VET Teachers for the Future 2016 Course Blog

Group 3 (G3 Less is More).

First Impressions about Finnish Education: surrounded by the winds of change

After a week in Finnish lands coming from Brazil, our group has managed to understand a little bit more about Finland, regarding to Finnish behavior, educational system, social structure and  the people in the country. After some days of uncomfortable jet lag effects and the necessary adaption to different climate conditions, we could experience a significant week living in Hämeenlinna and five valuable days of lectures at Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK).

Our first impressions about Finnish Education are centered in some basic ethical principles in Finland, as the nation became independent from Sweden and Russia in the beginning of the 20th Century and finally could choose to be unique in their way of life, even after suffering the effects of the 2nd World War.  After being able to successfully host the Olympic Games in 1952, the promotion of trust among Finnish citizens were incorporated in the daily behavior of people, including the Educational System. This was the very first principle that has impressed us in Finland. After that, we've realized the Finnish Dream is about good school for everybody (equity and quality), and the Finnish Way of Life addresses independence, resistance and the ability to find their own way: "Only Dead Fish follow the Stream".

In our opinion, Finnish people believe in Education. They respect the whole process of Education and they understand that learning is a construction road and the teachers and the students need to be focused on that. In this regards, the Finnish education is taken seriously since the kindergarten stage, and that concern can be reflected in some assumptions like the mandatory qualification of teachers in Master's Degree to be able to lecture. All people, regardless of their social level, are entitled to the same good level education. Teaching is based on less is more. 

Besides that, some other characteristics of the Finnish Educational System can be presented below, such as:

a) The student based education: the education is given throughout the learn process based on the student, in their creativity, and their previous knowledge about certain issues or subject. 

b) Training teacher: in Finland there is concern for the training of teachers, in special for the technical school. All the teachers need to do a pedagogical course to be able to teach. 

c) Individualization: Another important point is the commitment of the students in their learning process and each person have the possibility to choose his or her own way to learn. Since childhood, children learn and process information received from books, teachers and the environment in a very particular way. Some of them need to do manual contact (like educational toys), some need to hear or see or read many times a text until it absorbed by their minds. When they grow up, these characteristics remain with the person, and it is part of teacher work to know how handle it for each one. Do lectures in only one method and expect the same understanding for all students could bring some of them to a failure feeling, which is bad. Part of our job as teachers is to recognize them as individuals belonging to a group and the teaching approach should consider all the spectrum of learning abilities. Included with this, the assessment also should not be performed in a widespread way, avoiding unfair evaluations between them.

e) Teachers are autonomous: No one could understand more the students than their own teachers. The general educational pattern comes from Finnish Government, but the daily approach is done by teachers, who has freedom to choose educational methods and the learning timing. In that way, classes can be conducted differently regarding their own characteristics and needs.

f) Use of technology: the use of technology is a reality in Finland, but there are some immigrant digital teachers  and then they have difficult to use this resource in their classes.

We also notice the importance of intervals between activities. When students come back to class after a short period of break, it seems they are able to pay more attention to the lectures. The interval is also important to make stronger the relationships between students and the teachers.

See more about that at  Education for All

Summary in Portuguese

A Finlândia é um país nórdico conhecido por sua excelência em Educação. Após a sua independência em 1917, o país optou por trilhar um caminho pautado na ética, o que promoveu um sentimento de confiança entre os filandeses, refletindo diretamente em seu Sistema Educacional. Com um sonho baseado em uma boa escola para todos, a Finlândia investiu em igualdade e qualidade de ensino, levando sua população a acreditar na educação. Todas os finlandeses, independente de seu nível social, têm direito a um ensino gratuito de qualidade. Esse investimento é percebido desde os níveis iniciais de ensino (jardim  de infância), em que todos os professores necessitam ter Mestrado em Educação, acreditando sempre que "menos é mais". Como princípios norteadores da educação finlandesa temos o estudante como foco do processo, o investimento na formação e na autonomia dos professores, a percepcção da importância da indivudualização na aprendizagem e o uso de tecnologia a favor do ensino. O somatório dessas características tem colocado a Finlândia entre os principais países em ensino de qualidade.