Educational aspects of Finland

Finland feels culturally and linguistically unique – neither Scandinavian, Russian nor Baltic – so it’s slightly surprising to discover that it only gained independence from Russia a century ago, in 1917. Before that, from the 13th century to 1809, the Swedes ruled the roost, establishing Swedish law and social systems. They could never rub out the essential Finnishness of this region, though. Swedish was the dominant language until the start of the 20th century, but only one in seven Finns spoke it and during the 19th century, as an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia, Finnish nationalism began to blossom. With that came signs of the inspiring, egalitarian nation that now exists. Finnish women were the first in Europe to gain the right to vote in parliamentary elections, back in 1906. A year later, the first female members of parliament in the world were elected in Finland. Since then, Finland has relied on creativity, ingenuity and solidarity to compete in the global economy, with no room for inequality or segregation.

Finnish Lapland lies so far north that summer days are endless and winter a time of eerie but magical darkness, but Finns don’t let sub zero temperatures or disorientating daylight prevent them from enjoying all this rich geography. Finnish families often visit Lapland around Easter, and babies will be tucked into covered toboggans and pulled behind their cross country skiing parents. Finnish kids learn to ice fish and ski from the age of two. In summer, the bliss of endless days sees families binning the bedtime regime in favour of midnight hikes and lakeside picnics. Screen obsessed teens and fairweather tots can learn a lesson while here from their hardy Finnish counterparts.

Any parent who’s ever questioned the value of teaching to the test, streaming or SATs, will go moist eyed when they hear about the Finnish education system, with its emphasis on laying down a creative, early years foundation based on learning through play. Finland’s stellar educational ranking in the world is well publicised, and chatting to Finnish families and having your kids share playtime with theirs is a great way to learn more about this nation’s inspiring approach to education.