Education in Finland

Inclusive Special Education

Finland’s national curricula has specific guidelines for supporting at-need students. Many countries have similar provisions. However, the WAY Finland educates its Special Education population is very different from most other countries.

**Inclusion is the official educational policy**

(Takala, Pirttimaa, & Tormanen, 2009)

picture courtesy of UNESCO
International Bureau of Education

Finland’s Approach to Special Education

• Most countries require numerous standardized assessments. Special-needs children in these countries are often viewed as a liability when testing takes place. They are either excluded from the testing (which can bring penalties to the school) or given modified assessments (which can put additional strain on the staff and budget of the school). Since Finland schools are not bound and burdened by assessments, students with special-needs are more welcome and visible in daily classroom interactions and activities. Studies have shown that Finland’s ”full-participation” model increases equity among students. Furthermore, performance gaps have decreased (they are the lowest in the world), and overall student performance has risen . Savolainen (2009) believes the Finnish education policy of NOT following international mainstream trends has been particularly beneficial. Additionally, Finland’s flexible and extensive special education provisions (built right into the schools’ policies) enable and empower both students and educators. Classroom assistants are also given a great degree of freedom and autonomy to assist each student in his or her most effective way (Takala, 2007).

Pre-Primary Education

Children in Finland do not begin formal schooling until they are 7 years old. This is at least 2 years later than most developed countries. Time spent in class is approximately 20% less in Finland than in most other countries. Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that the earlier and longer a child is in school, the better he or she will do. Finland’s model disproves this notion, however. One possible explanation is Finland’s “Pre-Primary Education”.

© Gingerbread Kids Academy