Finnish School in International Comparison

Välijärvi, Jouni; Sulkunen, Sari

doi:10.1007/978-94-6300-776-4_1

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The Finnish educational system has become well-known since 2000 due to its high performances in the international PISA assessments (Välijärvi & Sulkunen, 2016). Although Finland has experienced some declines in their results, still many countries have been interested to learn key features about the Finnish system because it differs from many other systems.…”

Section: The Educational Ecosystem and Previous Finnish Educational Transformationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The trend towards inclusiveness, special needs education with support systems, and students' holistic well-being has continued and, in fact, has become more important but also more demanding because of the broad heterogeneity of students. Välijärvi and Sulkunen (2016) have summarised that since the first PISA measurements (2000), differences have grown between students from different socioeconomic statuses, with some still falling below the average of PISA countries. Differences in outcomes between genders have also increased, prompting much discussion on the kinds of support needed (Välijärvi & Sulkunen, 2016).…”

Section: The Educational Ecosystem and Previous Finnish Educational Transformationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Education Reforms for Equity and Quality: An Analysis from an Educational Ecosystem Perspective with Reference to Finnish Educational Transformations

Niemi

2021

CEPSj

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The article starts with the serious question of why educational reforms do not lead to better learning. Although access to education has increased remarkably, the quality of education can be very low. The reality is that by 2030 there will be 800 million young people who do not have basic skills in reading and math. The answers will be sought from the concept of the educational ecosystem and how different subsystems, such as curriculum system, evaluation systems, teacher education policy, and the labour market, should be interconnected, and the systemic changes supported by all these subsystems. The basic conditions are that different actors and stakeholders work in collaboration, there are active interactions within and between different subsystems for supporting both equity and quality in education. Educational reforms are complex processes and need diverse partners and governance in which trust is present. The article also provides a brief case description in Finnish contexts of how educational reforms have been implemented in the frame of the ecosystem concept. In the end, the article summarises how educational ecosystems could help in overcoming global learning crises.

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Section: The Educational Ecosystem and Previous Finnish Educational Transformationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Educational Ecosystem and Previous Finnish Educational Transformationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Education Reforms for Equity and Quality: An Analysis from an Educational Ecosystem Perspective with Reference to Finnish Educational Transformations

Niemi

2021

CEPSj

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“…One country, which has seen a great deal of success in education over the past several decades due to educational changes, is Finland (Darling-Hammond, 2010). The Finnish have seen a rise in student performance on international exams such as the Programme for International Student Assessment due to changes in the education system (PISA, 2016;Sahlberg, 2015;Tryggvason, 2009;Välijärvi & Sulkunen, 2016). Some of these changes included strict requirements for teacher preparation programs, increased focus on student play and creativity in schools, and less focus on standardized assessments (Sahlberg, 2015).…”

Section: The Finland Education Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Educational Psychology in an International Setting: Exploring the Finnish Education System

Pressley¹

2020

IES

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The emphasis of this paper is on the importance of teaching teacher preparation courses, specifically educational psychology, through a study abroad trip to Finland. This experience allowed American preservice teachers to see theories applied in an international setting while also allowing preservice teachers to compare the United States education system to the Finnish educational system. The current study includes sixteen female, preservice teachers’ perceptions of the trip. Development of the activities abroad occurred with a Finnish university and included multiple school visits, panel discussions, and guest lectures. These experiences allowed for full immersion in the Finnish education system. The data include observations, student papers, and student survey responses, which present changes in students’ views of education, views of the Finnish education system, and the application of theories in a real-world setting. This experience not only provided preservice teachers with an opportunity to see one of the best educational systems in the world but also pushed the preservice teachers to rethink how teaching and learning can look in a classroom.

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“…On the other, a decrease in learning outcomes, observed for more than 10 years, has leveled off in reading literacy and slowed down in mathematical literacy but still remains a concern. These concerns extend to the future of basic education, as the average trend in all three domains has been declining since 2009 (Välijärvi & Sulkunen, 2016). The PISA 2015 survey showed that the number of poor performers in science was growing, and the number of top performers was declining in Finland, especially among boys, and that regional equity was deteriorating.…”

Section: Case Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Without encouragement or adequate knowledge about the educational and career opportunities that STEM skills enhance, there is a risk that students will dismiss a STEM-based career path as a potential option for their future (Blotnicky et al 2018). Although the gender gap in studying STEM subjects (e.g., number of courses taken and performance in those courses) has narrowed in recent decades (Välijärvi & Sulkunen, 2016;Wang & Degol, 2013), females continue to be less likely to pursue STEM careers than their male counterparts (Ceci & Williams, 2007;Hübner, Wille, Cambria, Oschatz, Nagengast, & Trautwein, 2017;Stage & Maple, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ reasons for STEM choices and the relationship of mathematics choice to university admission

et al. 2019

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Background: Despite the increasing need for STEM skills, to date, the connection between STEM subject choices and their impact on students' educational pathways has not been widely studied. Focusing on the mathematics choice (basic/advanced/no mathematics), a large register dataset that covered students admitted to Finnish universities during 2013-2015 (N = 46,281) was combined with upper-secondary school matriculation examination data (N = 93,955) to find out how this choice influenced the students' university admissions. This large dataset was also examined to establish the current gender distributions in different university degree programs from the perspective of mathematics choices. Further, to find out the students' reasons behind their mathematics choices, a cohort sample of 802 student responses was collected from upper-secondary schools. We also investigated the students' interests in different fields of study to establish any gender differences in them. Results: The register data analysis suggested that in Finland, students' mathematics choices had a strong influence on the university admission outcomes. For instance, only 33% of the upper-secondary school graduates took the advanced mathematics ME test in 2013-2015, yet the number of those admitted to universities who had taken the advanced mathematics ME test was 55%. Most of the university degree programs were female dominated, yet the university students with advanced mathematics were mostly male, and especially the STEM fields in the Finnish universities were male dominated. As for the reasons behind the mathematics choices, students who chose advanced mathematics believed in its usefulness for their future studies and careers. We also found significant gender-based educational differences regarding all the study fields, with STEM careers attracting more males than females. Conclusion: Advanced mathematics was highly valued in Finnish universities, and many students chose advanced mathematics believing in its usefulness for their future studies or careers. Yet, their further study interests and career plans were segregated by gender. As there is a rising need for STEM skills, we must seek effective ways to deliver the evolving possibilities of STEM fields to students, especially girls, during the earlier years of their educations.

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Finnish School in International Comparison

Cited by 8 publications

References 7 publications

Education Reforms for Equity and Quality: An Analysis from an Educational Ecosystem Perspective with Reference to Finnish Educational Transformations

Education Reforms for Equity and Quality: An Analysis from an Educational Ecosystem Perspective with Reference to Finnish Educational Transformations

Teaching Educational Psychology in an International Setting: Exploring the Finnish Education System

Students’ reasons for STEM choices and the relationship of mathematics choice to university admission

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