Importance Of Education In Finland

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Finland is a European country surrounded by Norway, Sweden, and Russia. Finland has a population of just over five million people. Finland was once one of Europe’s least advanced economies but today it is one of the richest and most successful nations. Many believe Finland’s success has been attributed to their high level of public investment in education and training. In 2011 Finnish youth were revealed to be among the best in reading, math, and science after the educational reform took place. Today more than 98% of Finns attend preschool at age 6, 99% complete compulsory basic education at the age of 16, and 3 out of 5 enroll in and 50% complete in state-funded higher education after upper secondary school (Sahlberg, 1). More than 90% of …show more content…

Education is the future of a country and Finland recognizes this and has gotten rid of the market behind it and focused on truly teaching the future leaders to come.
Finnish kids start school a bit later than most countries. They believe “kids should be kids”. The average child begins school at age 7. Social skills are developed in pre-school and language learned at home (Faust, et al.). In Finland pre-school is not mandatory. Children who do attend pre-school spend approximately 4-5 hours per day in school focused on play and preparation for their upcoming primary education. In Finland primary education begins at age 7. Primary schools are very small with a student population ranging anywhere from 10-300 students and most classes have no more than 25 students (Ruzzi, 4). Lower secondary school begins at age 12 or 13 in grade 7. The average student population is 250 per school (Ruzzi, 5). Students don’t take a …show more content…

Education is free to all and the same for all. Unlike many countries where your socio-economic class determines the standard of education you receive, all Finnish youth and adults receive the same education because the performance differences among schools are small. For those children who are struggling in the classroom a tactic used is an additional teacher helps those who struggle but the pupils are all kept in the same classroom, regardless of their ability in that particular subject (Burridge). The Finnish philosophy with education is that everyone has something to contribute and those who struggle in certain subjects should not be left behind. Education isn’t a money game in Finland. Education is free at all levels and every pupil has the right to educational support. Finnish schools have the shortest school days and are given lots of time to rest between sessions. Teachers use their non-teaching time to attend such duties as assessing students’ achievements, developing school curriculum, providing remedial help to individual students, etc. (Sahlberg). Finnish students rarely get more than 30 minutes of homework each day and most are able to complete it before leaving school. Finland’s Minister of Education, Ms. Henna Virkkunen said “Our students spend less time in class than other OECD countries. We don’t think it helps students learn if they spend seven hours per day at school because they also need time for hobbies and of

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