Finland's education development level is in the leading position in the world, especially in the Pisa (programme for international student assessment) test implemented by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Finnish students have performed very well and their comprehensive ranking has been among the best for a long time. However, this country is recognized as "the country with the least class time, the shortest review time after class and the longest holiday", which puzzles many people. The related research by researchers from Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences may help people find some useful enlightenment.
1, the per capita funding level is leading the world.
2065438+June 2007, OECD's Innovation Polly Finland Review pointed out that Finland has always been an example for other countries to learn in formulating and promoting scientific and technological innovation. Finland's science and technology innovation policy has two characteristics: First, even in the face of the financial crisis, it will not reduce (even increase) the investment in R&D education. Second, the research and innovation commission has formulated systematic measures to always lead the development of scientific and technological innovation policies.
Indeed, Finland is a multi-party parliamentary democracy, and there are many changes in government leaders, but it has always been recognized by all walks of life in Finland that education development is given priority to national development.
Take education investment as an example. According to the relevant data of the World Bank, in 20 14, Finland's public education expenditure accounted for 7.2% of GDP, and public education expenditure accounted for 10.4% of the total government expenditure. More than 95% of schools in Finland are public schools, and the policy of free education is implemented. According to the data of Finnish National Education Bureau on education expenditure in 20 16 years, the operating cost of each student in Finland is 5,855 euros for preschool education, 9 0 16 euros for basic education, 7,697 euros for ordinary high schools and 65,438 euros for vocational education. The per capita funding level ranks among the top in the world.
2. Schools educate students to become "protagonists"
Putting students at the center of the education system is the mainstream trend of education reform and development in the world at present. In Finland, this development trend is more common and in-depth.
Almost all the primary and secondary schools visited by the author have student volunteers to guide campus visits and teaching observation. During the investigation in a school in Wanta, Helsinki, there were several female volunteers, aged about 10, who came from a special English class and were very familiar with the school. They not only introduced the school buildings, facilities and course contents in fluent English, but also answered your questions confidently. Later, they took us to visit the small "library" that they were proud of and designed and decorated with 20,000 euros won by participating in the competition, as well as the "corridor of terror" they drew in the corridor and their favorite carpentry, as well as the painting classroom and sewing classroom ... Their expression of "my site is my master" left a deep impression on people.
The Finnish Constitution stipulates that "everyone has the right to receive free basic education. Public authorities should ensure that everyone has equal opportunities to receive education services according to their abilities and special needs, as well as opportunities for self-development that are not hindered by economic difficulties. " Therefore, obtaining "professional education assistance" is also regarded as the basic right of students. The basic duty of teachers is to guide and consult, treat each student individually (including special education students), help students study hard as much as possible according to their actual situation, taste the success and progress of learning, and make correct and appropriate decisions on future study and employment. Therefore, primary and secondary schools in Finland attach great importance to teaching research and generally adopt various educational contents and teaching methods that can stimulate students' potential and better mobilize their learning initiative and enthusiasm.
For example, in the ongoing new curriculum reform, Finland has set up eight cross-curriculum themes, requiring schools to choose a theme every year, including personal growth, cultural identity and internationalization, media literacy and communication, citizen participation and entrepreneurship, environmental responsibility, happy and sustainable future, safety and transportation, science and technology and individuals. Therefore, comprehensive education and teaching methods such as phenomenon learning, theme learning and project learning are widely adopted in primary and secondary schools in Finland.
What needs to be emphasized is that although these cross-course thematic studies have clear objectives, time arrangement and resource guarantee, they focus on learning, not teaching, and there is no single standard answer. It requires students to do exploratory learning from the whole social phenomenon, emphasizes the training of thinking mode and the cultivation of peer cooperation, so it pays more attention to students' active participation and teachers' differentiated guidance.
3. The entry threshold for teachers is particularly high.
How to break through the "last mile" of educational reform and let the dividends of various educational reform policies take root in the main position of school education "classroom teaching" is a difficult problem faced by educational reforms in various countries. The experience of Finland shows that it is very important for teachers to "participate" and "want to participate".
