Dive Brief:
- In an interview with The Atlantic, Krista Kiuru Finland’s education minister attributed her nation’s success to education reform grounded in equity “Regardless of a person’s gender, background, or social welfare status, everyone should have an equal chance to make the most of their skills.”
- Over the past decade Finland has gained prestige and attention for its impressive education achievements. The country is a top performer on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a standardized test given to 15-year olds in 65 nations around the globe.
- Finland was not always the darling of the education world. According the Kiuru, “we used to have a system that was really unequal,” and it wasn’t until the 1960s that the country decided to overhaul and provide free, quality education to all.
Dive Insight:
Finland’s ability to revamp its education landscape is encouraging. Some critics of the country’s praise argue it is dealing with a smaller and far more homogenous population and that this model would not be easily implemented in the United States. Whether or not you agree with this, it is not just equity that makes Finnish students top performers on the global stage.
Finland also has a different approach to class time. While the country does have a national curriculum — to ensure equity across schools — it is not test driven like the United States. In fact, Finland has no national standardized tests. Finnish children do not start school until the age 7, and when they are enrolled, they have longer recess and a shorter academic year. Additionally, the schools offer alternative lessons more reminiscent of 1950s Home Ec (read: bathing suit sewing and breakfast making).
Kiuru rationalizes this by saying, “Academics isn’t all kids need. Kids need so much more. School should be where we teach the meaning of life; where kids learn they are needed; where they can learn community skills.” It’s hard to argue with that logic. Perhaps Finland is onto something.