FINNISH LESSONS What Can the U.S. Learn from Educational Change in Finland?

Pasi Sahlberg, PhD Director General CIMO (Ministry of Education) Helsinki World Class Education Birth to 20 University of Illinois at Chicago Monday 5th December 2011

www.pasisahlberg.com

Einar Fritjof SAHLBERG (1895-1977)

2010

1790

Between the West and the East

Finland Today

Education in Finland

Education system performance over time in Finland and developed nations

Learning, Participation, Equity, and Efficiency

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

Education system in 2011

5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 Grades 9 Universities
60%

Polytechnics

23+ 22 21 20

General upper secondary school 10

55%

Vocational school Apprenticeship training

40%

Work experience 19 18 17 Age 16 Compulsory schooling

Specialist vocational qualifications Further vocational qualifications

Work experience

Basic school

1 Preschool

7 6

The Finnish Way 1: Excellence by Equity

Equity in education
variation of student performance in science

PISA 2006

Equity in education
variation of student performance in science
Variation of performance within schools

Variation of performance between schools

PISA 2006

The Finnish Way 2: Less is More

1100

1000

1200

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

United States Mexico New Zealand Scotland Australia Russian Germany Portugal Netherlands Ireland England Spain Belgium (Fl.) Slovenia Iceland Belgium (Fr.) Norway Denmark France Czech Republic Luxembourg Estonia Korea Hungary Austria Japan Italy Israel Finland Poland Greece

Hours per year

Finnish teachers teach less

Net contact time in hours per year in public institutions Middle School Teachers

OECD 2010

Finnish pupils study less in and out of school

9000

Total compulsory instruction hours between 7 and 14 year-olds

8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 Ages 9-11 3000 2000 1000 0 Ages 7-8 Ages 12-14

OECD average

Netherlands

Denmark

Belgium

England

Sweden

Japan

Portugal

Spain

Ireland

Italy

Germany

Australia

Korea

Greece

Finland

Norway

Mexico

Austria

France

OECD 2010

More money, less learning

Learning
580

Finland
560

540

PISA science score in 2006

Japan Korea Australia Germany Ireland Netherlands United Kingdom Belgium Sweden France Spain

Canada

520

Austria

Switzerland

500

Denmark

Norway

United States

480
Portugal Greece

Italy

460 50,000

55,000

60,000

65,000

70,000

75,000

80,000

85,000

90,000

95,000

100,000

Cost

Cumulative cost per student in USD (2006)

OECD 2010

The Finnish Way 3: Test Less, Learn More

Finnish Students are Tested less

National averages of 15-year-old students learning outcomes in mathematics 2000-06
560

540

520 2000 2003 500 2006

480

460 USA UK Canada Australia Japan New Zealand Ireland Finland

OECD 2001-2007

Finnish Students are Tested Less

National averages of 15-year-old students learning outcomes in mathematics 2000-06
560

540

520 2000 2003 500 2006

480

460 USA UK Canada Australia Japan New Zealand Ireland Finland

OECD 2001-2007

Teaching as a Dream Job

The Finnish Way 4:

Applicants to primary school teacher education

7000

6000

5000

4000

Male
3000

Female

2000

1000

Accepted
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Teacher salaries relative to workers with college degree

1.4 1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

Admission:
0.2

1st Phase
- high school merits - other merits

2nd Phase
- exam

3rd Phase
- interview

OECD 2010

(What) Can We Learn from Finland?

Global Educational Reform Movement

Finnish Way

Foreword by Andy Hargreaves

Global Educational Reform Movement

Finnish Way

Academic

Holistic

Global Educational Reform Movement

Finnish Way

Standardization
Foreword by Andy Hargreaves

Personalization

Global Educational Reform Movement

Finnish Way

Competition
Foreword by Andy Hargreaves

Community

Global Educational Reform Movement

Finnish Way

Choice
Foreword by Andy Hargreaves

Equity

Global Educational Reform Movement

Finnish Way

Accountability
Foreword by Andy Hargreaves

Trust

Three Questions for Illinois:

1

Do you need all that standardized testing? Can you do more to improve well-being? Could vocational options be enhanced?

One thing I never want to see happen is schools that are just teaching to the test because then youre not learning about the world, youre not learning about dierent cultures, youre not learning about science, youre not learning about math.

All youre learning about is how to fill out a little bubble on an exam and little tricks that you need to do in order to take a test and thats not going to make education interesting.

28 march 2011

"The story of Finland's extraordinary educational reforms is one that should inform policymakers and educators around the world.
Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University

A terrific synthesis by a native Finn, a teacher, a researcher and a policy analyst all rolled up into one excellent writer.
David Berliner, Arizona State University

Foreword by Andy Hargreaves

"This book is a wake-up call for the U.S. It is the antidote to the NCLB paralysis."
Henry M. Levin, Teachers College, Columbia University

Kiitos!
www.pasisahlberg.com