EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
IN FINLAND
Opetusministeriö
Ministry of Education
2 Education and Science
Elvi Rista
Education and Science 3
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
IN FINLAND
1 Trends in Finnish Education and Science Policy 4
2 The Education System 8
3 Administration and Financing of Education
and Training 10
4 Financial Aid for Students 14
5 Teacher Education and Training 18
6 Pre-Primary and Basic Education 20
7 Upper Secondary Education and Training 24
General upper secondary education
Vocational education and training
8 Higher Education 30
Polytechnics Universities
9 Adult Education and Training 36
10 Research 40
4 Education and Science
TRENDS IN FINNISH EDUCATION
AND SCIENCE POLICY
1
Education and Science 5
Finnish education and science policy emphasises quality, efficiency, equality and the international nature of science and promotes the competitiveness of the Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to be the best way to ensure the nation’s cultural, social and economic welfare in the years to come. The basic principles of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the European Union’s Lisbon strategy.
Fundamental educational rights are enshrined in the Constitution of Finland. Every Finnish resident is guaranteed an equal opportunity to obtain education and develop themselves, according to their abilities and needs and irrespective of their financial means. General compulsory schooling and the right to receive pre-primary and basic education free of charge are provided by law, but also tuition in other education and training leading to an educational qualification is free, including university postgraduate education.
Parliament passes legislation governing education and science and determines the basic principles underpinning education and science policy. The Government and the Ministry of Education, as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education and training funded from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.
Objectives
The priorities in educational development are to enhance competence and raise the level of education among the population and in the labour force; to improve the efficiency of the education and training system; to prevent social exclusion among children and young people; and to enlarge adults’ opportunities for education and training. Special attention is paid to internationalisation and the quality and effectiveness of education, training and research.
Lifelong learning is a viewpoint permeating all policies related to learning with a view to ensuring equal opportunity in education and a high level of education among the population as a whole. This policy entails that everyone has sufficient learning skills and opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills at all ages and in different environments.
To this end, qualification-oriented education and training is offered to the whole youth age group (16–21) and measures are taken to upgrade and update adults’ competencies. As the population grows older, it is essential to accelerate young people’s transition to further and higher education and, subsequently, to the labour market by streamlining student selection procedures, speeding up graduation and enhancing recognition of prior learning.
The starting point in the development of general education is to guarantee basic educational security for everyone, irrespective of their place of residence, language and financial status. Two of the foremost reforms geared to improve children’s and young people’s well-being have been to institute the right to pre-primary education and morning and a system of afternoon activities for schoolchildren.
The objective of general upper secondary education is to provide a good all-round education and to build a foundation for further studies. In the past ten years, the upper secondary school has been developed towards greater flexibility and a larger freedom of choice for students, thereby improving their motivation. The current focus in development is on content renewal.
6 Education and Science
The objective of vocational education and training is to guarantee access to skilled labour force and to support industry-driven innovations. Special attention is paid to improving the quality and effectiveness of training and its relevance to working life and to increasing appreciation of vocational skills. New challenges to development arise from European co-operation in vocational education and training, notably the Copenhagen process. Greater mobility among students and qualification-holders calls for the development of credit transfer systems and quality assurance in education and training.
In recent years, higher education policy has focused on the implementation of reforms required by the Bologna process in particular. The degree structures and scopes of studies at both universities and polytechnics are based on common European principles. Universities and polytechnics have developed quality assurance systems in line with European standards and practices.
The development of polytechnic education focuses on internationalisation and the quality of provision. To this end, measures have been taken to reform degree structures, step up study processes and facilitate international student and teacher mobility. In addition, polytechnics have enhanced their research and development activities which serve regional business and industry. One aim has been to reduce drop-out rates and shorten the duration of studies.
The main focus in the reform of university education and degrees has been to step up internationalisation and improve the quality of instruction and student counselling with the aim of shortening study times and speeding up graduation and entry to the labour market. The degree structure reform and the introduction of individual study plans have made university studies more flexible and promoted lifelong learning.
The role of adult education and training is to provide working-age and other adults with knowledge and skills they need for continuous development of their competencies and for other self-development which enhances equality and active citizenship. The provision of qualifying and continuing education and training geared to the working-age adult population has been expanded at all levels of education. The enlarged supply of open polytechnic and university education and online instruction has been supported by the development of information and counselling services and mature students’ financial aid. Special efforts have been made both in vocational and liberal adult education to increase educational opportunities for groups that are under-represented in adult learning.
