Imagine. Imagine an education system where children are encouraged to develop their own curriculum. Where subjects are taught interdisciplinary and not in silos as stand-alone entities. Where children are never compared to each other. Where there are no standardised exams or any homework. Where every school teacher has a master’s degree in education (a large part of which is in child or developmental psychology). Where there is no education-related stress for parents at home.

Not only does this education system exist, it has also been around for more than 20 years at national level and is celebrated as the most important innovation in education over the past two decades. This utopian and best-practice education system is not based on someone’s opinion, it is supported by actual pupil results in international standard exams (PISA) done worldwide every second year.

Welcome to the education system in Finland. Twenty years ago the government there asked how they could improve and ensure the well-being of their citizens in the future in a highly competitive world. The national education department at the time suggested that the future can be secured if Finnish citizens could make an active contribution at all levels of society regardless of their employment. A critical look at the outcomes of education at the time – very much like ours – suggested that they needed to make drastic changes to broaden the horizons of a very homogenous society and develop all the talents of their workforce.

The problem with higher education is that it seems to focus on the development and training of professionals (engineers, doctors, lawyers) while other forms of employment are considered to be less-important work. It is therefore surprising to find that the Canadian management guru, Elliott Jacques, who developed Stratified Systems Theory and Levels of Work, suggested that even professionals generally do recipe-type work. He concluded that professionals, although receiving a high degree of education, tend to also do menial work. The actual innovators and creatives in even a professional environment are people who generally do not conform to the principles of traditional education. It can be said that innovation and creativity comes from people who have somehow survived education.  

Important principles

The importance of a successful education system has never been more prevalent than now. Our country needs skill sets that can take us into the future based on the development of the creative talents of all our people while improving the lives of every citizen. It is evident that the current education system does not provide the necessary skills or develop the necessary talent to have people employed in our economic environment. These jobs simply do not exist and we have no hope of creating these jobs at all. But herein lies the first problem. People should be educated for skills that would enable them to be creative entrepreneurs rather than employees in the many areas that traditional education currently makes no contribution to.

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This should give us some insight into the state of education. If innovation and creativity are what drives economies, especially in an information and post-information age, then traditional education will not be the solution.

When we attended EDUCA we learnt that 20 years ago Finland radically changed their education system in order to provide the country with the necessary skills set to take it into the future. We now have the benefit of evaluating their radical change in education. What did they do in practical terms? 

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First, they invested heavily in educators. In Finland all teachers have a master’s degree. Second, they got rid of the stresses and anxiety surrounding the education process for all the role players. No homework means no stress for parents. Teachers have complete freedom to develop curriculums and are trusted so much that the Finnish government dissolved the education inspectorate entirely. Pupils have no standardised exams. In fact, in Finland you receive either a 1 (for pass) or 0 (for incomplete). This is done based on two principles that actively ensure the success of the system. 

First, total child engagement. This enables children to be actively involved in every part of the education process. They are encouraged to assist in developing their curriculum. Children take charge of the learning process and are encouraged to make mistakes while developing results and answers within their peer groups. Less than 20% of actual teaching comes from the teacher. Teachers merely act as moderators and mentors. The entire focus is teaching pupils to teach themselves. In Finland it is inconceivable to have any discussion about the child without him or her being present. 

If a child is totally engaged in the learning process and social and communication skills are developed to encourage participation, the rest is easy. (Photo: AdobeStock)

Second, advanced social skills. If a child is totally engaged in the learning process and social and communication skills are developed to encourage participation, the rest is easy, says Johanna Hirmasto, principal of a school in Espoo, outside Helsinki. Building confidence, having a voice and being heard, listening and a no-tolerance rule for bullies create not only a healthy culture but develop the type of citizens we want.

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“If you get these two principles right, learning takes care of itself,” says Hirmasto. We were still sceptical, so by way of example she asked me if there was any topic or subject my 11-year-old son was interested in but did not take at school. I could only embarrassingly think of his vast knowledge of surfing. According to her, that was an excellent example – he gained his knowledge entirely from his peers and magazines, independently from any teacher and was never tested on the subject.

Citizens

All of this is done to ensure that the education outcome is happy, responsible and committed Finnish citizens who understand the role they have to play in the future of the country. Small wonder Finland is the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report. 

If Finland produces the best results in education, should their top students not be running the best corporations worldwide? This, in my view, is the pinnacle of their education achievement and proof that their system creates the desired results; that their top students remain happy, balanced citizens in Finland driving the economy for the benefit of everyone. A far cry from the wandering educated elites of other nations.

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We can’t make the massive investment in teachers in South Africa. We simply do not have the resources. We might not even be able to change the curriculum, but we can change the basic principles with minimum effort and few resources. Is it not abundantly clear that our education system does not provide the outcomes we so desperately need? Are there successful examples of schools who have adopted this mentality in our midst? Yes, there are a number of them, and they are here to stay. First it was Finland, now Singapore, South Korea and the Netherlands have adopted this evolution in their national education policies and are actively reinventing education to give their children the best possible opportunities.

If we take a 20-year view on what we would like our citizens to contribute to a healthy society, I would submit that this is not just a good place to start, it is the best place to start. DM/MC

Riaan Terblanche holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, an MA in social sciences and an MBL. He has visited Finnish Schools and EDUCA in Helsinki, Finland.