New Finnish school guidelines turn teachers into coaches

HELSINKI, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish school system has entered a new era of pupil participation this week against the backdrop of claims that too many do not learn what they are supposed to and that disparity in schools among pupils has increased.

The new Finnish curriculum changes the role of the teacher from a superior to a coach. Command of detailed information takes a back seat to pupils learning capabilities that are useful in contemporary society.

Camilla Herlin, principal of Finno school in Espoo, explained to newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet that so far teachers were supposed to teach and the pupils were to adopt the information. As requested by the new curriculum, pupils are encouraged to find out and ask.

Despite the impression of pupils taking over, the responsibility of teachers actually increases. "There will be more on the shoulders of teachers as they must see to it that pupils have learned what they are supposed to," Herlin said, adding she believed the new methods will be more efficient than the old school culture.

In the math classes, contrary to giving pupils mathematical tasks to solve, the pupils can themselves develop formulas. Instead of being evaluated by the teacher alone, pupils get responses from fellow pupils and also assess themselves.

The new curriculum underlines seven competences of a pupil. They include ability to think and learn and competence in communication and culture.

The schools are to provide abilities for working life and entrepreneurship. The curriculum lists also digital command and multi-literacy. Among other practical changes, hours of religion study have been reduced and language teaching starts earlier.

Herlin said the plans have been met with mixed reactions among teachers. "Some teachers feel uncertain. All teachers will be offered courses free of charge to learn how to cope with the new system," Herlin said.

Sanna Lauslahti, vice chairperson of the Education and Culture Committee of the Parliament, said projects are ongoing to train teachers to adapt to the new curriculum.

"It will take years. We are trying to find out what kind of capabilities they need to bring colleagues, pedagogical specialists into schools," Lauslahti told Xinhua.

The massive reform coincides with reports about a decline in learning results in schools. A project financed by the Academy of Finland revealed that pupils with well-educated parents and an affluent home achieved better results in school.

Finnish child ombudsman Tuomas Kurttila told the media that one out of eight 15-year-old boys cannot enter the secondary stage without sufficient reading skills. Last spring, alarms were also sounded in Finland about worsening competence in maths.

The Finnish education system has long been known for its quality with equality. Finnish schools have achieved high scores in international assessments.