The education system in Finland: Development and equality

Arbeitspapier

This discussion paper examines the education system in Finland from the viewpoint of equality. First, it presents the current structure of the education system in Finland. Second, history and development of the Finnish education system are discussed with special attention paid to the principle of equality, which has since the early 19th century been one of the key values and goals of education policy in Finland. National sentiment first called for educating also the common people and providing basic and further education in the Finnish language. Regional equality and equal physical accessibility to schooling were emphasised in the early development of the common school system. Later, socioeconomic and gender equality in educational opportunity have become the other two equality goals of the education system in Finland. Third, the paper provides a review of empirical literature on equality at the different levels of the education system, from pre-primary to tertiary education. It is concluded that potential sources of inequality with respect to socioeconomic background, region, and gender exist in all levels of education. The Finnish education system fares well in international comparisons of equality between national education systems, however, especially with respect to socioeconomic background of the students.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ETLA Discussion Papers ; No. 909

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Education and Research Institutions: General ; Analysis of Education
• Subject: Education system ; equality ; Koulutusjärjestelmä, tasa-arvoisuus ; Bildungswesen ; Finnland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Leijola, Liisa
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA)
• (where): Helsinki
• (when): 2004

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/63630
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET