Principles of primary
education
The Basic Education Act (Finlex, 1998) states the foundations of basic education as:
1. Education shall be governed by a unified national core curriculum in accordance with this Act.
2. Education shall be provided according to the pupil's age and capabilities and so as to promote
healthy growth and development in the pupil. (Amendment 477/2003)
3. Those providing education shall cooperate with pupils' parents/carers.
The Act also sets out that basic education should be free. This provision includes teaching, textbooks and
other learning materials, school health and dental care, travel to and from school and a balanced and
appropriately organised and supervised meal on every school day (European Commission et al., 2013b).
The underlying values of basic education are human rights, equality, democracy, natural diversity,
preservation of environmental viability and the endorsement of multiculturalism (FNBE, 2004).