Finland, a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordering Sweden, Norway and Russia surrounded by Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and the Gulf of Finland. The country is famous around the world for its amazing education system. Finland is a country where education is considered as a driver of a nation’s development rather than a burden or a business. But, what is it that makes the country’s education system so famous that people from around the world take lessons from the country. Let us know.
Finland is a country which understands its responsibility of imparting its students with the best education. And the best education not only comes from oxford affiliated books. There are several factors which play a significant role in making Finland an education effective Nation.
1. Highly Skilled Educationists
In Finland, the standards for becoming a teacher are very high and stringent and are followed strictly. If a person wishes to become a teacher or an educationist, he or she needs to at least hold a masters degree. They believe that a person should be competent enough to be endowed with a job like imparting knowledge, wisdom and education to the future generation. Further, if a teacher is unable to perform well in the class, then it is the responsibility of the principal of the school to attend the teacher and help them improvise.
Finland motivates its best people to become educationists because they view teachers as the builders of the nation’s future by educating young students.
2. Focus on Learning than the competition
Finland’s education system focuses more on learning than on pressurizing the students with performance measurement. Students are not evaluated based on their grades and class results. Instead of indulging in competition with each other, students are more aimed at collaborative learning. If a student is weaker in one subject, another student will help them learn the topic through supportive studies. For Finland, learning is more important than merit.
The world is focused on developing a race of students who are experts in mathematics and science, Nations, which are focused on imparting scientific knowledge to students, choose to overlook the choices of students. This makes students unhappy and unhealthy. Finland, on the other hand, understands that a student will get bound by subject-specific studies and will lose their ability to learn. Hence, no pressure is put upon students to undergo subject-specific studies.
3. School after 7 years of Age
Since the country is not focused on competitive learning, children are not asked to go to school until 7 years of age. They are given the liberty to live their childhood to the fullest and families get a good chunk of time with their wards before they are anywhere near in getting the burden of school studies.
Further, the basic necessary education course is of 9 years only. After 9th standard or 16 years of age, it is up to the student what they want to study and pursue ahead in life. All of these reforms were part of revolutionary changes in the education system that followed in 1980. Finland believes that education is the key to bringing reform in society.
4. Effective Education Time
In India, it is very common to see students get up early at 5 or 6 am, get ready by 7 to catch the school bus and then return to home late after a long hard day with hours of studies and many other extra-curricular activities. However, Finland believes ineffective study time rather than long hours of boring lectures. Schools generally begin between 9 to 9.45 am and students can get back home by 2 to 2.45am.
The school authorities and the teacher maintain such an environment in school that students themselves feel curious and excited to involve in learning.
5. Focus on Student-Teacher Relationship
Finland’s education system is more focused on developing students through their mentors and teachers. For this, every teacher is allotted with lesser numbers of students in each class. Further, in the most unique system of education, instead of coming across several teachers for different subject and standards, students are taught by a single teacher for 6 years. Thus, students get more familiar with the teacher and start to look up to their teacher as a mentor.
The role of a teacher in Finland is looked upon more realistically. While developing a strong bond of trust between the students and the teacher, Finland’s education is not aimed at blaming a teacher for the performance of their students. They understand that every student has different abilities to learn and adapt.
6. Healthy Studies Rather than Deadline Assignments
Unlike other countries, where students are loaded with lots of assignments, projects and homework to get them completed in time, Finland focuses on mental health. Students are not burdened with assignments. They are also given free time during school hours so that they can feel refreshed, interact with their friends and classmates and do a little stretching. A healthy body and a healthy mind can absorb knowledge more easily.
Not only students but teachers are also given free time during the day to take a break for the teaching and stretch their body and mind. Finland believes that when teachers are given refreshment time, they work with full dedication.
These are some of the main factors, which differentiate Finland’s education system from any other one in the whole world. Finland has learned over the years that developing competition between the students and over-loading them with studies and assignments are not an effective education. The world also needs to understand that these methods put pressure on students and make their mind work like robots. The real meaning of education is to enable an individual to lead a happy and healthy life and invest it in the development of society.
Instead of asking our children to compete with each other in studies, we should teach them to help their fellow students in learning and also gain knowledge from them. Every child is unique in their manner and hence it is not justifiable to judge them on similar grounds. Students should be given free mind so that they gain effective knowledge and become a better individual first before becoming a skilled professional with zero moral values towards life.
