Finnish education has long and consistently occupied the best positions in all kinds of ratings, which the scale of the article does not allow to list. However, the most important "prize" of the country's educational system is worth mentioning: according to international studies, which are carried out every 3 years by the authoritative organization PISA, Finnish schoolchildren have shown the highest level of knowledge in the world. They also became the most reading children on the planet, ranking 2nd in science and 5th in mathematics.
But even this is not so much admired by the world pedagogical community. It is incredible that with such high results, Finnish schoolchildren spend the least amount of time studying, and the Finnish state spends very moderate funds on its quality and free education in comparison with many other countries.
In general, there is some kind of mystery that teachers of different powers are trying to solve. Finns do not hide anything and are happy to share their experience, organizing seminars both in their country and around the world.
Compulsory secondary education in Finland includes a two-stage school
- lower (alakoulu), from 1st to 6th grade
- upper (yläkoulu), from 7th to 9th grade.
In the additional 10th grade, students can improve their grades. Then the children go to a professional college, or continue their studies at the lyceum (lukio), grades 11-12, in our usual sense.
The Finnish school professes a gradual workload, brought to a maximum only for volunteers who have chosen Lukyo, those who are very willing and able to learn.
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7 principles of Finnish secondary education
Equality:
schools
There are no elite or "weak". The largest school in the country has 960 students. In the smallest - 11. All have exactly the same equipment, capabilities and proportional funding. Almost all schools are public, there are a dozen private-public. The difference, in addition to the fact that parents pay partial payment, is in the increased requirements for students. As a rule, these are a kind of "pedagogical" laboratories following the chosen pedagogy: Montessori, Frene, Steiner, Mortana and Waldorf schools. Private institutions also include institutions with teaching in English, German, French.
Following the principle of equality, Finland has a parallel education system “from kindergartens to universities” in Swedish.
The interests of the Sami people are not forgotten, in the north of the country you can study in your native language.
Until recently, the Finns were forbidden to choose a school, they had to send their children to the "nearest" one. The ban was lifted, but the majority of parents still send their children "closer", because all schools are equally good.
of all items
In-depth study of some subjects at the expense of others is not encouraged. Here, mathematics is not considered more important than, for example, art. On the contrary, the only exception to creating classes with gifted children may be aptitude for drawing, music, and sports.
parents
Who are the parents of the child by profession (social status), the teacher will find out last, if necessary. Questions of teachers, questionnaires regarding the place of work of parents are prohibited.
students
Finns do not sort their students by grade, school by ability or career preference.
Also, there are no “bad” and “good” students. Comparison of students with each other is prohibited. Children, both genius and with a large mental deficit, are considered "special" and learn with everyone. Children in wheelchairs are also trained in the general team. In a regular school, a class may be created for students with visual or hearing impairments. Finns try to integrate as much as possible into society those who need special treatment. The difference between weak and strong students is the smallest in the world.
“I was outraged by the Finnish education system when my daughter studied at school, who can be classified as gifted by local standards. But when my son went to school, who has an abundance of problems, I immediately liked everything very much,”the Russian mother shared her impressions.
teachers
There are no “loved ones” or “hated grims”. Teachers, too, do not stick their souls to “their class”, do not single out “favorites” and vice versa. Any deviations from harmony lead to the termination of the contract with such a teacher. Finnish teachers only have to do their job as a mentor. All of them are equally important in the work collective, both "physics" and "lyrics", and a labor teacher.
equality of rights of an adult (teacher, parent) and a child
The Finns call this principle "respect for the student." Children from the first grade are explained their rights, including the right to “complain” about adults to a social worker. This stimulates Finnish parents to understand that their child is an independent person, and it is forbidden to offend him with words or with a belt. It is impossible for teachers to humiliate students due to the peculiarities of the teaching profession, adopted in Finnish labor legislation. The main feature is that all teachers conclude a contract for only 1 academic year, with possible (or not) extension, and also receive a high salary (from 2,500 euros - an assistant, to 5,000 - a subject teacher).
Free:
In addition to the training itself, free:
- dinners
- excursions, museums and all extracurricular activities
- school taxi (minibus) that picks up and returns the child if the nearest school is more than two km away.
- textbooks, all stationery, calculators, and even tablet laptops.
Any collection of parental funds for any purpose is prohibited.
Individuality:
An individual training and development plan is drawn up for each child. Individualization concerns the content of the textbooks used, exercises, the number of class and homework assignments and the time allotted for them, as well as the material taught: to whom the "roots" - a more detailed presentation, and from whom "tops" are required - briefly about the main thing.
In a lesson in the same class, children perform exercises of different difficulty levels. And they will be evaluated according to the personal level. If you have performed "your" exercise of initial difficulty perfectly, get "excellent". Tomorrow they will give a higher level - you will not cope, it's okay, again you will get a simple task.
