New curriculum to be introduced in primary and secondary schools next fall

Pupils to be taught about internationalisation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development

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The National Board of Education has designed new curricula for both primary and secondary schools. The first changes will be implemented in some schools this fall, but the new curricula will be fully adopted by the start of the school year in autumn 2006.
      In addition to traditional subjects, the new curricula include themes that will be addressed in connection with various subjects. These include personal growth, cultural identity and internationalisation, as well as communication and media skills, entrepreneurship, responsibility for the environment, well-being and a sustainable future, safety and transportation, and man and technology.
      Aslak Lindström, the head of the General Education Division at the National Board of Education, explained that the aim of the themes is to bind teaching in different subjects more closely to one another. In future, it should be easier to apply skills learned in one subject to material in other subjects as well.
     
At the same time, the school system is attempting to respond to the new challenges in society. Entrepreneurship has earlier been proposed as a separate subject. Also, Lindström observes that many items are taught at present that are no longer up-to-date with modern requirements.
      The new curriculum includes health education as a separate subject for the first time, to be taught from grade seven onwards.
      The curriculum in Finland's schools was last reformed in 1994. The new curriculum is more detailed than the previous one. For example, the curriculum for grades one through nine defines the aims and key contents of different subjects, and provides guidelines for student evaluation.
      The importance of student councils will also be emphasised, with the aim of helping pupils grow into active citizens.
      Primary school covers grades one through six in Finland, and secondary school years seven through nine. This division will most likely become less important in future, with the focus on a uniform basic education for nine years.


Links:
  National Board of Education: New curricula

Helsingin Sanomat