education system in finland essay

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How the Finns do it

Here’s how Finnish teachers use cutting-edge school design to address learning challenges, and the lessons other countries can learn from them.

• By Janel Siemplenski Lefort
• Part of the series "Education Solutions"
• 21 December 2023

It’s been raining off and on all morning in Järvenpää , a small city north of Helsinki. The streets are wet and the sidewalks muddy, but the floors in Harjula School’s entrance are gleaming.

The entrance is filled with hooks and cubby holes where schoolchildren hang their coats and take off their shoes. Students and teachers walk around in stockinged feet or in “house shoes,” slippers to keep the muck out when the weather is bad.

Down the hall from the entry, the building opens up to a bright atrium with tables and chairs, which also serves as a cafeteria. Floor to ceiling windows let the light pour in even on a gloomy day and provide a view onto the outside play area, a huge pine tree (which is decorated at Christmas) and a neighbouring residential area, with brick houses and bright, almost fluorescent green lawns.

At the back of the atrium is a raised stage, blocked off by a retractable wall that opens to a larger, space used for big gatherings, sports events and theatre productions. Throughout the building, thick, accordion-style walls can be opened or closed to enable teachers and children to come together in big groups, or be whittled down into smaller, more intimate gatherings. It’s a kaleidoscope of spaces that twist and turn as needs change.

The innovatively designed school is the brainchild of Tarja Edry, the principal of Harjula School, and Jan Mikkonen, pedagogical facility development manager for Järvenpää. In many ways, Harjula’s design represents the next step in Finnish education, a country already known for cutting-edge, highly effective schooling. “We had a vision, together with Tarja, about what we planned to do,” Mikkonen says.

That vision was to deconstruct the traditional school, with its long hallways and closed classrooms, and rebuild it as a more open, more flexible space that could support different kinds of instruction, such as team teaching, where instructors work in groups or share classes, collaborative projects that encourage students to communicate and solve problems together and creative exercises that let children express their own personalities and talents.

Because all the rooms are multifunctional, teachers move from one area to another or share classrooms with another teacher. They no longer have dedicated classrooms. Edry hoped that changing the space would push teachers out of their comfort zones and force them to rethink how children learned.

The somewhat radical approach caused conflict, however. Some teachers left. “Those who didn’t want to stay started searching for another school, because they didn’t want to change their pedagogy,” she says. The old school building was more traditional, with classrooms for each teacher. The new building is “totally different,” she says. “Everybody had to get used to it.”

Education has always been a way to upgrade socially. But education isn’t so easily the way to jump up the social ladder anymore. Merja Narvo-Akkola – Chief of education services for Järvenpää

Finland’s educational system is among the best in the world, according to the  Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) . But the country is grappling with the same issues as everyone else – the shortened attention span of children raised in a digital world, learning losses accumulated during the pandemic, rising absenteeism and overburdened parents who struggle to set limits and, more importantly, spend time with their children. “Children are feeling a bit insecure,” Edry says. “We can see it. They really want to be with adults.”

Finland is up against other challenges as well. It is historically a homogeneous country, but that is changing. By 2030, immigrants are expected to account for 25% of school children in major cities like Espoo and Helsinki, and they are struggling to learn the language and to read at the same level as their peers . More generally, the gap between strong students and weaker ones has widened , and boys in particular are falling behind. Finland is even starting to see signs of childhood poverty, a new phenomenon in the country.

“Education has always been a way to upgrade socially,” says Merja Narvo-Akkola, chief of education services for Järvenpää. Finnish education is highly decentralised, and municipalities are responsible for planning, building and running schools. “But education isn’t so easily the way to jump up the social ladder anymore.”

• Read how Innovative financing for a Milan school is sparking change in education

Why buildings matter

When Principal Edry and educators like her try to rethink education infrastructure, they need support. Providing that support is central to the Constructing Education framework , a new approach to financing education infrastructure being promoted by the Council of Europe Development Bank and the European Investment Bank . EU members spend billions of euros on education infrastructure each year, and the money needs to be deployed in a way that best supports learning and prepares children for the future.

For example, the framework recommends providing funds to develop teachers’ competencies, helping them find the best ways to use the new, snazzy spaces, which hopefully avoids the pitfall of moving into an innovative building and teaching the same old way.

“I think what brought the Constructing Education framework about is the realisation that you are putting up so much money to invest in these very innovative buildings and then you see that the teaching staff is not ready to use it,” says Yael Duthilleul, who works on the Constructing Education framework for the Council of Europe Development Bank. “You think, ‘We’re wasting our investments.’ For us as financiers, it’s an issue because we’re mobilising money for these projects, but the impact that you expect, which is on students’ learning outcomes, is not guaranteed.”

The Constructing Education framework tries to address teachers’ professional development and coaching, planning sessions, consultations with parents and students – things that all take time and resources, which are almost never included in the total budget of new educational facilities.

“In Finland, we can’t put that into the investment budget. We have to find that money from somewhere else," says Narvo-Akkola, chief of education at Järvenpää. At Harjula school, Edry was forced to use funds from her general school budget to pay for teacher support before moving into the new building.

Under the framework, budgets for new school buildings would include funds for professional development, consultations with education experts and post-occupancy evaluation tools to better understand what kinds of spaces and approaches work best.

“Right now, financing education infrastructure is considered as a stand-alone investment,” says Silvia Guallar, an education economist at the European Investment Bank, who works on the Constructing Education framework. “Instead, such investments should follow a more comprehensive approach and include all the complementary activities, like consulting the education community and supporting teachers’ transition into the new spaces. That will enhance the impact the upgraded learning environment has on teaching pedagogies and student learning.”

Support for teachers is crucial when countries are trying to modernise rigid education systems. An ongoing reform of Finnish education, which began rolling out in 2016, includes a chapter on how to create environments conducive to learning. One central theme is that learning takes place everywhere, not just in the classroom. The reform also stresses the importance of team teaching, which frees teachers up to give students individual attention when necessary. These approaches, however, require pushing the boundaries of traditional school architecture, with walled-off classrooms and neat rows of desks.

One of the ideas behind the Finnish education reform is that learning takes place everywhere. At Harjula School, students practice their English while taking the stairs.

“Team teaching comes with the idea of flexibility of the space and sharing space, as well as making learning available everywhere. This has lots of implications for furniture,” says Duthilleul of the Council of Europe Development Bank. “If you want kids to learn everywhere, then the furniture should be like home. You should be comfortable so you can learn.”

Guallar and Duthilleul, along with a group of experts, are following the building or renovation of two schools in Espoo, two in Järvenpää (Harjula is one of them) and two in Italy to understand better how the innovative buildings are conceived and later used. The knowledge gained could be shared with local governments in other countries planning education infrastructure.

Some of the data gathered during the post-occupancy evaluation was made available at a Constructing Education event in Finland in mid-November. Järvenpää was not initially part of the project, but Narvo-Akkola got involved in the Constructing Education framework in her previous job as manager for district education in Espoo, which was funding education investments in part with loans from the European Investment Bank and Council of Europe Development Bank. She has continued to advise the project in her new role in Järvenpää.

The European Investment Bank financed more than €9 billion in education infrastructure from 2017 to 2022, 97% of which was spent within the European Union. It provided around €1 billion for education projects in Finland alone. For its part, the Council of Europe Development Bank financed about €4 billion for projects with an education component in the same period, out of which €410 million went to Finland.

It’s not necessarily about the amount of money that you spend, but also the efficiency with which you spend the money. It’s about targeting the right sectors in the right way. Nihan Koseleci Blanchy – Senior education economist at the European Investment Bank

Finland spends about 3.8% of its gross domestic product on primary and secondary education, which is in line with other wealthy countries like Belgium (4.2%), Germany (2.9%) or France (3.5%), according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . “It’s not necessarily about the amount of money that you spend, but also the efficiency with which you spend the money,” says Nihan Koseleci Blanchy, a senior education economist at the European Investment Bank, who is responsible for the EU bank’s investments in Finland. “It’s about targeting the right sectors in the right way.”

Reinventing a school

Finland’s educational reform emphasises the skills children will need in a more digital, more integrated and fast-paced world. These are known as the 4Cs: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. Another key idea in the reform is individualised instruction, which lets children learn at their own pace. The ideas behind the reform are pushing educators to design more open and more flexible school buildings.

Planning for the new Harjula campus, which accommodates students from ages six to 12 in primary school and one to six in kindgergarten or day care, began about five years ago in consultation with teachers. The old campus was fairly traditional with classrooms connected by hallways. Edry and the teachers had to reimagine the space. “There was a fight about who wanted what, and not everybody wanted the same thing.” Edry laughs. “Of course, I decided.”

While Edry’s vision for the school alienated some teachers, it attracted others. Now she vets teachers applying for openings, asking candidates to read up on the school’s pedagogical approach before moving onto the interview. Education in Finland is highly decentralised. Schools adhere to a national curriculum, but teachers largely interpret how to present that curriculum and principals can choose the teachers they hire.

The whole spring was hard because we were opening the school for the first time, and we were stressed about it. We had to succeed. Tarja Edry – Principal, Harjulan School

The approach gives Edry an enormous amount of power to remake her school into a more open, more flexible institution that embraces new approaches like team teaching, which the school began implementing before the move but which it expanded radically in the new building. “I tell candidates that if you are still interested, then you can come to the interview and see if you really like it.”

The Herculean task of reinventing her school, however, took a toll on Edry. She and two assistants moved into the building in the spring of 2022. Wires jutted out of the walls. She spent three months with no internet and no telephone, even though she was still principal of the former school. “I couldn’t work,” she says. “The whole spring was hard because we were opening the school for the first time, and we were stressed about it. We had to succeed.”

She pressed on through the summer to prepare the new campus, and then suffered from a burnout in the fall when the pressure finally lifted. Exhausted, she took a six-week medical leave to recover. The Constructing Education framework aims to provide funds to give principals, teachers and city officials the extra support they need when conceiving, building and moving into new, innovative schools.

Mikkonen says that experience led Järvenpää to rethink how to better support principals during a big move. The city now puts an entire team of teachers, principals and other staff in place. “I’m sorry that Tarja had to experience that because we didn’t realise that moving in would be so hard,” he says, adding that the Harjula campus was the first big project for himself and Edry. “But now we have a system for how it should be done.”

