Finland

Page 1 of 212
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Keep a sense of proportion about PISA tests, says Cambridge Professor on Chilean TV

Beyond PISA panic, high stakes testing, a narrow curriculum and school privatisation: Chile is the latest in a growing list of countries eager to learn from the Cambridge Primary Review Professor Robin Alexander, director of the Cambrjdge Primary Review, recently met Chile's Minister of Education in Santiago and gave an extended television interview introduced by the Chair of the Senate Education ... read more and comment →

No comments

Be the first to comment!

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: There’s no magic bullet to raising educational performance, says EIU report

Number-crunching by the EIU found that when results of three international tests PISA (reading, maths, science), TIMSS (maths, science) and PIRLS (reading) were combined with literacy and graduation rates the UK came sixth in the world. The report, however, is more than a database – it tries to discover the elusive qualities of high-performing school systems. The two countries listed first, ... read more and comment →

No comments

Be the first to comment!

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Labour questions whether exams at 16 are necessary as participation age rises to 18

Labour would phase out external assessment at 16 in all subjects except English and Maths as part of a complete overhaul of school examinations. But implementation of the policy would take place only after extensive consultation – it would not be as a result of rushed reforms. UK school pupils are among the most intensively tested in the world. Most major ... read more and comment →

No comments

Be the first to comment!

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Is Qualified Teaching Status necessary? DfE says it’s a mark of quality but Academies can recruit teachers who don’t reach the quality standard.

Academies and free schools can employ teachers without Qualified Teacher Status. That is a view promoted by Secretary of State, Michael Gove, who thinks teaching is merely a "craft" that can be picked up on the job . Gove says he wants to learn from high-performing countries and cites Finland where teachers are recruited from the top-performing graduates. But he overlooks ... read more and comment →

18 comments

Latest comment by Leonard James: "What encouraged them to make the jump? Some flesh on the bones would be useful here...."

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Moving backwards to the East – but the East is moving on

Once again Mr Gove shows he is moving away from the high-performing countries he admires. He extolled their curricula but was out-of-step with their proposals. He said he had researched international exam systems so that England could have a system which equals the world’s best but his ideas disregard what these countries are doing (see FAQs above). He has praised ... read more and comment →

2 comments

Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "Funnily enought that's exactly the same point I was making to Nick Gibb today at ACME. I asked him how it was that the government had analysed maths curriculums of the best countries in the world - Finland where maths ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Academies have freedom to force unacceptable conditions of service on teachers – and that’s a good thing, according to Secretary of State

Teachers in local authority (LA) maintained schools are “held back by the terms and conditions, the restrictive practices, which work against children’s welfare,” said Michael Gove. What are these unacceptable “terms and conditions”? Could it be the hours that teachers work? The OECD found that in England working hours in teaching are already “fairly long compared to many other OECD countries”* ... read more and comment →

7 comments

Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "In Finland it is expected that teachers will also be enthusiastic learners and will therefore be role models for their students to help them also become so. So teachers need time to be able to explore and nurture their wider interests. ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Allan Beavis: Gove admits Tory government could move towards full profit-making from state schools at the Leveson Inquiry

During questioning at the Leveson Inquiry today, Michael Gove gave the strongest indication yet that a Tory government would let schools be run for profit. It is unclear whether this has not yet been rolled out because public opinion is opposed to it, as shown by this Populus poll or whether Nick Clegg had inconveniently broken ranks and reassured ... read more and comment →

7 comments

Latest comment by tim bidie: "In every walk of life there are commercial organisations doing untold good, whilst making profits that are reinvested to improve service. Why should schools be any different?..."

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Francis Gilbert: Do schools achieve more when teachers teach less, and children have more free time?

In this video, Finnish education expert, Pasi Sahlberg, talks about why the best education system encourage children to play by teaching them less, and teachers to improve their practice by having less contact time in the classroom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZr4XV7HyZw read more and comment →

6 comments

Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: ""It’s important to remember that it isn’t just any old play that works." Absolutely. We also have many, many examples of outstanding nurseries and pre-schools in England. English teachers work on these things too Ricky and of course this ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Francis Gilbert: Would abolishing private schools improve the education of all our children?

I attended, together with the other founder members of the Local Schools Network, a fascinating talk given by Pasi Sahlberg this Thursday, in the House of Commons. Sahlberg is, as his website tells us, "Director General of CIMO (Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation) in Helsinki, Finland. He has global expertise in educational reforms, training teachers, coaching schools and advising policy-makers. ... read more and comment →

70 comments

Latest comment by Co-op Schools of the Future, an alternative to Academies and Free Schools | Think Left: "[...] Local Schools Network: Would abolishing private schools improve education of all our children? [...]..."

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Allan Beavis: A reminder – How Finnish Education reform addressed the economic inequality of society

Finnish schools and why they are an inspiring model to emulate has been discussed on Local Schools Network many times before, but it is worth thinking about them again. Posts on this site about the recent speeches and "initiaves" by Gove and Clegg claiming to prove the coalition's commitment to social mobility and cohesion have prompted debate once again about the ... read more and comment →

64 comments

Latest comment by Sirkku Nikamaa-Berg: "Yes, Ressu offers basic education (non - selective ) and a high school (upper secondary) that selects its students just like all other high schools in Finland do. Students apply to upper secondary education through a centralized application process after ......"

Comment + Debate
Page 1 of 212