Finland has become
known worldwide for its steady improvements in its educational system over the
past forty years and for high scores in reading, mathematics, and science
according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s
(OECD) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) of fifteen-year-olds
conducted every three years since 2000. What makes this improvement noteworthy
is that it has occurred without the extra hours of after-school and weekend
classes that students attend in other high-performing countries such as Korea,
Japan, Singapore, and China. Sweden’s educational system is structured
similarly to Finland’s, but its PISA results in mathematics have been closer to
those of the United States, which have consistently been below the OECD
average.
Finland
and Sweden both require nine years of comprehensive school. In both countries,
this level of school is called a gymnasium, and entrance at a particular school
of choice is competitive, with acceptance based on grades from the first nine
years. Mathematics classrooms in Finland and Sweden are very similar to what
would be considered traditional classrooms in the United States. But there were
interesting differences as well, in mathematics and the education systems in
general. Mathematics textbooks in Finland have all the answers in the
back of the book. Sweden is similar, except that the books also contain some
solutions in the back instead of just answers. Interactive whiteboards were in
every Finnish classroom. But in Sweden, interactive
whiteboards in only a few Swedish classrooms. schools in both Finland and
Sweden to have a more relaxed atmosphere than in the United States. Relatively
small class sizes in both Finland and Sweden. The educational system in Sweden is more accommodating to students’ needs,
whereas in Finland the priority seems to be that everyone should learn the
subjects well. Finland’s high requirements for entering teacher education programs
in universities mean that beginning teachers must earn a master’s degree. The
predominant use of formative assessment in Finland that aids student learning,
in contrast to high-stakes standardized assessments in the United States that are
used mainly to rank students, teachers, and schools. Finland has high
requirements for entering teacher education programs in universities and, as mentioned
before, beginning teachers must earn a master’s degree. Finnish teachers’
salaries are better than in the United States. As a result, teaching is a
popular career in Finland, and more students apply than are accepted into the programs.
Finally, teachers are held in high esteem in Finland. In Sweden, teachers are
poorly respected and are blamed for many of Swedish society’s problems. In
comparison with Finland, it is relatively easy to become a teacher in Sweden (a
bachelor’s degree is sufficient, as in the United States). In fact, Sweden
currently has a shortage of teachers because today teaching is not considered
an attractive occupation. Many
of the changes proposed in Sweden and the differences that I observed in
Finland are not areas that individual teachers can change, but change on a
larger scale is already beginning in the United States. Some things that teachers
can do are to strive to be worthy of respect by being experts in the
mathematics we teach and in best teaching practices, to be willing to share our
help and experience by mentoring both experienced teachers and new teachers.
