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EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES VS. EDUCATION IN FINLAND

EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES VS. EDUCATION IN FINLAND. By, Katie Sullivan EDU 557 Professor Stoloff. FACTS ABOUT EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES. The United States has very diverse classrooms and a wide variety of students from different backgrounds, ethnicities and races.

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EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES VS. EDUCATION IN FINLAND

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  1. EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES VS. EDUCATION IN FINLAND By, Katie Sullivan EDU 557Professor Stoloff

  2. FACTS ABOUT EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES • The United States has very diverse classrooms and a wide variety of students from different backgrounds, ethnicities and races. • 90% of students in the United States do not start formal schooling until the age of 6. • The United States spends more public and private dollars on education than any other country. (Sparks, 2016) • The American work force has some of the weakest mathematical and problem solving skills in the developed world. • The United States has about 318 million people, and there are about 300 languages spoken. • The United States has almost a 25% poverty rate that grows daily. (Sparks, 2016)

  3. FACTS ABOUT EDUCATION IN FINLAND • Schools hours are cut in half, there is little to no homework given in schools, there are no standardized tests, and children have a 50-minute recess. (New York Times, 2013) • Children begin formal schooling around 7 yrs. old • Finland schools are nationally funded based on the number of students. • Teachers are required to obtain a three-year masters degree, state-funded, before teaching. Only one in 10 primary school teacher applicants are accepted. (New York Times, 2013) • Finland has about 5.3 million people and it quite homogeneous, with most people of Finnish heritage.

  4. EXAMPLES OF EDUCATION IN OTHER COUNTRIES • Researchers found that as of 2011, 9 out of 10 students in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom had entered formal education by ages 3 and 4. (Sparks, 2016) • The United States has mediocre high school graduation rates, leading China, Turkey, and Mexico, but lagging behind Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, and the United Kingdom. • Canada has a more rigorous and selective teacher preparation system than the United States • Shanghai’s students were first in the world in math, science and literacy on last year’s (2016) international exams. (Sparks, 2016)

  5. EXAMPLES OF EDUCATION IN OTHER COUNTRIES. CONTINUED.. • Academic pressures in South Korea are very high. The government officials and school administration are very aware of the pressures, but they are no match for the ambitious students and parents, who understand that passing the countries stringent graduation exam is the key to a successful, prosperous life. • In the United States, sports are at times ‘the core culture’. Ripley (2013) states, “In Poland, sports simply do not figure into the school day. The children play plenty of sports after school on their own and they know school is for academics only-or what mattered to kids’ life chances.”

  6. WHAT MAKES FINLAND SO SUCCESSFUL IN EDUCATION? • The teacher preparation process is very rigorous and the country hold their teachers in very high esteem such as doctors and lawyers. • By professionalizing the teacher corps and raising its value in society, the Finns have made teaching the country’s most popular occupation for the young. • Finnish students have ranked at or near the top of the Program for International Student Assessment ever since testing started in 2000. (Tung, 2012) • Finnish schools avoided nationwide tests to evaluate teachers, students or schools, instead relying on sample-based testing and school principals to identify potential problems

  7. WHAT MAKES FINLAND SCHOOLS SO SUCCESSFUL? CONTINUED.. • Schools are provided additional funding if they have a higher proportion of immigrants or students whose parents are uneducated or unemployed. • Ironically, inspiration for many of Finland's changes came from research in the United States, which contributes 80 percent of the world's education research. It was built on the excellent, high-performing, equitable system that everyone is praising today, based on American innovations (Shumer, 2014) • By age 15, Finnish students outperform all but a few countries on international assessments.

  8. WHAT MAKES FINLAND EDUCATION SO SUCCESSFUL? CONTINUED.. • Finland schools are built on a culture of rigor. • Students work hard because they know it is the only way they will get into college or university or even get a job. • According to Ripley (2013) “Americans educators described Finland as a silky paradise, a place where all the teachers are admired and all the children beloved.” • All teachers have a real passion for their job. • Students do not have the technology that the schools in the United States have available. They are focused on solely learning from the teacher and on academics.

  9. EDUCATION FINLAND HAS THE BEST EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE WORLD-NIGHTLY NEWS (2010) • Click on the link below to view a YouTube video regarding Finland school systems. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0__9s3A2pcA

  10. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND FINLAND EDUCATION SYSTEM • The United States and Finland kindergarten system both escape standardized testing, however, students in the United States are regularly assessed to ensure progress is being made. • The length of the school year in Finland is almost the same as the United States. • Finnish education programs have adopted the two semester system. The school year last for approximately 190 days.. There are 180 school days on the calendar; however, students are only required to attend 168 of those days

  11. OTHER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND FINLAND EDUCATION • Day (2015) states, “An average Finnish teacher teaches 600 hours annually or about 4 or less lessons daily. An average U.S. teacher almost doubles that teaching time with an average of over 1,1080 of in-class instruction annually. This equals an average of six or more lessons daily.” • Elementary students in Finland often have the same teacher for up to six years of education. These teachers know where each of their students have been and where they are going.

