Did you know…

These last 4 weeks I have experienced quite a lot in Finland, and I now know a much more about the Finnish education system than I did before my arrival. Here is a short sum-up of things I did not know about before moving to Finland – and things you might find inspiring, useful or simply just interesting.

– Be aware that much of what I know I have observed in lessons at the University’s practice school, heard in lectures at the University of Eastern Finland, and  found out about in (informal) conversations with Finnish people. I therefore have no (or very few) reliable references for the statements in this blog post.

• Education is free of charge in Finland (included in the taxes). This includes both general education and higher levels of education (university studies etc.).

• After medical studies and law studies, the faculties of education are the hardest ones to get in to.

• Applicants for education studies have to attend 3 different tests (written exam, group work, and an individual interview) before they might get accepted. In 2010 the faculty of education at The University of Eastern Finland received 500 applications, 250 of them got to do the tests and out of those 250 applicants, 80 were found suitable for attending education sciences. Statistics show that close to 100% of those who start education studies will get the degree and 90% of educated teachers choose to stay in the field of education after their studies have ended.

• Finnish teachers all have a master’s degree in education (this goes many years back in time – so teachers in their 50s and 60s also have a master’s degree in education).

• The start salary for Finnish teachers is around 2,600€ and the end salary varies a lot but is in general around 3,500€. Finns who earn around this amount pay approximately 25% in taxes.

• The Union for Finnish teachers is very strong and highly supported by the teachers – and respected in politics.

• The PISA resoult shows – amongst other things – that Finnish pupils are a very homogeneous group when looking at their performance in PISA. The lowest scoring Finnish pupils score higher than the average pupil in the PISA test.

• Finnish pupils have a fewer number of lessons in compulsory education than pupils in any other EU country.

• Finnish pupils start preschool at the age of 6 and school when they are 7, and it is obligatory to attend school from grade 1-9.

• There are usually around 20 pupils in each classroom – and the general attitude towards the number of pupils in a classroom is for it to be around this size, preferable no more than 20.

• Sometimes classes are split in half during lessons in foreign languages – and in creative subjects, such as textile and crafts, there are always ½ classes attending with 1 teacher.

• In Finland pupils start their 1st second language in the spring in grade 1, and by the time they reach grade 8 their schedule includes 4 foreign languages taught by teachers with special expertiese in teaching foreign languages (the foreign languages starting in grade 5 and 8 are optional and most pupils do at least on of them).

• Pupils are self-regulated in many subjects. This means that they often check their work by looking at the teacher’s book where all the right answers can be found.

• Finnish schools have canteens where a hot meal is served the every pupil 5 days a week without extra payment from the parents (included in the taxes).

• Pupils in grade 0-6 are outside in every recess – that by the way last 15 min. each.

• There is a “class teacher” in every class in primary education. The class teacher teaches most subjects and stays in the same class from (at least) grades 3-6 where he/she has the main responsibility of the pupils. There are 5-6 “empty slots” in the class teacher’s schedule that he/she can spend on helping pupils who are in need of extra help without them missing out on other lessons/subjects.

• The ideology for the Finnish education system is “inclusive education” and they educate many teachers who specialize in the field of special education.

• 10% of Finnish pupils attend special education lessons taught by teachers who specialize in special education.

• Before a child starts attending special education lessons the teachers have to make a thorough plan for how to help the pupil to reach the goal(s). The teachers have to revise the pupil’s situation every year – and based on this assessment changes can/will be made in the individual’s education plan before he/she attends more special education lessons.

• In Finnish language there is neither grammatical gender nor a future tense.