Miracle of Education Miracle of Education The Principles and Practices of Teaching and Learning in Finnish Schools (Second Revised Edition) Edited by Hannele Niemi, Auli Toom and Arto Kallioniemi University of Helsinki, Finland A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-94-6300-774-0 (paperback) ISBN: 978-94-6300-775-7 (hardback) ISBN: 978-94-6300-776-4 (e-book) Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858, 3001 AW Rotterdam, The Netherlands https://www.sensepublishers.com/ Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved © 2016 Sense Publishers No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword: Perspectives for the Future of the Teaching Profession vii Armi Mikkola Preface to the Second Edition xi Acknowledgements xiii Part I. Introduction: Current Educational Framing Factors and Conditions in Finland 1. Finnish School in International Comparison 3 Jouni Välijärvi and Sari Sulkunen 2. The Societal Factors Contributing to Education and Schooling in Finland: The Finnish Education: Equity and Quality as Its Main Objectives 23 Hannele Niemi 3. Finnish Teachers as ‘Makers of the Many’: Balancing between Broad Pedagogical Freedom and Responsibility 41 Auli Toom and Jukka Husu 4. The Core of School Pedagogy: Finnish Teachers’ Views on the Educational Purposefulness of Their Teaching 57 Kirsi Tirri Part II. The Foundations: The Design of Educational System on Various Levels 5. Striving for Educational Equity and Excellence: Evaluation and Assessment in Finnish Basic Education 71 Kristiina Kumpulainen and Timo Lankinen 6. The Finnish National Core Curriculum: Design and Development 83 Erja Vitikka, Leena Krokfors and Leila Rikabi 7. Research-Orientation in a Teacher’s Work 91 Riitta Jyrhämä and Katriina Maaranen Part III. Teaching and Learning for Life: Academic Subjects 8. Promoting Mathematical Thinking in Finnish Mathematics Education 109 Heidi Krzywacki, Leila Pehkonen and Anu Laine v TABLE OF CONTENTS 9. Science at Finnish Compulsory School 125 Jari Lavonen and Kalle Juuti 10. Language and Literature Education: Principles and Reflections on Mother Tongue and Literature 145 Liisa Tainio and Satu Grünthal 11. Language Education – Towards Transversal Intercultural Language Proficiency 157 Ritva Kantelinen and Raili Hildén 12. Religious Education in Finnish School System 179 Arto Kallioniemi and Martin Ubani 13. History, Social Studies and Geography Education in Finnish Schools and Teacher Education 191 Arja Virta and Eija Yli-Panula 14. Arts Education: Instruments of Expression and Communication 211 Seija Kairavuori and Sara Sintonen Part IV. Reflections: Future Scenarions and Investments for Pathways of Success 15. Drama Education in the Finnish School System – Past, Present and Future 229 Tapio Toivanen 16. ICTs in a School’s Everyday Life – Developing the Educational Use of ICTs in Finnish Schools of the Future 241 Sanna Vahtivuori-Hänninen and Heikki Kynäslahti 17. Public Institutions as Learning Environments in Finland 253 Jukka Salminen, Leena Tornberg and Päivi Venäläinen 18. Luma Centre Finland: Joy of Science for All – Bringing Science, Math and Technology Together 267 Jenni Vartiainen, Maija Aksela and Lauri Vihma Epilogue: How to be Prepared to Face the Future? 277 Hannele Niemi, Auli Toom and Arto Kallioniemi Biographical Notes 285 vi ARMI MIKKOLA FOREWORD Perspectives for the Future of the Teaching Profession The welfare of Finnish society is based on knowledge and competence. Ensuring and improving citizens’ knowledge base and capacity building require equal possibilities for everyone to receive quality education. All students have the right to good education and counseling irrespective of the region they come from and its local conditions. Access to further education and continuing studies after comprehensive education and employability cannot be endangered because of a poor quality of primary and secondary education. Therefore, the teaching staff in all local educational institutions should be qualified and competent. The requirements of teacher qualification are based on four different sub- areas: content knowledge, expertise in learning and teaching, social and moral competences, and the many-sided skills involved in practical school work. These sub-areas are not separated; they are linked to each other in many different ways. Supporting this integration is one of main challenges of teacher education. It also requires a continuum of teachers’ basic and in-service education. Teachers have to be many-sided experts in their fields. They must have a wide view of every aspect of education and schooling. Teachers need content knowledge and the pedagogical knowledge integrated with it. Furthermore, they must be ready to make long-range plans for education, and not limit their work only to the development of specific aspects of these plans. An understanding of the wholeness of education and schooling is important for developing curricula. Teachers should also have an idea about the networks of different experts who are involved in creating and developing content knowledge. Nowadays, there seems to be some debate over what the common concept of the purpose schools should involve. The concept of schools having a function is being revisited in a dialogue between different points of view. Schools should simultaneously transmit traditional knowledge and skills and direct