  12. IS IT FAIR TO COMPARE FINLAND EDUCATION WITH THE UNITED STATES EDUCATION? • Finland students speak a language at home other than Finnish. In the U.S. Wilde (2015) found, “8% of children are English Language Learners, according to the U. S. Department of Education. • Finland does not have to deal with the challenges of immigration, language and ethnic diversity, and, most importantly, issues of poverty. • Finland does not have any private schools. Even the few independent schools are publicly financed. So U.S. charter and private schools also make comparisons between the U.S. and Finland more complicated. • Shumer (2014) states, “It may be more fair to compare the U.S. with countries such as Indonesia (12.5 percent poverty rate) or Brazil (21.4 percent poverty rate), the 4th and 5th largest countries in the world.”

  13. 1ST GRADE IN FINLAND VS 1ST GRADE IN THE UNITED STATES • The math and reading tests given are very different from each other. The Finnish tests have considerable less text and the words are broken into syllables making it easier for first grade students to read. • Student start schooling in Finland at the age of 7, so when they begin first grade they are just learning how to be in school and ‘get their feet wet’. The United States jumps into testing our students the second they walk into school. The curriculum moves quickly so teachers can cover all material, even if mastery is not made.

  14. CONFLICT OF INTEREST? • Walker (2015) observed, the publisher of the first grade math curriculum is Person. This is the same company that designs standardized tests for most NY students in grades 3-8. The same company that is being paid to design standardized tests for NY is also being paid to design curriculum for NY students. It is in the interest of Person to design curriculum that will help students succeed on their standardized test. • This conflict on interest does not exist in Finland. There is just one high-stakes standardized test and students are only eligible to take this exam after passing their high school course. This exam is created by a board that is nominated by the Finnish Ministry of Education.

  15. WHAT ARE CHANGES THE UNITED STATES CAN MAKE TO THE EDUCATION SYSTEM? • Change the way we test and analyze our students • Better prepare our teachers for the challenges they face in the classroom. Show more confidence in teachers and their abilities. • Strengthen relationships with students and emphasize the importance of schooling • Have shorter work days, less homework, and more time for exploration and play. • Look more in-depth into topics and not rush through curriculum just to cover each area. • Fewer students and more individual attention

  16. HOW DOES THIS AFFECT MY CAREER AS A TEACHER TODAY IN THE UNITED STATES? • Other countries have become more competitive and are producing higher results in education. • The United States feels they have to keep making changes to the education system, and we find students are failing under our watch. • I feel there need to be major changes to the education system, and this may affect my career. • The United States poverty rates grow daily and more children are going to school without the resources they need to succeed. • More stress is placed on teachers and students daily.

  17. DE-GRADING EDUCATION: ELIZABETH WISSNER-GROSS • Click on the link below to view a powerful TED talk regarding our failing schools in our country today and why.. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzSnvxejenY

  18. RESOURCES • Sparks, S. D. (2016, January 04). Five Ways U.S. Education Differs From Other G-20 Countries. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2016/01/7_ways_US_differs_G20_education.html • T. (2013, December 17). Why Other Countries Teach Better. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/why-students-do-better-overseas.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 • Tung, S., & Tung, S. (2012, January 20). How the Finnish school system outshines U.S. education. Retrieved from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/january/finnish-schools-reform-012012.html • Sanchez, C. (2014, March 8). What The U.S. Can Learn From Finland, Where School Starts At Age 7. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2014/03/08/287255411/what-the-u-s-can-learn-from-finland-where-school-starts-at-age-7 • Shumer, R. (2014, July 11). Finland not an apt educational model for U.S. schools. Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/finland-not-an-apt-educational-model-for-u-s-schools/266823501/

  19. RESOURCES • Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). What we can learn from Finland's successful school reform. Retrieved January 04, 2017, from http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm • H. (2016, May 21). First Grade Math Tests in American and Finnish Classrooms. Retrieved from http://taughtbyfinland.com/first-grade-math-tests-in-american-and-finnish-classrooms/ • Day, K. (2015, May 12). 11 Ways Finland’s Education System Shows Us that “Less is More”. Retrieved from https://fillingmymap.com/2015/04/15/11-ways-finlands-education-system-shows-us-that-less-is-more/ • Sahlberg, P., & Hargreaves, A. (2011). Finnish lessons: what can the world learn from educational change in Finland? New York: Teachers College Press. • Ripley, A. (2014). The smartest kids in the world: and how they got that way. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.

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