How did Finland make teaching such an attractive profession
Finland, Singapore, and Canada
While most countries claim to make educating their students a priority, there are a few that out shine the others: Finland, Singapore, Alberta, Ontario… What is it about these countries that has propelled them to having one of the top education systems in the world? Finland claims that the key to success is hiring high quality teachers. Singapore states that the financial priorities in making sure teachers and students have the best resources contributed to their success. It is in the innovative teaching strategies where Canada has found its success. The readings for this week take you deep into the working of these education systems and what American educators can learn from them.
In four to five paragraphs, choose one of the following options for your initial discussion board post:
Option One:
Consider the ways in which Singapore used education to leap from the third world to the first. Which of these measures might be adapted and used by districts or states in the United States?
Option Two:
Think about how Ontario, Canada created collaborations between government and unions to sustain reforms over time. Now consider current reform measures in your own district. Would they survive a turnover in leadership? What do you see as the keys to maintaining a commitment to continuous improvement?
Option Three:
How did Finland make teaching such an attractive profession? How does the status of a teacher in Finland differ from the status of a teacher in the United States? What effects do you feel the perceived status of a teacher have on education?
Support your statements with evidence from the Required Studies and your research. Use APA for all citations and references.
Click here for information on course rubrics.
Education is a living, breathing, changing ideal. While in many places education is still extremely subpar, global universal education is rapidly becoming an attainable goal. Is the answer for more countries to just follow the example of nations such as Finland, Canada, and Singapore that hold high test scores? Or, is the answer to design an individual system based on the nation’s societal needs?
Due to recent technological advancements and the expanding globalized world economy, the world is going through dramatic transformations. The global education system has seen an inordinate amount of change in a relatively small amount of time. The United States remains a superpower, leading the world as one of the most scientifically and technologically advanced nations, ranking number three out of 138 countries on the 2016-2017 Global Competitiveness Index (Schwab, 2016). The United States has been recognized as a global leader for the better part of a century, but now, with the world’s changing global economy, is there a serious threat to the United States’ seat at the top of this hierarchy?
It appears that the United States is facing stiff competition from countries across the globe. Twenty years ago, China had barely introduced themselves to the concept of motor vehicles, using bikes as their main source of transportation. Likewise, education was not a priority as there were almost no students enrolled in their schools. Now, China is a major industrial power, with a universal expectation of a minimum of nine years of education for its children. In other parts of Asia, the Asian Tigers have risen to prominence, with their booming economies growing completely out of scale with the physical size of their territories. While it is no easy task to be specialized in education anywhere in the world, in Finland, teaching is held in such high esteem that it is one of the two preferred professions, topped only by the medical profession. From an international standpoint, Canada is rather ordinary. They do not receive much acclaim for their achievements, and seemingly do not want any. For the most part, it is a rather average country, in almost every category except for education (Tucker, 2011).
The belief that every child can learn and prosper is deeply ingrained in the mind of many Americans. Students within the United States are given many second chances instead of being judged and tracked at a very young age into different groups based on their academic performance and socio-economic standing. Diversity is embraced and student uniqueness is valued. As a result, America’s system gives every child a chance to succeed. Creating an environment in which individuals can explore their own interests, participate equally, and have more control of their own destiny. Equal education for all is the cornerstone of the American education system. Should this outlook be considered a strength or weakness when evaluating America’s educational system?
According to the PISA report:
Looking across student performance in science, reading, and mathematics literacy, 15-year olds in 11 education systems demonstrated higher average scores in all three subjects than students in the United States: Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong (China), Japan, Macau (China), New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Slovenia. In addition, 15-year-olds in Massachusetts had higher average scores in all three subjects than 15-year-olds in the United States overall. (Kastberg, Ying Chan, & Murray, 2016, p. 15)
American students continue to turn in sub-par results (OECD, 2016a). In evaluating the 2015 PISA results, the U.S. saw an 11-point drop in average score for math, while remaining relatively flat in reading and science. According to OECD, “In the 2015 PISA assessment, the United States ranked 19th in science, 20th in readings and 31st in mathematics out of 35 OECD countries” (OECD, 2016b). However, average scores from Massachusetts rose above the international average in all three subject areas. This small sample illustrates that while improvement is needed in overall academic scores, as a nation the United States is more than capable of competing on a global level in education.
Viewing the American education system through international tests scores may only provide half the picture. What may have been considered by some as weaknesses of the American education systems are perhaps its strengths, skills such as creative and independent thinking and innovation of which many countries in the world are working hard to emulate. The United States has much to learn from the examples offered by other nations. Arguably, other nations have a lot to learn from the United States, too.
References
Hallenga, R. (2010). Supercool LED globe displays climate information @ Tokyo Science Museum [Image]. Creative Commons license. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/8rJfq1
Kastberg, D., Ying Chan, J., & Murray, G. (2016, December). Performance of U.S. 15-year-old students in science, reading, and mathematics literacy in an international context: First look at PISA 2015. Washington, DC: NCES, IES, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2…
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2016a). PISA 2-15, PISA results in focus. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-foc…
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2016b). Country note: Key finding form PISA 2015 for the United States. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/pisa/PISA-2015-United-States….
Sahlberg, P. [The Brainwaves Video Anthology]. (2015, May 19). Pasi Sahlberg – the myth of Finnish education [Video file]. Retrieved from
2Schwab, K. (2016). The global competitiveness report 2016-2017. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2016-2017/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2016-2017_FINAL.pdf
Tucker, M. (2011). Surpassing shanghai: An agenda for American education built on the world’s leading systems. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Publishing Group.
WEEKLY OBJECTIVES
Through participation in the following activities, the candidate will:
Examine the education system worldwide and identify how resources and roadblocks affect school systems in different countries.
Finland, Singapore, and Canada
Book Study Chapters
Identify how differing purposes result in different outcomes.
Educational Reform
Book Study Chapters
Examine current issues in international schooling.
Comparison Matrix
REQUIRED STUDIES
The following materials are required studies for this week. Complete these studies at the beginning of the week and save these weekly materials for future use.
The Global Fourth Way (Hargreaves & Shirley, 2012)
Chapter 3: Finland
Chapter 4: Singapore
Chapter 5: Alberta
Chapter 6: Ontario
A World-Class Education (Stewart, 2012)
Chapter 2: Success Stories from Around the World (pages 32-64)
Read the chapter assignments for the book you selected:
Finnish Lessons 2.0 (Sahlberg, 2015)
Chapter 2: The Finnish Paradox
Surpassing Shanghai (Tucker, 2011)
Chapter 2: Finland
Chapter 3: Japan
Read
What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland’s School Success (Partanen, 2011) [Web page]
View
Finnish Education – Equal opportunities for all (Study in Finland, 2013) [Video] [Closed captioned]
Finnish Lessons: What MA Can Learn from Finland’s Educational Reforms, CPS Presents Pasi Sahlberg (Lamothe, 2014) [Video] [Closed captioned]
The Myth of Finnish Education (Sahlberg, 2015) [Video] [Closed captioned]
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