UnFinnished Business: Education Policy Lessons from Finland Pasi Sahlberg, PhD Director General CIMO (Ministry of Education) Helsinki www.pasisahlberg.com www.pasisahlberg.com
FINLAND
Education system performance over time in Finland and developed nations Learning, Participation, Equity, and Efficiency 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Policy Paradoxes
Paradox #1: Excellence through Equity
OECD 201 Percentage of variance of student reading performance due to socio- economic status Italy Israel Greece Spain UK Slovakia Denmark Austria Portugal Luxemburg Iceland Poland Norway Netherlands United States Germany Belgium Japan Australia Canada New Zealand Finland Korea 25.0 470 480 490 500 510 520 530 540 550 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 High Equity Low Percentage of variance of student reading performance due to socio- economic status Reading literacy PISA score 2009 Low Quality High
Equity in education variation of student performance in science PISA 2006
Variation of performance within schools Equity in education variation of student performance in science Variation of performance between schools PISA 2006
Paradox #2: Less is More
Finnish teachers teach less 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Hours per year Net contact time in hours per year in public institutions Middle School Teachers 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 OECD 2011
Finnish pupils study less in and out of school 9000 8000 Total compulsory instruction hours between 7 and 14 year-olds 7000 6000 Ages 12-14 5000 4000 3000 Ages 9-11 2000 1000 Ages 7-8 0 Finland Sweden Korea Norway Germany Greece Japan Austria Denmark OECD average Portugal Belgium Spain Ireland England France Mexico Italy Australia Netherlands OECD 2011
More money, less learning Learning 580 560 Finland PISA science score in 2006 540 Japan Canada Korea Australia Netherlands 520 Germany United Kingdom Austria Switzerland Belgium Ireland Sweden 500 France Denmark Spain Norway 480 Portugal Italy Greece 460 50,000 55,000 60,000 65,000 70,000 75,000 80,000 85,000 90,000 95,000 100,000 United States Cost Cumulative cost per student in USD (2006) OECD 2010
Paradox #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
Standardized tests in three education systems T T T T T T T T T T T T Grades in school 1 st 3 rd 6 th 9 th 12 th
Standardization
Paradox #4: Teaching is A Dream Job
Applicants to primary school teacher education 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 Male Female 2000 1000 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Applicants to primary school teacher education 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 Male Female 2000 1000 Accepted 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Teacher salaries relative to workers with college degree 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 Admission: 1 st Phase 2 nd Phase 3 rd Phase - high school merits - exam - interview - other merits 0 OECD 2010
UnFinnished Business
Global Educational Reform Movement Finnish Way X Academic Holistic
Global Educational Reform Movement Finnish Way X Standardization Personalization Foreword by Andy Hargreaves
Global Educational Reform Movement Finnish Way X Competition Team work Foreword by Andy Hargreaves
Global Educational Reform Movement Finnish Way X Choice Equal opportunity Foreword by Andy Hargreaves
Global Educational Reform Movement Finnish Way X Accountability Trust Foreword by Andy Hargreaves
Meaning of Finnish Lessons 1 Teacher Policy: Professionalization 2 Accountability Policy: Trust-based responsibility 3 Testing Policy: Purposeful assessment
One thing I never want to see happen is schools that are just teaching to the test because then you re not learning about the world, you re not learning about different cultures, you re not learning about science, you re not learning about math. All you re 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 that s 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 Twitter: @pasi_sahlberg