Education lessons from Finland

DEBBIE JACOB

WHEN IT comes to education, there is a lot we can learn from Scandinavia, especially Finland, which has recently decided to move away from teaching subjects in school.

Only Singapore and China outperform Finland in school achievement, and educators from all over the world study the Nordic education system to figure out why it is so successful. Unlike Singapore and China, Finland features a stress-free education.

In its latest venture, Finland has decided to scrap teaching subjects in the last two years of school. Instead, students sign up for topics — like World War II — and then investigate how geography, history, English and maths can be linked to the topics of their choice. Students can also choose current events and apply these subjects to investigate the topic of their choice.

So this is how it works: A student might choose the main theme of World War II and then study maps of major battles or maps that chart the course of the war. They might compare maps from earlier and later time periods to see how boundaries have changed. They would examine how historical events led to World War II, read speeches or literature set during World War II and use maths to calculate the time it would take tanks or troops to move from one place or another or the distance between battlefields.

There are no limits to the imaginative ways students could tackle their chosen theme and apply subjects to an understanding of that theme.

What makes the Finnish approach to education so special is its ability to link traditional school subjects to real life.

Innovative education must connect to real life. It must engage students and make them feel like their education is important and relevant to their lives.

When this happens, students engage in meaningful work. There are not all the behavioural issues that we associate with our schools. Do you really think that students who are engaged in their education have time to fight and act out in school?

So what makes a successful school? In some places, strict, traditional methods still seem to work, but in most places, innovation works best. In 2016, the British-based Independent newspaper listed the 11 best school systems in the world by measuring the macro-economic environment, infrastructure, health and primary education and labour market efficiency. This is what the Independent found when it ranked schools.

Japan ranked number ten in the world for its education system. Although high school is not compulsory, enrolment is close to 98 per cent. Schools are strict and traditional, but students still accept this environment. Education pays off in Japan. Students get jobs when they complete school.

Ninth place went to Barbados. Because the government of Barbados invests heavily in education, Barbados boasts a literacy rate of 98 per cent, one of the highest in the world.

The Independent pointed out that most of the schools in Barbados are state-owned and state-run. New Zealand tied for ninth place — because of its high-performing state schools. This is quite impressive.

Estonia ranked seventh because it lives up to its mission statement which includes creating “favourable conditions for the development of personality, family and the Estonian nation; to promote the development of ethnic minorities, economic, political and cultural life in Estonia and the preservation of nature in the global economic and cultural context; to teach the values of citizenship; and to set up the prerequisites for creating a tradition of lifelong learning nation-wide.”

Ireland and Qatar rank in sixth place because of innovative, global education. Students in the Netherlands hardly get homework until secondary schools and students do not complain of stress.

Singapore, on the other hand, ranks as high as fourth place with its gruelling school system, which still works in that culture.

Belgium and Switzerland tie for second place for their outstanding secondary schools. They have general secondary schools, technical, vocational schools and art schools for students to choose from.

Of course, Finland ranks number one for its highly innovative, successful school system. The gap between the weakest and the strongest pupils is the smallest in the world. There is little homework and only one mandatory test at 16.

Clearly, innovative school systems are winning out more and more in most countries.

There are many lessons to learn from the educational experiments taking place out there. It is definitely time to make some major changes in our education system. It is simply not working well for most students.

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