1. Monica Wing EDU 639 David Bearden November 25, 2013

2.  Content  Culture  History  Inclusionary and exclusionary educational practices  Practices that we could employ  Ideal teaching strategies  Parental incorporation

3.  Health care provided to both parents and children  Parents get 12 months of leave after a birth  ECE provided to all families, as well as govt-subsidized daycare until 3 years old  Free lunch for all children (tradition of over 70 years) Social Values  Relaxed atmosphere  Say little and avoid small talk – weight in words  Large fraction Evangelical- Lutheran Church  Language is Finnish, Swedish or Saami  Shake hands  Drink lots of coffee Behavior

4.  Gender equality has been very relevant for a long time  Women allowed to vote in 1906  43% percent of Parliament are women  First woman president in 2000 Gender Roles

5.  Typically families are made up of husband, wife and children  Cohabitations has become very common  Single parent families and blended families increased  Same-sex parent families are possible Family Values

6.  Happiness defines schools, not standardized tests  Attitudes are liberal  Traditions are a result of intermixing cultures including Sweden and Russia  Universal equality stressed Traditions  Equity-based, free of charge education, even in universities and vocations  Teaching is a tremendous honor – only 10% accepted into schools  Teachers get full pedagogical freedom  No standardized tests  Lots of attention to student welfare and special needs  All materials taken care of Academics

7.  Finland was not top-scoring until the 2000’s  In 1960, only 1 in 10 adults completed nine years of education  Education level was comparable to Malaysia and Peru  Now 99% of Finns complete compulsory basic education to 16 and 3/5 complete higher education Finland has been ranked to be the best place to live in the world based on education, health, quality of life, economic competitiveness and political environment. Students do remarkably well on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This has not always been the case and it was only until the 1980’s when things started to change.

8. Teachers typically stay with the same group of students as opposed to a new teacher every year. Students learn multiple languages starting on the first day of school. Second, third and sometimes fourth languages continue to gradually be introduced. At 16 students can choose to go to vocational school or go to the equivalent of high school to prepare for college.

9. Every school uses multimethod approach Available to virtually every student Special Education Investing early in special talents Free education Equality for All All students taught together Additional teachers for struggling students Inclusive Classes

10.  Collaboration among schools, teachers and students  Equal opportunity to all  More customized education Since many of Finland’s teaching strategies are not within our reach at the moment because of regulations and standards, here are some strategies that we can employ.

11.  Boys having lower verbal skills causes less trust  Boys typically have more behavioral problems and teachers blame parents  Education may affect child rearing values  Teachers meet with parents individually not just for student updates, but to build a relationship with the parents  This translates to more trust between the parent and teacher  There is more emphasis on family-focused practices  Parents with a similar level of education to teachers may feel more trust

12. Alho, O. (2010). A guide to finnish customs and manners. Unpublished raw data, University of Applied Sciences, Rovaniemen Ammattikorkeakoulu, Retrieved from http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx?contentid=160036&nodeid=41800&cult ure=en-US Halinen, I., & Järvinen, R. (2008). Towards inclusive education: the case of Finland. Prospects (00331538), 38(1), 77. doi:10.1007/s11125-008-9061-2 Kangaslahti, J. (2013). A PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM CAN EXCEL. Euromentor Journal, 4(1), 7-13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1347617075?accountid=32521http://search.proquest.com/docview/1347617075?accountid=32521 Kikas, E., Poikonen, P., Kontoniemi, M., Lyyra, A., Lerkkanen, M., & Niilo, A. (2011). Mutual Trust between Kindergarten Teachers and Mothers and its Associations with Family Characteristics in Estonia and Finland. Scandinavian Journal Of Educational Research, 55(1), 23-37. doi:10.1080/00313831.2011.539852

13. Maps of the world. (2013). Finish people, culture, festivals. Retrieved from http://www.mapsofworld.com/finland/people-culture- festivals/ Sahlberg, P. (2011). Lessons From Finland. Education Digest, 77(3), 18. Sahlberg, P. (2013). A new finnish lesson: why gender equality matters in school reform. Washington Post. Strauss, V. (2012). What the u.s. can’t learn from finland about ed reform. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what- the-us-cant-learn-from-finland-about-ed- reform/2012/04/16/gIQAGIvVMT_blog.html Lastensuojelu.info. (2010). Family with children in finland. Retrieved from http://www.lastensuojelu.info/en/family.htmlhttp://www.lastensuojelu.info/en/family.html