Having lived in Finland for nearly 12 years, I have often meditated the underlying reasons for the marvellous success of the Finnish education system, which tends to score high in most, if not all, European and world benchmarks. The topic has puzzled me to such an extent that I have decided to search the Internet for some credible explanations. In the course of my research I have recently come across an interesting article by William Doyle entitled, “How Finland broke every rule – and created a top school system.” The writer juxtaposes the Finnish education system with its American counterpart and observes that a lot can be learnt from practices adopted by this Nordic country.

http://hechingerreport.org/how-finland-broke-every-rule-and-created-a-top-school-system/

The key figure in the story is Jussi Hietava, a fourth-grade teacher at the University of Eastern Finland’s Normaalikoulu teacher training school in Joensuu, Finland. As the author suggests, “Spend five minutes in Jussi Hietava’s fourth-grade math class in remote, rural Finland, and you may learn all you need to know about education reform (...) Instead of control, competition, stress, standardized testing, screen-based schools and loosened teacher qualifications, try warmth, collaboration, and highly professionalized, teacher-led encouragement and assessment.”

Alongside his pupils, also Hietava's university students enjoy the cutting-edge concept of “personalized learning,” which translates into the quiet, daily, flesh-and-blood countless face-to-face and over-the-shoulder interactions with schoolchildren. To quote Hietava himself, “Finland’s historic achievements in delivering educational excellence and equity to its children are the result of a national love of childhood, a profound respect for teachers as trusted professionals, and a deep understanding of how children learn best.”

It is the teacher who sets the classroom atmosphere. Children are allowed to behave as children normally do, i.e. to “wiggle and giggle” from time to time. Instead of being “strait-jacketed by bureaucrats, scripts or excessive regulations,” teachers in Finnish school are generally given more “freedom to innovate and experiment as teams of trusted professionals.” They are encouraged to constantly test new approaches to improve learning. To exemplify this point, let me quote Hietava’s latest pilot-testing of “self-assessments” (where students write daily narratives on their learning and progress) and “peer assessments” (where children are carefully guided to offer positive feedback and constructive suggestions to each other).

What do I learn from the article? In order to live up to the title of a trusted professional, I need to change some of my old habits, e.g.:

1. Set less formal atmosphere in my classroom. Introduce regular breaks in-between teaching and learning episodes.
2. Bear in mind that children are children and, as such, should be given more freedom of expression, allowed to “misbehave” and be restless at times.
3. Be a “warm” person and an encouraging tutor in one.
4. Experiment with new approaches to improve learning. Include more innovative practices in my teaching, e.g. “self-assessments” and “peer assessments”.