Following a recent study tour in Tampere, Finland, by members of Gozo College’s senior management team, all schools within the college are adopting practices from the excellent Finnish education system in their classrooms.
Finland’s education system has been made famous as a result of its performances in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The study tour focused on certain aspects of the system, namely, leading development work at schools; cooperation and leading educational support; good governance and administration; and the school of the future.
Through a series of lectures and visits to pre-primary, primary, secondary and post-secondary schools and educational institutions, the study tour participants, led by Gozo College principal Dr Denise Mifsud, gained an insight into how the Finnish education system works.
What immediately struck the participants was that the system is based on competent teachers and outstanding teachers’ kits, rather than fierce competition. Finland embraces a student-centred approach where the student always comes first and is empowered to be independent from pre-school age. The school system is characterised by formative assessment, with a focus on hands-on teaching and learning.
Finnish schools respect and support children and young people in the best possible way and all school staff are highly committed, regarding work as a national duty. The Finnish educational policy promotes harmony and excellent cooperation between schools, educational authorities and administrators.
The study tour was supported by the local European Union Programmes Agency with funds from the Erasmusplus programme and organised by Learning Scoop Finland in co-operation with the University of Tampere, Finland.