Tarja Edry, principal of Harjula School, stands between two classrooms separated by retractable walls, which enable teachers to combine groups of students.

Songs about a dream school

Today in Finland, educators are talking about how to create spaces that can be opened up, but also closed in when needed. For many schools, the solution has been flexible, yet thick and almost soundproof retractable walls. (At Harjula the walls let about 42 decibels of noise pass, about as much disruption as a quiet library). Linking two classrooms with a retractable wall allows teachers of two or more classes to come together and instruct a larger group of as many as 50 students.

Because teachers don’t have dedicated classrooms, children are constantly moving around the school, which is divided into three main areas: the Tundra, the Jungle and the Desert. The students chose the themes and the colours – blues and greys for the Tundra, greens for the Jungle and oranges and browns for the Desert.

Children were intricately involved in the school design. “They were drawing,” Edry says. “They were coming up with songs to tell me what they wanted.”

Every space is a chance to learn. The floor of one hallway features a square with differently coloured number blocks that add up to 100. In the same area, an oversized protractor counts degrees up to 180. Steps leading to the second floor are labelled with the days of the month in Finnish and English.

 “Before they go to the third grade, we want children to have learned really strong writing and mathematical skills,” Edry says. “Children can already start to fall behind in fourth or fifth grade. If we ensure that they are strong when they go into the third grade, it’s like giving them wings to the upper grades.”

Part of the Harjula School campus served as a hospital during World War II.

The campus is split into two main parts: a new building and a renovated brick structure that served as a hospital during World War II. Keeping young and older children at the same school campus is central to Finland’s comprehensive schools, which were created in 1970s and are credited, along with valued and highly trained teachers, with the country’s strong educational results. Harjula, which is part of the Constructing Education project, serves about 640 students, pre-schoolers and young children in day care. 

The new campus cost €23 million, which isn’t a particularly large budget for a school of its size. About €5 million went to renovating the 1930s brick building, and another €18 million to the new, more modern building. The new campus covers about 4 000 square meters, significantly less than the old school grounds.

Edry and Mikkonen squeezed out the money for the fancy furnishings and the German-made retractable walls by slashing the amount of space typically allocated per student – from 11 square meters to 7.

Cramming all the classes and activities into that space requires superhero organisation. Edry shows off a rectangular board with colour-coded tabs that represent each class and activity. Teachers and administrators spend two days before classes start in August scheduling every tiny detail of school life over the entire academic year. “It’s a job to plan it,” Mikkonen chuckles.

An organisational board illustrates the elaborate planning goes into assigning spaces to classes and activities at Harjula School.

The new building is about more than fun themes and sun-drenched spaces, though. It’s also designed to help teachers better deal with children who have social or behavioural problems, or suffer from anxiety, a growing problem since the pandemic.

For example, a small-conflict resolution room provides a space for children to gather after a fight and talk out their problems, often without an adult present. Outside the door is a suggestion box that students fill with their ideas on how to improve school life and social harmony.

Large conference rooms scattered throughout each section of the school allow for meetings between parents, teachers and administrators. “Around one child, there can be 10 people who work to solve the problem,” Edry says.

“Some of these children have such a broken home,” she says. “And they are broken by their experience. They have a chance to change their lives if we intervene early.”

The diamond motto   

Karhusuo school is perched atop a hill in a heavily wooded suburb outside Espoo. Principal Mimmu Hellsten’s office overlooks the trees and nearby homes, which glow in the autumn light. “I think there is scientific proof that it's good for mental health to see woods and forest,” she muses.

Karhusuo is Finnish for bear, and the school’s name refers to a bear’s den. Its motto is “strong as a bear, soft as a teddy.” But the school is increasingly identifying with a different image.

Finnish Hellsten holds up a piece of paper with a drawing of a blue diamond. The Finnish words Opin (I learn)/ kasvan (I grow)/ kehityn (I develop) are written across the top. The kinds of environments that children learn in are displayed on the outer edges of the illustration: social, physical, mental and digital. Around the diamond are phrases describing how children are motivated to learn: I can do good/I am accepted/ I am emotionally involved/I get to influence and participate/I can succeed

The diamond is displayed around the school on posters. Hellsten says educators chose the diamond image because diamonds “mean something very important, very valuable. It also takes time and energy to make a diamond.”

A diamond poster displayed at Karhusuo School.

School administrators go through the diamond philosophy with teachers and school assistants every August when children return to class, explaining the concepts to new arrivals and refreshing them with existing staff. Teachers also discuss the ideas with students in their classes.

“These are the goals we have for every child,” Hellsten says. “That they have the feeling, ‘Okay, I can succeed. This is not too hard for me. I can participate. My voice is heard.’ ”

Getting group dynamics right is tough, considering that educators like Hellsten, Edry and the teachers at their schools say children no longer know how to act in a group setting. Part of the problem is that parents are unwilling to discipline children who misbehave at school. “Parents trust what the children say so blindly,” Hellsten says. “They don’t have so much time for their children, so they want the time they spend with their children to be happy.”

The lack of limitations creates problems when children are in groups. They don’t know how to cede space and attention to other children. Children’s social skills also suffered during the pandemic. Finnish schools only closed for three months, but educators see the scars. “It was terrible,” Hellsten says.

And mobile phones? They are a scourge. Children spend too much time on mobile devices, which can affect their sleep and ability to concentrate. “For example, reading a book, reading a chapter – it's way too long. It’s way too boring for them,” says Salla Ruohomäki, a chemistry and home economics teacher who has been teaching for almost 20 years. “And it’s, like, two pages.”

Educators are particularly concerned about the growing gap between the results of children who are succeeding at school and those who are struggling. Most Finnish children used to fall somewhere in the middle, and that strong middle group was largely responsible for the country’s excellent PISA scores, educators say. Those scores have slipped in recent years, and like many European countries, they took a particular beating in the newly released 2022 PISA results .

“The ones who should be in the middle don’t see the point of doing the hard work to improve,” says Arto Niva, a chemistry and physics teacher. “They’re like, well, maybe I could get this grade, but it would take a lot of work. I’m not that interested.”

From left, Karhusuo teachers Sofia Repo, Arto Niva and Salla Ruohomäki.

Worried about these issues, Hellsten and other teachers read up on motivational theories, which led to creating the diamond motto. One of the things that emerged was that people were motivated by the idea of contributing positively to a group. She tried to use that approach on another thorny issue ­– boys’ underperformance in reading, math and science, according to PISA results.

The problem perplexed Hellsten. “I asked myself, ‘What are we doing wrong? Why aren’t boys doing well?’ When we look at politics and the business world, most of the leaders are men.”

To bring boys into the fold, Karhusuo School decided to organise a football tournament with eight teams representing the different grades. The boys got involved, planning the teams and matches, and students were playing a game that afternoon. “I think we have succeeded in making boys feel they can do good for the whole school,” Hellsten says.

These are the goals we have for every child. That they have the feeling, ‘Okay, I can succeed. This is not too hard for me. I can participate. My voice is heard.' Mimmu Hellsten – Principal, Karhusuo School

Modern spaces for modern problems

Hellsten and the teachers had the issues facing education in mind when they planned the school campus, which includes a modern wooden structure built for the primary school about five years ago and brick building for grades seven through nine that constructed three years ago. The school is part of the Constructing Education project.

Karhusuo has many similar features to the Harjula campus. Spaces are easily modified. A retractable wall links a light-filled auditorium to a bigger sports gym. A smattering of smaller rooms allow teachers to work with two or three students at a time, and special classrooms are dedicated to classes of eight autistic children, with their two teachers and four assistants. Finland integrates children with difficulties like autism into its comprehensive schools. The campus even includes a bomb shelter, which is mandatory in Finnish schools.

The sprawling campus accommodates about 350 children in primary school and just over 200 in lower secondary school. Like Harjula, children pad around in their stockinged feet or slippers.

Mimmu Hellsten, principal of Karhusuo School, in front of a moveable poem. Two of the lines read “during lessons, pupils are running away” and “children’s brains are freezing.”

Hellsten and a group of four teachers were involved in the design and planning of the building. “It wasn’t obligatory, but I wanted a chance to say what I wanted, and a chance to hear also from architects – why this can't be done or why this choice isn’t right,” Hellsten says. “It was very important for me to understand also how this building works and why these choices have been made.”

The architects held workshops with children to discuss their dream school. One of the things that came out of those meetings was children’s desire to have smaller spaces where they could study or simply isolate themselves from the larger group. The architect adjusted the school design to create those spaces. “This helps with anxiety,” Hellsten says, “They have some time to get away from the group.”

Consultants helped teachers and administrators figure out best how to configure the spaces and to prepare the move, which reduced the stress and upheaval. They also educated them on group dynamics and motivational theories.

But once again, the money for consultants and teacher coaching and training came out of Hellsten’s school budget.

Students in the library after school.

Teachers at Karhusuo praise the environment that Hellsten has created, and they say the positive culture helps them cope with the enormous pressure they are under. But Hellsten and Harjula’s Edry pushed forward their schools largely because they had a vision and the tenacity to see it through. Not all schools have such dedicated leaders. The Constructing Education framework wants to support innovation more generally, by rethinking how buildings are conceived and by ensuring all school principals and teachers receive the support they need to exploit the potential of new spaces and improve learning.

Finns believe in the power of education to create a more stable and cohesive society. While Karhusuo is a middle-class or even upper-middle class neighbourhood, one-third of the school’s students come from lower-income areas. Finland also has few private schools – most people pass through the public system.

“We’re a small country. I think our power is this free education,” Hellsten says. “We have put our money into ensuring that our children are doing well, and feeling well and learning well, so that they can use their capabilities and find their strengths.”

“But that takes time and money,” she says. “Even though education costs a lot, it comes back in the future. And if you save money now, then it costs a lot more in the future.”

About the author

Janel Siemplenski Lefort

The European Investment Bank helps people and companies across the globe. As an editor at the bank, I tell its story.

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Why Are Finland’s Schools Successful?

