Miracle of Education: The Principles and Practices of Teaching and Learning in Finnish Schools

TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 6
FOREWORD:Perspectives for the Future of the Teaching Profession......Page 8
 REFERENCES......Page 10
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION......Page 12
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 14
PART I: INTRODUCTION: CURRENT EDUCATIONAL FRAMING FACTORS AND CONDITIONS IN FINLAND......Page 16
  INTRODUCTION......Page 17
  AMONG THE TOP-RANKING COUNTRIES IN THE 2000s......Page 18
  INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN STUDENT PERFORMANCE......Page 20
   Results Trends for Different Levels of Achievement......Page 23
   Gender Differences in Student Performance......Page 24
   The Connections of Students’ Socioeconomic Background to Their Performance......Page 26
   Student Attitudes and Time Spent on Reading......Page 27
   Diversity of Reading and Interest in Reading Activities......Page 29
  DISCUSSION......Page 31
  NOTE......Page 33
  REFERENCES......Page 34
  INTRODUCTION......Page 36
   Respect for Learning and Education in the Finnish Culture – Education of a Nation and Comprehensive Schooling for All......Page 37
   Educational Policy for Equity......Page 38
  THE STRUCTURE AND AIMS OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM......Page 39
  ENHANCEMENT-LED AND FORMATIVE EVALUATION POLICY FOR PROMOTING QUALITY......Page 43
  TEACHER EDUCATION AS A KEY PLAYER......Page 45
   Pedagogical Studies......Page 46
   A Research-Based Approach as the Main Guideline......Page 47
   Integration of Theory and Practice......Page 49
  TEACHERS AS PROFESSIONALS – TRUST IN UNIVERSITIES AND TEACHERS’ WORK......Page 50
  REFERENCES......Page 52
  WEBSITES......Page 53
  INTRODUCTION......Page 54
  TEACHERS’ WORKING SPACE IN FINNISH SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOMS......Page 56
   Finnish Teachers’ Role Requirements......Page 58
   Finnish Teachers’ Personal Characteristics and Qualities......Page 59
  EDUCATING WITHIN A SOCIETY – THE MINDSET OF THE FINNISH EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM......Page 60
   Trust in Education......Page 61
   Hope for a Better Society and (Individual) Life......Page 62
  DISCUSSION: NEGOTIATING FOR A HOPEFUL CURRICULUM AND SCHOOL PRACTICES......Page 64
  REFERENCES......Page 65
  INTRODUCTION......Page 69
   Didactics......Page 70
   Pedagogical Content Knowledge......Page 71
  EDUCATIONAL PURPOSEFULNESS......Page 72
   General Purposes in Teaching According to Teachers......Page 74
   The General Purposes in Teaching According to Student Teachers......Page 75
   Subject-Matter Specific Purposes in Teaching According to Teachers......Page 76
   Subject-Matter Specific Purposes in Teaching According to Student Teachers......Page 77
  THE CORE OF SCHOOL PEDAGOGY......Page 78
  REFERENCES......Page 79
PART II: THE FOUNDATIONS: THE DESIGN OF EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM ON VARIOUS LEVELS......Page 81
  THE UNIQUENESS OF FINNISH BASIC EDUCATION......Page 82
  EDUCATIONAL EQUITY – THE FOUNDATIONAL VALUE OF FINNISH EDUCATION......Page 83
  STRIVING TOWARDS EXCELLENCE AND A JOY OF LEARNING:THE FINNISH BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM......Page 84
  THE PREMISES OF EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT IN FINNISH BASIC EDUCATION......Page 85
   School Assessment......Page 86
   Student Assessment Is Part of Daily Schoolwork......Page 87
   External National Assessments of Learning Outcomes......Page 88
   Responding to the Multiple Needs of Diverse Learners......Page 90
  STEPS FORWARD IN ENSURING EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE FOR EVERY LEARNER......Page 91
  REFERENCES......Page 92
  MAIN FEATURES OF THE CURRENT CURRICULUM SYSTEM IN FINLAND......Page 94
  CURRICULUM RENEWAL PROCESS IN FINLAND......Page 96
   The Core Elements of the Finnish National Core Curriculum......Page 97
   The Ideological and Pedagogical Background of the Finnish National Core Curriculum......Page 98
  REFERENCES......Page 100
  INTRODUCTION......Page 102
   Statistics of Schooling in Finland......Page 103
   The Everyday Life of a Finnish Teacher......Page 104
   Inquiry-orientation in an Individual Teacher’s Work......Page 106
   Inquiry-orientation in the Practice of the School Community......Page 110
   Teacher Educators’ Views of the Research-based Approach......Page 112
   Student Teachers’ Views of Research-based Approach......Page 113
  WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?......Page 114
  REFERENCES......Page 115
PART III: TEACHING AND LEARNING FOR LIFE:ACADEMIC SUBJECTS......Page 117
  INTRODUCTION......Page 118
   The Core Idea of Mathematics Education According to the National Curriculum......Page 120
   Teacher Education and the Main Principles of Good Mathematics Education......Page 121
   Learning Materials as a Resource for Teaching and Learning......Page 124
