PISA study results bring thousands of foreign visitors to Finnish schools
Special school visit system arranged in Helsinki
Finland's high scores in the PISA studies conducted by the OECD on the scholastic skills of 15-year-olds have led to a stream of foreign education professionals travelling to Finland to learn about Finnish special education, teachers' training, and the school system in general.
Already before 2001, when the first PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) study was published, with its focus on reading skills, Finland was a fairly popular destination for experts in education. Since then, the number of visitors has increased many times over.
Visitors often come after first contacting the Finnish National Board of Education and the Ministry of Education.
Since 2004 about 1,200 guests seeking to learn more about the school system have visited Finland each year by first contacting the National Board of Education. The guests have included visitors from a combined 60 countries. Last year there were about 1,800.
At first, Germany was the overwhelmingly largest source of visitors, but since then, the proportion of Asians has grown, especially Japanese.
Delegations usually comprise 15 to 20 people, but larger groups have also been received. Three conferences have been organised, and a new one will be held in late March and early April, after the latest study gave Finland a record-high number of points.
A typical PISA tourist is an Asian civil servant who has been sent to learn about the Finnish educational system after a change in the political situation at home.
Delegations include teachers, head teachers, researchers, civil servants, and journalists.
The Ministry of Education has hosted visitors from 65 countries: ministers, politicians, and members of various reference groups.
In Helsinki the frequency of visits has led to the enactment of special arrangements and a visitor school system, after some parents started to express concern in 2003 that so much of the head teachers' time was spent on acting as "tour guides".
Each year 17 schools are chosen from about 80 applicants to host an estimated 2,000 international visitors.
Already before 2001, when the first PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) study was published, with its focus on reading skills, Finland was a fairly popular destination for experts in education. Since then, the number of visitors has increased many times over.
Visitors often come after first contacting the Finnish National Board of Education and the Ministry of Education.
Since 2004 about 1,200 guests seeking to learn more about the school system have visited Finland each year by first contacting the National Board of Education. The guests have included visitors from a combined 60 countries. Last year there were about 1,800.
At first, Germany was the overwhelmingly largest source of visitors, but since then, the proportion of Asians has grown, especially Japanese.
Delegations usually comprise 15 to 20 people, but larger groups have also been received. Three conferences have been organised, and a new one will be held in late March and early April, after the latest study gave Finland a record-high number of points.
A typical PISA tourist is an Asian civil servant who has been sent to learn about the Finnish educational system after a change in the political situation at home.
Delegations include teachers, head teachers, researchers, civil servants, and journalists.
The Ministry of Education has hosted visitors from 65 countries: ministers, politicians, and members of various reference groups.
In Helsinki the frequency of visits has led to the enactment of special arrangements and a visitor school system, after some parents started to express concern in 2003 that so much of the head teachers' time was spent on acting as "tour guides".
Each year 17 schools are chosen from about 80 applicants to host an estimated 2,000 international visitors.
Helsingin Sanomat