The country’s achievements in education have other nations, especially the United States, doing their homework

LynNell Hancock

Photographs by Stuart Conway

It was the end of term at Kirkkojarvi Comprehensive School in Espoo, a sprawling suburb west of Helsinki, when Kari Louhivuori, a veteran teacher and the school’s principal, decided to try something extreme—by Finnish standards. One of his sixth-grade students, a Kosovo-Albanian boy, had drifted far off the learning grid, resisting his teacher’s best efforts. The school’s team of special educators—including a social worker, a nurse and a psychologist—convinced Louhivuori that laziness was not to blame. So he decided to hold the boy back a year, a measure so rare in Finland it’s practically obsolete.

Finland has vastly improved in reading, math and science literacy over the past decade in large part because its teachers are trusted to do whatever it takes to turn young lives around. This 13-year-old, Besart Kabashi, received something akin to royal tutoring.

“I took Besart on that year as my private student,” Louhivuori told me in his office, which boasted a Beatles “Yellow Submarine” poster on the wall and an electric guitar in the closet. When Besart was not studying science, geography and math, he was parked next to Louhivuori’s desk at the front of his class of 9- and 10-year- olds, cracking open books from a tall stack, slowly reading one, then another, then devouring them by the dozens. By the end of the year, the son of Kosovo war refugees had conquered his adopted country’s vowel-rich language and arrived at the realization that he could, in fact, learn .

Years later, a 20-year-old Besart showed up at Kirkkojarvi’s Christmas party with a bottle of Cognac and a big grin. “You helped me,” he told his former teacher. Besart had opened his own car repair firm and a cleaning company. “No big fuss,” Louhivuori told me. “This is what we do every day, prepare kids for life.”

This tale of a single rescued child hints at some of the reasons for the tiny Nordic nation’s staggering record of education success, a phenomenon that has inspired, baffled and even irked many of America’s parents and educators. Finnish schooling became an unlikely hot topic after the 2010 documentary film Waiting for “Superman” contrasted it with America’s troubled public schools.

“Whatever it takes” is an attitude that drives not just Kirkkojarvi’s 30 teachers, but most of Finland’s 62,000 educators in 3,500 schools from Lapland to Turku—professionals selected from the top 10 percent of the nation’s graduates to earn a required master’s degree in education. Many schools are small enough so that teachers know every student. If one method fails, teachers consult with colleagues to try something else. They seem to relish the challenges. Nearly 30 percent of Finland’s children receive some kind of special help during their first nine years of school. The school where Louhivuori teaches served 240 first through ninth graders last year; and in contrast with Finland’s reputation for ethnic homogeneity, more than half of its 150 elementary-level students are immigrants—from Somalia, Iraq, Russia, Bangladesh, Estonia and Ethiopia, among other nations. “Children from wealthy families with lots of education can be taught by stupid teachers,” Louhivuori said, smiling. “We try to catch the weak students. It’s deep in our thinking.”

The transformation of the Finns’ education system began some 40 years ago as the key propellent of the country’s economic recovery plan. Educators had little idea it was so successful until 2000, when the first results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a standardized test given to 15-year-olds in more than 40 global venues, revealed Finnish youth to be the best young readers in the world. Three years later, they led in math. By 2006, Finland was first out of 57 countries (and a few cities) in science. In the 2009 PISA scores released last year, the nation came in second in science, third in reading and sixth in math among nearly half a million students worldwide. “I’m still surprised,” said Arjariita Heikkinen, principal of a Helsinki comprehensive school. “I didn’t realize we were that good.”

In the United States, which has muddled along in the middle for the past decade, government officials have attempted to introduce marketplace competition into public schools. In recent years, a group of Wall Street financiers and philanthropists such as Bill Gates have put money behind private-sector ideas, such as vouchers, data-driven curriculum and charter schools, which have doubled in number in the past decade. President Obama, too, has apparently bet on compe­tition. His Race to the Top initiative invites states to compete for federal dollars using tests and other methods to measure teachers, a philosophy that would not fly in Finland. “I think, in fact, teachers would tear off their shirts,” said Timo Heikkinen, a Helsinki principal with 24 years of teaching experience. “If you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect.”

There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school. There are no rankings, no comparisons or competition between students, schools or regions. Finland’s schools are publicly funded. The people in the government agencies running them, from national officials to local authorities, are educators, not business people, military leaders or career politicians. Every school has the same national goals and draws from the same pool of university-trained educators. The result is that a Finnish child has a good shot at getting the same quality education no matter whether he or she lives in a rural village or a university town. The differences between weakest and strongest students are the smallest in the world, according to the most recent survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “Equality is the most important word in Finnish education. All political parties on the right and left agree on this,” said Olli Luukkainen, president of Finland’s powerful teachers union.

Ninety-three percent of Finns graduate from academic or vocational high schools, 17.5 percentage points higher than the United States, and 66 percent go on to higher education, the highest rate in the European Union. Yet Finland spends about 30 percent less per student than the United States.

Still, there is a distinct absence of chest-thumping among the famously reticent Finns. They are eager to celebrate their recent world hockey championship, but PISA scores, not so much. “We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test,” said Pasi Sahlberg, a former math and physics teacher who is now in Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture. “We are not much interested in PISA. It’s not what we are about.”

Maija Rintola stood before her chattering class of twenty-three 7- and 8-year-olds one late April day in Kirkkojarven Koulu. A tangle of multicolored threads topped her copper hair like a painted wig. The 20-year teacher was trying out her look for Vappu, the day teachers and children come to school in riotous costumes to celebrate May Day. The morning sun poured through the slate and lemon linen shades onto containers of Easter grass growing on the wooden sills. Rintola smiled and held up her open hand at a slant—her time-tested “silent giraffe,” which signaled the kids to be quiet. Little hats, coats, shoes stowed in their cubbies, the children wiggled next to their desks in their stocking feet, waiting for a turn to tell their tale from the playground. They had just returned from their regular 15 minutes of playtime outdoors between lessons. “Play is important at this age,” Rintola would later say. “We value play.”

With their wiggles unwound, the students took from their desks little bags of buttons, beans and laminated cards numbered 1 through 20. A teacher’s aide passed around yellow strips representing units of ten. At a smart board at the front of the room, Rintola ushered the class through the principles of base ten. One girl wore cat ears on her head, for no apparent reason. Another kept a stuffed mouse on her desk to remind her of home. Rintola roamed the room helping each child grasp the concepts. Those who finished early played an advanced “nut puzzle” game. After 40 minutes it was time for a hot lunch in the cathedral-like cafeteria.

Teachers in Finland spend fewer hours at school each day and spend less time in classrooms than American teachers. Teachers use the extra time to build curriculums and assess their students. Children spend far more time playing outside, even in the depths of winter. Homework is minimal. Compulsory schooling does not begin until age 7. “We have no hurry,” said Louhivuori. “Children learn better when they are ready. Why stress them out?”

It’s almost unheard of for a child to show up hungry or homeless. Finland provides three years of maternity leave and subsidized day care to parents, and preschool for all 5-year-olds, where the emphasis is on play and socializing. In addition, the state subsidizes parents, paying them around 150 euros per month for every child until he or she turns 17. Ninety-seven percent of 6-year-olds attend public preschool, where children begin some academics. Schools provide food, medical care, counseling and taxi service if needed. Stu­dent health care is free.

Even so, Rintola said her children arrived last August miles apart in reading and language levels. By April, nearly every child in the class was reading, and most were writing. Boys had been coaxed into literature with books like Kapteeni Kalsarin (“Captain Underpants”). The school’s special education teacher teamed up with Rintola to teach five children with a variety of behavioral and learning problems. The national goal for the past five years has been to mainstream all children. The only time Rintola’s children are pulled out is for Finnish as a Second Language classes, taught by a teacher with 30 years’ experience and graduate school training.

There are exceptions, though, however rare. One first-grade girl was not in Rintola’s class. The wispy 7-year-old had recently arrived from Thailand speaking not a word of Finnish. She was studying math down the hall in a special “preparing class” taught by an expert in multicultural learning. It is designed to help children keep up with their subjects while they conquer the language. Kirkkojarvi’s teachers have learned to deal with their unusually large number of immigrant students. The city of Espoo helps them out with an extra 82,000 euros a year in “positive discrimination” funds to pay for things like special resource teachers, counselors and six special needs classes.

Rintola will teach the same children next year and possibly the next five years, depending on the needs of the school. “It’s a good system. I can make strong connections with the children,” said Rintola, who was handpicked by Louhivuori 20 years ago. “I understand who they are.” Besides Finnish, math and science, the first graders take music, art, sports, religion and textile handcrafts. English begins in third grade, Swedish in fourth. By fifth grade the children have added biology, geography, history, physics and chemistry.

Not until sixth grade will kids have the option to sit for a district-wide exam, and then only if the classroom teacher agrees to participate. Most do, out of curiosity. Results are not publicized. Finnish educators have a hard time understanding the United States’ fascination with standardized tests. “Americans like all these bars and graphs and colored charts,” Louhivuori teased, as he rummaged through his closet looking for past years’ results. “Looks like we did better than average two years ago,” he said after he found the reports. “It’s nonsense. We know much more about the children than these tests can tell us.”

I had come to Kirkkojarvi to see how the Finnish approach works with students who are not stereotypically blond, blue-eyed and Lutheran. But I wondered if Kirkkojarvi’s success against the odds might be a fluke. Some of the more vocal conservative reformers in America have grown weary of the “We-Love-Finland crowd” or so-called Finnish Envy. They argue that the United States has little to learn from a country of only 5.4 million people—4 percent of them foreign born. Yet the Finns seem to be onto something. Neighboring Norway, a country of similar size, embraces education policies similar to those in the United States. It employs standardized exams and teachers without master’s degrees. And like America, Norway’s PISA scores have been stalled in the middle ranges for the better part of a decade.

To get a second sampling, I headed east from Espoo to Helsinki and a rough neighborhood called Siilitie, Finnish for “Hedgehog Road” and known for having the oldest low-income housing project in Finland. The 50-year-old boxy school building sat in a wooded area, around the corner from a subway stop flanked by gas stations and convenience stores. Half of its 200 first- through ninth-grade students have learning disabilities. All but the most severely impaired are mixed with the general education children, in keeping with Finnish policies.

