Designing Finnish Education Reforms Through Co-Configurative Strategy Work

• In Event: 72.011 - The Atlantic Rim Collaboratory: An Emergent Movement for Global Educational Change

Abstract

Finland is known for high-quality education. The success of its education system has been considered a consequence of the long-term, systematic education policy in place, the decentralised manner which it has been implemented, and the level of equity in education. Decision-making power and responsibility have been delegated to administrators at the local levels. At a same time, low-achieving students are performing better on PISA tests than those in other countries.
The decentralisation of education means that testing is not significantly emphasized. Finnish education authorities trust the teachers, and consequently, they maintain strong ownership over educational curricula. Decentralisation is possible because all Finnish teachers have been highly trained in Master’s level programmes at traditional universities. Teacher education has ensured that teaching is seen as an academic profession that attracts excellent teacher candidates.
However, the latest European Commission Country Report recognises the following education-related challenges in Finland: the dropout rate among young people is too high (9 %), Finnish students have not been performing as well on the PISA tests as of late, and there is currently a high sustainability risk related to public finances in education (European Commission, 2016). A recent Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) survey highlighted several other challenges ranging from the individual level to the level of teacher education (OECD, 2014).
Participation in the Atlantic Rim Collaboratory (ARC) will help Finland face the challenges it is encountering. Sharing and combining evidence-based knowledge and best practices with other educational systems inspires and provides great opportunities for collaborative knowledge generation. In line with ARC, Finland is committed to building and promoting a strong and sustainable teaching profession.
This session will explore how teacher education reform is designed through co-configurative strategy work in Finland. The aim is to foster the renewal of teacher education as part of a national reform programme by the government (Government Programme of Finland, 2015). Part of the key education project, the work of the Finnish Teacher Education Forum, involves creating a Teacher Education Development Programme (TEDP).
The process for TEDP includes 100 representatives from teacher education, the teachers union, the municipality union, and the student teacher union, as well as various municipalities, researchers, school principals, and teachers. The design of TEDP is based on research as well as the strategies at the national level and the level of the European Union. It also takes into account expert opinions from universities offering teacher education, local education providers, teachers, and other relevant stakeholders. A special virtual brainstorming tool is also being used and enables stakeholders to bring to the forefront, evaluate, and refine various ideas together online.
This session describes the co-configurative process of achieving TEDP for career-long professional learning. In addition, it discusses the implementation of the programme and the conditions for the renewal of Finnish teacher education through development projects. Knowledge and education, including teachers’ continuous professional learning, is one of the key strategic priorities of Finland for the current government term.

Authors

• Sanna Vahtivuori-Hänninen, Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland

• Olli Vesterinen, University of Helsinki