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1 Education System

The general downturn in learning outcomes shows that we must take strong action to develop Finnish education. (Krista Kiuru, Minister of Education and Science, December 2013, quoted in Finnbay 2013)

For a decade, Finland was the dream destination for educational policy makers around the globe. The country’s schools were flooded with foreign visitors, wishing to find the secrets of Finland’s educational successes.Footnote 1 But after the publication of the 2012 PISA report, things changed. Finland dropped to the twelfth place in the overall table, which started a nationwide discussion (Box 10.1).

Box 10.1: Finland – The Basics

  • 5.4 million inhabitants

  • Capital: Helsinki

  • Republic

  • 19 regions

  • Bilingual: Finnish and Swedish

  • Social-democratic/centre-right coalition in power

The aims of the Finnish education system are focused on the growth of the individual as a whole, which means extensive socio-ethical and esthetic education is offered alongside the usual learning of facts (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013, p. 85). More evidence of the priority the place on education comes from the high level of formal education teachers receive. Indeed, all teachers hold a master-level university degree (Ministry of Education and Culture 2014). Another important principle is the focus on equality: ‘all people must have equal access to high-quality education and training. The key words in Finnish education policy are quality, efficiency, equity and internationalisation’ (ibid, see also Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland] et al. 2014). The comprehensive school promotes social and regional equality by providing teaching, study materials and school meals free of charge for any pupil (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013 Footnote 2).

The Finnish Parliament determines general education policy, which is implemented by the Ministry of Education and Culture.Footnote 3 The running of all schools up to the level of universities of applied sciences rests in the hands of municipalities. Municipalities can take autonomous decisions on the content and structure of education (Hornyak 2011, p. 52). However, individual schools have great autonomy. Universities are governed at the national level (Box 10.2).

Box 10.2: Education in Finland

  • Free at all levels

  • Nine years compulsory from age seven

  • Integrated primary and lower secondary school in comprehensive school

  • Two types of upper secondary school

  • Two types of higher education institutions

  • Highly selective university entrance exam, strict quota on student numbers

  • Ministry of Education and Culture responsible for all levels of education; municipalities run all schools up to the level of universities of applied sciences

Compulsory education in Finland lasts for 9 years (with an optional tenth year, see Nuffic 2012 and Hornyak 2011)Footnote 4 and is organized in comprehensive schools (see Fig. 10.1).

Fig. 10.1
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Structure of the Finnish education system (Eurydice 2014) see Fig. 3.1b for standardized legend

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At the lower level, grades one to six, education is uniform for all and delivered by a class teacher, except for foreign languages, which are taught by a language specialist. The teachers at the higher level, grades seven to ten, are specialized subject teachers.

Finland has invested much effort in educating teachers and Finnish teachers enjoy high social prestige. This is demonstrated by a fivefold over-application rate to teaching programs (Hornyak 2011, p. 54). It should be noted that high over-application rates apply to most study programs in Finland (IBE (International Bureau of Education) 2012).

At the end of comprehensive school, pupils move on to one of two types of upper secondary education. The first, the general upper secondary school (lukio/gymnasium), represents the academic path. The second path, vocational education, is varied in its forms. Both qualify students for entrance to higher education. Around 50 % of students go to gymnasium and over 40 % to vocational education, with the rest not following qualification-oriented studies (Eurydice 2014, chapter 6).

The general upper secondary school is designed to last 3 years, ‘but students may complete it in 2–4 years. Instruction is organized in modular form not tied to year classes and students can decide on their individual study schedules rather freely’ (Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland] et al. 2014, p. 18).

The Finnish approach to equality means pupils with learning- or other disabilities are well taken care of. Legislation guarantees their right to receive special education.Footnote 5 This kind of caring constitutes one of the factors behind Finland’s success in the PISA studies (Niemi 2012).

At the end of general upper secondary education, nearly all students take the national matriculation examination (ylioppilastutkinto). Students who pass this exam have a general qualification to continue in higher education, either universities (yliopisto in Finnish), which are more focused on research; or polytechnics (ammattikorkeakoulu or AMK), which are more focused on vocational educationFootnote 6 (see Box 10.3). Since 2005, the higher education sector has been reformed.Footnote 7 Both in polytechnics and universities bachelor, master and Ph.D. degrees can be obtained.Footnote 8 University students are admitted to study for the master degree and it is unusual to stop after taking a bachelor degree (Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland] et al. 2014, p. 23).