A class of first graders scampered among nearby pine and birch trees, each holding a stack of the teacher’s homemade laminated “outdoor math” cards. “Find a stick as big as your foot,” one read. “Gather 50 rocks and acorns and lay them out in groups of ten,” read another. Working in teams, the 7- and 8-year-olds raced to see how quickly they could carry out their tasks. Aleksi Gustafsson, whose master’s degree is from Helsinki University, developed the exercise after attending one of the many workshops available free to teachers. “I did research on how useful this is for kids,” he said. “It’s fun for the children to work outside. They really learn with it.”

Gustafsson’s sister, Nana Germeroth, teaches a class of mostly learning-impaired children; Gustafsson’s students have no learning or behavioral issues. The two combined most of their classes this year to mix their ideas and abilities along with the children’s varying levels. “We know each other really well,” said Germeroth, who is ten years older. “I know what Aleksi is thinking.”

The school receives 47,000 euros a year in positive discrimination money to hire aides and special education teachers, who are paid slightly higher salaries than classroom teachers because of their required sixth year of university training and the demands of their jobs. There is one teacher (or assistant) in Siilitie for every seven students.

In another classroom, two special education teachers had come up with a different kind of team teaching. Last year, Kaisa Summa, a teacher with five years’ experience, was having trouble keeping a gaggle of first-grade boys under control. She had looked longingly into Paivi Kangasvieri’s quiet second-grade room next door, wondering what secrets the 25-year-veteran colleague could share. Each had students of wide-ranging abilities and special needs. Summa asked Kangasvieri if they might combine gymnastics classes in hopes good behavior might be contagious. It worked. This year, the two decided to merge for 16 hours a week. “We complement each other,” said Kangasvieri, who describes herself as a calm and firm “father” to Summa’s warm mothering. “It is cooperative teaching at its best,” she says.

Every so often, principal Arjariita Heikkinen told me, the Helsinki district tries to close the school because the surrounding area has fewer and fewer children, only to have people in the community rise up to save it. After all, nearly 100 percent of the school’s ninth graders go on to high schools. Even many of the most severely disabled will find a place in Finland’s expanded system of vocational high schools, which are attended by 43 percent of Finnish high-school students, who prepare to work in restaurants, hospitals, construction sites and offices. “We help situate them in the right high school,” said then deputy principal Anne Roselius. “We are interested in what will become of them in life.”

Finland’s schools were not always a wonder. Until the late 1960s, Finns were still emerging from the cocoon of Soviet influence. Most children left public school after six years. (The rest went to private schools, academic grammar schools or folk schools, which tended to be less rigorous.) Only the privileged or lucky got a quality education.

The landscape changed when Finland began trying to remold its bloody, fractured past into a unified future. For hundreds of years, these fiercely independent people had been wedged between two rival powers—the Swedish monarchy to the west and the Russian czar to the east. Neither Scandinavian nor Baltic, Finns were proud of their Nordic roots and a unique language only they could love (or pronounce). In 1809, Finland was ceded to Russia by the Swedes, who had ruled its people some 600 years. The czar created the Grand Duchy of Finland, a quasi-state with constitutional ties to the empire. He moved the capital from Turku, near Stockholm, to Helsinki, closer to St. Petersburg. After the czar fell to the Bolsheviks in 1917, Finland declared its independence, pitching the country into civil war. Three more wars between 1939 and 1945—two with the Soviets, one with Germany—left the country scarred by bitter divisions and a punishing debt owed to the Russians. “Still we managed to keep our freedom,” said Pasi Sahlberg, a director general in the Ministry of Education and Culture.

In 1963, the Finnish Parliament made the bold decision to choose public education as its best shot at economic recovery. “I call this the Big Dream of Finnish education,” said Sahlberg, whose upcoming book,  Finnish Lessons , is scheduled for release in October. “It was simply the idea that every child would have a very good public school. If we want to be competitive, we need to educate everybody. It all came out of a need to survive."

Practically speaking—and Finns are nothing if not practical—the decision meant that goal would not be allowed to dissipate into rhetoric. Lawmakers landed on a deceptively simple plan that formed the foundation for everything to come. Public schools would be organized into one system of comprehensive schools, or  peruskoulu , for ages 7 through 16. Teachers from all over the nation contributed to a national curriculum that provided guidelines, not prescriptions. Besides Finnish and Swedish (the country’s second official language), children would learn a third language (English is a favorite) usually beginning at age 9. Resources were distributed equally. As the comprehensive schools improved, so did the upper secondary schools (grades 10 through 12). The second critical decision came in 1979, when reformers required that every teacher earn a fifth-year master’s degree in theory and practice at one of eight state universities—at state expense. From then on, teachers were effectively granted equal status with doctors and lawyers. Applicants began flooding teaching programs, not because the salaries were so high but because autonomy and respect made the job attractive. In 2010, some 6,600 applicants vied for 660 primary school training slots, according to Sahlberg. By the mid-1980s, a final set of initiatives shook the classrooms free from the last vestiges of top-down regulation. Control over policies shifted to town councils. The national curriculum was distilled into broad guidelines. National math goals for grades one through nine, for example, were reduced to a neat ten pages. Sifting and sorting children into so-called ability groupings was eliminated. All children—clever or less so—were to be taught in the same classrooms, with lots of special teacher help available to make sure no child really would be left behind. The inspectorate closed its doors in the early ’90s, turning accountability and inspection over to teachers and principals. “We have our own motivation to succeed because we love the work,” said Louhivuori. “Our incentives come from inside.”

To be sure, it was only in the past decade that Finland’s international science scores rose. In fact, the country’s earliest efforts could be called somewhat Stalinistic. The first national curriculum, developed in the early ’70s, weighed in at 700 stultifying pages. Timo Heikkinen, who began teaching in Finland’s public schools in 1980 and is now principal of Kallahti Comprehensive School in eastern Helsinki, remembers when most of his high-school teachers sat at their desks dictating to the open notebooks of compliant children.

And there are still challenges. Finland’s crippling financial collapse in the early ’90s brought fresh economic challenges to this “confident and assertive Eurostate,” as David Kirby calls it in  A Concise History of Finland . At the same time, immigrants poured into the country, clustering in low-income housing projects and placing added strain on schools. A recent report by the Academy of Finland warned that some schools in the country’s large cities were becoming more skewed by race and class as affluent, white Finns choose schools with fewer poor, immigrant populations.

A few years ago, Kallahti principal Timo Heikkinen began noticing that, increasingly, affluent Finnish parents, perhaps worried about the rising number of Somali children at Kallahti, began sending their children to one of two other schools nearby. In response, Heikkinen and his teachers designed new environmental science courses that take advantage of the school’s proximity to the forest. And a new biology lab with 3-D technology allows older students to observe blood flowing inside the human body.

It has yet to catch on, Heikkinen admits. Then he added: “But we are always looking for ways to improve.”

In other words, whatever it takes.

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LynNell Hancock | READ MORE

LynNell Hancock writes about education and teaches at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

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Stuart Conway is a photographer based in southeast England.

Finland’s Education System: The Journey to Success

Jaime saavedra, hanna alasuutari, marcela gutierrez bernal.

Human Development Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank

Senior Education Specialist

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Finland has one of the world's best education systems. Here's how it compares to the US

Finland is renowned for its approach to schooling. Image:  REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

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Finland is an innovative country when it comes to education, and its innovation yields results.

It's consistently one of the highest performing developed countries on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an important tool for measuring education systems worldwide.

While Finland's ranking dropped to 12 in the most recent PISA ranking, it's still a lot higher than the US ranking of 36.

Here are some things Finland does differently — and arguably better — than the US when it comes to education:

1. Better standardized tests

Finnish students only take one standardized test during their entire primary and secondary schooling.

By contrast, the US, driven by No Child Left Behind and Common Core mandates, requires students in third through eighth grade to take annual standardized tests to track their performance. Critics claim constant testing doesn't make students any smarter but instead creates a "teaching to the test" environment in schools.

Karen Magee, the president of the largest teachers union in New York, went so far as to urge parents to boycott standardized tests recently.

The Finnish test, called the National Matriculation Examination, is taken at the end of high school and graded by teachers, not computers, as Pasi Sahlberg a professor and former director general at the Finland Ministry of Education, explained to the Washington Post in 2014. The test also doesn't shy away from controversial or complex topics.

Here are some typical questions, according to Sahlberg:

"In what sense are happiness, good life and well-being ethical concepts?"

"Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels predicted that a socialist revolution would first happen in countries like Great Britain. What made Marx and Engels claim that and why did a socialist revolution happen in Russia?"

Sahlberg added, in the Washington Post, "Students are regularly asked to show their ability to cope with issues related to evolution, losing a job, dieting, political issues, violence, war, ethics in sports, junk food, sex, drugs, and popular music. Such issues span across subject areas and often require multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills."

2. More time for play

Students in Finland spend relatively little time on homework, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A 2014 study of 15-year-olds around the world by the OECD said that on average, Finnish students spend 2.8 hours a week on homework. This contrasts noticeably from the 6.1 hours American students spend per week.

Finns place a lot of value on free time and play. By law, teachers must give students a 15-minute break for every 45 minutes of instruction.

It's a different story in the US where kids typically get less than half an hour of recess every day .

This "deficit of play" for US students may lead to additional anxiety and other mental health issues, the psychologist and research professor Peter Gray has written.

3. College is free

In Finland, not only are bachelor degree programs completely free of tuition fees , so are master and doctoral programs. Students pursue higher education goals without the mountains of student loan debt that many American students face . And the same goes for foreign students. Tuition is free for any student accepted into a college or graduate program in Finland.

This contrasts greatly with the US, where the average student loan debt now approaches $30,000, according to the Institute for College Access and Success's 2014 report.

4. Elevated teaching profession

In Finland, teaching is one of the most revered professions with a relatively high barrier to entry.

Only one in 10 students who apply to teacher education programs are admitted, according to the Center on International Education Benchmarkin g (CIEB) .

Teachers in Finland are treated like professors at universities, and they teach fewer hours during the day than US teachers, with more time devoted to lesson planning.