   Teaching Mathematics in Finnish Classrooms......Page 127
   Talent Development for All Students......Page 128
  REFERENCES......Page 130
  INTRODUCTION......Page 133
  SCIENCE IN THE NATIONAL LEVEL CURRICULUM......Page 135
  SCIENCE TEACHERS......Page 139
  SCIENCE TEACHING AND LEARNING AT SCHOOL......Page 141
  DISCUSSION......Page 144
  REFERENCES......Page 147
  APPENDIX......Page 149
  INTRODUCTION......Page 153
  THE LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN FINLAND......Page 154
  MOTHER TONGUE AND LITERATURE......Page 155
  CHAMELEON......Page 157
  TRAINING TEACHERS OF MOTHER TONGUE AND LITERATURE......Page 161
  REFERENCES......Page 163
   Introduction to the Current Situation......Page 165
   A Brief History of Foreign Language Teaching in Finland......Page 167
   Main Aims Set in the Language Core Curricula......Page 168
   Approaches and Methods in Finnish Language Classrooms......Page 171
   Assessment of Learning Outcomes......Page 174
  LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION......Page 176
  REFORMING THE CURRICULUM......Page 177
   Combining Theory and Practice......Page 178
  FUTURE CHALLENGES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING......Page 179
  REFERENCES......Page 182
  BACKGROUND......Page 186
  THE FINNISH SOLUTION FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS......Page 187
  THE NATURE AND ROLE OF RE IN BASIC EDUCATION......Page 190
  RE TEACHERS IN FINLAND......Page 193
  REFERENCES......Page 195
  INTRODUCTION......Page 198
  HISTORY, SOCIAL STUDIES AND GEOGRAPHY IN THE NATIONAL CORE CURRICULUM OF FINNISH COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS......Page 200
   History and History Education......Page 202
   Social Studies and Social Science Education......Page 203
   Geography and Geography Education......Page 205
  LITERACY OF HUMANITIES (PISA, TIMMS, ICCS)......Page 206
   Activating Teaching Methods......Page 208
   Assessment......Page 210
  THE EDUCATION OF HISTORY, SOCIAL STUDIESAND GEOGRAPHY TEACHERS......Page 211
  COMMON CHALLENGES......Page 213
  REFERENCES......Page 214
  ARTS AND CULTURE IN EDUCATION......Page 217
  ARTS EDUCATION IN FINNISH SCHOOL SYSTEM......Page 219
  AIMS OF VISUAL ARTS AT SCHOOL......Page 220
  CONTENTS OF VISUAL ARTS......Page 222
  DYNAMICS OF INTERNAL INTEGRATION IN VISUAL ARTS......Page 223
  SECURE SENSE THROUGH SOUND AND MUSIC......Page 224
  HANDS-ON ART FOR CLASS TEACHER STUDENTS......Page 226
  ARTS EDUCATION VISION: WE HEAR THE FUTURE......Page 228
  REFERENCES......Page 229
PART IV: REFLECTIONS: FUTURE SCENARIONS AND INVESTMENTS FOR PATHWAYS OF SUCCESS......Page 232
  PAST: THEATRE AND DRAMA TRADITIONS INTHE FINNISH SCHOOL SYSTEM......Page 233
  PRESENT: DRAMA EDUCATION IN FINNISH SCHOOLS IN THE 2020S......Page 234
  PRESENT: DRAMA EDUCATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION......Page 236
  FUTURE: CHALLENGES OF FINNISH SCHOOL SYSTEM AND DRAMA EDUCATION......Page 239
  REFERENCES......Page 241
  MEDIA CULTURE IS PART OF CHILDREN’S EVERYDAYLIFE IN FINLAND......Page 245
  THE RATIONALE FOR ICT: 21ST CENTURY SKILLS......Page 247
  WILL SCHOOL FADE OUT OF YOUNG PEOPLE’S EVERYDAY LIVES?......Page 248
  THE NATIONAL PLAN FOR THE EDUCATIONAL USE OFICTS: SOME PROSPECTS......Page 249
  RECENT RESEARCH FINDINGS OF THE PRESENT STATE ABOUT THE EDUCATIONAL USE OF ICTS IN FINLAND......Page 251
  REFERENCES......Page 253
  ABSTRACT......Page 257
  FROM CULTIVATION TO EDUCATION......Page 258
  DEVELOPING BY NETWORKING......Page 261
  STRUCTURES AND PRACTICES IN DIFFERENT LEARNINGENVIRONMENTS......Page 262
   The Pedagogical Practices of Vantaa City Library......Page 263
  PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS – BOTH OBJECT AND SOURCE OF LEARNING......Page 264
  RESEARCH INTO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AS LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS......Page 265
  FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AS LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS......Page 266
  NOTES......Page 267
  REFERENCES......Page 268
  AROUSING AND SUPPORT OF INTEREST......Page 271
  LUMA CENTRE FINLAND......Page 273
   STEM labs – Authentic and Active Learning Environments to Support Children, Youth and Teachers......Page 274
   ChemistryLab Gadolin as an Example of the Versatile Learning Environment Supporting Learning and Interest......Page 275
   Camps and Clubs – Interdisciplinary Learning Environments forChildren and Youth......Page 276
  FINAL WORDS......Page 277
  REFERENCES......Page 278
 EPILOGUE:How to be Prepared to Face the Future?......Page 280
  A COMMON AND EQUAL SOCIETY THROUGH EDUCATION......Page 281
  EVALUATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT......Page 282
  SUPPORTING THE LIFE-LONG LEARNING OF TEACHERS......Page 283
  CONCLUDING THOUGHTS: THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL COHESION......Page 284
  REFERENCES......Page 285
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES......Page 287