Finland

Arleen Martin

Why Finland?
Finlands educational system is the best because of the
countrys high PISA and types of academic excellence.
PISA stands for the Programme for International Student
Assessment

Their educational system has two very important core

values which are: Equality & Cooperation.
Equality comes in the form of both opportunities and
also outcomes.
This is what drives approximately the first nine years of schooling.

Cooperation is what makes equality possible.

Pre-school Education
In Finland, pre-school is provided until the age of six.
In the United States, we call pre-school, Early Childhood Education.
Finlands pre-school is called paivakoti.
You can attend full or half days
Both includes warm meals
The USA offers many different types of pre-school options.
Pre-school programs usually last two to three hours per day, at
least a couple times a week.
Public pre-school is usually offered through the local school
districts.

Elementary & Secondary

Education
Public education in Finland is free of charge through a program called
peruskoulu.
Public education in the United States is free, but many times kids need to
pay for things such as breakfast and lunch.
In Finland, all costs of education even including dental and medical
checkups are all paid for by the local municipalities.
In the United States, families are responsible for paying for many of the
dental and medical expenses.
Something that Finland and the US have in common in this department is
that they both have high class private schools.
In the United States, many senators and statesmen send their

Lukio
Lukio is a program in Finland that provides a crash course
in college preparatory courses.
Teens between the ages of 16 and 19 attend these courses

This program prepares teens for four mandatory and two

optional six hour exams.
Although the failure rate for these tests are low it is
important to get an exceptional score, so that students
get into an university.

Standardized Testing
In Indiana, in order to rate our students strengths and
weaknesses we force them to take the mandatory I-STEP
testing.
This test determines whether or not the student is ready
to continue to the next grade or if he/she needs to be
remediated.
Throughout the United States school districts use
standardized testing such as the HSPT.
The HSPT is used to place students in the correct classes in high
school.

Grading Scale
In the United States, schools tend to use the A through F
grading system to determine if students pass or fail.
A is the highest grade, while F is the lowest grade.

In Finland, they tend to use a 10-4 grading scale.

10-9: Praiseworthy
8-7: Good
6: Satisfactory
5: Adequate to pass the course

How can Finland help the

US?
Finland can help the US by.
Helping us follow their standardized testing
Instead of making our 3-7th graders take tests we can make
sure that the 16 year old students only take one test.
This would help children be more excited about learning and
they wouldnt dread going to school.
We can see how important and easy it is to hold our teachers to
the highest respect possible.
It is so important to remember that we are raising and
teaching future generations of people who will soon lead the
way to the future.

Finland Teaching
Qualifications

Teachers must earn a Masters degree.

This must degree must have at least 160 or 180 study week credits.

Degrees include approximately 35 to 40 credits in general pedagogy, with an

emphasis on didactics.

You must also have a general studies in languages and communication which is
about 10 credits.

You must also have an optional studies, and thesis & related seminars, both of
which are 20 credits.

Ala-aste class teachers earn a 160-credit Masters degree in Education, which

includes teacher training and the writing of the thesis.

Yla-aste subject teachers earn a 180-credit Masters degree in their main field (ex.
history teachers earn a Masters in History), with a minor in Education including
supervised teacher training. Subject teachers must qualify to teach three subjects,
with approximately 15 to 80 credits per subject.

United States Teaching

Qualifications
Teachers must have completed at least one year of
student teaching.
They also must pass a reliable background check.
Many states also require that you pass a teaching
certification exam, called the Praxis.
You must also hold at least a Bachelors degree in
Elementary Education, or in the area in which you want
to teach.

Career change?
There are so many different careers that a teacher can have
outside of the school building.
Authors
As teachers it is our job to be exceptionally good at things such as
writing and grammar. This gives us the ability (sadly) to correct
other peoples grammar and spelling without even blinking an eye.

Nanny
As a nanny it is your job to nurture and teach children the correct
way of living their life. You are parenting them without even
realizing you are. That is also an important part of being a teacher.

Works Cited Page

Corsi-Bunker, A. (n.d.). Guide to the Education System in
the United States. Retrieved December 19, 2015, from
http://www.isss.umn.edu/publications/useducation/2.pdf
Hopkins, J. (2010). The Educational System of Finland. 18.
Sarjala, J. (2013). Equality and Cooperation: Finland's
Path to Excellence. 32-36.
Understanding Certification. (2013, March 23).
Retrieved December 19, 2015, from
https://www.teach.org/teaching-certification#