major education reform have been getting global attention, thanks to an article in <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-schools-subjects-are-out-and-topics-are-in-as-country-reforms-its-education-system-10123911.html">The Independent</a>, one of the UK’s trusted newspapers. Stay calm: despite the reforms, Finnish schools will continue to teach mathematics, history, arts, music and other subjects in the future. </p>
<p>But with the new basic school reform all children will also learn via periods looking at broader topics, such as the European Union, community and climate change, or 100 years of Finland’s independence, which would bring in multi-disciplinary modules on languages, geography, sciences and economics.</p>
<p>It is important to underline two fundamental peculiarities of the Finnish education system in order to see the real picture. First, education governance is highly decentralised, giving <a href="http://www.localfinland.fi/en/authorities/education-culture-wellbeing/basiceducation/Pages/default.aspx">Finland’s 320 municipalities</a> significant amount of freedom to arrange schooling according to the local circumstances. Central government issues legislation, tops up local funding of schools, and provides a guiding framework for what schools should teach and how. </p>
<p>Second, Finland’s <a href="http://www.oph.fi/english/curricula_and_qualifications/basic_education">National Curriculum Framework</a> is a loose common standard that steers curriculum planning at the level of the municipalities and their schools. It leaves educators freedom to find the best ways to offer good teaching and learning to all children. Therefore, practices vary from school to school and are often customised to local needs and situations.</p>
<h2>Phenomenon-based learning</h2>
<p>The next big reform taking place in Finland is the introduction of a new <a href="http://www.oph.fi/english/education_development/current_reforms/curriculum_reform_2016">National Curriculum Framework</a> (NCF), due to come into effect in August 2016. </p>
<p>It is a binding document that sets the overall goals of schooling, describes the principles of teaching and learning, and provides the guidelines for special education, well-being, support services and student assessment in schools. The concept of “phenomenon-based” teaching – a move away from “subjects” and towards inter-disciplinary topics – will have a central place in the new NCF. </p>
<p>Integration of subjects and a holistic approach to teaching and learning are not new in Finland. Since the 1980s, Finnish schools have experimented with this approach and it has been part of the culture of teaching in many Finnish schools since then. This new reform will bring more changes to Finnish middle-school subject teachers who have traditionally worked more on their own subjects than together with their peers in school.</p>
<h2>Schools decide the programme</h2>
<p>What will change in 2016 is that all basic schools for seven to 16-year-olds must have at least one extended period of multi-disciplinary, phenomenon-based teaching and learning in their curricula. The length of this period is to be decided by schools themselves. Helsinki, the nation’s capital and largest local school system, has decided to require two such yearly periods that must include all subjects and all students in every school in town. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.hel.fi/hki/ressuy/en/Etusivu/">One school</a> in Helsinki has already arranged teaching in a cross-disciplinary way; other schools will have two or more periods of a few weeks each dedicated to integrated teaching and learning.</p>
<p>In most basic schools in other parts of Finland students will probably have one “project” when they study some of their traditional subjects in a holistic manner. One education chief of a middle-size city in Finland predicted <a href="https://twitter.com/peterjohnsonphd/status/580485716150472704">via Twitter</a> that: “the end result of this reform will be 320 local variations of the NCF 2016 and 90% of them look a lot like current situation.” </p>
<p>You may wonder why Finland’s education authorities now insist that all schools must spend time on integration and phenomenon-based teaching when Finnish students’ test scores have been declining in the most <a href="http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Tiedotteet/2013/12/pisa.html?lang=en">recent international tests</a>. The answer is that educators in Finland think, quite correctly, that schools should teach what young people need in their lives rather than try to bring national test scores back to where they were. </p>
<p>What Finnish youth need more than before are more integrated knowledge and skills about real world issues, many argue. An integrated approach, based on lessons from some schools with longer experience of that, enhances teacher collaboration in schools and makes learning more meaningful to students. </p>
<h2>Students involved in lesson design</h2>
<p>What most stories about Finland’s current education reform have failed to cover is the most surprising aspect of the reforms. NCF 2016 states that students must be involved in the planning of phenomenon-based study periods and that they must have voice in assessing what they have learned from it.</p>
