Finnish Start Right

10/17/2007

Just being surrounded by bountiful nature, rejuvenates and inspires us.
E.O. Wilson

The World Forum Foundation, in partnership with the Economic Opportunities Institute, recently led a delegation of politicians, business leaders, and educators from the State of Washington on a Gates Foundation-funded study tour of early childhood practices in the United Kingdom and Finland. While in Finland we made note of these characteristics of their early childhood system...

One Size Fits All — The Finnish early childhood system is designed for all families. All families, regardless of income level, are entitled to the same services — low-income families receive services free, all others pay on a sliding fee basis.

Home Sweet Home — The Finnish social welfare system is designed to have children cared for by their parents at home during infancy. A combination of maternity, paternity, and parental leave guarantee paid parental care for children through their first year of life — and up to three years of unpaid leave with guaranteed job security.

Play's the Thing — Finns see no need to rush academics. Formal schooling begins at age seven. Up until then, early childhood experiences are play based. Does this mean lower academic results? Not at all. By age twelve, Finnish children outperform children in all other industrialized countries in reading, math, and science skills.

The Teaching Profession — One third of all teachers in child care centers and all teachers in preschool centers (a transition year for six year olds) have the equivalent of bachelor’s degrees. Early childhood teachers are paid slightly less than the primary school teachers (although they do work longer hours than primary teachers).

Kids Do Come First — After the Second World War, Finland made a concerted effort to develop a highly educated workforce, starting at birth. The results are now quite apparent. Not only are citizens highly educated, but their business climate is also producing results — Finland ranks second in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. What our delegation found most interesting was the broad support for the large investment the government (supported by tax payers) makes in children. All the politicians, business leaders, and parents we talked to firmly supported these investments. Even people of all ages we talked to in restaurants, in stores, and on the street, were proud of their educational system.

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