In Finnish schools, along with regular education, there are two unique types of educational process:
- Supportive teaching for "weak" students is what private tutors do in Russia. In Finland, tutoring is not popular, school teachers voluntarily cope with additional help during the lesson or after it.
- - Corrective learning - associated with persistent general problems in the assimilation of the material, for example, due to a misunderstanding of the non-native Finnish language in which the instruction is conducted, or due to difficulties with memorization, with mathematical skills, as well as with antisocial behavior of some children. Corrective education is conducted in small groups or individually.
Practicality:
Finns say: “either we prepare for life, or for exams. We choose the first. Therefore, there are no exams in Finnish schools. Control and intermediate tests - at the discretion of the teacher. There is only one compulsory standard test at the end of secondary school, moreover, teachers do not care about its results, they do not account for it to anyone and do not specially prepare children: what is, is good.
The school teaches only what may be needed in life. Logarithms or the construction of a blast furnace are not useful, and they are not studied. But the local kids know from childhood what a portfolio, a contract, a bank card is. They know how to calculate the percentage of tax on inherited inheritance or income earned in the future, create a business card site on the Internet, calculate the price of goods after several discounts, or depict a "wind rose" in a given area.
Confidence:
Firstly, to school workers and teachers: there are no checks, RONO, methodologists teaching how to teach, etc. The educational program in the country is uniform, but represents only general recommendations, and each teacher uses the teaching method that he considers appropriate.
Secondly, trust in children: in the classroom, you can do something of your own. For example, if an educational film is included in a literature lesson, but the student is not interested, he can read the book. It is believed that the student himself chooses what is most useful for him.
Two others are closely related to this principle:
Voluntariness:
The one who wants to learn learns. Teachers will try to attract the attention of the student, but if he has absolutely no interest or ability to learn, the child will be guided to a practically useful in the future, “uncomplicated” profession and will not be bombed with “deuces”. Not everyone builds airplanes, someone has to drive buses well.
In this, the Finns also see the task of secondary school - to find out whether it is worth a given teenager to continue his studies at the lyceum, or a minimum level of knowledge is enough for whom it is more useful to go to a vocational school. It should be noted that both paths are equally valued in the country.
A full-time school specialist - "teacher of the future" is engaged in identifying the tendencies of each child for a certain type of activity through tests and conversations.
In general, the process of education in a Finnish school is soft, delicate, but this does not mean that you can “forget” about the school. Control of the school regime is mandatory. All missed lessons will be spent in the literal sense. For example, for a 6th grade student, the teacher can find a "window" in the schedule and put him in a lesson in 2nd grade: sit, miss and think about life. If you interfere with the younger ones, the hour will not be counted. If you don't do what the teacher has set, you don't work in class - no one will call parents, threaten, insult, referring to mental disability or laziness. If parents are also not concerned with their child's studies, he will not calmly move to the next grade.
It is not shameful to stay in Finland for the second year, especially after the 9th grade. One must prepare seriously for adult life, which is why Finnish schools have an additional (optional) 10th grade.
Independence:
Finns believe that school should teach the child the main thing - an independent future successful life.
Therefore, they teach here to think and gain knowledge ourselves. The teacher does not tell new topics - everything is in the books. It is not learned formulas that are important, but the ability to use a reference book, text, the Internet, a calculator - to attract the necessary resources to solve current problems.
Also, school teachers do not intervene in student conflicts, giving them the opportunity to prepare for life situations comprehensively, and develop the ability to stand up for themselves.
School, school, I dream of you
The educational process in the "identical" Finnish schools, however, is organized very differently.
When and how much do we study?
The school year in Finland begins in August, from 8 to 16, there is no single day. And ends at the end of May. In the fall half of the year there are 3-4 days of autumn holidays and 2 weeks of Christmas. The spring half-year includes a week of February - "ski" holidays (Finnish families, as a rule, go skiing together) and Easter.
Training - five days, only on the day shift. Friday is a short day.
What are we learning?
1–2 grades: native (Finnish) language and reading, mathematics, natural history, religion (according to religion) or “Understanding of Life” are studied for those who do not care about religion; music, fine arts, labor and physical education. Several disciplines can be studied in one lesson.
Grades 3–6: Learning English begins. In the 4th grade - one more foreign language to choose from: French, Swedish, German or Russian. Additional disciplines are introduced - optional subjects, in each school they are different: the speed of typing on the keyboard, computer literacy, the ability to work with wood, choral singing. Almost in all schools - playing musical instruments, for 9 years of study, children will try everything, from a pipe to a double bass.
In the 5th grade, biology, geography, physics, chemistry, history are added. From the 1st to the 6th grade, one teacher teaches almost all subjects. A physical education lesson is any sport you play 1-3 times a week, depending on the school. After the lesson, a shower is required. Literature, in our usual understanding, is not studied, it is rather reading. Subject teachers only appear in the 7th grade.