<p>Some teachers in Finland see this current reform as a threat and the wrong way to improve teaching and learning in schools. Other teachers think that breaking down the dominance of traditional subjects and isolation of teaching is an opportunity to more fundamental change in schools. </p>
<p>While some schools will seize the opportunity to redesign teaching and learning with non-traditional forms using the NCF 2016 as a guide, others will choose more moderate ways. In any case, teaching subjects will continue in one way or the other in most Finland’s basic schools for now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pasi Sahlberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Curriculum reforms being introduced in Finland from 2016 will set aside time for ‘phenomenon-based’ learning across subjects.Pasi Sahlberg, Visiting Professor of Practice in Education, Graduate School of Education, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/361082015-02-02T02:45:45Z2015-02-02T02:45:45ZHow much does handwriting matter?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70767/original/image-20150202-25936-kr5opg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is it important that we can write? Or that we can write nicely?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/42931449@N07/5418402840">photosteve101</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Handwriting is dead, long live keyboard skills! </p>
<p>So says the Finnish education system. From 2016 handwriting will <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/keyboard-classes-take-over-from-handwriting-lessons-in-finlands-schools-20150201-130saz.html">no longer be taught in Finnish schools</a>. And when a high-performing country like Finland makes an educational move, the rest of us who are slipping down the international ladder of academic performance should at least consider whether there would be any benefit in following in their footsteps. </p>
<p>Should we ditch handwriting lessons too?</p>
<h2>Does handwriting matter?</h2>
<p>Most would agree that everyone should at least be able to pick up a pen or pencil and craft a message that others can read. But beyond legibility, does it matter how you form your letters when you hand write?</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263718061_Handwriting_automaticity_the_search_for_performance_thresholds">research</a> linking fluent handwriting with better written compositions. But the key isn’t the quality, form or style of the handwriting, but rather the automaticity of the handwriting. That is, the less you have to concentrate on getting your letters right, the more brain space you can devote to getting your message right. So, your handwriting just needs to feel automatic and natural for you.</p>
<h2>Typing versus handwriting</h2>
<p>Writing automaticity is just as easily achieved on a keyboard. It is actually more time efficient to teach a child to type than it is to teach them a particular handwriting style. By the time they are eight years old, they can already <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10643-012-0565-2">type faster than they can handwrite</a>. </p>
<p>In 2016, the national standardised literacy and numeracy tests, NAPLAN, <a href="http://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/naplan-online/naplan-online.html">will be completed online</a>. We can assume this means students will type their compositions rather than handwrite them. And perhaps the nation’s writing scores will improve as a result. Typed written assessments typically score more highly than handwritten compositions. Assessors rate them as <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1075293508000111">better organised</a>, and, quite simply, easier to read. </p>
<h2>Should we bother teaching handwriting?</h2>
<p>As prevalent as keyboards are, handwriting isn’t obsolete quite yet, so it remains important to teach letter formation to young children. </p>
<p>The letters of the alphabet are complex abstract symbols and children can’t begin to write their letters until they can draw a circle. If they can’t draw a circle then they can’t form letters like a, b, d, o, p, q. </p>
<p>This ability to draw an enclosed shape is a very important marker of both cognitive and physical development, and it is a skill that emerges from their scribbles. So drawing, scribbling and playing with crayons and pencils are an important part of learning to hand write. </p>
<h2>An old-fashioned anachronism?</h2>
<p>The history of handwriting has always been one of convenience and change according to the writing technologies available. </p>
<p>In our first alphabets, Phoenician, Greek and Roman, the letters were angular due to the writing technologies of the day - chisels, granite, marble and clay. The first writing was from right to left across the page – a more natural direction for the chiseller. </p>
<p>But when ink and paper came along, moving from right to left was too messy for right handed writers and the direction of our writing changed from left to right. (To the chagrin of all left handers, until the invention of the fast drying ballpoint pen!)</p>
<p>It wasn’t just directionality that changed as we made the shift from stone to paper. Pen and ink made it easier to produce curves rather than angles, and the shape of our letters changed accordingly. </p>