students to use new knowledge environments in a creative way. In society there are very different and contradictory opinions about what should be the main contents and methods of teaching. Schools, as communities, should set aims for their own work, develop working methods and create tools and procedures for evaluating their effectiveness. Schools cannot be directed by some random trends or strident demands. Reforms must be implemented through dialogue and discussions with partners in society. In the future, the teaching profession and teachers need a vii A. MIKKOLA readiness to participate and contribute to debates concerning the role of schools in society (Niemi, 2005; Välijärvi, 2006). As the traditional concepts of knowledge of learning have broadened, educational institutions and teachers are facing new challenges. They have to teach students how to learn and regulate their learning in addition to teaching knowledge and skills. Changes in working life require continuous learning and education. As the experts in a knowledge-related profession, teachers are required to act as a model of life-long learning. The core area of the teaching profession is the expertise of learning and teaching. In the future teachers will have to use this expertise flexibly not only over different stages of educational organizations, but also over different age groups and different districts. Teachers use their knowledge of teaching and learning in different situations as they work with different people. Networks are also a vital part of a teacher’s work. One of the main tasks of a teacher is to determine how relationships with new learning environments should be molded in such a way that they support the harmonious development of students (Niemi, 2005; Välijärvi, 2006). Teachers’ work includes important societal and cultural values in society. Democracy, the value of a human being, active citizenship and human welfare are important objectives, which should be at the center of every day life in schools. If the goal of school education is an open and reflective student with skills for co- operation, it is important to explore what kinds of education and school environments facilitate these goals. Students can be expected to be remarkably more sophisticated and competent than the way they are modeled in schools’ daily working practices. The ethical and social dimensions of the teaching profession are becoming even more important with the changes in economical wellbeing and social problems in society. Schools cannot solve the problems that arise from the breakdown of social networks in society by themselves; therefore teachers are expected to work more in co-operation with other specialists. As students should be provided with the most appropriate help with their problems, the meaning of the co-operation between schools and parents is becoming more and more important. According to international comparisons, Finnish teachers are well placed to influence their work. Decentralized decision making and local responsibility for local curricula have been characteristics of our educational policy since the 1980s. This means that teachers need many kinds of practical wisdom as well as leadership knowledge. Questions about school life, teachers’ and students’ rights and obligations, and furthermore, questions about school economics and management are examples of matters that are part of a teacher’s expertise. Student teachers are already familiarized with these kinds of questions in their teacher education, especially during their teacher practice periods (Välijärvi, 2006). Evaluations have revealed that Finnish teacher education is able to give student teachers a good command of content knowledge together with many-faceted expertise in teaching and learning. Periods of teaching practice, which are an integral part of teacher education, give the student teachers the competences they will need in school life. One main challenge for the future is putting more emphasis on societal viii FOREWORD issues and their dimensions in teacher education. Ethical and social matters are becoming more and more significant parts of teachers’ expertise. This should also be a vital part of the contents and practice in teacher education. Even with these problems, the status of Finnish teacher education is still better than in many other countries, if we look at our situation from an international perspective. The universities can choose the best candidates from the pools of applicants, because young people are interested in teacher education. Every year there are many more applicants than the universities can take to begin studies in teacher education. Keeping this interest in teacher education and teaching alive will be one of the main challenges for the teaching profession in Finland in the future. REFERENCES Niemi, H. (2005). Suomalainen opettajankoulutus valmiina jo pitkään eurooppalaiseen korkeakoulualueeseen. In R. Julkaisussa Jakku-Sihvonen (toim.), Uudenlaisia maistereita. Kasvatusalan koulutuksen kehittämislinjoja. PS-kustannus: Keuruu. Välijärvi, J. (2006). Kansankynttilästä tietotyön ammattilaiseksi. Opettajan työn yhteiskunnallisten ehtojen muutos. In A. Julkaisussa Nummenmaa & J. Välijärvi (toim.), Opettajan työ ja oppiminen. Jyväskylä: Koulutuksen tutkimuslaitos. Armi Mikkola Counsellor of Education Ministry of Education and Culture Finland ix