The growing need for support challenges the realization of equality in education
According to FINEECThe competence of the students of the new thematic publication in basic education is even in different parts of Finland. However, there is still room for improvement in student guidance and the adequacy of support measures at all levels of education.
The Education Evaluation Center FINEEC has compiled a publication on equality and equity in education. The publication deals with the differentiation of know-how, equality of opportunity and the accessibility and inclusion of education, mainly on the basis of evaluation data produced by FINEEC in recent years. FINEEC also makes recommendations to address deficiencies.
According to FINEEC, basic education succeeds in achieving equality nationwide: the level of competence of pupils is the same throughout the country, and there are no major differences in competence based on the gender of the pupil, the language of instruction or the language or pupils of the institution. municipal group. However, primary education is unable to make up for differences in students’ home backgrounds. The skills of children of highly educated carers are, on average, better than those of children of low-skilled carers at both the beginning and the end of primary education.
Not enough resources, expertise and time to support learners everywhere
The number of pupils in need of different support measures is increasing at all levels of education and the COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the need for support. Equality of students has not been achieved in study guidance and support. Support needs are not consistently identified across different early childhood education units, schools, colleges and universities. In addition, there is some variation in the implementation of support measures and the continuity of support.
- Not all learners get the support they need. The inadequacy of support measures is reflected, for example, in the fact that a number of pupils continue from primary to secondary education in their reading, writing and numeracy skills. The need for support is moving with these students, especially into vocational training, he says Hannele Seppälä, Deputy Director of FINEEC.
Part of the need for support is due to insufficient language skills and insufficient study skills. Pupils studying Finnish or Swedish as a second language have lower mathematical and mother tongue skills at the beginning of basic education than others, and the difference does not decrease during the first two years of schooling. Pupils with an immigrant background enter secondary education less frequently than the general population and are underrepresented in Finnish universities.
Regionally varying situations are reflected in the equality and competence of students
Based on FINEEC’s estimates, equality in education in Finland is good internationally. However, individuals do not have as good opportunities in every early childhood education unit, school, or college. Economic and welfare disparities between and within regions have increased in recent years and are reflected in early childhood education units and institutions. There are differences in the average skills of students between schools, especially in the largest cities. However, the differences are still the smallest in OECD countries.
There are differences in the availability of education across Finland. Digitalisation has improved the accessibility of education by reducing the importance of geographical distances and opened up new opportunities for the development of lifelong learning. However, distance learning has also moved away from education and the learning community, especially for the most vulnerable learners.
Source: Education Assessment Center