They also get paid slightly more in Finland. The average teacher in the US makes about $41,000 a year, compared to $43,000 in Finland, according to OECD data .

And while teachers in the US make less money than many other countries, the OECD found that they work the longest hours of all.

It's easy to understand why America's teachers — who are overworked and get relatively little respect — might not be as effective as teachers in Finland.

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Education reform in Finland and the comprehensive school system

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Reforms to the Finnish education system were the result of many years of consideration and research. Three reform commissions after the Second World War lay the foundation for later reform. In 1968, parliament introduced legislation to abolish the two-tier system of grammar and civic schools and create a new, centrally managed comprehensive school system.

In the decade following the end of the Second World War, the Finnish parliament created three successive reform commissions, each of which aimed to create an education system that would provide equal educational opportunities for all Finns. The first, in 1945, considered the primary school curriculum and it “offered a compelling vision of a more humanistic, child-centred school”. [4] A decade later, the idea of the comprehensive school had gained traction, and the commission recommended that compulsory education in Finland should take place in a nine-year, municipally-run comprehensive school. In 1963, the Finnish parliament decided to officially reform the education system “after much committee work, experiments, pilot programmes, input from the elementary school teachers' union and above all, vast political support and consensus”. [2]  

In November 1968, parliament enacted legislation to create a new basic education system built around that common model. The Basic Education Act was passed in 1968, introducing the new comprehensive school system and replacing the existing two-tiered one. Students would now enter comprehensive school at nine years of age and remain until sixteen. In total, there were nine grades, divided into six years of primary school and three years of lower secondary school. [3] The new system was introduced gradually, starting with Northern Finland in 1972, “which was considered to require the reform most, and to resist it least”, and it reached the rest of the country by 1977. [3] The new system offered three academic levels in mathematics and foreign languages: basic, middle and advanced. What had been taught in civic schools corresponded to the basic level, while that in grammar schools equated to the advanced level. [4]

When the reforms were implemented in the 1970s, the education system was run centrally, and by “reflecting the radical change begot by the basic school reform, the first national curriculum for basic education in 1970 was very detailed and the steering system strictly centralised”. [5] In this early phase, the Finnish government had strict control over most aspects of the new system, including the curriculum, external inspections and general regulation, giving them “a strong grip on schools and teachers”. [6] However, educational reforms in the 1990s gave more authority and autonomy to municipalities. For instance, teachers were entrusted with planning their own curriculums and assessments. These reforms brought about “a new culture of education characterised by trust between educational authorities and schools, local control, professionalism and autonomy”. [6]

However, there was stronger state intervention in 2004 when a new core curriculum was introduced, which “reinforced anew state control by narrowing the licence of municipalities and schools in planning their respective curricula”. [5]

Finland found itself facing great changes after the Second World War, with a growing population and a changing economy. In the postwar period, Finland witnessed a rapid increase in population with the number of annual births reaching over 100,000 each year between 1946 and 1949. By comparison, in the prewar period from 1935 to 1939, the number of annual births ranged from 69,000 to 78,000. [1] What had previously been a “class-bound, farm-oriented society” underwent not only a growth in industry but also a significant shift in its very nature from traditional wood-processing to metal. “Traditionally, the wood-processing industry had dominated the economy. Soon after the war, however, the metal industry soon became the dominant driver.” [2]  

A growing population, coupled with a stronger economy, led to increasing numbers of parents seeking high-quality education for their children. Grammar schools had to accommodate unprecedented numbers of students, as enrolment increased almost tenfold in 15 years, from 34,000 in 1955 to 324,000 in 1970. [2] However, there were clear inequalities in who could access this kind of education. Children from agricultural and working-class backgrounds attended grammar schools in low numbers, making up only 4.8 percent and 8.9 percent of the grammar school population in 1940 respectively. Similarly, there was a stark urban-rural divide. In 1960, almost 62 percent of Finns lived in rural areas; however, only 20 percent of students living in the countryside attended grammar schools. Conversely, 38 percent of Finns lived in urban areas but 47 percent of children there attended grammar schools. [3] More than ever, parents wanted an “improved and more comprehensive basic education” for their children. [2] Both the increase in student numbers and inequality of educational access and attainment led to the need for serious reforms. It was necessary to provide quality education for all children regardless of their socioeconomic background or where they lived.

The success of the comprehensive education reforms is evident from the subsequent excellent student performance and national educational outcomes. These outcomes can be attributed to a number of factors, including the focus on providing equal access for all to quality education and the role of local municipalities and teachers in designing and implementing the curriculum to meet students' needs.  

Student performance at school has improved considerably since the implementation of comprehensive school reforms. While there are other factors at play - such as a more extensive build-up of the welfare state - the reforms are seen as at least partly responsible for the improvement. By the 1980s and 1990s, students educated in the comprehensive system performed better academically than those educated in the two-tier system of the 1960s and early 1970s. [2] In the early 2000s, Finnish students began to score exceptionally well in international assessments such as the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), which evaluates “the extent to which 15-year-old students, near the end of their compulsory education, have acquired key knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies” .[7] In 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009, Finland took nearly all the top spots for mathematical and scientific literacy and reading. Although there has been a slight drop in its position in mathematical literacy since 2012, Finland still places highly overall. [8] In addition to an improvement in educational outcomes, the number of students staying longer in education has increased as a result of the comprehensive reforms and subsequent upper secondary school reforms in the 1980s. [4] In 1970, only 30 percent of Finnish adults had a minimum of an upper secondary diploma, but by 2010 this figure had risen to over 80 percent, while it was 90 percent for 24-35 year olds. [4]

The motives for the reforms were twofold: on the one hand, improving educational quality and access would provide an educated workforce for the increasingly industrialised, post-agrarian economy; on the other hand, there was a demand for greater social equality as Finnish society underwent considerable changes. The objective of reducing inequality within the education system was achieved by the late 1980s. [2] All Finnish children received the same basic education, and there were real opportunities for all students to progress to upper secondary school. [2] Equality of educational outcome is demonstrated by the small variation in results between different schools and high numbers of student enrolment. [4] Moreover, the gap between the highest and lowest performing schools was the smallest in all countries assessed by PISA. [2]

Another key aspect of the reforms' success was the eventual transfer of authority to municipalities and the schools themselves. Between 1985 and 1988, there was a shift from “external school inspection to self-evaluation of the profession”. [3] In 1994, there were reforms to the national curriculum which gave teachers more autonomy in how and what they taught. Before that point, Finland's performance in international education surveys had not been particularly notable. [3]

Not only has Finland scored highly in assessments such as PISA but also in the OECD's 2016 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The survey measures the performance of 16-65 year olds in key skills such as literacy, numeracy and problem-solving, which are necessary in social and work contexts and “for fully integrating and participating in the labour market, education and training, and social and civic life”. [9] Finland ranked in the top three for each skill. [9] Furthermore, Finns whose parents have low educational attainment are far less likely than their international counterparts to have lower levels of literacy or numeracy themselves. [9]

Although no research has confirmed a positive correlation between improvements in education and economic growth, it seems likely that they were mutually beneficial.[ 2 ] Between 2001 and 2004, Finland was ranked as the most competitive economy in the world three times by the World Economic Forum, which “suggests that the country boasts a very high level of human capital, widespread use of information and communication technologies, and education and research institutions that have been redesigned to foster innovation and cutting-edge research and development” .[2]  

Finally, teaching is a highly respected career choice in Finland with many more applicants than places on teaching courses. The president of the Finnish Teachers Union, Olli Luukkainen, explained that “the fact that teachers have so much independence and respect influences young people as they are deciding what programme they will follow in the university. If they choose teacher education they know they will be entering a profession that enjoys broad trust and respect in the society, one that plays an important role in shaping the country's future.” [4]

An interesting feature of the reforms is their implementation over the long term. Different waves of reform brought new changes in the decades following the first reforms of the 1960s. Despite differences of opinion and debate as to the nature of such reforms, the “current success [of the comprehensive schools] is due to this steady progress, rather than as a consequence of highly visible innovations launched by a particular political leader or party” .[4] Perhaps this success can also be attributed to a set of values that emerged among Finnish baby boomers in the postwar period. Pasi Sahlberg, Director of the Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation explained that “the comprehensive school is not merely a form of school organisation. It embodies a philosophy of education as well as a deep set of societal values about what all children need and deserve.” [4]

Written by Ella Jordan

Stakeholder engagement

The various stakeholders involved in the education reforms were supportive of the planned changes to the education system, although some did voice concerns about how they would be implemented and with what success. 

Finland has long employed the “Tripartite” concept in politics, which involves cooperation between the government, trade unions and employers' organisations. [2] This tripartite policy “came to education with the advent of comprehensive school reform”, and the key stakeholders were the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the new Teachers' Union, the three municipalities' central organisations, and teachers themselves. [2]  

There were many negotiations between the stakeholders when developing the policy. The National School Council and the Ministry of Education worked in tandem, and corporations also had an important role in the negotiations. Although there were different interests and priorities within these groups, thanks to Finland's “contract” society, “where important social policy decisions are accords between the government and labour organisations”, it was possible to come to a positive agreement on education reform. [2]  

Teachers had legitimate concerns before the launch of the reforms about changes to their salaries and professional autonomy. Not all teachers had the same employer: some worked for local municipalities, others for the state or private associations. Their salaries were directly linked to the type of school they were working in. For example, elementary school teachers typically earned less than grammar school teachers. [2] With the introduction of the comprehensive school system, teachers were concerned about the payscale that would be applied to their jobs. [2] Furthermore, some expressed concerns about the freedom they would have when teaching lessons, as they worried that “the reform's centralised planning and execution would stifle their traditional didactic freedom”. [2]

Despite their concerns, teachers were involved throughout the planning phase of the reforms, and committees such as the Comprehensive School Curriculum Committee (1966-1970) permitted collaboration between teachers and central government officials on key issues. [2] Reforms would affect “content and curriculum - not just teaching methods”, so it was essential to receive teacher input to ensure their commitment to the new changes .[2] One reason why the committees were successful was that when choosing committee members, the government “took pains to select a balanced mix of people with different political ideologies, professions, experience, and areas of expertise - including scientists and teachers”. [2]

Political commitment

There was sustained political commitment to implementing educational reform in Finland in the immediate postwar period and following decades. As early as 1945, the government started planning changes to its education system; however, it was not until the 1960s that the comprehensive school system began to take shape. [4]  

Increasing pressure from the Agrarian Party and from parents, who wanted high standards of education for their children, led parliament “to start building legislation to abolish the parallel school system and to replace it with the comprehensive school.” [3] In the 1966 parliamentary elections, left-wing parties gained power and formed a majority coalition, which consisted of the largest party in parliament - the Social Democrats - and the Finnish People's Democratic Party, which included the Communist Party and the Agrarian Party. [2] This new government “made education reform its primary goal, and set out to mould primary and lower secondary education into a comprehensive basic school for all children”. [2] Furthermore, many believed that improving the quality of education would advance social justice and stimulate economic development. [2]

Their commitment was evident: although “it would have been easy to tinker at the margins, crafting new in-service education and training for teachers,... Finland's policymakers understood that for comprehensive school reform to work, the entire teacher-education system had to change”. [2] In November 1968, parliament passed the Basic Education Act, which stated that “all children should attend the same school for the first nine years of education” .[10]

Public confidence

There was strong public confidence in the reforms to the education system, as Finns valued education highly. Moreover, as a result of economic growth and greater personal wealth, parents wanted to educate their children well, and they put pressure on the government to enable them to do so.

