In the 2006 PISA testing program on science, the top ten nations were: Finland, Hong Kong, China, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Estonia, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands and Korea. Across a range of benchmarks in relation to student performance, student completion of schooling and tertiary qualifications, Finland scored at the highest level across a range of criteria and outperformed Australia in every measure. Why is this so?
There are a number of factors that contribute to Finland’s success. Now many readers at this point, may be wondering how this relates to their own schools and what we can learn from a relatively small isolated country in the northern hemisphere, like Finland.
There has been considerable debate in Australia also about the ideal school size. What size is best for getting the best educational results from students? It may surprise many parents to learn that the ideal size according to research is between 200 and 400 for a primary school and slightly higher for secondary schools. The findings since 1996, by Caldwell and others (Cotton, K, 1996, School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance. School Improvement Research Series #20) confirm that smaller schools have many benefits over larger schools. In particular, smaller schools have:
Academic achievements which are equal to or superior than most large schools
Student attitudes toward school and specific subjects are more positive in small schools
Levels of participation in extracurricular activities is much higher and more varied in smaller schools
Student attendance is better in smaller schools
Students have a greater sense of well being and belonging in smaller schools
Interpersonal relationships between administrators, staff and students are more positive
Student academic and general self concepts are higher in smaller schools
Student social behaviours – as measured by truancy, discipline problems, violence, theft, substance abuse, and gang participation – is more positive in small schools.
There are a number of attributes which researchers have identified as accounting for the superiority of small schools:
· Everyone is known - a far smaller percentage of students is overlooked or alienated
· Adults and students in the school know and care about one another to a greater degree than in larger schools
· Small schools have a greater rate of parent involvement
· Students in small schools take more of the responsibility for their own learning; their learning activities are more individualised, experiential, and relevant to the world outside of school
· Classes are smaller and scheduling is much more flexible
· Grouping and instructional strategies associated with higher student performance are more often implemented in smaller schools.
Small schools can offer so many more opportunities to students in improved learning outcomes. Importantly, it is not just in the academic area that small schools can provide superior learning environment, but in a whole range of equally significant aspects of learning. Specifically, each student benefits in a small school in the individual personal development of each child, the social, cultural, sporting achievements and involvement and as clearly evident in recent months, in school and community connectedness.
So why is it that a small country like Finland leads the world in literacy, numeracy and science learning? Firstly there’s a clue in the fact that Finland is relatively small. Secondly and most importantly, Finland ensures that all teachers employed hold a Masters Degree and it pays its teachers commensurately. Thirdly it insists that all teachers undertake regular Professional Development every week to ensure that they are abreast of the very best and latest in teaching and learning strategies.
Some educationalists argue that Finland is a homogeneous culture with only Finnish spoken. This fact, combined with the less complex nature of the written and spoken language of Finland, results in higher literacy levels in this country compared to Australia for example. This claim can not be made about all of the other countries that lead Australia in literacy and numeracy though.
Finland has a National Curriculum, which is very broad in principle and is not prescriptive of specific topics and themes. The development of work programs lies in the hands of the schools and the teachers, who are highly qualified to carry out this task. Unlike the US, which has slipped further behind on the international league tables, Finland does not have standardised testing. There is an adage:
"If you carry on doing what you've always done, you'll carry on getting what you've always got" (Jay Abraham).
In other words, more testing (and not changing anything else) does not result in a better outcome, and Finland is testament to this principle. My only hope is that Australia does not fall into the same trap that the US has with standardised testing.
In relation to Australia's more recent performance in The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), as reported by Sue Thomson, Principal Research Fellow in ACER, Australia's students are performing to an 'average standard' but our students are not performing at the very highest levels as students in Finland, Singapore or Korea.
In fact there is now evidence showing that Australian students are not as interested in Mathematics and Science as they once were, particularly in the Primary and lower Secondary Schools. This I think (and many educators would agree) is due to the poorer quality of teachers entering the profession and the lack of high quality teacher training in Primary and lower Secondary education. Finland leads the world in terms of qualifications needed to enter teaching, but ten years ago this was not the case. Australia is in a position to change the current trend, but only with heavy investment in teacher training and raising the standard of university entrance for teacher education.
Does school size matter? Yes it does and there is compelling research which clearly demonstrates that smaller schools have many benefits that larger schools can not provide. See some of this research and links to other sites at:
http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/roundup/W98-99.html;
http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/10/c020.html
More information on Australia's performance in TIMSS 2007: Taking a closer look at mathematics and science in Australia by Sue Thomson can be found at the ACER website at: http://www.acer.edu.au/
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