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Finland Government has Admitted the Failure of Finland Education

北欧の理想と現実

An Important Report Left Unread abroad

I have been watching the Finland's domestic media for several years and rarely found good news as far as the country's education is concerned.
Rather, Finland is plagued with sad outcomes and events of its education. And this year (2023) the Finland government eventually admitted the failure of its education in an official report. 

The report called "Bildung Review", which was published more than six months ago, has caused hot debates in Finland but almost no reaction so far from abroad. It seems that the overseas pedagogues, education journalists and others have not even noticed it. I don't know why it has been left unread, but this report should not be ignored. 

"Bildung Review" by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture

Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture published "Bildung Review" in January 2023, and below is the link to its English summary.

The report, which covers broad topics such as education, R&D, libraries, culture & arts, etc., describes the the development of the Finnish education over the past decades as follows:

The latest stage, which began in the 1990s, is characterised by a decline in the achieved learning outcomes, the plateauing of the rising level of education among Finns, as well as a gradual decrease in public input into education.

The bildung review by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture


Bildung Review Poses a Painful Question


The Bildung Review is basically  a controversial report in many ways. And I believe that the below part is most controversial because it acutely questions the internationally-shared view on the Finnish teaching.

Proficiency in reading and mathematics strengthened in Finland from the 1960s to the 1990s, reaching the international top in the learning outcomes assessments conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Internationally speaking, the decline in achieved learning outcomes, which began in the early 2000s, has been exceptionally rapid in Finland

The Bildung Review by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture


As we all know, very few people abroad talked about the excellence of Finnish education between 1960s and 1990s. It was only after it had reached to the top in the PISA ranking in the mid-2000s that Finland was hailed as "Education Superpower". Since then, Finnish teaching has been an exciting topic and celebrated enthusiastically in many foreign media such as TV programs, books, newspapers, blogs etc. Education debates in the world have been revolving around Finland for almost two decades.

However, according to the Bildung Review, while proficiency in reading and mathematics strengthened between 1960s and 1990s, rapid decline in learning outcomes began in early 2000s.
So if you accept this view of the Finland government, you cannot help but come to the conclusion that the Finnish teaching mythologized after the mid-2000s is useless or even harmful, because it has caused the sharp drop in the learning outcomes. 

In this way, it poses a very painful question especially to those who have been making a fuss about Finland education on the bandwagon. Maybe they need to think twice their view on education overall. 
This is, I suppose, the biggest controversy of this report, though you may discover other problems. 


Finland Education Myths are Now Challenged by Finland Government

I don't deny that the Bildung Review is a surprising news to everyone, but those who know some bad news about education in Finland are more or less ready to accept it. 
However, it would come as a extremely big shock like a thunderbolt for those who are illusioned by the beautiful words of some celebrity admiring Finnish teaching, those who have been swallowing lectures in the departments of education, and those who have been exposed to news and reports of international main stream media.

We should remember that Finland reached to the top of PISA ranking only in the mid-2000s, when strong competitors like Singapore, Taiwan, China, etc. did not yet participate it. In another international academic assessment called TIMSS, Finland has never entered the leading group. (Only 16.1% of 8th graders understand fractional calculations!)
Moreover, it is not difficult to find negative news reporting the feeble academic ability of Finnish children if you search the country's domestic news and reports.
And I have to add that several Finnish math teachers were blowing whistle on the Finland education fad as early as 2005. 

【An example of bad news about Finland education 】


"Finland education fad" was sparked by the PISA test in the mid-2000s. Since then, a lot of fantastically-painted tales about it, some of which are sheer lies, have been produced and spread.
However, now they are challenged by the Finland government. In this sense, it is not exaggeration to say that "Finland education fad" is the product of the PISA regime rather than Finland itself.


【 An example of sheer lies, which was denied by the Finnish side 】


Time to Break away from PISA Regime


When assessing a state policy of a country, whether it is in the field of agriculture, healthcare, or anything else, we usually adopt various perspective and analyze it from several different points of view.
However, in the field of education, a strange practice of fussing about the ranking made by one single organization is going on. And "Finland education fad", which was touched off by the PISA ranking, has developed into a fake trend and been influencing the education debates and policy in the world for nearly 20 years. Now we found out that the "fad" failed to reflect the real educational situation of the country at all.
Twenty years is too long. It's time to break away from PISA regime.



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