Assignment #3: Diversity and Access to Education
Finnish Equality in Society and Education
Introduction
A large aspect of Finnish culture has always been a dedication to equality and much of this can be seen in the country’s educational policies. And with PISA scores like these, it’s clear that these policies have had a positive effect. In Finland, “every child should have exactly the same opportunity to learn, regardless of family background, income, or geographic location. Education has been seen first and foremost not as a way to produce star performers, but as an instrument to even out social inequality” (Partanen, 2011). The Finnish education system has promoted equality over high-achievement by putting a large amount of resources into special education, publicly funded school equality, gender equality in public policy, and immigrant integration. And few other countries can boast of the same success as Finland.
PISA Results and Equality
When it comes to equity in education, Finland has demonstrated that it is up to the task. Although Finland does not support standardized testing, the one standardized test it does take, PISA, has revealed that there is a great amount of equality in student performance. Results from the PISA test show that, not only do Finnish pupils score very high, but also that the number of weak performers is very low (Kivirauma and Ruoho, 2007). The standard deviation of test results, which shows variation in student performance, is among the lowest in all OECD countries (Valijarvi et al., 2002). Within Finland, PISA results have shown that a pupil’s demographic, economic, social and cultural status has below average impact on that student’s performance (OECD, 2004) or, in other words, the country is in a “situation in which students’ performance is nearly independent of their sex, domicile, school or socio-economic background” (Kivirauma and Ruoho, 2007).
Special Education
There are many reasons for this equality, one of which is Finland’s emphasis on part-time special education. This strategy, which has its roots in the Comprehensive School Act of 1968, aims at addressing issues problematic to a pupil’s learning and progress as early as possible while still including him or her in regular classes. During the 1960’s, elementary and middle schools were unified and there was a concern that this unification would lead to problems of mixed abilities due to heterogeneity in the classroom. To avoid this, a countrywide system of part-time special education was introduced (Kivirauma and Ruoho, 2007).
One aspect of this strategy entails creating teachers with a high amount of training in special education and creating many of them. Reforms of the 1960’s saw the establishment of a new, high-quality and uniform system of teacher training, which included part-time special education. As part of the master’s degree that all teachers must obtain, special education is a large part of the curriculum. The number of part-time special education teachers hired in basic education in Finland increased 20-fold between 1967 and 1977. This has continued and, in 2002, every tenth teacher was a special education teacher and 30% of teachers were part-time special education teachers (Kivirauma and Ruoho, 2007). This vast resource of part-time special education teachers is “one of the key factors explaining the equality of Finnish outcomes in the PISA study” (Kivirauma and Ruoho, 2007). With this quality and quantity of special education teachers, it is simply much harder for students to fall behind.
This high number of special-education teachers also reflects the high quantity of Finnish pupils involved in special education. In 2003, 18% of all Finnish children were classified as special educational needs students. This is significantly higher than in other countries. For example, in Germany, only 5.3% of students are classified as special educational needs students. (Kivirauma and Ruoho, 2007). “It can be concluded that Finland has the world record in terms of the quantity of special education given to basic education students (Kivirauma and Ruoho, 2007). However, the definition of special needs in Finland is much broader.
Special education often has connotations of students with a major physical or mental disability but, in Finland, the term is used quite flexibly and is primarily aimed at students in need of minor assistance outside of regular class time. Finland’s policy towards special education is also highly focused on early intervention in a pupil’s education, often in the first three years of schooling, and it puts particular stress on the treatment of language-related problems. In fact, support for spoken and written mother tongue language skills accounts for more than two-thirds of all part-time special education (Kivirauma and Ruoho, 293). This high number of special needs teachers and the high number of children that receive special needs assistance contributes greatly to the equality seen in the Finnish education system.
School Equality, Choice and Competition
Another ingredient in Finland’s success at achieving educational equity is the lack of competition and difference amongst schools. First, there are no private schools or universities and the small number of independent schools in Finland are publicly financed. Schools are not allowed to charge tuition fees. This means that practically everyone in Finland attends public school, from pre-Kindergarten to the Ph.D. level (Partanen, 2011). This prevents privately- and well-funded schools from getting an edge on public schools. In addition, there is much less competition in Finland as this is not part of Finnish culture as it is part of American culture. “There are no lists of best schools or teachers in Finland. The main driver of education policy is not competition between teachers and between schools, but cooperation” (Partanen, 2011). This means that schools generally provide the same quality level to all students in all parts of the country. In the U.S., much attention and money is given to choosing the right school but, in Finland, there is no choosing or benefit to doing so. From the rural Lapland of northern Finland to the suburbs of Helsinki, schools are relatively equal.