Finland has long considered education to be very important and has embraced values such as “a law-abiding citizenry, trust in authorities, and commitment to one's social group, awareness of one's social status and position, and patriotic spirit”. [2] Pasi Sahlberg, a Finnish scholar and education expert, commented in 2010 that “over the last half-century we developed an understanding that the only way for us to survive as a small, independent nation is by educating all our people” .[4] Owing to such values, and parents' increasing interest in providing high standards of education for their children, public interest in educational reform was high. The governmental reports into reforms of the postwar period started to help “build public support and political will to create an education system that would be more responsive to the growing demand for more equitable educational opportunities for all young people in Finland” .[4]

As the generation of baby boomers reached school age, more and more parents were sending their children on to secondary education in grammar schools. In the academic year 1955-56, there were 34,000 students enrolled in grammar schools, and this figure climbed to 215,000 in 1960, rising further to 270,000 in 1965 and reaching 324,000 by 1970. [2] Such significant increases in enrolment numbers “reflected the aspirations of ordinary Finns for greater educational opportunity for their children, a message that the country's political leaders heard as well” .[4]

Clarity of objectives

There were clear, broad objectives set out at the start of the reform programme. Rather than proposing specific details, objectives focused on wide-scale goals at the national level. The primary aim of education reform was to establish social justice in Finland “to guarantee all children equal opportunity to a nine-year basic education regardless of their parents' socioeconomic status” .[2]  

As the Finnish economy developed, shifting towards a service-based economy in the 1970s, it was important to elevate “the population's general educational level and [to continue] to develop education in a scientifically, technologically, and socially sound manner”. [2] Further goals were “to reinforce educational equality and to reform educational content to reflect democratic values and attitudes” and “to reform the education system so that a larger proportion of citizens would be able to continue their studies at upper-secondary and tertiary levels and to become lifelong learners” .[2]   In a country with two official languages, it “was also important to secure the interests of the linguistic minority, the Swedish-speaking children” .[2] In 1981, the Ministry of Education reaffirmed that students could not be streamed into tracks based on ability or personal characteristics. [2] 

Strength of evidence

Legislators drew on a wealth of evidence as part of their approach to planning comprehensive school reforms. They considered information from a variety of sources, such as the pilot programmes of the 1960s, extensive consultations with key stakeholders from 1965-1970, and the Swedish education model.

In the 1960s, “legislators and educators rallied to craft a blueprint for reform”, using a combination of “committee work, experiments, pilot programmes, [and] input from the elementary school teachers' union” to develop a model for a system of comprehensive education. [2] Trials of the proposed comprehensive system were put in place in the 1960s, and by 1965, 25 municipalities where teachers had contributed to developing the new curriculum had partly adopted the new system. [2] The Swedish system also served as a model that had a distinct “influence on the structure of Finland's new comprehensive schools as well as on the teaching content”. [2]

Feasibility

Several mechanisms were in place to make the comprehensive school reforms feasible, including state funding, teacher training, and the implementation of reforms over a five-year period. However, owing to the scale of the reforms, challenges of some kind were likely during the implementation phase, such as restructuring teachers' payscales and providing suitable training for teachers about the new system.

Financing for the new comprehensive system was the responsibility of the Finnish government, which increased the proportion of its budget it spent on education from 9.1 percent in 1960 to 16.9 percent in 1975. [3] Municipal education institutions received high state subsidies to fund reforms. State subsidies covered 81 to 90 percent of teachers' salaries, 84 to 93 percent of school transport and pupil accommodation, and 5 to 77 percent of other expenses. [2] This funding allowed local governments to cover other costs without much difficulty. Since “teacher wages comprised 70 to 80 percent of total operating expenses, and the state subsidised as much as 81 to 90 percent of salary costs in communities that often had a 15 percent tax rate, hiring teachers could bring direct financial benefits” .[2]

To ensure the success of the comprehensive school system, it was essential that teachers were suitably trained to deliver the desired outcomes. As a result, in-service training was provided and “teacher training was transferred from teacher colleges and seminars to universities” .[3] In 1964, parliament enacted urgent measures to reorganise basic and continuing education, so that teachers could meet the new needs of comprehensive schools, and in the following years a committee was assigned to prepare and implement these reforms. [2] Once the comprehensive school system was introduced, “teachers had five days of in-service training for comprehensive school pedagogies including the social and administrative implications of the reform” .[11] The training, given by instructors regionally and nationally, helped teachers familiarise themselves with the new system, although there was some criticism that it was “too superficial and official”. [11]

As the reforms were to be implemented on such a large scale, “a multilevel guidance system was developed to gather input and connect the various national, regional, and local planning groups”. [2] The reforms were first introduced in remote, rural areas of northern Finland, “gradually spreading to the more populated municipalities and towns in the south. The last southern municipality to implement the new comprehensive system did so in 1977.” [4]

The management structure of comprehensive school reforms was clear at the outset and changed over time to respond to the emerging needs of the system. The National Board of General Education (NBGE) was initially responsible, before the eventual transfer of authority to local municipalities in the 1980s.

Enacting the 1968 legislation was the responsibility of the NBGE. [2] As part of the reforms, the NBGE was restructured into two branches, which each had its own role in the management of reforms. The School Department “generally oversaw school structure, network and planning for [schools] rebirth as nine-year institutions, and the Education Department became responsible for educational content, curriculum, teaching methods, learning materials, textbook approval, pilot programmes, research activities, and special education” .[2] In 1972, the majority of decision-making in relation to education was undertaken by the NBGE. By 1980, the Ministry of Education - which had been restructured in 1974 - increasingly had a role in decision-making, while by 2005, municipalities were the main decision-making authority. In 1991, the National Board of General Education (NBGE) merged with the National Board of Vocational Education (NBVE) to form the National Board of Education (NBE).

By the early 1980s, many considered the centralised management of the education system too restrictive and bureaucratic. There was increasing pressure to make changes to the system and give greater authority to municipalities and teachers. In 1984, the government set up a committee “whose goals were to decentralise management and reform the public administration apparatus in a way that would improve efficiency, democratic control, and legal protections” .[2] This marked a shift in the way the education system was structured, with local municipalities and authorities gaining control over decision-making processes: “central management steering systems were restructured, and the management structures rationalised. Norm and resource management was replaced by data-driven results based management.” [2]   

Measurement

Evaluation of student and school performance has changed over time. Currently, measurement of student performance is based on a system of “flexible accountability”, which eschews standardised testing in favour of teacher-made assessment at the classroom level. At a national level, there are some legislative provisions requiring evaluation of school performance; however, schools' high degree of autonomy means that evaluative processes are not homogeneous.

Rather than assessing all students through standardised testing, teachers currently evaluate student performance at the classroom level using teacher-made tests, which evaluate students' learning instead of standardised criteria. [4] This approach has been adopted in more recent years, replacing the previous system model of streamed classes, which prevailed in the 1980s and was based on students' ability. This change was made because studies had shown that streaming was a key factor in “maintaining and deepening regional, social, and gender inequality”. [4] Consequently, the three levels - basic, middle and advanced - were merged into heterogeneous groups in 1985, and the tracking system was abolished. [2] In 1999, the NBE released criteria for evaluating students at the completion of basic education, while in 2004 criteria for “early and middle-stage evaluation” was published in the Framework Curriculum. [12] However, municipalities and schools have a high degree of autonomy, which means they can design and administer evaluations as they choose.