The teaching profession is very attractive in Finland. Relevant data show that the salaries of Finnish teachers and principals are higher than the average salary of municipal departments-3050 euros. Take the average actual monthly salary of teachers and principals with long-term contracts for 20 16 years as an example. Kindergarten teachers are 2,600 euros, primary school teachers are 3,500 euros, ordinary high school teachers are 4,500 euros, and vocational education teachers are 3,900 euros. 5500 euros for junior high school principals and 5900 euros for senior high school principals.
Finnish teachers have a strong sense of professional value. For example, OECD Talis 20 13 shows that Finnish teachers' professional satisfaction ranks first in European countries and also in the forefront in the world. 90% teachers are satisfied with their work; If you choose again, 85% of teachers will still choose to teach; 60% of teachers think their work is very valuable in society.
Because teachers' social and economic status and professional satisfaction are relatively high, it creates favorable conditions for schools at all levels to gather outstanding talents and improve teachers' professional level as a whole. First of all, the entry requirements of teachers' profession are high, and the competition for admission to normal universities is very fierce. For example, the enrollment ratio of normal teachers is only 10%, and the enrollment ratio of professional teachers varies from 10% to 50% due to different professional situations. The admission rate of vocational education teachers is about 30%. Secondly, new teachers have high requirements for specialization, and most of them have master's degrees. Among them, kindergarten teachers require 180 ECTS credits, which will take about three years to obtain; Ordinary teachers and subject teachers need to have 300 ECTS credits, which will take about 5 to 6 years to obtain. In addition to meeting the basic requirements of teachers, principals should also have the practice certificate of educational management. In addition, teachers have a high degree of teaching autonomy. Once a teacher takes up his post, he can carry out education and teaching independently according to his own professional judgment, which is less influenced and restricted by external factors.
In addition, in Finland's primary and secondary schools, there are not only two "teams" such as principals and professional teachers, but also a "third team" composed of school doctors, psychological counseling experts, special education teachers and social workers. These personnel also actively participate in the school's education and teaching activities and become an important support for the school's development.
4. There is extensive social practice after class.
Good educational governance system and benign operation are also important reasons for the success of Finnish education. The driving force of Finnish education development comes from the central and local governments, as well as active teachers' organizations, social organizations, parents, students, research institutions and other stakeholders. The good cooperative relationship between these stakeholders and schools is also an important foundation and one of the main characteristics of the healthy development of Finnish education.
For example, in science education in primary and secondary schools, Finnish primary and secondary schools attach great importance to establishing good cooperative relations with the government, universities, scientific research institutions and enterprises, and promote relevant teaching practices in the broad social practice after class. Almost every city in Finland has a LUMATE center, which is responsible for popularizing science education. LUMATE center often has relatively complete and advanced teaching and research equipment for schools to borrow. According to the needs of education and teaching, primary and secondary school teachers can make an appointment to take students to the Lumat Center (usually 1 2 days). At the same time, LUMATE Center also has high-quality professionals who can provide in-service teachers with scientific and technological training.
Taking LUMATE Center in Tampere as an example, it was established on 20 1 1, located in Tampere University of Technology, closely integrated with relevant laboratories of the school, and funded by Tampere government. Take the teaching activity of "Water Experiment" that the author and his party personally participated in and experienced as an example. Throughout the morning, under the guidance of LUMATE Center teachers, 19 students were randomly divided into 4 groups and collected samples in the lake near the school. According to the teaching program, each student collects lake water samples (including some plants and animals) in different places within a certain period of time. After returning to the classroom, the students took turns to carry out five scientific experiments on the temperature, electrolyte, pH value, oxygen content and purity of water samples in groups according to the experimental guidelines, and finally each group shared their own research observations. On the other hand, the teachers in LUMATE Center pay more attention to guiding students to link research and observation conclusions with relevant knowledge and real life, with frequent interaction between teachers and students and active classroom atmosphere.