One in three pupils have negative attitudes towards school
Schools open nationwide
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With the autumn term underway in all parts of Finland as of Tuesday, educational researchers are worried about a recent finding that about a third of Finnish pupils have a negative attitude towards school. Experts fear that this could easily spark a spiral of social marginalisation in some cases.
“Weak skills, losing faith in one’s own ability to learn, and lack of enthusiasm for further studies tend to accumulate on the same pupils”, notes Professor Jouni Välijärvi of the Finnish Institute for Educational Research at the University of Jyväskylä.
The institute is taking part in an extensive project aimed at making school enjoyable. It was launched after a study by the World Health Organisation showed that Finnish pupils are among those who enjoy attending school the least.
In 2002, Finnish 11 and 15-year-olds liked school the least, but six years later things had improved somewhat.
“Finnish girls enjoy school more than boys, and younger children like school better than older ones”, says researcher Ilona Haapasalo.
She notes that in on the international level, cultural factors can partially explain the apparent contradiction between good academic success and negative attitudes among pupils. Haapasalo notes that there is a reticence in Finland to express positive feelings. Meanwhile, free education is considered a basic right. Consequently many people are quite uninhibited in criticising perceived shortcomings.
Most Finnish young people have positive attitudes about school.
More than 70 per cent say that most teachers are friendly, and almost as many say that they get additional help if needed.
However, only about a quarter feel that their teachers are interested in how they are doing.
Nearly half are happy to attend classes, and even more feel that they “belong” in their particular school.
One in four agreed with the statement: “I wish I didn’t have to go to school”, a sentiment that was slightly more prevalent among boys than girls.
Results on stress caused by school work were somewhat contradictory. Fewer than a third said that school work is difficult, but about half felt that there was too much of it. Even more found it tiring.
Haapasalo’s study involved 3,000 pupils in the seventh and eighth grades of comprehensive school.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 18.8.2009 - TODAY |
 One in three pupils have negative attitudes towards school |
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