Via Jerry P. Becker: Can't import the "Finnish approach" - cultural roots

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Received from Stefan Turnau, Sunday, January 2, 2011 in response to the posting on "Shanghai Schools' Approach Pushes Students to Top of Tests" on January 1st, 2011. You might want to take a look at http://www.teachers.tv/videos/the-human-factor where what follows can be found plus a great deal more, due to Nigel Bispham who is a deputy head teacher from Cornwall who visits Finland to discover why the country scored so well on the international OECD PISA assessments.

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Can't import the "Finnish approach" - cultural roots

I'm afraid the "Finnish approach" can't be exported wholesale to any other cultural context.

A by no means exhaustive list of aspects that make the Finnish approach work (in my short experience as a Brit who's lived here in Helsinki for 7 years and has a daughter in primary education at the moment):

1. Finns have a deep and lasting respect for the teaching profession and education in general, people aspire to be teachers!

2. Parents respect the job teachers do and let them do it (they are not well paid but they enjoy high status). The government lets teachers get on with teaching,

3. Parents are reminded several times a year to come into the school anytime to observe lessons or any other part of the school day.

4. Teachers at all levels hold master's degree qualifications in pedagogy and are left to get on with it without too many restrictions.

5. All facilities are in good repair and teaching aids are plentiful (with little damage from arson and vandalism because kids are generally protective of their schools and use the playground areas after school).

6. Active after school clubs from everything from art to athletics etc.

7. Short and sweet school days (e.g. 8-9 year olds 9 till 1/2pm).

8. Small class sizes (20-25).

9. Many kids have an early sense of self reliance from looking after themselves in the afternoons.

10. Kids here also get to roam free, expend a lot of energy, climb trees and skin their knees.

11. And so on.....

I think I can sum it up by relating a somewhat minor bugbear I do have with the Finnish Ed System and it is that my daughter's favourite expression is "Teacher says....xyz!" to put her parents right!

I think if you ask any Finnish school kid who the 10-15 most important people are in their lives, there is a good chance that their teacher will figure in there for many? How about in the UK, top 100?

I think the things that CAN be imported are ideas that allow a refocusing away from testing and performance by giving teachers more autonomy, a focus on quality rather then quantity of teaching, higher level academic teacher training qualifications, improving the status of teaching as a profession.

I'm afraid the "Chinese approach", very different but equally successful, cannot be imported for the same reason.

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