From the Finnish Experience to the Chinese Path : Review and Reflections on Chinese Research on Finnish Education

Research Review From the Finnish Experience to the Chinese Path: Review and Reflections on Chinese Research on Finnish Education Yuzhuo Cai Tampere University Bing Zuo Lingnan Normal University Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this article is (1) to provide a critical analysis of the Finnish experience of education reforms based on published Chinese research on Finnish education and (2) to discuss how such experience can serve as a model as China embarks on its own path toward educational reform. Design/Approach/Methods: This article is based on an analysis of the research on Finnish education contained in the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure database from 2000 to 2017. Findings: The analysis shows that although the various aspects of Finnish education have been extensively studied in China, the content of prior studies has generally been similar and is insufficiently in depth. In particular, current research (1) lacks effective exploration of the successful experience of Finnish education reform and (2) devotes insufficient attention to the social culture perspective and core concepts that serve as the basis of education in Finland. Originality/Value: This article extends the authors’ recent review of Chinese research on Finnish education and places special emphasis on the discussions regarding how China can learn Corresponding author: Yuzhuo Cai, Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, 33014 Tampere, Finland. Email: [email protected] ECNU Review of Education 2019, Vol. 2(2) 217–233 ªThe Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/2096531119852251 journals.sagepub.com/home/roe Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). from Finland’s experience with educational reform. It also identifies gaps in the current research in the field and calls for a change in the future research agenda from examining the successful elements of Finnish education to focusing on how the experience of Finnish education is relevant to reforms in China. Keywords Comparison of education in China and Finland, education reform, Finnish education Date received: 26 December 2018; accepted: 26 April 2019 Since Finland’s outstanding performance on the OECD PISA test in 2000, there has been an upsurge in interest in Finnish education among Chinese scholars. This article uses articles published on Finnish education since 2000 and available in Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI; the most authoritative Chinese-language database) as a research sample and analyzes the current situation of Chinese research on Finnish education, focusing on how Chinese educational research scholars interpret the experience of Finnish education. Based on such analysis, this article provides new perspectives for the future and makes suggestions on how China can effectively learn from the Finnish experience in order to forge its own path for education reform. An overview of the research by Chinese scholars on Finnish education The following overview of Chinese scholars’research on Finnish education is based on a recent study by the authors (Zuo & Cai, 2018a). In our study, published in December 2018, we reviewed and analyzed academic articles on Finnish education available in CNKI for the period from 2000 to 2017. The CNKI database is currently the primary platform used for academic research searches in China. We used “Finland”and “education”as the “subject”for an approximate string (“fuzzy”) search within the scope of “Social Science II.”We obtained a total of 1,431 search results. We then removed certain unrelated comments, notices, interviews, and so on and were left with a total of 1,342 valid documents. The main results of our analysis of the literature on Finnish education are as follows (Zuo & Cai, 2018a). Since 2000, the number of articles on “Finnish education” has increased annually and Chinese academic attention to “Finnish education” has been steadily rising. From 2000 through 2017, the number of Chinese articles on Finnish education increased year by year (see Figure 1). There were only five papers published in 2000 while there were 183 papers published in 2017. This increase occurred despite the fact that Finland’s PISA ranking dropped to 6th place in 2009 and fell to 12th place in 2012, while Shanghai’s PISA scores ranked first in the world for both years. These numbers reflect the growing enthusiasm Chinese scholars have had for the study of Finnish education. 218 ECNU Review of Education 2(2) Based on the type and scope of published papers, the academic influence of Finnish education in China continues to expand. Figure 2 demonstrates that over the past 18 years, among the top 10 academic journals that published articles on Finnish education, Shanghai Education published the greatest number, with a total of 110. After further searching, we found that since Shanghai Education published its first article on Finnish Education in 2002—“The Student-Centered Approach of Finnish High Schools”(Lu & Ren), it published at least one paper on the topic in each subsequent year. The 35th issue of Shanghai Education in 2012 was a Finnish education edition, with a total of 38 papers published. Journal of World Education and China Education Newspaper published 79 and 49 articles, respectively, from 2000 to 2017, most of which were introductory in nature. International and Comparative Education and Primary & Secondary Schooling Abroad published relatively fewer articles on Finnish education, but the articles published in these journals were highly academic in focus. Figure 1. Trends in the number of published papers from 2000 to 2017. Source. Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database. 