Twelve educators from three Church schools recently took part in an educational study tour in Tampere, Finland, as part of an Erasmusplus project. It was organised and coordinated by Learning Scoop Finland, an educational institution based in Tampere specialised in courses, workshops and study tours for educators. The teachers were from St Francis schools in Birkirkara, Cospicua and Msida respectively.
Finland’s education system is renowned for its excellent performances in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa). Participants in the tour had the opportunity to become familiar with the Finnish education system and the factors influencing its success.
The programme included visits to several Finnish schools and educational institutions and offered an up-close-and-personal view of daily life in a Finnish classroom. It also gave participants an overview of the Finland’s education system, society and culture.
Lectures about the country’s education, curriculum and assessment, lesson planning tools for educators, inclusive education, management and cooperation in basic education were given by several members of the Learning Scoop.
Visits were held in five schools at pre-primary, primary and comprehensive levels and specialised schools.
The teaching respected profession has a high status in Finland and is very popular. Finnish teachers are highly qualified and keep on constantly updating and improving their competence. They are trusted and valued as professionals who know what’s best for their students.
There is a culture of trust and cooperation rather than control. Teachers are allowed a great deal of independence, and pedagogic procedures are left to be decided by well-educated teachers.
The education system is a learner-centred, which supports creativity and innovation. The students’ welfare comes first, while academic achievement follows naturally. The main aim of the curriculum is to grow as a human being and as a citizen. The emphasis is on how to learn rather than what to learn. In this regard, less is more.
The foundations of learning are laid in childhood – good-quality early childhood education benefits both the individual and the society. Learning of important skills such as emotional, language and social is mixed with play and care, guided by qualified professionals.
The three Church schools of the Franciscan Congregation are embracing innovation and change in education. Following the study tour the educators at the St Francis schools aim to keep working in unison to discuss and put into practice some of the ideas experienced during the tour. Next year other educators from the same schools will be given the opportunity to visit other Finnish schools to broaden their educational knowledge and adapt it to the local context.
The study tour was supported by the European Union Programmes Agency (EUPA) through the Erasmusplus programme.