Finland's Formula for School Success: Education Everywhere Series

Summary

In Finland, a proactive approach to education focuses on early detection and intervention for students facing difficulties. Special education is common, with an emphasis on individual support plans and collaboration between subject teachers and special educators. Weekly student welfare meetings address a range of issues, from learning disabilities to behavioral concerns, aiming to prevent problems from escalating and ensuring equitable and high-quality education for all.

Takeaways

• 🏫 In Finland, many 15- or 16-year-olds have received special education throughout their schooling, making it a common rather than a 'special' service.
• 🔍 Finnish education policy emphasizes early detection and intervention for students facing difficulties, in contrast to other countries where support is often provided only after problems become evident.
• 🤝 Subject teachers in Finland work closely with special education teachers to address individual student challenges, such as concentration issues or difficulties with reading and listening, particularly in language and math.
• 📢 The concept of 'first intervention' is highlighted, where teachers contact special education teachers at the earliest signs of a student's struggle to arrange immediate support.
• 👩‍🏫 Special teachers are available for a limited time, during which they provide one-on-one assistance to students in separate classrooms, often accompanied by an individual learning plan.
• 📝 An individual learning plan is created for students who need additional support to ensure they do not fall behind in their studies.
• 👥 The student welfare team meets weekly to discuss various issues affecting students, including bullying, truancy, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems.
• 🌟 The student welfare group aims to address a wide range of problems, from home issues to learning disabilities and multicultural challenges, with a focus on early intervention.
• 🔑 The policy in Finland encourages students to openly seek help when needed, rather than hiding their difficulties, which can lead to more complex problems in later years.
• 💡 The Finnish approach to education appears to have a positive impact on both the equity and quality of the education system by providing early and targeted support to students.

Q & A

What is the general situation for 15- or 16-year-old students in Finland who are leaving basic school?

Most of these students have been in special education throughout their schooling, which implies that special education has become quite common rather than being 'special'.

What does Pasi imply about the term 'special education' in the Finnish context?

Pasi suggests that the term 'special education' has lost its original meaning, as it is now more common for students to have received special education services than not.

What is the Finnish educational policy regarding the early detection of difficulties in students?

The policy emphasizes early detection of any difficulties or problems students may have, which is different from many other countries where interventions are implemented only after problems become too visible.

How do subject teachers in Finland collaborate with special education teachers?

Subject teachers cooperate with special education teachers by contacting them at the first sign of a student having difficulties, which is referred to as the 'first intervention'.

What is the purpose of having a special teacher join a subject teacher in the classroom?

The purpose is to focus on the student's problem and provide immediate help and support, ensuring that the student does not lag behind.

What is the role of the special teacher when working with a student who is struggling?

The special teacher is available for a limited number of hours to work with the student individually, often in a separate classroom, and helps create an individual learning plan for the student.

What is the student welfare team and how often do they meet?

The student welfare team is a group that gathers weekly to discuss various student issues, including bullying, skipping classes, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems.

What types of issues does the student welfare team address?

The team addresses a wide range of issues including learning difficulties, behavioral problems, bullying, skipping classes, and multicultural challenges.

How does the student welfare group approach problems at school?

The student welfare group aims to interrupt problems as soon as possible, focusing on early intervention to prevent issues from escalating.

What is the main value of the student welfare group according to Merja?

The main value is to address problems early on, whether they are related to home issues, learning disabilities, or multicultural challenges.

How does the Finnish policy aim to affect the equity and quality of the educational system?

The policy aims to make it easy for students to ask for help when needed, rather than hiding problems, which can lead to more difficult issues in later years, thus positively affecting both equity and quality.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Early Intervention in Finnish Education

The script discusses the Finnish educational system's focus on early detection and intervention for students with difficulties. Pasi emphasizes that special education is common, and the system aims to identify and support students who may struggle early on, rather than waiting until problems are too visible. Olli describes the collaborative approach between subject teachers and special education teachers, highlighting the first intervention strategy where the special teacher is brought in to address issues such as concentration, reading, and listening difficulties. An individual learning plan is created to ensure no student falls behind. The weekly student welfare team meetings address various issues like bullying, skipping classes, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems on a case-by-case basis.

05:08

🤝 Fostering Openness and Equity in Education

Merja and Pasi talk about the student welfare group's role in addressing problems related to home, learning disabilities, and multicultural issues, with the goal of interrupting problems as early as possible. Pasi explains the policy's aim to make it easy for students to ask for help when needed, rather than hiding their difficulties, which can lead to more complex issues later on. This approach has positively impacted both the equity and quality of the Finnish education system by encouraging openness and early support for students facing challenges.

Keywords

💡Special Education

Special Education refers to the educational services and supports provided to students with unique learning needs. In the context of the video, it is noted that in Finland, special education is common, with most students having received some form of it throughout their schooling. This highlights the theme of inclusive education and the emphasis on early intervention to support students with difficulties.

💡Early Detection

Early Detection is the process of identifying difficulties or problems at an early stage in order to address them promptly. The video emphasizes the Finnish educational system's policy of early detection as a proactive approach to education, where issues are recognized and support is provided as quickly as possible to prevent problems from escalating.

💡Early Intervention

Early Intervention is a strategy used to provide support and services to individuals who are at risk of developing problems or who are already experiencing difficulties. The video discusses the Finnish belief in early intervention as a means to ensure that students who are likely to face challenges are recognized and assisted at the earliest opportunity.