At the national level, there are national learning result evaluations, which were created by the NBE in 1998. The following year, the Basic Education Act introduced statutory requirements for evaluation measures requiring municipalities to evaluate the performance of schools. [12] National evaluations are currently the responsibility of the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC), a national agency that evaluates education from early childhood to adult learning. [13] The evaluation focuses on objectives set out in the national curriculum, and schools that are sampled receive feedback in comparison with national averages. [13] Contrary to the practice in many countries, there is no mandatory standardised testing in comprehensive schools in Finland: only 5 to 10 percent of students in a given age group participate in FINEEC evaluations. In addition to these results, FINEEC evaluate schools through feedback from principals, teachers and students about learning methods and student experience. [13] Despite these evaluation mechanisms, it has been argued that they have little influence on the development of schools. [12]

The NBGE “endorsed the curriculum prepared by the Curriculum Committee as the basis for the national curriculum”, which was criticised by some for “limiting the autonomy of municipalities and local schools”. [2] However, the NBGE considered this necessary to ensure the punctual implementation of reforms as well as to prevent disagreements between teachers and special interest groups. Jukka Sarjala, who worked at the Ministry of Education from 1970 until 1995 and later became director-general of the NBE, was responsible for implementing reforms and he described the challenges they posed: “there were lots of municipalities that were not eager to reform their system, which is why it was important to have a legal mandate. This was a very big reform, very big and complicated for teachers accustomed to the old system. They were accustomed to teaching school with selected children and were simply not ready for a school system in which very clever children and not so clever children were in the same classes. It took several years, in some schools until the older teachers retired, for these reforms to be accepted.” [4]

To assist teachers in getting used to the new system, the government passed legislation that “mandated two days of teacher training in the first three years following their municipality's switch to the comprehensive school system”. In addition to this, teachers agreed to a further three days of in-service training, which meant that “during the comprehensive school's first three years, compulsory teacher training consumed five days each year”. This training was provided by “a network of instructors, led by so-called national level instructors… Each province had its own group of pedagogic instructors, and schools had mentors to assist and help teachers to adapt to the new school culture.” [2]

[1] Crude death rate and birth rate by Year and Information Live births, Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases,  http://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__kuol/statfin_kuol_pxt_005.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=2c04c18e-bd6c-4dd3-912f-7e5eccf892b1

[2] Policy Development and Reform Principles of Basic and Secondary Education in Finland since 1968, Erkki Aho, Kari Pitkänen and Pasi Sahlberg, May 2006, The World Bank,  http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/124381468038093074/pdf/368710FI0Educa1es0May0200601PUBLIC1.pdf

[3] A Historical Insight on Finnish Education Policy from 1944 to 2011, Mika Risku, June 2014, Italian Journal of Sociology of Education,  http://ijse.padovauniversitypress.it/system/files/papers/2014_2_3.pdf

[4] Finland: Slow and Steady Reform for Consistently High Results, OECD, 2011, Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for the United States,  https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/46581035.pdf

[5] The Finnish Education System and PISA, Sirkku Kupiainen, Jarkko Hautamäki and Tommi Karjalainen, 2009, Ministry of Education Publications,  https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/75640/opm46.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

[6] Highly trained, respected and free: why Finland's teachers are different, David Crouch, 17 June 2015, The Guardian,  https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/17/highly-trained-respected-and-free-why-finlands-teachers-are-different

[7] PISA 2015 Results in Focus, 2018, OECD,  http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf

[8] Finland and PISA, Ministry of Education and Culture [accessed June 12, 2018],  https://minedu.fi/en/pisa-en  

[9] Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Skills Studies, 2016, OECD Publishing,  http://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/Skills_Matter_Further_Results_from_the_Survey_of_Adult_Skills.pdf

[10] The Finnish National Core Curriculum: Structure and Development, Erja Vitikka, Leena Krokfors and Elisa Hurmerinta, 2012, Miracle of Education.,  http://curriculumredesign.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Finnish-National-Core-Curriculum_Vitikka-et-al.-2011.pdf

[11] Twenty-five Years of Educational Reform Initiatives in Finland, Ari Antikainen & Anne Luukkainen Department of Sociology, University of Joensuu, Finland,  http://www.oppi.uef.fi/~anti/publ/uudet/twenty_five_years.pdf

[12] The paradox of the education race: how to win the ranking game by sailing to headwind, Hannu Simola, Risto Rinne, Janne Varjo and Jaakko Kauko, 29 August 2012, Journal of Education Policy Vol. 28 No. 5,  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02680939.2012.758832

[13] Learning outcomes evaluations, Finnish Education Evaluation Centre. Accessed 31 January 2019,  https://karvi.fi/en/pre-primary-and-basic-education/learning-outcomes-evaluations/

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Educational Assessment in Finland

• First Online: 02 April 2020

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• Mari-Pauliina Vainikainen 3 &
• Heidi Harju-Luukkainen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4532-7133 4  

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The Finnish education has received a lot of attention after decades of relatively high performance in international student assessments. Even though the Finnish education system has received a lot of interest, very little attention has been paid to the model of the Finnish educational assessment system and the lack of standardised measurement and control. Thus, these factors in large are contributing to the overall functioning of the system. In this chapter we provide a historical overview of the development of the assessment model in Finland and further give a description of its current form. We also give an example of the Finnish PISA 2012 oversampling and its results. Finally, we make some critical suggestions on how the system could be improved without adding unnecessary controlling elements to  it.

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Vainikainen, MP., Harju-Luukkainen, H. (2020). Educational Assessment in Finland. In: Harju-Luukkainen, H., McElvany, N., Stang, J. (eds) Monitoring Student Achievement in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38969-7_11

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In South Korea and Finland, it’s not about finding the “right” school.

Fifty years ago, both South Korea and Finland had terrible education systems. Finland was at risk of becoming the economic stepchild of Europe. South Korea was ravaged by civil war. Yet over the past half century, both South Korea and Finland have turned their schools around — and now both countries are hailed internationally for their extremely high educational outcomes. What can other countries learn from these two successful, but diametrically opposed, educational models? Here’s an overview of what South Korea and Finland are doing right.

The Korean model: Grit and hard, hard, hard work.

For millennia, in some parts of Asia, the only way to climb the socioeconomic ladder and find secure work was to take an examination — in which the proctor was a proxy for the emperor , says Marc Tucker, president and CEO of the National Center on Education and the Economy. Those examinations required a thorough command of knowledge, and taking them was a grueling rite of passage. Today, many in the Confucian countries still respect the kind of educational achievement that is promoted by an exam culture.

The Koreans have achieved a remarkable feat: the country is 100 percent literate. But success comes with a price.

Among these countries, South Korea stands apart as the most extreme, and arguably, most successful. The Koreans have achieved a remarkable feat: the country is 100 percent literate, and at the forefront of international comparative tests of achievement, including tests of critical thinking and analysis. But this success comes with a price: Students are under enormous, unrelenting pressure to perform. Talent is not a consideration — because the culture believes in hard work and diligence above all, there is no excuse for failure. Children study year-round, both in-school and with tutors. If you study hard enough, you can be smart enough.

“Koreans basically believe that I have to get through this really tough period to have a great future,” says Andreas Schleicher , director of education and skills at PISA and special advisor on education policy at the OECD. “It’s a question of short-term unhappiness and long-term happiness.” It’s not just the parents pressuring their kids. Because this culture traditionally celebrates conformity and order, pressure from other students can also heighten performance expectations. This community attitude expresses itself even in early-childhood education, says Joe Tobin, professor of early childhood education at the University of Georgia who specializes in comparative international research. In Korea, as in other Asian countries, class sizes are very large — which would be extremely undesirable for, say, an American parent. But in Korea, the goal is for the teacher to lead the class as a community, and for peer relationships to develop. In American preschools, the focus for teachers is on developing individual relationships with students, and intervening regularly in peer relationships.

“I think it is clear there are better and worse way to educate our children,” says Amanda Ripley, author of The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way . “At the same time, if I had to choose between an average US education and an average Korean education for my own kid, I would choose, very reluctantly, the Korean model. The reality is, in the modern world the kid is going to have to know how to learn, how to work hard and how to persist after failure. The Korean model teaches that.”

The Finnish model: Extracurricular choice, intrinsic motivation.

In Finland, on the other hand, students are learning the benefits of both rigor and flexibility. The Finnish model, say educators, is utopia.

Finland has a short school day rich with school-sponsored extracurriculars, because Finns believe important learning happens outside the classroom.

In Finland, school is the center of the community, notes Schleicher. School provides not just educational services, but social services. Education is about creating identity.

Finnish culture values intrinsic motivation and the pursuit of personal interest. It has a relatively short school day rich with school-sponsored extracurriculars, because culturally, Finns believe important learning happens outside of the classroom. (An exception? Sports, which are not sponsored by schools, but by towns.) A third of the classes that students take in high school are electives, and they can even choose which matriculation exams they are going to take. It’s a low-stress culture, and it values a wide variety of learning experiences.

But that does not except it from academic rigor, motivated by the country’s history trapped between European superpowers, says Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish educator and author of Finnish Lessons: What the World Can Learn From Educational Change in Finland .

Teachers in Finland teach 600 hours a year, spending the rest of time in professional development. In the U.S., teachers are in the classroom 1,100 hours a year, with little time for feedback.

“A key to that is education. Finns do not really exist outside of Finland,” says Sahlberg. “This drives people to take education more seriously. For example, nobody speaks this funny language that we do. Finland is bilingual, and every student learns both Finnish and Swedish. And every Finn who wants to be successful has to master at least one other language, often English, but she also typically learns German, French, Russian and many others. Even the smallest children understand that nobody else speaks Finnish, and if they want to do anything else in life, they need to learn languages.”

Finns share one thing with South Koreans: a deep respect for teachers and their academic accomplishments. In Finland, only one in ten applicants to teaching programs is admitted. After a mass closure of 80 percent of teacher colleges in the 1970s, only the best university training programs remained, elevating the status of educators in the country. Teachers in Finland teach 600 hours a year, spending the rest of time in professional development, meeting with colleagues, students and families. In the U.S., teachers are in the classroom 1,100 hours a year, with little time for collaboration, feedback or professional development.

How Americans can change education culture

As TED speaker Sir Ken Robinson noted in his 2013 talk ( How to escape education’s death valley ), when it comes to current American education woes “the dropout crisis is just the tip of an iceberg. What it doesn’t count are all the kids who are in school but being disengaged from it, who don’t enjoy it, who don’t get any real benefit from it.” But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Notes Amanda Ripley, “culture is a thing that changes. It’s more malleable than we think. Culture is like this ether that has all kinds of things swirling around in it, some of which are activated and some of which are latent. Given an economic imperative or change in leadership or accident of history, those things get activated.” The good news is, “We Americans have a lot of things in our culture which would support a very strong education system, such as a longstanding rhetoric about the equality of opportunity and a strong and legitimate meritocracy,” says Ripley.

One reason we haven’t made much progress academically over the past 50 years is because it hasn’t been economically crucial for American kids to master sophisticated problem-solving and critical-thinking skills in order to survive. But that’s not true anymore. “There’s a lag for cultures to catch up with economic realities, and right now we’re living in that lag,” says Ripley. “So our kids aren’t growing up with the kind of skills or grit to make it in the global economy.”

“We are prisoners of the pictures and experiences of education that we had,” says Tony Wagner , expert-in-residence at Harvard’s educational innovation center and author of The Global Achievement Gap . “We want schools for our kids that mirror our own experience, or what we thought we wanted. That severely limits our ability to think creatively of a different kind of education. But there’s no way that tweaking that assembly line will meet the 21st-century world. We need a major overhaul.”