Box 10.3: Higher Education Landscape

  • 14 universities

  • 24 polytechnics

University access in Finland is very selective, in 2009:

  • 188,000 applications were made

  • 94,000 students took entrance exam

  • 32,000 students were admitted

Entrance to higher education is highly selective and all study paths are subject to quota. The amount of seats for each study path at each HEI is determined in negotiations with the ministry of Education and Culture.

Universities and polytechnics select their students independently. Institutions apply different selection criteria, but the most common procedure includes the grades attained in the matriculation examination together with the results of an entrance examination.Footnote 9 On average, about one third of those taking the exam gain access to university. For the most sought-after studies, such as theatre, dance or psychology, this is less than 10 % (Eurydice 2014, chapter 7.2.1).Footnote 10 The Finnish HEIs operate a joint system of online application.Footnote 11

Finnish universities generally have a good reputation internationally. In international rankings, the University of Helsinki scores highest with a constant place in the top-100 of world universities.Footnote 12

2 Culture and Policy Towards Excellence

Since the 1970s the official education policy strongly emphasized educational equality, as in the other Nordic countries. But from the 1980s, the trend shifted towards decentralization, individualization and more diverse education. The resulting changes make the education system more suited for gifted and talented pupils than the systems in the other Nordic countries. Also, the tradition of school contests and very selective entry to university presents greater room for excellence initiatives for children and youngsters. The concepts of giftedness and talent have been covered quite intensively by Finnish media, although discussions are not always focused. University of Helsinki researcher Sonja Laine (2010) concluded that in Finnish society certain misconceptions exist about the specific meaning and implications of giftedness.Footnote 13

This has led to a situation where gifted children in primary and secondary education are generally taken care of to some extent, while there is still little development in higher education. This could be connected to the very selective admission procedures by the universities. It may also be that information was not found because of the language barrier.Footnote 14 However, local researchers confirmed that ‘in general there are no gifted or honors programs in higher education in Finland’.Footnote 15 There are some small exceptions, as we will see below (Box 10.4).

Box 10.4: Local Terminology

The following local terms are used to refer to (participants in) honors programs:

  • Lahjakas (means both gifted and talent)

  • erityislahjakas (especially gifted and talented)

  • huippuyksikkö (center of excellence)

In recent years the focus on giftedness and talent in general has also taken shape in policies and legislation. In 2007 the fostering of talent and creativity became a national educational goal. The ministry’s program “Education and Research 2011–2016” defined equality of education as entitling every person, including the gifted, to develop his or her different kinds of talent (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013, p. 91. See also Ministry of Education and Culture [Finland] 2011). The Basic Education Act allows flexible decisions with respect to acceleration (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013, p. 88).Footnote 16 There are also programs specially designed for gifted and talented pupils with optional enrichment alternatives. These include intensive courses, competitions and summer camps in mathematics and physics (ibid). In Helsinki there are also bilingual elementary schools, where children receive teaching in both Finnish and another language (e.g., English, French, German or Russian). These schools select their pupils according to their own criteria.

Although no special legislation regarding gifted and talented children exists, the focus on individualization means they are – in principle – taken care of by teachers.Footnote 17 However, usually teachers are more concerned about weaker pupils and pupils with learning disabilities, which reflects Finnish ethos and interpretation of equality (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013; Laine 2010) (Box 10.5).

