The Success Story of Education

UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ

Finland

The success story of education

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Flagship of

education Finland consistently ranks among the world’s best in education: our students have excelled and reached top results in the PISA (the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment) survey since 2000.

The teacher training college provided an opportunity for women to become teachers as well.

Finland was the first country in the world to serve free school meals – as early as 1948.

IN THE BEGINNING

The University is Finland’s leader of expertise in education, teacher education and adult education.

The University hosts the Finnish Institute for Educational Research, the organisation responsible for implementing the PISA study in Finland. The University’s subsidiary company – EduCluster Finland Ltd. – is the country’s leading exporter of education.

Our secret?

Teachers – and teacher education.

The University of Jyväskylä is the heart of Finnish teacher education. The University has its roots in the country's first Finnishlanguage teacher training college, which was established in Jyväskylä in 1863.

Music, art and sports have been part of the Finnish curriculum from the very beginning.

Finnish teachers are highly qualified, motivated and committed to their work. All teachers from primary school to upper secondary education hold a master’s degree and have completed supervised teaching practices as part of their pedagogical studies. The teaching profession is a very popular career choice for Finnish university students.

The University of Jyväskylä offers teacher education for all levels of schooling, from early childhood and primary education to adult education.

Studies in Educational Leadership – on campus or online A first-class education system is based on good educational leadership and management. The University of Jyväskylä offers unique researchbased training in educational management and leadership, which is also available as distance learning. The Master’s Degree Programme in Educational Leadership reflects Finland's established experience in education and is adapted to the needs of the global market.

Exporting educational expertise EduCluster Finland Ltd. (ECF) is the gateway to superior Finnish expertise in the field of education and innovation. ECF’s references include the five-year Educational Partnership Programme, a pedagogical fusion combining the educational experience of both Abu Dhabi and Finland to create world-class flagship schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain during 2010 – 2015.

Un ive r s it y of J y väs ky lä, Fin lan d | The success sto ry of educat ion

Teachers for all levels of education

The leading principlE

AN Academic framework is offered for early childhood educators and kindergarten teachers as well. Completion of pedagogical studies is also required for all teachers employed at the University of Jyväskylä.

Finnish education system [ in years ]

The University of Jyväskylä prepares teachers and educators for every grade level.

Adult educator

university Doctoral degrees Licentiate degrees 5 4 3 2 1

Master’s degrees

Requirement: master’s degree

Professors and other university teaching staff

Teachers of educational and social studies

Requirement: Doctoral or master’s degree

Bachelor’s degrees

upper secondary school 3 2 1

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Matriculation examination or vocational qualifications

comprehensive school

Subject teachers Requirement: master’s degree Mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, history philosophy, psychology, languages, music, physical education, ICT etc.

Special education teachers Requirement: master’s degree

Class teachers

Early childhood and pre-primary education

Kindergarten teachers Requirement: bachelor’s degree

Requirement: master’s degree

Class teachers teaching in Finnish sign language

Subject teachers teaching in Finnish sign language

Requirement: master’s degree

Requirement: master’s degree

Finnish Education System in a Nutshell

• After basic education children can choose whether to continue to General Upper Secondary Education or Vocational Education (2 – 4 year duration): universities require matriculation examination and polytechnics vocational qualification • Education is tuition-free and basic education is guaranteed to all citizens • The requirement for educators of all grades is a master’s degree (except for kindergarten teaching, which requires a bachelor’s degree)

Requirement: master’s degree

preschool and kindergarten

School counsellors

Requirement: master’s degree

• The basic compulsory educational system in Finland consists of nine-year comprehensive school (7–16 year-olds)

Basic education [ 7 – 16-year-olds ]

Principals

The diverse range of education studies offered at the University of Jyväskylä, combining practice and analytical academic thinking, provides graduates with the necessary tools to operate in the wide field of educational professions. Education is based on scientific research, and students learn the essential skills needed to apply scientific knowledge and scientific methods to their independent and demanding work as teachers, counsellors and educators.

Early childhood educators Requirement: master’s degree

Faculty of education Areas of Research Strength 2012 >

Lifelong learning at all levels of schooling

I

Learning interaction, collaborative learning and learning environments

II

Participation of children and adolescents

III

Professional identity and agency

Examples of research themes • Promoting professional agency in education and health care work (PROAGENT)

• Teacher professional growth and school well-being

• Intergenerational Partnerships: Emergent forms of children’s well-being

• Teaching and learning interactions:

• Collaborative Argumentation and Argument Visualisation in Knowledge Construction and Problem Solving

• Teaching-learning Sequences in Science and Math classrooms • Learning Motivation and Classroom Quality in the Early School Years (FIRST STEPS)

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I study early childhood education because I like children and I get along well with them. I was fascinated by a big and popular university where you can study early childhood education at the master’s level, unlike in many other universities. The best part of my studies is doing and discussing things with other students.

