U.S. President Obama’s school reform seeks impetus from Finland

Researchers from Harvard University got acquainted with everyday life in a Finnish comprehensive

Riitta Aaltio

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By Hannele Tulonen
     
      Finnish 15-year-olds have consistently been among the top performers in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study of the knowledge and skills of teens in industrialised countries ever since 2000, when Finland placed number one in the first PISA study, which focused on literacy.
      United States President Barack Obama has launched one of the world’s most ambitious education reform agendas.
      The superpower has got tired of showing up only in the mid-range in PISA tests. In cooperation with the OECD, the U.S. education authorities have tried to find out what are the factors in successful countries that contribute to pupils’ good results in PISA tests.
     
Dean Robert Schwartz and his team from Harvard University paid a fact-finding visit to Finland.
      The team interviewed Finnish education professionals starting from Minister of Education Henna Virkkunen, while the Central School in Kerava, about 30 kilometres north of Helsinki, was chosen as the representative of an ordinary Finnish comprehensive school.
      The Kerava Central School is a comprehensive school for grades from 1 to 6 (ages roughly 7 to 12 years), with a total of 356 students.
      The school building dates back to 1939.
     
A new doctoral programme has been launched at Harvard, and five participants in this programme visited Kerava last week in order to study the school’s practices.
      In due course, they are expected to become leaders for the national school reform.
     
”Good teaching and a cosy atmosphere”. In these simple terms,  Inkeri Virtanen, a sixth-grader in the Kerava Central School, summarises the essence of her school, which has become "nearly famous" worldwide, as it will be representing the Finnish PISA highfliers in the reports made by the United States for their own education reform.
     
A video clip depicting an ordinary schoolday in Kerava’s Central School is among the video series profiling policies and practices of education systems that demonstrate high or improving performance in the PISA tests. (See link below).
      The sixth-graders are a bit peeved about not being featured in the video. All the foreign interest has made even them start to think about the primary questions.
      ”The number of rules and restrictions is reasonable but not excessive”, says Oskari Alenius.
      For example, students are not allowed to listen to music alone (through headphones) in the school yard, as it would be antisocial.
      Viivi Pyy has been to Italy, where she noticed that their schooldays were much longer than in Finland.
     
The researchers have been impressed for example by the flexible modular structures of the Finnish school system, by cooperation among teachers, and by the strong support given to students with learning difficulties.
      Class teachers, special teachers, and special needs assistants are responsible for the classes.
      The foreign guests have been wondering for example at the role of a class teacher.
      ”When one has been teaching the same class for as many as three years, one knows not only the student but even his or her entire family”, explains principal Riitta Aaltio.
      Thanks to the principle of early intervention, a number of adult support persons also visit the school in order to speak with students.
      ”The support measures are so strong that it is almost impossible not to learn”, Aaltio says.
     
She also speaks about the pedagogical partnership between teachers and parents.
      Class teachers tend to perceive students’ problems easily, discussing the issues with each other.
      It has also been noticed that regardless of which political parties are in power, Finland has hung on to its comprehensive school system.
     
It is believed that the well-educated teachers have an important role in the success of Finnish school students in the PISA tests.
      At present, there is a major shortage of teachers in the USA, and almost anybody is de facto qualified for the job.
      In practice, this means that the tuition is not homogeneous - maybe not even within the same school.
      In Kerava’s Central School, students regard the personality of a teacher as important.
     
”A good teacher listens to students and their opinions and is positive”, says Miira Sirolinna.
      ”[He or she] understands and knows how to discipline [students]”, Toni Ahonen adds.
      Some students even express opinions regarding the teaching.
      Vili Laurell and Peltsi Tianqu would like to have more homework.
      ”Especially maths; it allows us to make full use of our brains”, says Tianqu.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 22.1.2011


Previously in HS International Edition:
  PISA study results bring thousands of foreign visitors to Finnish schools (25.2.2008)
  Finland tops PISA in reading and mathematics as well (3.12.2007)
  PISA Conference visits Finland to learn secrets of scholastic success (15.3.2005)

See also:
  New PISA study puts schoolchildren in Shanghai and South Korea ahead of Finnish kids in reading skills (8.12.2010)

Links:
  OECD: Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for the United States
  Video feature: Finland
  PISA 2009 Results

HANNELE TULONEN / Helsingin Sanomat
hannele.tulonen@hs.fi