<p>The technology of the fountain pen meant directionality of strokes became important. Down strokes were important because the shape of the nib and flow of the ink didn’t easily allow for upstrokes. </p>
<p>The invention of the ballpoint pen meant we no longer relied on ink refills, and nib shapes. Felt tip pens meant that even gravity no longer played a role in the way we write. Yet children still complete pages of handwriting exercises based on the technology of the fountain pen and ink. </p>
<p>Handwriting lessons seem to be one of those things we do because … well, we’ve just always done them. Traditions die hard, particularly when no-one questions them.</p>
<h2>Handwriting vs writing</h2>
<p>Handwriting is often wrongly conflated with writing ability. You only need to glance at the handwritten manuscripts of our greatest writers to know there isn’t a link between handwriting skills and literacy skills. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70768/original/image-20150202-25933-i9jy6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70768/original/image-20150202-25933-i9jy6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70768/original/image-20150202-25933-i9jy6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70768/original/image-20150202-25933-i9jy6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70768/original/image-20150202-25933-i9jy6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70768/original/image-20150202-25933-i9jy6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70768/original/image-20150202-25933-i9jy6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70768/original/image-20150202-25933-i9jy6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Charles Dickens was no great scribe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://dickensblog.typepad.com/dickensblog/2015/01/a-look-at-dickenss-handwriting.html">Dickensblog</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I remember my son’s Year 2 teacher was very worried about his handwriting. Apparently he started his letters at the bottom, using upstrokes instead of downstrokes. His teacher was concerned it may hamper his literacy development in some way, and that I should “train” him out of it. </p>
<p>There may have been a few reasons why he wrote his letters this way. The first language he learned to write was Greek, which has a different alphabet. He is also a left-hander and they often do things a little differently as they try to reconcile their way of seeing the world with that of their right handed teachers. Or maybe it was just his style; natural and automatic to him.</p>
<p>It was not, however, an indication of a literacy difficulty. </p>
<h2>Perhaps there are more important things to do</h2>
<p>With so many things to do in a school day, it is hard to see why dedicated handwriting lessons persist.</p>
<p>No matter how standardised we attempt to make handwriting, we all end up with our own style. So perhaps there are better things to do in the school day than have children complete pages of handwriting exercises. Perhaps we’d do just as well to let children play with drawing and writing implements and find their own style.</p>
<hr>
<p>Further Reading: </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/teaching-cursive-handwriting-is-an-outdated-waste-of-time-35368">Teaching cursive handwriting is an outdated waste of time</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/handwritings-relevance-in-a-digital-world-25443">Handwriting’s relevance in a digital world</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36108/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Handwriting is dead, long live keyboard skills! So says the Finnish education system. From 2016 handwriting will no longer be taught in Finnish schools. And when a high-performing country like Finland…Misty Adoniou, Senior Lecturer in Language, Literacy and TESL, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/322232014-11-13T19:31:18Z2014-11-13T19:31:18ZThey believe in teachers and in education for all: why Finland’s kids often top league tables<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61085/original/hczbkkcq-1412721668.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">They don't spend massive amounts of money on education and the kids spend less time at school, so how is the Finnish education system so effective?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When looking at large-scale international studies and comparisons of education systems worldwide, everyone’s always talking about Finland. Finland seems to set the benchmark for education worldwide. Foreign educational experts, delegations of teachers and educational politicians flock to the departments of teacher education in Finnish universities, as well as schools. So what is it about education in Finland that’s so good, and why do they constantly top the league tables?</p>
<p>Finnish kids spend less time in schools than children in many other countries. Compared to other OECD countries, Finland does not invest an especially large portion of its budget in education. Adding up the money, teaching time and good results, the system is highly effective.</p>
<p>The Finns have often been characterised as a nation whose belief in the power of education is strong. Education has had, and still has, an important status in this small wooded country of about 5.4 million people. </p>
