The Finnish Way to Success

Introduction

Finland and Singapore represent two strikingly different countries yet manage to overcome geo-political, economic, and cultural challenges to become symbols of growth and prosperity around the globe. Singapore was a British colony, gaining its independence in 1963, and shortly after in 1965 was recognized as an independent and sovereign state. Finland on the other hand has deeper roots in history before gaining its independence in 1917 from Russian. War-torn and in financial ruin, Finland set out to achieve economic prosperity, as did Singapore, each successful in their mission despite different historical contexts.

To achieve their economic objectives, the leaders of both countries made the strategic decision to invest heavily in their people and make human capital the greatest asset to lead them to becoming technological leaders in the global market. Nokia, for instance, is a Finnish company and telecommunication giant who sells the rights to its products around the world. At the heart of this rise to economic freedom and prosperity was education. The leaders of both Finland and Singapore share the legacy of providing its people with the most robust educational systems found anywhere in the world. They consistently rank among the top 10 countries on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). If you have not done so already, please read the LinkedIn article on Singapore.

Socio-Political and Economic Considerations

Finland is located on the Eurasian Continent in Northern Europe sandwiched between Russia and Sweden. They were an agrarian people with few natural resources to speak of, except timber and fur, that were traded or sold. Investments in renewable energy were made to conserve what natural resources they had and began moving slowly to a knowledge and skill-based economy. To remain competitive, Finland understood the need to rethink and revitalize their educational system into becoming the powerhouse they are today. They are well-integrated in the global economy and trade with countries the likes of the United States, China, and European nations.

?Over time, Finland transformed itself into the welfare state it is today. Health care and education are completely free up through the university level as rights afforded to all Finnish people. They have low unemployment and homelessness is virtually non-existent. If someone is homeless, the government simply provides the person with a home, and if employment skills are outdated, or a person wants to change professions, she or he is encouraged to go back to school and retool. It is no wonder that Finland is dubbed, “The happiest country on earth” (Tirri, K., 2023). They boast a strong national identity and vibrant culture, but it was not always that way. Changes had to be made to their political, economic, and educational systems to assure their success.

?By peering through the lenses of Finland’s history, we find that the 1970s was characterized as a period when the role of president as an effective executive had peaked (Karvonen, L., Paloheimo, H., & Raunio, T., 2016). Members of their government and the people believed that Urho Kekkonen, the longest serving president in Finland from 1956-1981, had too much power and they sought to change that. In 2000, a totally new constitution was drafted and entered into force that limited the power of the president to foreign policy. This change in government structure is largely credited with jump-starting Finland’s economic development into becoming a prosperous nation.

?It is often the case that greatness rises from the ashes of ruin. From hunters and gatherers to warriors by sea and land, the Finnish people learned by necessity to become strong and resilient while simultaneously paving the way towards an independent nation state. After their engagement in World War I, Finland found itself squeezed between the Winter War of 1939 with Russian and World War II (The Economy of Finland: Exploring the Finnish Economy). These two wars influenced the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty in March, 1940; however, not before Finland conceded to the territorial and financial demands of the Russian government that ultimately led to its financial collapse. With relentless drive and determination, despite this setback, Finland rose out of despair and became a big trader in the European market. Following World War II, the country moved from an investment-driven to a knowledge-based economy with electronics becoming their single largest manufacturing industry. Figure 1 below illustrates the stages of Finland’s industrial and economic development. In retrospect, Finnish Nokia grew into a world leader in mobile communication (Dahlman, C. J., Routti, J., & Yl?-Anttila, P. (2006), until Apple Computer, inc. introduced the iPhone in 2007. Today, Apple Computer dominates the Smartphone industry with Finnish Nokia licensing its technology to companies around the globe.

Figure 1: Finland’s Stages of Industrial and Economic Development

Education and the Reform Movement

?For many years, Finland was ranked one of the top five performing countries on the PISA test administered to students in grade 10 (See Figure 2). The test measures proficiency in reading literacy, mathematics, and science. However, due to changes in demographics, policies, and societal attitudes, Finland’s ranking slipped in 2012, but remained in the top 10 with an average mean score of 1549. China topped the list with an average mean score of 1736, while the United States ranked 21st with an average mean score of 1485. (OECD, 2018). The test is typically administered every three years; however, due to the COVID pandemic in 2021, it skipped a year and, instead, was offered in 2022. The release of the 2022 results will be disseminated in December, 2023 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Eighty-five countries took part in the PISA test that year.

The philosophy of the Finnish educational reform movement continued into the 21st Century stressing cooperation over competition, personalization over standardization, professional trust over test-based accountability, and equity for all over choice marketization (See Figure 3). These ideals are only as effective as the people who implement them and their working relationship with stakeholders in schools. Whether teacher, administrator, or paraprofessional, all are required to collaborate in customizing student learning. ?Teachers are bound by a set of professional ethics with differentiated learning being at the top of the list (Tirri, 2023). To ensure that this occurs, teachers take an oath to uphold high moral and ethical standards of behavior and live as role models in society. As a result of this duty and commitment, teachers are highly regarded professionals and afforded complete autonomy for developing curricula and selecting appropriate instructional strategies and materials. It was estimated that over 90% of the Finnish people trust their schools built on policies of fairness and collaboration (Salhlberg, P., 2013). Mainly because of their importance to society, teachers are on par in pay and prestige with doctors and engineers making it a highly competitive and sought-after profession.