Immigrants
Finland has also achieved success in providing educational equality towards its immigrants. Since the 1980s, there has been a rapid growth in the country’s foreign-born population but, even with this influx of immigrants, the education system still achieves a high level of equality (Kilpi-Jakonen, 2012). Finland’s immigrant education policy is to “provide people moving to Finland with opportunities to function as equal members of Finnish society and guarantee immigrants the same educational opportunities as other citizens” (Finnish National Board of Education, 2013). One way it does so is through the part-time special education mentioned previously. As immigrants have special needs, in terms of language and culture, they can also be classified as special needs students and receive additional assistance during their schooling.
Besides equality, Finnish policy towards immigrant education also focuses on integration, functional bilingualism and multiculturalism. Finland aims to integrate immigrants into the Finnish education system and society as well as support their cultural and linguistic identity. For example, one goal of Finnish immigrant education is to foster “well-functioning bilingualism as possible so that, in addition to Finnish (or Swedish), [immigrants] will also have a command of their own native language” (Finnish National Board of Education, 2013). While immigrants maintain their own language and culture, instruction in Finnish or Swedish, which are the two official languages of Finland, is organized for immigrants of all ages (Finnish National Board of Education, 2013).
The Gender Effect
Another aspect of Finnish equality, and perhaps an interesting cause of equity in the Finnish education system, is the country’s policies towards gender. Finland has gone far in achieving gender equality and, at the moment, 43% of members of Parliament and 47% of government ministers are female (Strauss, 2012). In 2000, the first female president was elected and, in 2003, the first female prime minister came into office. Gender quotas were also established in local public boards, committees and councils as well so that at least 40% of each gender was represented. Not only does this show wider equality in society, it is also argued that this is one reason for Finland’s success in education. “Given the intimate understanding most women have of children’s needs, it stands to reason that women legislators probably make better policy for children” (Strauss, 2012). Having women in power has led to numerous policies directed at the development of healthy children, from a substantial maternity leave to an emphasis on exercise and a 75-minute school recess.
Welfare State
Another factor in Finland’s educational equality, and in society in general, is the country’s strong welfare system. Besides supporting a general economic equality, Finland’s welfare system means that Finnish students can travel to and attend school free of charge, have access to free school lunches, healthcare, psychological counseling, and individualized student guidance (Partanen, 2011). This means that a student will never be unable to attend school because of health problems, family troubles, excessive mobility, or financial concerns. “The involvement of the strong Finnish welfare state is crucial to the success of education” (OECD, 2005).
Homogeneity and Size
It is often argued that Finland’s educational success and equality is a result of the country’s perceived homogeneity and small size, however this is not the case. Although Finland is a relatively homogenous country, the number of foreign-born residents in Finland doubled during the last decade and the country did not lose is edge in education (Partanen, 2011). Norway, which is also relatively homogenous and small, approaches education in the same manner as the U.S., with standardized testing, lesser educated teachers, etc., but the country only gets mediocre performance results in PISA tests (Abrams, 2011). One could even compare Finland’s homogeneity to that of American states. In 2010, there were 18 states in the U.S. that had identical or significantly smaller percentages of foreign-born residents than Finland (Partanen, 2011). Educational policy, according to Abrams, is more important to the success of a country’s school system than the nation’s size and ethnic makeup (Abrams, 2011).
Conclusion
Finland has achieved a remarkable amount of equality in its education system. This equality is visible in its PISA results and cannot be accounted for by the country’s relative homogeneity and small size. Rather, it is due to the country’s welfare system, its dedication to gender equality and immigrant integration, public funding of equal schools, and its successful system of special needs education as well as the resources put into that system and its teachers. As equality is a part of Finnish culture, it is a major goal and result of its educational policy.
Sources
Abrams, Samuel E. (2011). The Children Must Play. New Republic. Jan. 28, 2011. Website: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/politics/82329/education-reform-Finland-US#
Finnish National Board of Education. 2013. Website: http://www.oph.fi/english/education/language_and_cultural_minorities
Kilpi- Jakonen, Elina. 2012. Does Finnish Educational Equality Extend to Children of Immigrants? Nordic Journal of Migration Research. June 2012, 2(2): 167-181. Website: https://ktl.jyu.fi/img/portal/8317/PISA_2003_screen.pdf
Kivirauma, Joel and Kari Ruoho. (2007). Excellence Through Special Education: Lessons From Finnish School Reform. Review of Education, 2007, 53: 283-302.
OECD. (2005). Finland Country Note. Equity in Education: Thematic Review. April 2005. http://www.oecd.org/education/country-studies/36376641.pdf
Partanen, Anu. (2011). What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland’s School Success. The Atlantic. Dec. 29, 2011. Website: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/
Strauss, Valerie. (2012). A new Finnish lesson: Why gender equality matters in school reform. The Washington Post. Sept. 6, 2012. Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/a-new-finnish-lesson-why-gender-equality-matters-in-school-reform/2012/09/05/3703ad4c-f778-11e1-8253-3f495ae70650_blog.html
Valijarvi, J. and P. Linnakyla. (2002). Competence for the futre. PISA 2000 in Finland. University of Jyvaskyla: Institute for Educational Research.
