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INTRODUCTION

… the aims of education are to enable students to understand the world around them and the talents within them so that they can become fulfilled individuals and active, compassionate citizens.

— English educationalist Sir Ken Robinson

It was connections made with Finnish fans of Australian music that took me to Finland, where I was able to get a first-hand look at their education system. As a schoolteacher of some thirty years’ experience teaching from grade prep to year 12, in both government and non-government schools, I figured it would be valuable professional development. After all, Finland has the reputation of being the best in the world when it comes to education, so maybe I could find just what all the fuss is about and even borrow a few secrets.

Discussions with teachers and teacher trainers in Finland led me to re-evaluate the education system I had been a part of for three decades. I knew that Australian teachers were leaving the profession in great numbers, and student results were going backwards … but I assumed we were doing all we could to counter this and that the methods we had adopted were backed up by solid research and the latest ideology. Like most Australian teachers, I had accepted the introduction of a standardised curriculum, standardised testing and student ‘achievement standards’ for as best practice for students and teachers alike.

But my trust was misplaced.

Finnish teachers looked at me as if I were a child molester when I described the NAPLAN tests given to children as young as eight. With shocked expressions, they asked why Australian teachers allowed this to be done to such young children. They then suggested that (of course) the results of these tests should lead to increased funding and assistance for those students and schools that did not do well.

There was no reasonable answer to this. My investigation into what made the Finnish system so successful was quickly becoming an inquiry into why my own system was so unsuccessful.

The next few years would see more time in Finland, more time in schools there and more time interacting with Finnish educators at all levels. Dozens of education books were read. Dissertations on Finnish education and teacher training, in addition to countless formal and informal interviews with Australian and Finnish teachers, followed. How had Australia found itself in this position? Why?

Is there any research or proven ideology behind it?

The same had to be done in respect of the Finnish system. What did the latest educational thinking say? What does the neuroscience tell us?

What about the multinational testing of 15-year-olds’ academic performance—that goes by the acronym PISA (Program for International Student Assessment)—that was pitting the world’s educational systems against each other?

How do teachers fare in these systems? The Australian media headlines blame teachers for declining results from the NAPLAN tests and suggest that up to half of them are leaving the profession within five years of graduating. Most importantly, what about the students? How do they fare under the two systems?

If NAPLAN scores are always in decline, then why are we persisting with them and other aspects of the standardised system? Even Singapore has abandoned the idea that every student should be able to do certain things at a particular age and all those in the same grade should be ranked against one another.