Parents complaining against schools more and more often

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By Katja Kuokkanen
     
      In 2008, Finnish parents made a total of 300 complaints of alleged unfair treatment to the State Provincial Office of Southern Finland against comprehensive schools, upper secondary schools, and vocational schools.
      The number of appeals has increased nearly tenfold since 1998, when the new Basic Education Act granted the parents of pupils the right of complaint.
     
Most appeals are related to pupils’ admission to a school or to their transfer to special-needs education, as well as to the duration of such special-needs education.
      In addition to appeals, parents are entitled to submit formal complaints against schools. In general, the number of formal complaints has been fewer than a hundred.
      The most common reasons for formal complaints to be filed are associated with teaching arrangements, administrative procedures, failings between home-school cooperation, as well as with the behaviour or actions of an official.
      Maritta Castrén, the inspection officer for educational and cultural affairs at the State Provincial Office of Southern Finland, would advise the parents to settle the disputes primarily with the teachers or the headmaster of the school in question.
      ”In some cases the activity of a pupil’s parent or carer can disturb the schoolwork considerably”, Castrén points out.
     
The majority of appeals and formal complaints are submitted in the provinces of Southern and Western Finland.
      In Western Finland, the record year for formal complaints was 2007, with a total of 101 such complaints received.
      According to Pirkko Laine, the chief inspection officer at the State Provincial Office of Western Finland, there have often been problems in the home-school cooperation.
      At the same time, the disciplinary measures that can be enforced against a pupil at school appear to be insufficient.
      ”The carers of pupils have become more and more active in taking care of the rights of their children”, Laine observes.
     
”The authority of schools has been eroded", says Tuija Tikkanen, the President of Council at the Finnish Parents’ Association and the Chair of Helvary, the parental organisation in Helsinki. Tikkanen herself is a mother and a teacher.
      ”In the old days, it would never have occurred to anyone that he or she could speak to the teacher disrespectfully”, Tikkanen remarks.
      A conflict puts head-to-head two experts who are both involved in the child’s situation: the parent and the teacher.
      ”That is why we need a new kind of cooperation that would benefit the child”, Tikkanen contemplates. One solution could be the reconstruction of school boards.
     
According to Tikkanen’s idea, the school boards should devise quality criteria for the home-school cooperation.
      Furthermore, the political appointments used in certain municipalities should be discarded.
      At present, not many municipalities have any school boards, while not that many schools even have parents’ associations.
      ”The support network of schools would need some firmer profiling. Municipalities should indicate to school boards that they can play a distinct role in developing the home-school cooperation”, Tikkanen notes.
      The school boards could reflect on the rules of the home-school cooperation, which should be recorded in the school year plan, she outlines.
     
An appeal against a decision is to be submitted to the State Provincial Office, if the decision concerns a pupil’s admission to a school, admission or transfer to special-needs education, changes to an individual educational plan, or an exception to the school starting-age.
      Appeals against a decision regarding religious and ethics instruction, a warning issued to a pupil, a suspension, a pupil’s right to free transportation and supportive services are all to be lodged with an administrative court.
     
A formal complaint can be submitted about any actions of the education provider to the State Provincial Office, which will launch investigations into whether the teacher, the headmaster, or for example the Head of the Education Unit has acted according to the relevant legislation.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 17.1. 2009


Previously in HS International Edition:
  WHO study: Finnish school is not so black as it is painted (20.1.2009)

Links:
  State Provincial Offices of Finland
  Basic Education Act
  The Finnish Parents´ Association

KATJA KUOKKANEN / Helsingin Sanomat
katja.kuokkanen@hs.fi