My 15 minute presentation for a panel talk at GETS 2010, "Building a World-Class Education System". The actual panel discussion that followed is not included. I discuss Finland's PISA success and the reasons behind it, as well as some future focus areas.

1. Building a world
class education
system - Education in
Finland
GETS 2010, Calgary, Canada
15th July, 2010
Tarmo Toikkanen, http://tarmo.fi
tarmo.toikkanen@aalto.fi

2. Finland, Europe

3. PISA results for
Finland
Literacy Math Science
2000 1st 4th 3rd
2003 1st 2nd 1st
2006 2nd 2nd 1st

4. The official explanation for PISA success
• equal opportunities to education
• localized educational responsibility
• free education and welfare (school meals, commutes, health care)
• Master level teachers
• high quality teaching
• great degree of autonomy to schools and teachers
• collaboration between schools, homes, and officials

5. My unofficial
explanations

6. Teaching is a valued
profession

7. Teacher’s curriculum
School curriculum
School district curriculum
National curriculum
framework

8. Textbooks Healthy market and competition

9. Less classes, less
homework

10. The Finnish language

11. Ethnically homogenous

12. Role of technology

13. Studying
Tools
Teaching activities
Didactic practices
Educational results
Pedagogical / Andragogical principles

14. Official future focus
areas
• smaller group sizes
• special education
• student counseling
• afternoon extra-curricular
activities
• school-home collaboration

15. Unofficial future
trends
• open content
• non-formal and informal
learning
• progressive inquiry, PBL and
other “advanced” pedagogies
• blended learning and social
media
• school-society collaboration

16. Thank you!
More information: tarmo.fi, tarmo.tel, aalto.fi