Education in Finland

Explore the Finnish education system and its success factors. Two minutes and 41 seconds in length.

Description of the video:

(A street lined with yellow houses, blue skies.) Finland ranks 1^st in the quality of life and human capital potential and second in network readiness. What’s our secret? (A young girl eating breakfast at the table.) Education.

(The young girl getting ready for school; packing her bag and putting on her outerwear.) Lifelong learning begins in early childhood and high-quality education is guaranteed to all children. Finland is the 2^nd fairest country for children.

(Children studying in a classroom with a teacher helping them.) Success factor: Equal learning opportunities. Education is free from pre-primary to higher education. (Two children studying s tablet.) Everyone’s potential is maximized with guidance and counselling. The learning gap is one of the narrowest in the world.

(Two children taking a photo with a smartphone outside in a snowy forest.) Success factor: Forward-looking learning methods. Advanced digital applications to engage learners, interdisciplinary learning across subjects and coding in addition to reading, writing and arithmetic. Out of the classroom, into the world.

(Upper secondary students sitting around a table looking at a laptop.) General upper secondary education – gateway to innovative and academic sciences. (A young mechanic fixing a car at a workshop.) Nearly 50% continue from basic education to vocational education and training, a pathway to higher education or straight to work life.

(An enthusiastic-looking teacher explaining something to students.) Success factor: Capable and committed teachers. Popular profession – only the most suitable get selected for training. Highly qualified – 100% of Finnish teachers hold a Master’s degree. Autonomous – free to decide how to best do their work.

(Aerial view of a university lobby and people studying.) Universities and universities of applied sciences produce innovations and a competent workforce. Learning is based on teacher-student interaction and building a skill set for the future.

(A library with white shelfs filled with books and a man studying there on a laptop.) Finland has the 2^nd highest performing graduates and ranks 6^th in higher education systems. Lifelong learning is encouraged and enabled. Success factor: Flexible education model. (The young girl arrives with her backpack.) No dead ends – learners can always proceed to an upper level of education.

(The young girl and the man are at home, watching something from a smartphone, smiling and laughing.) Learning not for school – but for life.