Science policy seeks to raise the standard of research and improve the effectiveness and international visibility of Finnish scientific research. The aim is to maintain the level of Finnish R&D funding on a par with the world top countries. Input is focused on enhancing the quality of scientific research and strengthening researcher training and research infrastructures. Recent development targets include the professionalisation of research careers, commercialisation of research findings, and co-operation between higher education institutions and business and industry. Cutting-edge research requires both national and international networking and close co-operation at all levels.
Results
According to international surveys, Finland is one of the most competitive countries in the world. This success can be attributed to an efficient and open public sector and an egalitarian, high-quality education and research system.
Education and Science 7
According to the OECD PISA survey, young Finns’ knowledge and skills rank among the best in the OECD countries in mathematics, science and reading literacy. The proportion of poorly performing pupils is small compared with other OECD countries, and regional and inter-school differences are comparatively small.
In adult education and training, the number of participants has grown by 200,000 people over the past ten years to the extent that the participation rate is now 54% of the working-age population. However, participation is less evenly distributed among different population groups than in other Nordic countries.
A research career has attraction in Finland, and there has been no shortage of gifted doctoral students. More and more publications by Finnish researchers are appearing in international publication series and cited frequently in research. The number of mathematics, engineering and science students in Finland is high in international terms.
Future challenges
A future challenge for Finnish education policy will be to further strengthen the prerequisites of the public education system. We must pay constant attention to enhancing competitiveness and innovativeness by means of education and science policy. The aim is to create clusters of expertise of the highest international standard in fields of major relevance to the national economy and welfare.
Our network of schools and higher education institutions covers the country well, but there are some inevitable reforms we must make in response to the substantial demographic changes and internal migration, which is expected to continue to be strong. By rationalising the school network we also make savings, which can be channelled back to education and research.
Internationalisation is a precondition for the success and renewal of the Finnish economy. International co-operation and interaction is especially important in education and research. This is something that we are ready to invest in. Finland welcomes international students, researchers and teachers!
Antti Kalliomäki
Minister of Education
8 Education and Science
The welfare of Finnish society is built on education, culture and knowle
EDUCATION AND SCIENCEIN FINLANDOpetusministeriöMinistry of Education2 Education and ScienceElvi RistaEducation and Science 3EDUCATION AND SCIENCEIN FINLAND1 Trends in Finnish Education and Science Policy 42 The Education System 83 Administration and Financing of Educationand Training 104 Financial Aid for Students 145 Teacher Education and Training 186 Pre-Primary and Basic Education 207 Upper Secondary Education and Training 24General upper secondary educationVocational education and training8 Higher Education 30Polytechnics Universities9 Adult Education and Training 3610 Research 404 Education and ScienceTRENDS IN FINNISH EDUCATIONAND SCIENCE POLICY1Education and Science 5Finnish education and science policy emphasises quality, efficiency, equality and the international nature of science and promotes the competitiveness of the Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to be the best way to ensure the nation’s cultural, social and economic welfare in the years to come. The basic principles of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the European Union’s Lisbon strategy.Fundamental educational rights are enshrined in the Constitution of Finland. Every Finnish resident is guaranteed an equal opportunity to obtain education and develop themselves, according to their abilities and needs and irrespective of their financial means. General compulsory schooling and the right to receive pre-primary and basic education free of charge are provided by law, but also tuition in other education and training leading to an educational qualification is free, including university postgraduate education.Parliament passes legislation governing education and science and determines the basic principles underpinning education and science policy. The Government and the Ministry of Education, as part of it, are responsible for preparing and implementing education and science policy. The Ministry of Education is responsible for education and training funded from the state budget. The Government adopts a development plan for education and research every four years.ObjectivesThe priorities in educational development are to enhance competence and raise the level of education among the population and in the labour force; to improve the efficiency of the education and training system; to prevent social exclusion among children and young people; and to enlarge adults’ opportunities for education and training. Special attention is paid to internationalisation and the quality and effectiveness of education, training and research.Lifelong learning is a viewpoint permeating all policies related to learning with a view to ensuring equal opportunity in education and a high level of education among the population as a whole. This policy entails that everyone has sufficient learning skills and opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills at all ages and in different environments.To this end, qualification-oriented education and training is offered to the whole youth age group (16–21) and measures are taken to upgrade and update adults’ competencies. As the population grows older, it is essential to accelerate young people’s transition to further and higher education and, subsequently, to the labour market by streamlining student selection procedures, speeding up graduation and enhancing recognition of prior learning.The starting point in the development of general