110 79 49 35 25 21 15 12 Shanghai Education Journal of World Education China Education Newspaper Primary & Secondary Schooling Abroad International and Comparative Education Teacher’s Journal Studies in Foreign Education People’s Education Figure 2. Paper published by journals. Source. Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database. Cai and Zuo 219 Chinese research on Finnish education spans a depth of different publication types. As can be seen from Figure 3, there were 1,187 articles on Finnish education published in journals between 2000 and 2017, accounting for 86% of the Chinese academic output on Finnish education during the period. There were 47 published master’s theses and doctoral dissertations during the period, accounting for 4% of published work on Finnish education. These figures demonstrate that China’s research on Finnish education has gone beyond more popularized academic work and has attained a certain depth of research characteristic of graduate-level theses and dissertations. At the same time, we found that among 42 master’s theses, there were 30 devoted to Finnish teaching content, curriculum, vocational education, and higher education; however, the five doctoral dissertations covered by our search were only partially focused on topics relating to Finnish education. Chinese researchers have studied Finnish education from a variety of fields and levels of education. Figure 4 demonstrates that Chinese scholars have covered various fields of Finnish education. The most widely covered field has been educational theory and management, with a total of 507 published articles. The second most widely covered field has been basic education, with a total of 303 published articles. There have been relatively fewer articles in the fields of special education and adult education (22 and 21 published articles, respectively). Recently, Finland has undergone a series of university mergers and university governance reforms. Chinese scholars have been mindful of these developments, publishing 222 articles on higher education in Finland. The Finnish experience in the eyes of Chinese scholars: The primary research content and characteristics of Finnish education Zuo and Cai’s (2018a) analysis of the current research on Finnish education shows that Chinese scholars have mainly focused on basic education, higher education, vocational education, and Journal (1,187) Newspaper (142) Doctoral Dissertation(5) International Conference (7) Journal (1,187) Newspaper (142) Master's Thesis (42) Doctoral Dissertation (5) Conference in China (8) International Conference (7) Figure 3. Published types. 220 ECNU Review of Education 2(2) teacher education. Most scholars’research has centered on the promulgation and implementation of education policies and reform measures in Finland. Their studies analyze and summarize the successful experience of Finnish education from various angles and may provide a useful and enlightening reference point for China’s own education reform. Finnish teacher education reform and experience. An important factor in Finland’s success in education lies in the quality of its corps of educators. Chinese scholars have conducted a range of studies on teacher training in Finland. Their work has examined topics including preservice teacher training, the teacher education curriculum, the teacher qualification system, teacher professional development, and teacher policy reform (He, 2014; Rao & Li, 2016; Yang & Wu, 2014; Yu, 2015b; Zhang, 2016; Zhu & Zhang, 2017). Many Chinese scholars have attributed Finland’s success in education to its outstanding teachers and its high-quality teacher training system (Li, 2006; Xie, 2010; Yang & Zheng, 2011; Yu, 2015a). In these studies, Chinese scholars have identified eight universities in Finland primarily responsible for the task of cultivating teachers. In designing their teacher-education curriculum, these universities require teachers to be familiar with and understand the knowledge of society, students, and subject areas. Teachers must possess the skills and techniques necessary to carry out daily teaching, to collaborate with their school and colleagues, to communicate effectively with parents, and to guide students’cognition and help students overcome difficulties. They must also be optimistic about the development prospects of education. At the same time, Finnish teachers must possess a master’s degree before entering the teaching profession. Teachers in Finland enjoy deep respect within Finnish society and are afforded a high degree of professional autonomy (Teng, 2013). Teachers in Finland aresubject to a strict qualification system.In Finland, aspiringteachersmust pass a two-step certification procedure in order to be enrolled in teacher education programs in universities: 507 303 222 106 50 48 22 21 Educational Theory and Management Basic Education Higher Education Vocational Education Elementary Education Preschool Education Special Education Adult Education Figure 4. Publications in various fields. Cai and Zuo 221 first, they must take university entrance examination, and then, they must participate in an interview based ontheirexamination results.The core questionof the interview iswhythe individual wants to bea teacher. The requirements for each of these two steps are very high. Prospective teachers face fierce competition and layer-by-layer screening. The idea is that each person who enters the Finnish teaching profession should be a leader (Zuo & Cai, 2018b). The prominent feature of preservice education for Finnish primary and secondary school teachers is its research orientation. This orientation is developed in the context of academic reform for teacher education to promote academic study and professional education. The aim is the organic integration of theoretical