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Finnish Lessons
“Almost every player on our team is a goal scorer with their club team.”
—Dan Church, head coach, Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team
What can we learn from Finland?
Plenty, as this issue of the ATA Magazine attests. The Alberta–Finland partnership, initiated just over a year ago, has flourished into a full-fledged enterprise of mutual discovery of our respective public education systems. The articles in this issue show that both jurisdictions share many similarities when it comes to education, but we still have much to glean from each other.
We are alike in many ways—our geologies are similar, and we are countries of the northern hemisphere, domains of snow and ice, lakes and rivers, mountains and snow. (The Finnish flag reflects that country’s natural wonders; the flag’s blue cross represents the country’s many lakes and the white background symbolizes snow.) Likewise, near and dear to both our hearts is the game of ice hockey. (The Finns were probably not too enamoured with Canada’s women’s hockey team, though, after it blanked Finland 5-0 in the Four Nations Women's Hockey Tournament opener on November 9, in Nykoping, Sweden.)
The lessons from Finland are many. Aside from the anecdotal evidence from Alberta participants, Finland’s recipe for educational success is expounded on in Pasi Sahlberg’s recent book, Finnish Lessons—What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?, and discussed in Research Roundup. Sahlberg argues that competition, choice and external testing are not the foundations of a world-class education system—professionalizing teachers’ work, developing instructional leadership in schools and enhancing trust in teachers and schools are. Sahlberg’s book, published in November by Teachers College Press, has sold almost 10,000 copies! It’s clear that Finland is doing something worth emulating, and people are catching on.
In May of this year, Alberta principals, teachers and Association staff visited Finland. Their first-hand experiences are the subject of several of this magazine’s articles. In late October and early November, Alberta teachers and their Association reciprocated, hosting Finnish education ministry personnel, teachers and principals. The Finnish delegation visited schools in Alberta and was treated to good old western hospitality. Their observations about our schools and education system are also featured.
The Finns’ visit ended with the ATA’s Invitational Symposium on Curriculum Design for Informed Transformation: Creating a Great School for Every Student, in early November. Guest speakers from around the world, Finnish and Alberta education ministry officials, teachers, principals and ATA staff debated curriculum design and development from an international perspective. The symposium spoke to the importance of the exchange of information and ideas. The symposium’s theme, “Creating a Great School for Every Student,” is also the theme of this issue of the ATA Magazine.
The possibilities of our partnership are as endless as the commitment and passion of individual teachers and administrators from Alberta and Finland who strive every day to make public education the best it can be. As Dan Church said after Canada’s hockey win: “I think it speaks to the depth that we have on our team.”
In Finland and Alberta—I think that says it all.