Teacher Training and Leadership Practice

With increase in pay and prestige came greater responsibility and, therefore, only the best and brightest are accepted into Finland’s highly demanding teacher preparation program. In order to qualify, teacher candidates are first selected based on matriculating examination results, high-school records, and relevant out-of-school accomplishments, then required to successfully complete several prerequisites (Sahlberg, P., 2011). First, they complete a written exam on assigned books and pedagogy; second, engage in observed clinical supervision; and, third, interviewed and asked a series of relevant questions. Once fully accepted, these highly ranked teacher candidates complete a rigorous teacher education program, earn a master degree, and fulfill highly supervised training in the classroom before earning tenure. When teachers enter the classroom for the first time following their formal training the government has confidence in their success. In summary, Finnish teachers are carefully selected, thoroughly educated, trained, and committed professionals with an ethos of teaching as a service to society and public good (Sahlberg, P., 2011).

?The Finnish government believes that once teachers complete their training there is little if any need for regular and ongoing supervision or formal evaluation by the principal.? The teacher is ultimately responsible for the success of every student in the classroom and accepts this charge without question while devoting less time to actual teaching in the classroom than many developed nations. Due to the mandate of personalized learning for every student, they teach the equivalent of one less class per day in order to plan, consult, write curricula, and meet with parents and students. Therefore, while formal contact time with students in the classroom is less, they attend to many other very important, necessary, and vital teacher tasks.

?Teachers and principals practice distributive leadership in their respective roles (For a full review of leadership styles, please open the link to my previous newsletter). The main characteristics of distributive leadership are collaboration and shared decision-making with parties in the school having job-specific responsibilities. For instance, the teacher is responsible for developing curricula, planning instruction, selecting materials to accommodate learning styles, test development to measure learning and grading, while the principal is responsible for supervision, meeting with stakeholders, budgeting, and being a resource to others. There are no formal teacher evaluations by the principal, but together they do formal checks on student progress. Teachers and principals meet in groups by grade and subject to ensure consistency and fidelity across the school. Since there are no state assessments before matriculation, student grades and progress reports in meeting learning objectives are done formatively. The idea in distributive leadership is to leverage the collective expertise and perspective of different stakeholders. The Finnish people have grown to become experts in this form of decentralized leadership practice.

?Structure of Schooling

Children in Finland begin school at age 7, which is later than in most countries. Compulsory education is through age 16, or the beginning of grade 10, but most students continue on and complete either general or vocational schooling before entering the university or polytechnics (Rautiainen, M., & Kostiainen, E. (2015).This longitudinal pathway is flexible with students being able to cross over to another pathway before the university or polytechnic level begins (See Figure 4 below).

School is free for students up through the university or polytechnic level. Well, not exactly free because tax is the source of revenue used to pay for the social programs the citizens enjoy and benefit from. ?Education is ranked the number one benefit the people value and cherish the most. To be equitable, the country uses a sliding scale where the wealthiest citizens pay their fair share of the tax burden.

Finnish students attend school for about four hours a day. This time amounts to approximately 180 minutes at 45-minute class periods daily, or 900 minutes per week. Students also have a shorter school year with a three-month summer recess period. It is remarkable the high level of student performance despite being assigned little or no homework. As Sahlberg states (2013), “If you want to live the American dream, come to Finland.”?

Finnish Priorities and Teacher Effect Size

It seems more than coincidental that Finnish sovereignty of teachers in the classroom parallels Hattie’s (2018) research on effect sizes. As you can see from Figure 5 below, collective teacher efficacy has the highest effect size (1.57), self-reported grades second (1.33), teacher estimates of achievement third (1.29), self-efficacy eleventh (.92), and teacher credibility twelfth (.90), along the continuum. The higher the effect size the greater the influence in learning. The critical role the Finnish government places on teachers in student academic achievement appears to align with the values assigned by Hattie (2018). In other words, there appears to be a direct correlation, although not necessarily intentional, between these effect sizes and Finnish priorities. Could it be that the Finnish government uses effect sizes when determining where and how to best utilize their resources?

?Sports

One of the most popular sports in Finland is ice hockey as one might expect due to their geographic location. Several Finnish ice hockey players made it to the ranks of the National Hockey League, such as Teemu Sel?nne who played for the Anaheim Ducks when the team won the Stanley Cup playoffs; Jari Kurri who played for the Edmonton Oilers alongside the great Wayne Gretzky when the team won the Stanley Cup playoffs; Soku Koivu who played for the Montreal Canadiens; and Tuukka Rask who played for the Boston Bruins. There were also many fine Finnish coaches although most notable at the national level. Physical education, health and sports are important in Finland with students enjoying the benefits of not only ice hockey, but other sports such as basketball, soccer, volleyball, and cross-country skiing.

Summary

I began this article by recognizing two equally successful school systems, yet their strategies to get there are quite different. Finnish schools are free up through the university level, yet Singapore’s are not, although highly subsidized based on income and wealth. Finnish schools are relaxed, assign little homework, and refrain from standardized tests, while Singapore schools are more intense and structured, rely on standardized tests, and assign a great deal of homework.?? Regardless of these differences, both countries are equally accomplished at educating their young and preparing them for life by placing teachers front and center to their survival as nations. They share the common belief in selecting and training only the finest teacher candidates and affording them the latitude to do their jobs with minimal to no interference.

?Teachers in Finland and Singapore are respected, moral, and ethical professionals. The Finnish teachers formally recite the Comenius Oath that translates words to action. Both countries are high achievers on the PISA test and have offered insight into how other countries can improve. The closest comparison in America to Finland and Singapore by way of size and structure are the respective states. We will explore this connection using the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in future articles. For now, I leave you here with the words of the Comenius’ Oath…