Myth Busting... again.

Another interesting and well researched post about Finnish education from Donald Clark.  I think there is less sensationalism to this one and thus less to ‘pick at’ in debate!  (smile – but that won’t stop me trying eh?)  In broad terms I would not argue with much that is there and the excellent comments from people like Karo who know and understand the system much better than I do.

There is some devil in the detail and I will pick up on that later.

At the macro level I guess I would say that the biggest myth of all is the idea that one education system ever can be better overall than others in every single way.  Context is everything.  Even within a small country (in terms of population) like Finland, what is best for one group will not be for another and the idea that whole systems are transferable or can be ‘exported’ is laughable.   But that is not to say that there are not some elements that might benefit another system.

I honestly think that there is a lot of consensus amoung educationalists (rather than education managers and policy makers) about the value (or lack of thereof) of PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS – and now the latest from Horace Mann League that ranks Finland top.   The problem is surely two fold, first policy makers always want to justify their decisions to the electorate (or other stakeholders if not a democracy) and secondly the introduction of market forces into education requires by default that information about the ‘market’ be available to enable decisions.

The first means that any scrap of evidence will always be selectively grabbed and highlighted and other aspects ignored.  I think this will always be the case and this is why the ability to question and critically evaluate is as essential part of all education systems.  Of course people cherry pick from whoever comes top of whatever measure we use.  Always have and always will.  The good news Donald is that this means there will always be myths for you to bust (wink).

The second problem (market system) requires measures, rankings and so on for the so called 'consumers' of education to base their choices.   

(Perhaps we should organize a debate or panel on this at a conference Donald?)

The rest of my comments are to be found here.

The devil in the details

These I will dealt with in the same order that Donald raises them in his original post –

Mass shootings – yes true these are not as high profile or sensationalized as in other western countries.   Conspiracy of silence? I think not, though for sure this is not something to be proud of in any country, but there are cultural issues at play as well – I would say greater respect for families and friends affected by terrible events like this, together with a dislike of hyping things up (no news stringers here to reference NightCrawler).    

Can I go as far as to suggest that it is not a policy here to strike fear into the population to justify excessive policing and surveillance?   Fact is that the place is still generally very safe, as I said before – very 1950’s or 60’s.   But bad stuff does happen of course, no denying that happens everywhere.  But why turn that into media entertainment?

Not going to argue over salaries, I do not have the data.  But I will argue about status and respect for teachers in society, how much is that worth in monetary terms?  Teachers and education is held in high regard.

Yes there is a core curriculum (you can get details here) and teachers are FREE to teach and assess that as best suits the needs of their students.  No standardized over testing and ranking of pupils, teachers and schools.  No politicized inspection body.  The core curriculum guides, not constrains.  There are text books, true and discussions about moving to the use of OERs and ebooks.  (Refer to my previous post about a parent consultation evening).

On class size I cannot comment except from my own experience with my children and the schools I have visited.  In general the sizes have been smaller than the UK and the use of support staff in classrooms means that that there can be a very low student/staff ratio.

I would still argue that most parents send their children to the local school. You have to remember that the society is much more equal and very large social status differences only really exist in the one large city (Helsinki).  In most towns there really is very little difference.   As Kara stated in her comments, the exception is when students select specialist schools for specific aspects of curriculum, such as schools with an arts and music focus or a science focus or physical education and sports focus.   Then you apply to go to that school at around 14 or 15.

Augmented reality?

Your use of the term preschool education is very misleading Donald.  There is only one year of preschool here at that is at age 6.  That is free and not means tested.  These days almost every child attends this, though it is not compulsory, there is talk of making it so.  I do not mean to be rude here, but this is a different system and you are seeing it through different eyes.    

There is no ‘education’ as such for those under 6, not as you and I would understand it.   There is childcare and play and hot food and naps and play outside – and if a parent decides to stay at home rather than take advantage of this they are paid an allowance.  This I know to be true from personal experience and having a raised two children here through these age ranges.

The truth, as Donald states, is far from prosaic.  We each have our biases and I acknowledge mine, I work as a teacher educator in Finland promoting Finnish teacher education internationally.   I also had a choice of three countries in which to work when I left the UAE, including my country of birth, the UK.  It was not a contest, as a place to raise children and work in education I really find it hard to think of a better alternative than Finland and I feel privileged to be here.   I am happy to pay my taxes for that, but I agree that does not make it perfect or right for everyone else.

Perhaps the best idea is to get you over to Finland and see things for yourself?