<p>One of the basic principles is to create equal opportunities in education for all inhabitants. Education is seen as a basic right of every Finn. Education is free of charge at all stages, although in upper secondary schools the students have to buy textbooks themselves.</p>
<p>The backbone of the Finnish educational system is basic education, which can also be called “comprehensive school”. This is compulsory for all children from the ages of seven to 16 (grades 1–9). There have been political debates about extending compulsory education to age of 17, but this was not considered possible in the present economic situation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60232/original/w7n6p3h2-1411955451.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60232/original/w7n6p3h2-1411955451.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60232/original/w7n6p3h2-1411955451.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=177&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60232/original/w7n6p3h2-1411955451.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=177&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60232/original/w7n6p3h2-1411955451.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=177&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60232/original/w7n6p3h2-1411955451.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=223&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60232/original/w7n6p3h2-1411955451.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=223&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/60232/original/w7n6p3h2-1411955451.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=223&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Education in Finland is more equitable than in many other OECD nations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ekurvine/14287870206">FlickrEsko Kurvinen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In Finland, the school administration is decentralised and there are no school inspectors. In fact, parents trust the teachers and schools, so there is no need to execute external administrative control just for control’s sake.</p>
<p>Most of the Finnish pupils choose the nearest school to their home. That is possible and recommended, because the variation between schools is very small and the quality of teaching does not vary significantly.</p>
<p>The Finnish comprehensive school is fairly uniform and its main goal is to ensure equal opportunities for the entire age group. The percentage of dropouts in compulsory education is very small. Large-scale international studies of educational achievement, such as <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pisa/">PISA</a> and the <a href="http://www.iea.nl/">International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement</a>, have repeatedly shown that the differences between Finnish comprehensive schools are small.</p>
<p>Post-comprehensive education is optional, but the majority of adolescents continue their studies after the compulsory school. They can choose between two main types of education, upper secondary school and vocational education. About half of the age cohort choose the upper secondary school after compulsory education, <a href="http://www.justlanded.com/english/Finland/Finland-Guide/Education/Secondary-education">another half</a> the vocational path.</p>
<p>The majority of schools in Finland are under municipal administration, which is subsidised by the state, but they still have a fair amount of autonomy in administration. The number of private schools is quite small. There is no system of school inspections and centralised control for school textbooks was abolished in 1992. </p>
<p>Schools follow the broad curriculum provided by the Finnish National Board of Education. Thus, the teachers have a fairly large degree of freedom in their profession and are considered trusted professionals in their field.</p>
<p>Teachers and teacher education courses have traditionally had a high status in Finnish society. Teacher education was transferred to universities in the 1970s and all qualified teachers hold a Master’s degree, except kindergarten teachers who hold a Bachelor’s degree. Finnish teacher education, which is carried out in close connection with specific teacher training schools, provides quality teaching as a profession. </p>
<p>It has not been difficult to attract students to teacher education programs. Students are selected for teacher education with the help of two entrance tests. The class teacher course is one of the most popular university programs alongside medicine and law, and only about 5% of all applicants are admitted.</p>
<p>The most important thing about the Finnish way of education is that politicians, researchers, teachers and parents have whistled the same educational tune for about 40 years now: equity and equality for all in education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32223/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When looking at large-scale international studies and comparisons of education systems worldwide, everyone’s always talking about Finland. Finland seems to set the benchmark for education worldwide. Foreign…Arja Virta, Head of the Department of Teacher Education, University of TurkuKristiina Heikkila, Adjunct professor, University of TurkuLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.