Unique studies in education The University of Jyväskylä is Finland’s only university providing master’s degree studies in early childhood education and in special early childhood education. These study tracks offer graduates a pedagogically oriented degree that is highly appreciated and valuable in the professional world. Early childhood education focuses on such topics as child-centered pedagogy, children’s rights and diversity, educational partnership, professional development, multidisciplinary education and research, and internationality. Students can specialise either in children’s culture, family studies or management and development.

The University of Jyväskylä also offers other options that are unique in Finland, for example in gerontology, physical education, and educational leadership.

www.jyu.fi/edu/en

Educational studies in English • Multicultural study programme, 25 ECTS credits • Master’s Degree Programme in Educational Leadership, 120 ECTS credits • Master’s Degree Programme in Development and International Cooperation (with education, social sciences or environmental science as a major subject), 120 ECTS credits • Practical training of early childhood education in a kindergarten setting • Master of Educational Management and Leadership, 80 ECTS credits

Jatta Veijanen Early Childhood Education

High-class Training in Educational Leadership The Institute of Educational Leadership has been at the forefront of developing research and university-based training in educational management and leadership since 1999. For international customers, the Institute offers a wide range of trainings for professional development. It provides a 2-year Master’s Degree Programme in Educational Leadership (MPEL) on-campus in Finland. Based on that, an e-Learning version, the Master of Educational Management and Leadership (MEd) programme is now also offered, enabling students to create their own flexible study paths. The MEd online programme is comparable to MBA programmes. The goal of the programmes is to develop internationally oriented professionals and experts in the field of education and educational leadership. In addition, the Institute also welcomes international students into its doctoral programme.

www.iel.jyu.fi

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Teacher training school The University of Jyväskylä Teacher Training School was established in 1866. It provides supervised teaching practice for 300 subject teachers and 100 class teachers every year, while also providing general education for comprehensive and upper secondary school students.

Future teachers receive the majority of their teaching practice training at the teacher training school under the constant guidance and supervision of qualified teacher educators. Teachers working at teacher training schools conduct research and carry out pedagogical development as an integral part of their work. www.norssi.jyu.fi

Graphogame

– helping learning through technology Graphogame is a child-friendly computer game that helps children to learn the basic letters and their sounds. By gradual progression through a series of levels, the child discovers how to construct these letters into small words and then larger words. Learning to read with Graphogame is fun and easy enough for the child to play it alone. It is like an additional teacher who helps children to learn important letter-sound correspondences, which are the building blocks of reading skills.

Graphogame was originally designed at the University of Jyväskylä to help children learn lettersound correspondences. The EU funded a large-scale cross-linguistic investigation of Graphogame in Finland, Switzerland, Holland and Britain. Several language versions of Graphogame have been developed for research purposes in other collaboration projects (e.g. Nyanja and Tonga in Zambia). www.graphogame.com

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Why do we excel in PISA studies?

Malus prunifolia, the ‘Oppio’ apple tree, is the signature tree of the University.

The Finnish educational system

Finnish teachers professionalism, commitment and high ethics

One of the greatest incentives of the teaching profession in Finland is teacher autonomy. Within the framework of the national core curriculum for basic education, all teachers have the pedagogical freedom to plan and implement their own teaching and assessment. In Finland, there are no school inspections, no official ranking lists and no obligatory national testing during comprehensive school. The only standardised testing is the matriculation examination at the end of general upper secondary school.

Teaching is a highly qualified profession, and the status of teacher education is comparable to other fields of higher education. Teachers have the right and obligation to develop their profession, and they are key actors in enabling their students to reach their full potential.

Education for all • 9-year comprehensive school established in 1970 • social and regional equity • instruction arranged in schools near the home • nearly all Finnish children complete comprehensive school: interruptions and the need to repeat a form are rare • well-educated parents promote motivation

has achieved worldwide fame through the PISA study (the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment). In all four PISA cycles, Finland’s 15-year-old pupils have either ranked first or at least placed Finland among the three best countries.

There are a number of reasons for Finland’s PISA success, such as • master’s level teacher education • highly competent, motivated teachers • uniform basic education for all children • highly developed special education and study guidance • holistic concern for pupils’ well-being • minimal variation in the quality of instruction between schools

Finnish Institute for Educational Research – a pioneer in evaluation research The Finnish Institute for Educational Research has been in charge of the PISA study in Finland right from the beginning. It has carried out international evaluation studies for over 40 years, including nearly all of the international learning comparisons made in Finland. In addition to PISA, the Institute is currently involved in six international large

scale evaluation projects and around 50 other national and international studies. Finland’s PISA success has made the University of Jyväskylä a popular destination for visits by foreign researchers and education professionals. The University is also a sought-after partner in international research projects and expert networks. ktl.jyu.fi/ktl/english

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FINLAND www.jyu.fi/en • tel. +358 14 260 1211

15,000 degree students, total of 40,000 students including adult education students popular: one out of ten applicants is accepted • staff of 2,600 • annual budget of € 220 million

layout: PIGME • photos: PIGME, Hanna-Kaisa Hämäläinen, Petteri Kivimäki, Iida Liimatainen, Mikko Vähäniitty, Viivi Kivi & University Museum • 2012

UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