learning and practical learning, and the characteristics of “research standards”are reflected in the main dimensions of goals, content, and methods of teacher education (Rao & Li, 2016). Finland’s primary and secondary education reform and experience. Finland ranked number 1 in the world consecutively for PISA 2000, PISA 2003, and PISA 2006. This record caused the world to pay attention to basic education in Finland. Chinese scholars have conducted extensive research on the teaching methods, teaching models, flexible curriculum, and quality evaluation methods used in Finnish basic education (Zhang & Wang, 2009). Chinese scholars have also analyzed the various social, cultural, institutional, and historical factors that contribute to the success of basic education in Finland (Zhao & Li, 2008; Zhao & Mei, 2016). These Chinese scholars believe that education equity is the most prominent feature of Finnish education. Following Finland’s education reforms in the 1970s, comprehensive school (grades 1 to 9) reform has had been introduced with the greatest overall impact on the current success of Finnish education. Chinese scholars believe that comprehensive schools are able to succeed in Finland largely because of the nation’s essentially nonsegregated society and homogeneous Protestant culture (Peng, 2012). At the same time, to promote fairness and individuality in education, Finnish high schools has implemented a nongraded system. Under the framework of the National Core Curriculum, students choose their own course study plan based on their individual interests and developmental needs. This provides students with great autonomy in learning (Li, 2014). In addition, Finland provides a favorable guarantee for the smooth implementation of the nongraded system through the reform of its modular curriculum, flexible academic system, flexible evaluation system, complete counseling and guidance system, and the cooperation mechanism between different educational institutions (Tian, 2003). In the Finnish curriculum system, curricular objectives center around students’all-round development and lifelong learning ability; curricular structure gives weight to the foundation and increases the selectivity of the curriculum; curricular content focuses on the basic and elective; curricular implementation focuses on independent learning and promotes interschool cooperation and the effective integration of curricular resources; and curricular evaluation focuses on developmental evaluation (Zhang & Wang, 2009). 222 ECNU Review of Education 2(2) Chinese education scholars eagerly anticipated Finland’s implementation of its 2014 Core Curriculum beginning in August 2016. Chinese researchers were enthusiastic to learn about certain new elements in curriculum reform, for example, those relating to phenomenon-based learning. However, it should be noted that since the 1970s, Finland has implemented curriculum reform every 10 years. The 2016 reform was not fundamentally innovative (as was often reported by the media) but was based on best practices from the previous curriculum and a prediction of future needs (Cai, Tian, Tang, & Teng, 2016). The successful experience of Finnish higher education. With the continuous increase in the international standing of Finnish colleges and universities, for example, Finnish higher education and training being ranked the second in the World Economic Forum index of 2017–2018, 1 and Finnish higher education reform has become a topic of interest for Chinese scholars. Higher education in Finland employs a two-track system consisting of research universities and universities of applied sciences. Finland has also implemented a series of higher education reforms in connection with the Bologna Process. The focus of Chinese scholars mainly includes the internationalization of Finnish higher education and the introduction of market mechanisms accompanying globalization in the higher education system (Cai, 2012a; Zeng, 2002) and the reform of Finnish higher education under the Bologna Process (Ma & Li, 2008; Tan, 2010). Certain scholars believe that internationalization is the cornerstone of Finnish higher education policy. Factors such as sluggish economic development, the gradual reduction of government funding, the shortcomings of the bureaucratization of higher education administration, and decreasing employment prospects for college students have promoted internationalization reforms in Finnish higher education (Cui, Wei, & Zhang, 2006). In order to enhance the competitiveness of Finnish higher education and to respond more flexibly to the international market, Finland embarked on a series of university legal reforms in 2011. These reforms changed the legal status, financial systems, internal management systems, and employment practices of universities in Finland. Universities have been granted greater administrative autonomy. The government provides sufficient funding for each university based on the degree, quality, and impact of the university’s teaching and research accomplishments (Chu, 2010). Additionally, Chinese scholars have conducted in-depth research on the framework, content, review procedures, student participation, and other aspects of the quality assurance system behind higher education in Finland (Chen & Sun, 2004; Wang, 2010; Xue & Yan, 2008). Chinese scholars have found that the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture plays a coordinating and supervisory role in the governance of higher education institutions. It decides on the funding level of each university based on the university’s performance-based assessment results. Finnish higher education institutions establish their own internal quality assurance mechanisms based on their own development orientation and goals. These institutions actively participate Cai and