education is to guarantee basic educational security for everyone, irrespective of their place of residence, language and financial status. Two of the foremost reforms geared to improve children’s and young people’s well-being have been to institute the right to pre-primary education and morning and a system of afternoon activities for schoolchildren.The objective of general upper secondary education is to provide a good all-round education and to build a foundation for further studies. In the past ten years, the upper secondary school has been developed towards greater flexibility and a larger freedom of choice for students, thereby improving their motivation. The current focus in development is on content renewal.6 Education and ScienceThe objective of vocational education and training is to guarantee access to skilled labour force and to support industry-driven innovations. Special attention is paid to improving the quality and effectiveness of training and its relevance to working life and to increasing appreciation of vocational skills. New challenges to development arise from European co-operation in vocational education and training, notably the Copenhagen process. Greater mobility among students and qualification-holders calls for the development of credit transfer systems and quality assurance in education and training.In recent years, higher education policy has focused on the implementation of reforms required by the Bologna process in particular. The degree structures and scopes of studies at both universities and polytechnics are based on common European principles. Universities and polytechnics have developed quality assurance systems in line with European standards and practices.The development of polytechnic education focuses on internationalisation and the quality of provision. To this end, measures have been taken to reform degree structures, step up study processes and facilitate international student and teacher mobility. In addition, polytechnics have enhanced their research and development activities which serve regional business and industry. One aim has been to reduce drop-out rates and shorten the duration of studies.The main focus in the reform of university education and degrees has been to step up internationalisation and improve the quality of instruction and student counselling with the aim of shortening study times and speeding up graduation and entry to the labour market. The degree structure reform and the introduction of individual study plans have made university studies more flexible and promoted lifelong learning.The role of adult education and training is to provide working-age and other adults with knowledge and skills they need for continuous development of their competencies and for other self-development which enhances equality and active citizenship. The provision of qualifying and continuing education and training geared to the working-age adult population has been expanded at all levels of education. The enlarged supply of open polytechnic and university education and online instruction has been supported by the development of information and counselling services and mature students’ financial aid. Special efforts have been made both in vocational and liberal adult education to increase educational opportunities for groups that are under-represented in adult learning.Science policy seeks to raise the standard of research and improve the effectiveness and international visibility of Finnish scientific research. The aim is to maintain the level of Finnish R&D funding on a par with the world top countries. Input is focused on enhancing the quality of scientific research and strengthening researcher training and research infrastructures. Recent development targets include the professionalisation of research careers, commercialisation of research findings, and co-operation between higher education institutions and business and industry. Cutting-edge research requires both national and international networking and close co-operation at all levels.Results
According to international surveys, Finland is one of the most competitive countries in the world. This success can be attributed to an efficient and open public sector and an egalitarian, high-quality education and research system.
Education and Science 7
According to the OECD PISA survey, young Finns’ knowledge and skills rank among the best in the OECD countries in mathematics, science and reading literacy. The proportion of poorly performing pupils is small compared with other OECD countries, and regional and inter-school differences are comparatively small.
In adult education and training, the number of participants has grown by 200,000 people over the past ten years to the extent that the participation rate is now 54% of the working-age population. However, participation is less evenly distributed among different population groups than in other Nordic countries.
A research career has attraction in Finland, and there has been no shortage of gifted doctoral students. More and more publications by Finnish researchers are appearing in international publication series and cited frequently in research. The number of mathematics, engineering and science students in Finland is high in international terms.
Future challenges
A future challenge for Finnish education policy will be to further strengthen the prerequisites of the public education system. We must pay constant attention to enhancing competitiveness and innovativeness by means of education and science policy. The aim is to create clusters of expertise of the highest international standard in fields of major relevance to the national economy and welfare.
Our network of schools and higher education institutions covers the country well, but there are some inevitable reforms we must make in response to the substantial demographic changes and internal migration, which is expected to continue to be strong. By rationalising the school network we also make savings, which can be channelled back to education and research.
Internationalisation is a precondition for the success and renewal of the Finnish economy. International co-operation and interaction is especially important in education and research. This is something that we are ready to invest in. Finland welcomes international students, researchers and teachers!
Antti Kalliomäki
Minister of Education
8 Education and Science
The welfare of Finnish society is built on education, culture and knowle
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
