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Finland

Summary




General Assessment: Finland has a strong, inclusive, and in many ways "cutting edge" educational system. The compulsory education (ages 7 to 16) has the highest completion rate in the world. The upper secondary and vocational programs for 16 to 19 year old students provides education and access to over 75 percent of children this age. Finnish universities are internationally recognized for their quality.



Finland has a high percentage of citizens, including compulsory school pupils and secondary students, with access to computers and the Internet. The government, under the Ministry of Education, has initiated a research project to insure equitable access to technology for all Finns. This is one strong indication of the government's commitment to an equitable quality education.


International Programs: Finland is very involved with the European Community, the Baltic states, and the Nordic countries. Among other projects, the Baltic states are involved in an environmental project involving primary school pupils working to improve environmental conditions of the waters that connect the Baltic states. Individual Finnish schools are involved in many international educational programs, one of which is "Philosophy for Children."


Needs for Changes—Future: Most Finns see themselves not only as citizens of Finland and of Europe, but also as citizens of the world. This outward looking view is expressed in educational goal statements at all levels of education. Finland will continue to improve its educational policies and practices within that local and international perspective.

One of the hallmarks of Finnish education is its willingness to state its values clearly and boldly. The objectives developed by the National Board of Education list the goals of citizenship, full personal development, participation in culture, and involvement in Finnish, European, and world affairs as essential for an educated person. This approach to full human development and internationalism sets a high standard for citizens and educational institutions.

Finns also value equality of access to national resources, especially education. As the Internet is seen as one of the tools that will enhance education in the near future, access to it is now actively under study. The Finnish government and educational establishments are very concerned about the potential disparity of access to the World Wide Web. A three-year research program was underway in 2000 to assess the extent of that disparity and figure out possible solutions to narrow that gap. This project is a strong indicator of the way that the Finnish educational establishment works at self-improvement and towards the goal of an educated citizenry who will be able to function effectively in the twenty-first century.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Havén, Heikki (ed.), Education in Finland. Statistics and Indicators. SVT Education 1999: 4. Helsinki: Statistics Finland, 1999.

Jakobson, M. Finland in the New Europe. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998.

Ministry of Education. Education: Development Plan for Education and University Research for 1995—2000. Helsinki: Ministry of Education, 1996.

——. Education, Training, and Research in the Information Society: A National Strategy. Ministry of Education, 1995.

——. Higher Education Policy in Finland. Helsinki: Ministry of Education, 1998.

National Board of Education. Framework Curriculum for the Comprehensive School 1994. Helsinki: National Board of Education, 1994.

——. Framework Curriculum for the Senior Secondary School 1994. Helsinki: National Board of Education, 1994.

——. The Education System of Finland 1998. National Board of Education, Helsinki 1999 and Database of Eurydice Network, Eurybase 1999.

Nelson, H. Development on School Finance. National Center for Educational Statistics, 1994.

Sarjala, J. The School of Civilisation in the Information Society. Helsinki: National Board of Education, 2001.

Statistics Finland. Statistics on Educational Institutions 1998. SVT Koulutus 1998:5. Helsinki: Statistics Finland, 1998.

Vocational Education and Training in Finland. CEDEFOP, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1997.


—Richard Morehouse

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Education - Free Encyclopedia Search EngineGlobal Education ReferenceFinland - History Background, Constitutional Legal Foundations, Educational System—overview, Preprimary Primary Education, Secondary Education