How Finland built the best education system in the world

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Education is also a national priority, funded well, with more than 55 percent in federal dollars, and catering to working families. Free meals, health care and outside-of-class child care are available to all students, who start formal schooling at age 7 after state-sponsored compulsory kindergarten that features outdoor play and exploration.

School is mandatory through grade 9, or age 16, with two tracks in high school—general academic and vocational. Nearly 40 percent of students choose the vocational side, which is geared toward what the country expects to need in the next decade in terms of skilled workers, such as computer coding and engineering.

Finland, teaching is a highly respected, coveted and comparatively well-paid profession. Only 10 percent of students who apply to college teaching programs are accepted. Preparation is rigorous; no teacher even steps in front of a class without a master’s degree.

Student seat time in Finland is among the lowest in the world at about 20 hours per week; by comparison, U.S. and Chinese students average around 30 hours while Japanese and German students are close to 24 hours, according to a report from the Center for Public Education.

Finland also mandates 15-minute recess periods between every class, so teachers have extensive time for lesson preparation.

“No teacher teaches every lesson of the day,” says Slade, who estimates that instruction occupies only about half to two-thirds of teacher time. “During the week, teachers get together, assess issues and plan as teams. They develop a unified teaching core and approach.”

In addition to having more hours for preparation, Finnish teachers also assign less homework than do their international counterparts. They believe that the best place for students to learn is at school where trained professionals are available to assist.

Quality is emphasized over a quantity of assignments.

“We spend a lot of time in our education system giving kids busy work that comes back to our belief that if kids are working hard, they must be learning a lot,” says Burkey. “If kids are working hard on work that’s meaningless, that’s not beneficial to them.”

Finnish schools are well-built and practical, and not overly reliant on technology. Classrooms are basic, with traditional chairs, tables and chalkboards instead of interactive whiteboards.

“The Fins really focus on design, so when you walk into a building, you see walls that move, tables that disappear, cafeteria tables that fold up in ways that we’ve never imagined,” says Darrell Lockwood, superintendent of Chester School District in New Hampshire, who has visited Finland several times.

The Fins approach K12 education as more than an 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. experience, says Lockwood, and that includes before- and after-school programs geared around the working schedules of parents.

Lockwood brought that concept back to his district, which has only half-day kindergarten. He initiated an after-school child-care program for kindergarten students, which has since helped to double enrollment.

In Finland, life skills that build character—such as critical thinking and group problem-solving—anchor the education process. By presenting real-world challenges with direct personal connections, such as designing and building a school greenhouse, students learn how to plan, perform tasks and then evaluate their work.

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