Nama : M.

Naim Ridwan
NIM : 220901501074
5 REASONS TO FINLAND’S SUCCESS IN EDUCATION
1. Public funding
Statistically, more than a quarter of all students coming from families without
college degrees have access to higher education, a peak value in Europe . Financial
aid by Kela is provided in the form of the following benefits: Study grants, housing
supplement and student loans. According to Eurostat the public expenses for
education at the rate of the GDP are especially high in the Nordic countries
compared to the European average.
2. Culture of trust
Sahlberg claims that teachers currently enjoy great respect and trust in Finland. As
the national curriculum in Finland provides the schools with general
guidelines, the individual schools and their teachers have a huge impact on making
their own schoolspecific curriculum. In their professional practice, teachers can
also independently decide what textbooks and teaching materials they would like
to use.
3. The support system
In Finland, special education or «special needs education» is mainly integrated
into mainstream schools. According to the new National Core Curriculum for
Basic Education there are three levels of support for learning and school
attendance: general, intensified and special support. Usually this means individual
pedagogical solutions, guidance, and support measures which seek to improve the
situation at an early stage as a part of daily school life and every day teaching. The
learning plan is a written plan based on the curriculum specifying the objectives
of the pupil’s learning and school attendance, the necessary teaching
arrangements , and the support and guidance needed by the pupil. A decision on
special support is usually made when it is found that the intensified support
received by the pupil has not been adequate.
4. Well-being in schools
The present national curriculum puts the main emphasis on creating an atmosphere
of «well-being» at the schools which is reflected by the learning environment and
the fact that students should be more able to take part in the school
community. Creating a structure for a learning community within the schools will
have an effect on the cooperation within the staff but also between teachers and
students. The general aim is to recognize the students as individual personalities
and to see and accept the differences between them.
5. Teacher education
Job satisfaction among teachers is the highest compared to other professional
groups in Finland. This is quite a surprise as teachers’ salaries are quite low
compared to other European countries. Compared to teachers in Germany, for
instance, Finnish teachers earn about 20-30% less. In an OECD study from
2013, Finland’s salaries for teachers are only slightly above the OECD average .
The very extensive pedagogical and research-related education applies to almost
all forms of teacher studies.
Admission tests to teacher training :
The first step is to pass a national written exam called ‘Vakava’. If the candidate
has achieved enough points in the ‘Vakava’ test, he or she can go on with the
second application step that is organized at each university. In Finland, the
selective structure of teacher training is considered by Finnish education experts
as one of the main reasons for the successful performance of Finland in the PISA
studies .