Box 10.5: Key Players in Excellence

The following institutions are the most important players in the field of talent and excellence in education:

  • Ministry of Education and Culture – sets principles and guidelines for education

  • Finnish National Board of Education

  • Academy of Finland – awards centre of excellence status in research

  • Individual researchers, most notably professor Kirsi Tirri

  • The Nordic Talent Network – Nordic network for improving education for talented students

The upper secondary level has witnessed an increase in the number of ‘special schools’, focusing on the education of talented youngsters in arts, sports, sciences and languages. According to Finnish researchers Kirsi Tirri and Elina Kuusisto, ‘these special schools can just as well be called schools for the gifted and talented as it is very difficult to be accepted into them’. Selection is based on the marks of the student, while most places organize their own admission exam as well. There are also several enrichment alternatives available to talented high school pupils. For example, groups have met at the University of Tampere on evenings and weekends to be more challenged in mathematics and physics (Tirri and Kuusisto 2013, p. 90. See also Hornyak 2011).

Two internationally famous examples of provisions for talented youngsters are Päivölä boarding school and the Millennium Youth Camp. Founded in 1994, Päivölä, a private independent boarding school, emphasizes mathematics and natural science and is sponsored by phone company Nokia. There are 20 students between the ages of 15 and 18, who get selected in a weekend of testing. The students participate in both domestic and international competitions and graduate from upper secondary school in 2 years instead of 3 years.Footnote 18

The National LUMA CentreFootnote 19 organized the first Millennium Youth Camp in 2010. The camp is geared towards 16- to 19-year-olds, who are gifted in science. Thirty students participate free of charge and are selected in a two-stage application process. In 2012 there were more than 1,400 applicants from 100 countries. During the 1-week camp, students meet researchers and scientists, go to presentations and workshops, and carry out projects in teams. They get the possibility to network with like-minded people and enjoy a feeling of togetherness.Footnote 20

On the research side, focus on excellence has been common for many years. Focus, as in Norway, prioritizes the institutional side of excellence. Since 1997, the Academy of Finland has been sponsoring a ‘Centres of excellence’ program, providing extra funding to excellent and innovative research groups (Academy of Finland 2014). Funding is provided for 6 years and in the latest round (the period 2014–2019), 14 Centres received awards.

3 New Developments

Finland was surprised by the disappointing 2012 PISA results. This has led to a discussion about education policy (see for example Finnbay 2013) and some worries in the government (see Ministry of Education and Culture 2013).

One major change, beginning in 2016, involves the national matriculation exam which will be held electronically. This change can have a large impact on school pedagogy and increase developments of new technology supported pedagogies in Finnish schools.Footnote 21

However, in the latest Education and Research Development Plan (published in 2012), the promotion of equality was the top focus point. This means that a sudden development of programs for talented and gifted pupils in basic education or honors programs in higher education is not to be expected.

4 Honors Programs per University

The search for honors programs in Finnish higher education was limited to the 14 universities in the country. A number of universities takes part in international cooperative programs, such as CEMS-MIM (Aalto University) and Erasmus Mundus (Helsinki). Institutions organize special events for motivated students, such as summer schools.Footnote 22 However, development of honors programs is limited. Three disciplinary honors programs were identified. They are shown on Map 10.1.

Map 10.1
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Finnish universities with honors programs, 2014

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All universities are shown in Table 10.1.

Table 10.1 Honors programs at Finnish universities
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4.1 Aalto University

At Aalto University’s Information and Computer Science department, an honors program was started to identify research talents. Participants get the opportunity for an early start with research work, leading towards a research career (Table 10.2).

Table 10.2 Aalto University – Honours Programme in Information and Computer Science
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4.2 University of Turku

Beginning in 2013, the University of Turku offers talented students in physics a ‘fast track’ program that includes extra courses during the summer, enabling students to graduate faster. The program advertises the ability to attain a ‘master’s degree in three years’. Admission mandates passing qualifying exams (Table 10.3).Footnote 23

Table 10.3 University of Turku – Physics fast track
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4.3 University of Oulu

The University of Oulu’s Languages and Communications School provides possibilities to receive an honors certificate in different languages, including German and English. To receive the degree, students must choose a specific combination of high-level language courses spanning a minimum of 12 credits and study results must be excellent. The program, initiated by an overseas scholar in the Oulu Business School over 10 years ago, has existed ever since (Table 10.4).Footnote 24

Table 10.4 Oulu University – Language honors program
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We came across a few small-scale honors programs at Finnish universities. To conclude our discussion of the Nordic countries, we will now describe the situation in Iceland.