Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide national information on school autonomy, leadership and student achievements in Finland. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a literature review on Finnish studies focusing on school autonomy, leadership and student achievement. The studies have been reviewed on the basis of a content analysis. Findings There exists a shortage of studies connecting school leadership to student achievements. School leadership in Finland has been investigated in previous research, especially from the perspective of shared or pedagogical leadership, but vast majority of the studies have focused on teachers and educational staff, not directly on students. An evident reason for this is inaccessible information on school-based data and the nature of education being a “public good”, which is supposed to meet the same standards across the country. Originality/value This review will provide the international audience a deeper understanding in the school autonomy and leadership development in Finland.

Abstract. During the 1990s Finland's economy went from deep recession to becoming among the most innovative and competitive within merely a decade. Economic recovery driven by the surge of ICT-related industries with the active support of the higher education system gave way also to growing inequalities among regions, especially within graduate workers. The paper elaborates an empirical analysis of the returns to education of a cohort entering the labour force between 1995 and 2005; our objective is to capture the extent of spatial and occupational determinants on income distribution as Finland slid from its most troubled to most prosperous times.

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This paper concentrates on the expansion of Finnish higher education between the 1960s and 1970s, exposes its background in the light of the policy decisions that were made, compares the unique features of this expansion with those of certain other countries, discusses the impact of the controlled 'top down' governance of higher education policy, and describes the Finnish higher education system today. The paper argues that the driving forces behind universal mass higher education were, on the one hand, changes in the structure of society, and on the other hand, individual demand for education but also increased need for skills in production processes. This was the case in Finland as well but the Finnish higher education expansion was also characterised by regionalism. The actual location of universities in the era of expansion was a function of local political actors who were able to have an influence on ruling political parties.

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We examined Indonesian school teachers' perceptions and expectations about their professional learning, and their justifications for these, before they embarked on a transnational master's programme carried out in both Indonesia and Finland. The data were collected using the method of empathy-based stories. The findings showed that the teachers expected the programme content, execution and internationality to impact positively on their professional learning, while negative professional learning scenarios were framed as stemming from a lack of personal motivation or lack of support from the Indonesian community. Moreover, the teachers expected to become more skilled professionals not only as teachers in their classrooms but also more widely as experts in their communities.

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”Koulutuksen ja talouden välisiä suhteita käsittelevä aihepiiri ei ole uusi tutkimusalue. Uutta on sen sijaan painotus”, kirjoittaa Toni Saarivirta lektiossaan. Hän väitteli toukokuun lopussa Tampereella tutkimuksellaan koulutuksen ja tutkimuksen taloudellisesta merkityksestä. Siinä hän tutki yliopistollisen koulutuksen ja tutkimuksen merkitystä seitsemällä alueella. – Artikkeli perustuu kirjoittajan väitöstutkimukseen Koulutuksen ja tutkimuksen taloudellinen merkitys : vertaileva tutkimus yliopistollisen koulutuksen ja tutkimuksen taloudellisesta merkityksestä seitsemälle alueelle (Tampereen yliopisto 2004)