Indeed. Today, the American culture of choice puts the onus on parents to find the “right” schools for our kids, rather than trusting that all schools are capable of preparing our children for adulthood. Our obsession with talent puts the onus on students to be “smart,” rather than on adults’ ability to teach them. And our antiquated system for funding schools makes property values the arbiter of spending per student, not actual values.

But what will American education culture look like tomorrow? In the most successful education cultures in the world, it is the system that is responsible for the success of the student, says Schleicher — not solely the parent, not solely the student, not solely the teacher. The culture creates the system. The hope is that Americans can find the grit and will to change their own culture — one parent, student and teacher at a time.

Featured image via iStock.

About the author

Amy S. Choi is a freelance journalist, writer and editor based in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is the co-founder and editorial director of The Mash-Up Americans, a media and consulting company that examines multidimensional modern life in the U.S.

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Education System in Finland: What Makes one of World’s Best in 2024?

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Updated on 27 January, 2024

Shivangi Mishra

Sr. content editor.

What vouches for education quality in a country? Perhaps its global standing. Finland is consistently ranked as one of the best countries in the world for education. In 2022, it was ranked first in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for Education. The success of the education system in Finland has many reasons, including a strong focus on early childhood education, a well-trained and professional teaching force, and a focus on equity and inclusion.

Table of Contents

Education system in finland-facts you must know, finland education policy, higher education in finland, how much does studying in finland schools cost, financial support for international students in finland, academic sessions in finland- when can students be admitted, international student’s guide to finland, top universities to study in finland, student visa for finland, frequently asked questions.

Ranking 8th among the top 10 well-educated countries in 2023 by the World Population Review , let’s explore what makes Finland’s education model unique and how you can be a part of it.

The Finland education   system is based on the model of lifelong learning and equity in education. Learning is free and public-funded, from pre-primary to higher education. To bridge the equity gap, Finland schools   also provide a free transportation system for students residing in remote areas. 

Responsibility and trust are two main pillars of the education system in Finland. The teachers are offered leeway to mold their classroom’s module as per the student's caliber and interests. During school time, students are only tested once during upper high school.

Finland’s education policy is unique and the primary reason it is one of the best in the world. The Finnish education policy's main goal is to provide everyone with equal learning rights. It does so by offering free education, placing teachers with the highest qualifications, and giving them the autonomy to shape the student's educational life. 

The policy is shaped keeping lifelong learning in mind. This fosters an environment of discipline & trust between the teachers and the community. As a part of their undergraduate and master’s education, students are encouraged to work on collaborative projects with their peers to shape their professional demeanor. 

These points make higher education in Finland   a dream come true for many students!

Higher education in Finland   is bifurcated into 2 sections:

• Regular Universities

Under these universities, students complete their artistic & higher scientific degrees and later opt for postgraduate degrees. A Bachelor’s degree takes 3 years at these universities, and an MS in Finland takes 2 years.

• Universities of Applied Science

Students who pursue higher education at the Universities of Applied Sciences get a UAS Bachelor’s degree and a UAS Master’s degree. 

These degrees by the Universities of Applied Sciences typically take 3.5 and 4.5 years to complete. Students who wish to pursue a UAS Master’s degree at these universities must complete their bachelor’s degree or any other appropriate degree along with 3 years of relevant work experience in their desired field.

Education in Finland is free for EU/EEA students. But if you are a student moving from outside these regions, you might need to consider two aspects of costs.

• Tuition and Student Fee
• Living Expenses

The tuition fee is the fee you will pay for your higher education in Finland. Students pay between EUR 4,000 to EUR 18,000 for their tuition in Finland. There is no fee charged to doctoral students, regardless of their nationality. 

Apart from this, students need to pay an annual union fee of EUR 50, depending on their regular university. This membership is optional at UAS. A student union card helps students avail discounts at student restaurants and public transportation.

Living expenses are somewhere between EUR 700 to EUR 900. This covers students' rent, food, travel, and other expenses. The living expense amount may vary as per the location.

Students that pay tuition fees in Finland are eligible for financial support. For eligibility, you must:

• Be studying on a full-time basis for a minimum of 2 months
• Require financial assistance
• Have the necessary academic progress

The academic session in Finland is divided into two parts: Autumn and Spring intake. 

Many exchange students and international students are also offered a chance to study within the same academic year at some universities like the University of Helsinki. 

Finland offers high-quality education, student-centric support, and academic freedom, making it the perfect spot for international students. Finland’s universities and teachers are student-centric and there to boost your learning. 

With over 35 universities and UAS to choose from, Finland is ready to become a paradise for all international students. Choose the program that is right for you and start your educational journey in one of the top education hubs around the world.

Here are some top universities in Finland for international students.

You may need a student visa or residential visa in Finland under 3 conditions:

• Your education needs more than 90 days
• If you are from an EU Member State and want to complete partial education
• You have come to Finland to undertake postgraduate studies 

If you enter Finland to complete a higher education degree like an undergraduate or master's degree, you can be granted an A permit or a continuous residence permit. 

Your residential request will be accepted once you:

• Get accepted as a student in a higher education institute where your education leads to a degree
• You participate in a student exchange program between two state-recognized institution

In 2024, the Finnish education system continues to be lauded as one of the best globally, a status it has maintained and evolved over the years. This acclaim stems from its unique approach that emphasizes equality, student well-being, and a less-is-more philosophy. Unlike many education systems, Finland places a strong emphasis on play and creativity, ensuring that formal schooling starts at a later age. This approach fosters a love for learning, with children entering school life eager and ready.

Moreover, the Finnish system is characterized by highly qualified teachers who are given the autonomy to tailor their teaching methods to their students' needs. With a master's degree as a minimum requirement for educators, there's a high level of trust and respect for teachers, akin to the regard for doctors and lawyers. The curriculum focuses on holistic education and critical thinking rather than rote learning and standardized testing, ensuring that students are not just academically proficient but also equipped with life skills.

Furthermore, the Finnish education system is inclusive and egalitarian. There are no private schools or tuition fees, even at the university level, ensuring equal access to quality education regardless of a family's socio-economic background. This egalitarian approach extends to the absence of school rankings, which fosters collaboration instead of competition among schools.

In 2024, Finland's continued investment in education research and innovation, coupled with its commitment to teacher autonomy, student well-being, and equality, keeps it at the forefront of educational excellence. This progressive and student-centered approach to education not only garners academic success but also cultivates a society that values learning, creativity, and mutual respect.

What are the pros and cons of Finland's education system?

The high standards for teachers, emphasis on student-centric education, caliber-based course structure, scholarship options, high-quality living, and cultural & social life are some pros that make Finland an ideal place for international students. Some cons are its cold winters and the language barrier some students face. Although English is Finland’s second language, students can communicate relatively easily.

Is education the best in Finland?

Yes. Finland’s forward-thinking teaching and flexible education pathways make it one of the best education systems. It ranks 8th among the top 10 well-educated countries in 2023 by the World Population Review. 

Can I study in Finland for free?

Education is free if you are a student from an EU/EEA country. International students of other nationalities will have to bear tuition fees of anywhere between EUR 4,000 to EUR 18,000. However, all PhD programs have no tuition fee, irrespective of the candidate’s nationality.

Is it easy to get PR?

Permanent residence is considered after you have lived in Finland continuously on a residence permit for four years. Additionally, you must have proof of employment after your graduation. 

Do I need IELTS to study in Finland?

The university could ask you to provide official proof of your English competence if it's not your first language. IELTS and TOEFL are the most accepted English language proficiency tests.  You can get advice on the university's English proficiency exam requirements and any potential exemption policies from the institution you are applying to.

She is an experienced writer and journalist who has extensively covered the education sector in India and Abroad. Now helping Indian aspirants realise their foreign education dream by providing them with relevant content and information through upGrad Abroad. Amateur traveller, loves to read Architectural Digest!

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Education System in Singapore: Unique Features, Grading System, & More

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Education in Finland

By: Victor   •  Essay  •  764 Words  •  December 21, 2009  •  1,227 Views

Essay title: Education in Finland

1. Students in Finland

The Finnish school system has been intentionally developed towards the comprehensive model which guarantees equal educational opportunities to everyone irrespective of domicile, gender, financial situation or linguistic and cultural background (section 25 Basic Education Act, herein BEA). With this objective in mind, accessibility of education is ensured throughout the country. Finland does not have segregated educational services for different genders, i.e. no girls’ and boys’ schools. Basic education is provided completely free of charge (including teaching, learning materials, school meals, health care, dental care and school transport – section 29 to 33 BEA).

Basic education is an integrated nine-year structure intended for the entire age group (section 9 BEA). Schools do not select pupils; instead, every pupil is guaranteed access to a school within their own domiciled area. Even children with the most severe intellectual disabilities fall within the framework of common basic education (section 15, 16 and 17 BEA).

At the same time responsibility for basic education was given almost exclusively to the providers of education, i.e. in practice to municipalities (section 4 BEA). Only a few special schools and university training schools remained as state maintained schools. Schools continued to follow the nationally accepted curriculum defined and approved by The Finnish National Board of Education (herein FNBE).

The education system is flexible and its administration is based on intense delegation and provision of support. Steering is based on objectives set out in the Basic Education Act and Decree and within the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education. Responsibility for provision of education and implementation of objectives rests with local authorities (municipalities). FNBE gave only very broad aims and contents for the teaching of different subjects. The providers of education and finally schools set up their own curricula on the basis of the national core curriculum. In these plans local needs could be taken into consideration and special features of the school could be made use of.

New allocation of lessons for basic education was adopted in 2001 and the new National Core Curriculum for Basic Education was introduced as from 16th January 2004. While there are no programs for gifted children, teachers are free to devise ways to challenge their smartest students. The smarter students help teach the average students.

Students must learn two foreign languages -- Swedish is required by law (section 12 BEA), and most also take English. In addition, other mother tongues, e.g. Saame, the Roma language, sign language or �some other language which is the pupil’s native language’ can be taught when there are at least three pupils who’s parents would like their children to be taught in their native tongue (section 12 BEA). Art, music, physical education, woodwork and textiles (which is mostly sewing and knitting) are obligatory for girls and