7-9 grades: Finnish language and literature (reading, culture of the region), Swedish, English, mathematics, biology, geography, physics, chemistry, fundamentals of health, religion (understanding of life), music, fine arts, physical education, subjects of choice and work, which is not separated separately for boys and girls. Together they learn to cook soups and cut with a jigsaw. In the 9th grade - 2 weeks of acquaintance with "working life". The guys find any "job" for themselves and go "to work" with great pleasure.
Who needs grades?
The country has adopted a 10-point system, but up to the 7th grade, a verbal assessment is used: mediocre, satisfactory, good, excellent. There are no marks from 1st to 3rd grade in any variants.
All schools are connected to the state electronic system "Wilma", something like an electronic school diary, to which parents receive a personal access code. Teachers give grades, record absences, inform about the child's life at school; a psychologist, a social worker, a “teacher of the future”, a medical assistant also leave the information parents need there.
Grades in a Finnish school are not ominous and are required only for the student himself, are used to motivate the child to achieve a set goal and self-test, so that he can improve his knowledge if he wishes. They do not affect the teacher's reputation in any way, schools and district indicators do not spoil.
Little things in school life:
- the territory of schools is not fenced, there is no security at the entrance. Most schools have an automatic lock system on the front door, you can only enter the building according to the schedule.
- children do not necessarily sit at desks-tables, they can sit on the floor (carpet). In some schools, classrooms are equipped with sofas and armchairs. The premises of the elementary school are covered with carpets and rugs.
- there is no uniform, as well as any requirements for clothing, you can even come in pajamas. Changing shoes are required, but most young and middle-aged kids prefer to run in socks.
- in warm weather, lessons are often held outdoors near the school, right on the grass, or on benches specially equipped in the form of an amphitheater. During breaks, junior school students must be taken out into the street, even if for 10 minutes.
- homework is rarely asked. Children should rest. And parents should not be engaged with children in lessons, teachers recommend instead a family trip to a museum, forest or pool.
- teaching "at the blackboard" is not used, children are not invited to retell the material. The teacher briefly sets the general tone for the lesson, then walks between the students, helping them and controlling the tasks being performed. The assistant teacher does the same (there is such a position in a Finnish school).
- in notebooks you can write with a pencil and erase as much as you like. Moreover, the teacher can check the assignment with a pencil!
First time in the first Finnish class
A friend of mine who recently moved to Finland took her child to the 1st grade last year. She was worried and prepared for the event, as it should be, according to Russian traditions. Later she emotionally shared an unusual experience:
“Gathering near the school at 9 am, August 14th. First shock. The impression that the children "slept and came". My son in a jacket with a tie and a bouquet looked like a guest artist. Nobody gave flowers except us, there were no bows, balls, songs and other attributes of the holiday. The headmaster went out to schoolchildren in grades 1–4 (the older ones were in another building), said a couple of words of greeting and indicated to the students by name who was in which class. All. Hello, our very first September!
All foreigners are assigned to one class: Swedes, Arabs, Hindu, Englishwoman, a couple of children from Estonia, Ukraine, Russia. Finnish teacher and 3 translators. Some children attend the 1st grade in the second year, so they are also "on the sidelines", to help.
The second shock, already on the positive side: no preparation for school is required from the parents. Literally everything, "from knapsacks to slates" (a briefcase filled with "office supplies", slippers for the pool, even a towel) was given to the child at school. Nothing is required of parents at all: “everything is fine, your child is wonderful,” they say to everyone. The only thing they care about is whether the child and the parents spend enough time together.
The third memorable moment is the dining room. On the school website there is a menu for a month, the child imposes on himself what he wants from the proposed, on his school page on the Internet there is a "basket". The menu takes into account any preferences of the child, any diet, if any, you just need to inform, there is also a vegetarian cuisine. In the dining room, the children, like in the classroom, sit at their own table."
This is what Finnish secondary education looks like in a very brief summary. Maybe to someone it will seem wrong. Finns do not pretend to be ideal and do not rest on their laurels, even in the best one can find disadvantages. They continually examine how their school system matches the ongoing changes in society. For example, reforms are currently being prepared to divide mathematics into algebra and geometry, and to increase the teaching hours in them, as well as to highlight literature and social science as separate subjects.
However, the most important thing the Finnish school definitely does. Their children do not cry out at night from nervous strain, do not dream of growing up as soon as possible, do not hate school, do not torment themselves and the whole family, preparing for the next exams. Calm, reasonable and happy, they read books, easily watch films without translation into Finnish, play computer games, ride rollerblades, bikes, bikes, compose music, theatrical plays, and sing. They enjoy life. And between all this, they also manage to learn.