💡Subject Teachers

Subject Teachers are educators who specialize in a particular field of study and are responsible for teaching that subject to students. In the video, subject teachers are depicted as active participants in the early detection process, collaborating with special teachers to identify and address student difficulties, such as problems with concentration or in specific subjects like languages and math.

💡Special Teacher

A Special Teacher is a professional who works with students who have special educational needs, providing tailored support and interventions. The video describes the role of the special teacher in Finland, who is called upon for the 'first intervention' and works closely with subject teachers to address individual student needs.

💡Individual Learning Plan

An Individual Learning Plan is a customized educational plan designed to meet the unique needs of a student. The video mentions the creation of individual learning plans for students who require additional support, illustrating the personalized approach to education in Finland.

💡Student Welfare Team

The Student Welfare Team is a group of professionals who meet regularly to discuss and address various student issues. In the video, the team is described as gathering weekly to discuss cases ranging from bullying to learning difficulties, emphasizing a comprehensive approach to student support.

💡Learning Difficulties

Learning Difficulties refer to challenges that students face in acquiring new knowledge or skills. The video script highlights the Finnish educational system's focus on identifying and addressing learning difficulties as part of their commitment to early intervention and support.

💡Behavioral Problems

Behavioral Problems are issues related to a student's conduct or actions that may interfere with their learning or the learning of others. The video discusses how behavioral problems are among the various issues addressed by the student welfare team in Finnish schools.

💡Equity

Equity in education refers to the fair and just provision of educational opportunities and resources to all students. The video script mentions that the Finnish policy of early detection and intervention has positively affected the equity of the system, ensuring that all students have access to the support they need.

💡Quality of the System

Quality of the System pertains to the overall effectiveness and excellence of an educational system. The video suggests that the Finnish approach to early detection and intervention not only improves equity but also enhances the overall quality of the educational system by addressing issues before they become more significant problems.

Highlights

In Finland, most 15-16 year old students have received special education throughout their schooling, making it the norm rather than an exception.

Special education is considered 'nothing special' in Finland, as it is common for all students.

Finland emphasizes early detection of difficulties and problems in students, unlike many other countries.

Early intervention is a key policy in Finnish schools to recognize and support students who may struggle.

Subject teachers in Finland work closely with special education teachers to address individual student needs.

The first intervention involves subject teachers and special education teachers collaborating to address student difficulties early on.

Special education teachers are available for a few hours to work one-on-one with students who need extra help.

An individual learning plan is created for students who require additional support.

The goal of these measures is to ensure that no student falls behind in their education.

Student welfare teams meet weekly to discuss and address various student issues, including bullying, skipping classes, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems.

Individual problems are dealt with on a case-by-case basis during these weekly meetings.

The student welfare group addresses a wide range of issues, from home problems to learning disabilities and multicultural challenges.

The main value of the student welfare group is to interrupt problems as early as possible.

Finland's policy aims to make it easy for students to ask for help when needed, rather than hiding their difficulties.

Addressing problems early can prevent the accumulation of more difficult issues later on.

This approach has positively impacted both the equity and quality of the Finnish education system.

Transcripts

>>Pasi: If you look at the 15-year-olds, or 16-year-old Fins

who are leaving the basic school, most of them have been

in special education throughout their schooling.

Which means that special education is actually nothing special.

So it's you are a special child or student if you haven't been,

if you haven't ever used special services.

>>Pasi: We are putting a lot of emphasis on the early detection

of any difficulties and problems that the students in our schools may have.

And this is a very different policy to many other countries

where these measures are designed in a way that they are implemented only

when the problems have emerged and are too visible.

But we don't' think like this in Finland.

I think we believe in this early intervention to make sure that those

who are likely to be in trouble will be recognized early,

and provided help and support as quickly as possible.

>>Olli: We as subject teachers cooperate with the special teacher

in cases where we see

that an individual student has problems with their studies.

It might be problems with concentrating on a theme.

It might be reading and listening difficulties,

especially in languages and math.

What we do is that we contact the special teacher

at the very early moment.

We call it the first intervention.

We talk with the special teacher, and try to arrange a time that she

or he could be able to come and join me as a subject teacher

to my classroom, and then focus on the problem.

>>Olli: The special teacher is available for a couple of hours.

And then she picks the student to a separate classroom

and helps him or her there.

And we also make an individual learning plan

for that individual student.

And by taking these measures, we try to guarantee

that no one is lagging behind.

>>Olli: The student welfare team gathers on a weekly basis,

and subject teachers inform the group with different cases.

They might be bullying, they might be skipping classes,

they might be learning difficulties,

it might behavioral problems, all kinds of things.

>>Olli: And then these individual problems are dealt with case-by-case

in this weekly meeting that every school in Finland has.

>>Merja: Well, a student welfare group deals with any kinds

of problems that we see in a school having to do with problems at home

or at learning disabilities, multi-cultural problems.

The main value of our student welfare group is to interrupt as soon

as possible, problems involved.

>>Pasi: With this policy, we are trying to really make it easy

for everybody to say, "Yes, I have some areas where I need help now.

Is there anybody who can help?"

rather than trying to hide these things.

And in many cases, when you do this in the later years they will come

and accumulate even more difficult problems.

So I think with this, we have been able to positively affect both the-

the equity of the system, and also the quality of the system.