Education in Finland...utopia?

[Simona]

It sounds good and works in practice...could we ever try a bit of it?

Education in Finland - 9GAG

[rickysmiths]

France and Germany and Holland and Denmark are all like this aren't they?

[loocyloo]

It does sound good.

[mummyMia]

Hmmm, well I went to a secondary school in Finland (I was never at primary there) and I can say that some schools definitely do have entrance exams. The school I went to was selective and I had to submit previous grades and sit an exam. Also, I think that the better school performance is at least partly a cultural thing rather than just being based on a better education system. Finland simply doesn't have the same massive class/income divide that we have in the uk, I think parental expectations are generally quite high and the proportion on children with Finnish as a second language is tiny. I would not be surprised if the average Finnish school was fairly comparable to a UK school located in a well off/well educated middle class area.

[Maza]

What a refreshing post MummyMia!

[Simona]

Hmmm, well I went to a secondary school in Finland (I was never at primary there) and I can say that some schools definitely do have entrance exams. The school I went to was selective and I had to submit previous grades and sit an exam. Also, I think that the better school performance is at least partly a cultural thing rather than just being based on a better education system. Finland simply doesn't have the same massive class/income divide that we have in the uk, I think parental expectations are generally quite high and the proportion on children with Finnish as a second language is tiny. I would not be surprised if the average Finnish school was fairly comparable to a UK school located in a well off/well educated middle class area.

Thank you for your reply especially as you have had personal experience of the Finnish school system
my understanding is that they have developed their practice over the years ...they were not always this good....and now top any reports by the OECD and have done for years

What I am curious about is why...like many other school systems in the world...they have no need to introduce an inspectorate to oversee the standards in education?
And why has this country felt the need to have Ofsted inspect schools and constantly move the goal posts and tell teachers how/what to teach in schools?...

maybe anyone who was/is a teacher knows the answer?