Darlene Quayle: European Schools Research and Explorations

Finnish Education: a contrast to expectations

There were several things I was expecting to see in Finland, and found quite the opposite in some cases. To begin with, I had expected a largely monocultural country, but found a great deal of diversity, especially in the city and in the suburb we visited to the east of Helsinki.
I had heard that the education was largely uncreative, but I found several very creative educational projects in the two schools I visited. I heard that students don’t start school until age 7, and that’s true, but that is because they start first grade at that age –school before that is optional, and most don’t send their kids to any preschool or kindergarten.
I had also heard that they were well ahead of the world in their skills, but the math I found in 7th, 8th and 9th grade was similar to the math used in the US, just in a different order.
I had assumed that because of the limited population speaking Finnish and the grade 3 requirements to start English lessons, that the Finns would speak more English, but it was still as a basic level in many places we visited. Students add Swedish (second national language) at 7th grade and choose a third foreign language, usually French or German, at 8th grade.
Finally, I heard that students and teachers are one a first name basis and have a more casual relationship. This is true in the classroom, but in the hallway of at least one school, the teachers become Mr/Ms. __, and all doors are locked, requiring a teacher key to enter one space or another.

Finland sets strict standards for learning requirements at each grade level. Each school can choose their own textbook and workbook; I saw a single text used for three years of math at one school and another text that had separate books for each year in the same subject at the other school. They provide basic school supplies and lunches for all students.

The two schools I visited were a strong contrast to each other.

Vantaa: Mikkolan Koulu

The first school we visited is in a poorer area and has a high number of immigrants, including language learner students. They have a high emphasis on music and have an incredible program in sewing and handcrafts. They respect and celebrate all the cultures that attend their school and maintain weekly classes that help students learn or maintain literacy skills in their home language. The school is split into two campuses: one with a music focus, grades 1-9, and one without. The music focus seemed to calm the students, possibly additionally influenced by the presence of 1st-3rd graders. The other campus is for grades 3-9 and seems to have more struggles with students fighting, having to deal with at least one fight and several skirmishes each week. Even with these peer interactions, most seemed to get along and have a good relationship with their teachers.

Each class has about 20 students as a maximum and most, it appeared, are equipped with a lighted document projector. The special education students are split out into their own classes at a maximum of 10 in each, while some are integrated into the larger classes. I asked about any stigma that these students may have being in special classes, but the administration didn’t see any. She said on the contrary, students in both special classes and regular classes have expressed their appreciation for the help they received, and many have chosen to remain at this campus for 7th-9th grades instead of going to a separate junior high. They all work on the same curriculum, using the same texts, although there is a bit of flexibility in choosing supplementary books. One teacher found some quality books that were designed by a special education teacher which she uses to supplement instruction when the concepts become a challenge. I still haven’t decided what I think about the separate classes, and would like more opportunity to talk with the students and hear their own perspectives before classifying them as a positive or negative practice in education. I am encouraged that they are learning the same material, just with more help or a different presentation/learning style.

I was especially impressed with the sewing curriculum. Students learn to use the sewing machine in 3rd grade and start appliqué right away. In 5th grade, they begin learning how to knit. Sewing is required for all students through grade 7. Students in 8th and 9th grade may choose it as an elective, and it seemed that these were nearly all girls who did so. The work they were doing in the older elective class was incredible: chenille work, quilting, and weaving designs into a scarf on a loom.

Mikkolan Koulu opts not to participate in the standard annual national testing. Instead, it has as its mission to help students have a strong well-being and be safe, and to develop, grow and learn. They are constantly in a discussion as a staff about values and how to address the needs of the whole child, since many students come and attend their school for up to nine years. They would like students to learn all the basics and to have all the survival skills they need for life. Their goal is to move away from “the way things have always been” and to provide the child with the tools for whatever their future will be.

Espoo: Saarnilaakso Koulu

Espoo was a sharp contrast to the first school in that it comes from a higher socio-economic area and population. There are fewer immigrants and the school has had great success in both the national assessments and on the PISA. They have no mission or vision statement and no school goals beyond its continued focus of helping students have respect, knowledge, skills, ability to think, manners, tolerance of others and an awareness of multiculturalism. The school has cultural festivals four times per trimester. Food is a major focus of these festivals.

I found that students were working on a similar level to my own school district in math, but that the 7th graders were competently and consistently working on chemistry equations that I believe our local students begin in 8th grade. They write out their experiment summaries in their notebooks neatly and completely without any grumbling. My understanding is that they start these experiment write-ups in about 4th grade, although one teacher said that the 7th graders don’t fully comprehend the conclusions and evaluation steps of the scientific process. In math, all the teachers of a grade level work on the same subjects, yet they rarely meet together for planning. They use a very traditional method of teaching math, working through the text, 6-8 problems at a time, going through homework at the beginning of classes, providing some instruction, and giving an assignment that students begin in class. Students seem to have their homework done in time for class, and make no complaints when called to write out a problem on the board. Occasionally students will work in pairs, but group projects are never considered for math or science. While there may be short quizzes, tests are limited to twice in a semester.

Their digital art and digital music program is very strong. In this 8th/9th grade elective, students create short animated videos (12 frames per second) using Macromedia Flash MX and add music and voiceover. They document everything they are working on and create their own textbook of sorts, which include handouts, class notes and project evaluation charts. Students can include extra research in this “text” in particular areas of interest to increase their grade. By spring, each 9th grade student creates their own project similar to our senior project, and presents it both at the spring assembly and on the intranet (in-school network). The digital music program allows students to use synthesizer keyboards and Cubase Studio 4 to create their own music. There are eight stations for students to work in pairs on developing music. The teacher often uses a SmartBoard to demonstrate concepts to the students. There are approximately 20 SmartBoards in classrooms around the school.

HomeEc is a required subject for students through grade 7, and optional in 8th and 9th grades. Students study about cooking, nutrition, recycling, laundry, and cleaning. They work in two pairs per group. Each pair makes the food item and is allowed to share advice and supplies with its partner pair, and the four share set-up and clean up tasks. Students have a textbook for this class and keep a notebook of home activities. Voluntary extra reports and activities can increase their grade. Home Ec, and its 9th grade elective “Baking in English” class is very popular.

Teacher professional growth

Teachers are required to have a master’s degree in education and undergraduate studies focusing in their field of practice to secure a continuing teaching job. They are not required to complete continuing education, being considered “master teachers.” The IT teachers do regularly complete extra courses to keep up with changing technology, for which the courses and the substitute teachers are paid for by the school, and while other teachers may get time off, there is little or no money for courses. At least one core subject teacher felt fully qualified in his field, did not see potential changes in it, and expressed relief at not having to continue to take courses.