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It uses PISA findings to highlight high quality alongside relatively small achievement gaps and small differences between schools, then connects these outcomes to postwar social policy and welfare state goals.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/equality-and-cooperation-finlands-path-to-excellence/590399/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/equality-and-cooperation-finlands-path-to-excellence/590399.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Pentious","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What core values does the document identify as central to Finland’s education system?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It identifies equality and cooperation as the core values that shape the overall structure of reforms and daily decisions.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does Finland support equality in opportunities and outcomes during the first nine years of schooling?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Equality is pursued through a national curriculum with targeted supports: expert teaching, intensive supports, frequent remediation, and health and welfare services so most students can stay on grade level.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What do the document’s PISA observations claim about Finland’s achievement gaps?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"They emphasize that Finland’s average achievement is high while the gap between high- and low-performers is relatively small, including across students from high- and low-income families, and that differences between schools are also quite small.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},590399,1792210563,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":24,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},1374404730887,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Equality and Cooperation  \nFinland’s Path to Excellence  \nILLUSTRATIoNS BY dAN IEL BAXTER  \nBy Jukka Sarjala  \nF  \nor the past decade, Finland has been lauded for consistently being a top performer on international assessments of student achievement. Having spent 25 years in the Ministry of Education, and then another 8 as director  \ngeneral of the National Board of Education, I am heartened by these accomplishments—but I am also concerned about how they are being interpreted by policymakers around the world. Much has been written about what we did from the mid-1960s to the early 2000s; the mechanics of our transformation have been  \nJukka Sarjala was the director general of Finland’s National Board of Education from 1995 to 2002. His career in education began in 1966 at Finland’s Central Organization of Municipalities. From 1970 to 1995, he held various posts with Finland’s Ministry of Education, including being head of the General School Section from 1981 to 1995.  \nwell documented. Much less has been written about our values. But those values not only determine the overall shape of thereforms, they also sustain broad support when problems arise, guide day-to-day decisions, and ensure that all of the pieces—from curriculum to teacher preparation to assessment to budget allocations—fit together.  \nSo, what are those core values? Equality and cooperation. Equality in opportunities and outcomes is what drives the first nine years of schooling. The national core curriculum for those nine years is challenging, but only about 4 percent of special education students attend separate schools. The rest have the capacity tobe on grade level—as long aswe provide expert teaching, intensive supports, and frequent remediation, as well as health and welfare services. This brings me to cooperation. Cooperation is what makes equality possible. Teachers, principals, counselors, parents, university professors, medical professionals, the teachers’  \n32 AMERICAN EdUCAToR | SPRING 2013  \nunion, government officials, and students themselves all have roles to play, and all support each other.  \nExcellence was a result, never an objective, much less a core value. But excellence comes from working together—for decades—to ensure that all children are well educated.  \nWhat is impressive about Finland’s PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results is not that we provide a high-quality education, but that we provide an education that is both high quality and high equality.* To me, one of the most interesting findings ofthe 2009 PISA†(which focused on literacy, but also assessed mathematics and science, among 15-year-olds in 75 countries and regions) is this: while the average achievement level is quite high in Finland, the gap between high and low performers is relatively small.1 The achievement gap between students from high-and low-income families is also relatively small.2 (Finland also demonstrated excellence and equity on PISA in 2000, 2003, and 2006 .)3  \nPerhaps even more important, PISA has revealed that the differences between schools in Finland are quite small.4 It is of little consequence where students live and which school they attend. The opportunities to learn are virtually the same all over the country. The same kind of comprehensive basic education truly is provided to all students.  \nWar Brings Clarity  \nFinland, a small country in northern Europe, is bordered by Sweden, Norway, and Russia, with Estonia just across the Gulf of Finland. Our small size and lack of major natural resources reinforce our cultural and philosophical commitment to equality. For us, equality is an economic necessity: the education system must be efficient to develop all talent reserves from all social classes and groups.  \nThis necessity was especially clear at the end of WorldWar II. In its peace treaty with the Soviet Union, Finland lost 10 percent of its arable land and forest resources, 12 percent of its total area, 13 percent of its national","cbCaiuIgTcFDTQ2V","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuIgTcFDTQ2V","pdf",207015,"English","# Equality and Cooperation\n## Equality through inclusive schooling\n## Cooperation as the enabler of equality\n## PISA: quality with equity","[{\"question\":\"What core values does the document identify as central to Finland’s education system?\",\"answer\":\"It identifies equality and cooperation as the core values that shape the overall structure of reforms and daily decisions.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Finland support equality in opportunities and outcomes during the first nine years of schooling?\",\"answer\":\"Equality is pursued through a national curriculum with targeted supports: expert teaching, intensive supports, frequent remediation, and health and welfare services so most students can stay on grade level.\"},{\"question\":\"What do the document’s PISA observations claim about Finland’s achievement gaps?\",\"answer\":\"They emphasize that Finland’s average achievement is high while the gap between high- and low-performers is relatively small, including across students from high- and low-income families, and that differences between schools are also quite small.\"}]","Equality and Cooperation - Finland’s Path to Excellence | PDF",1792069563,13]