Zuo 223 in funding negotiations with the Ministry and attach great importance to quality review activities. The quality assurance systems and reviews focus primarily on 10 items, including the purpose of the quality assurance system; the overall structure and internal consistency; the comprehensiveness of quality assurance; the participation of faculty, students, and external stakeholders in the quality assurance system; the channels through which internal personnel obtain quality assurance information; the channels through which external stakeholders obtain quality assurance information; and the effectiveness of quality assurance procedures and structures and their impact on other activities (Wang, 2010). Chinese scholars have also studied the background, development status, school characteristics, faculty, academic system and credits, design of academic majors, and other aspects of Finland’s universities of applied sciences (Li, 2014; Wu & Chen, 2005; Zhou, 2011). Finland established universities of applied sciences in the 1990s to meet the labor market demands for more profession-oriented graduates from higher education (Yang, Jing, Cai, Lyytinen, & Hölttä, 2015). The development of Finland’s universities of applied sciences has gone through three stages: (1) the launch of pilot institutions, (2) the transition from pilot to permanent institutions, and (3) an undertaking to improve school level and quality. Finland’s universities of applied sciences currently represent nearly half of Finnish higher education in terms of enrollment. After more than 30 years of development, Finland’s universities of applied sciences have matured considerably and currently serve the following focused missions: (1) cultivating talent in line with societal, economic, and labor market demands; (2) matching students’areas of study with the country’s regional industrial structure; (3) promoting student diversity; and (4) establishing reasonable and scientific admissions standards (Zhao, 2017). In response to China’s regional university transformation launched in 2014, Chinese scholars have devoted particular attention to exploring the experience of Finnish universities of applied sciences. These scholars have determined that the following lessons may be particularly useful to China (Yang et al., 2015): enhancing the equal status of polytechnic-type institutions and traditional universities through legislative change, while maintaining a distinction between academic and nonacademic higher education institutions; strengthening cooperation with industry through joint curriculum development, teacher training, and research and development; and enhancing capacity through international collaboration. The successful experience of Finnish vocational education. Vocational education is an important component of the Finnish education system. Finland shares certain similarities with China in terms of vocational training models and reform background (Yang et al., 2015). Unsurprisingly, the amount of research on Finnish vocational education in China has been rising in recent years. Chinese scholars have studied the attractiveness of secondary vocational education institutions and teacher 224 ECNU Review of Education 2(2) development in such institutions (Cao, 2007; He, 2010; Liu, 2011). They believe that teacher preparation training and teacher on-the-job training in Finnish secondary vocational education have certain key characteristics, such as an emphasis on the practical operation of vocational education and the close connection between vocational education and industry. Secondary vocational education has different training requirements for vocational subject teachers, core subject teachers, vocational instructors, and enterprise instructors (Cao, 2010). Finland has opened up a channel between academic and professional (vocational) tracks of studies. Students from vocational schools can take courses from high schools and vice versa. At the higher education level, universities not only recruit high school graduates, but also recruit graduates from vocational high schools based on their academic merits. After completing a bachelor’s degree at a university of applied sciences, students can choose to apply for master’s degree programs at universities (Li, 2014). Understanding the Finnish experience In their research on the successful experience of Finnish education, Chinese scholars have focused on three broad areas of study to different extent. First, the vast majority studies tend to understand Finnish education as what it is. Second, there is an emerging research attention on how Finland has learned from other countries in creating the Finnish model. This leads to the third area of research, which centers on the core values underlying the success of Finnish education. Finland’s experience with education in the demonstrative dimension. In researching the Finnish experience, Chinese scholars have primarily focused on the facts of Finnish education. Dissecting the factual experience provides China with an operational reference in the learning process as they develop their own reform measures and practices. In the literature, most discussions of Finland’s technical experience typically center around teacher training and education equity. With respect to the selection process for new teachers, the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture regularly adjusts its enrollment plan to adapt to changes in Finnish demographics. Table 1 presents the admission statistics for teacher training programs at Finnish universities from 2007 to 2010. As can be seen from Table 1, competition for admission into such programs is very intense, and only 10–15% of applicants are accepted. The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture periodically forecasts the demand for teachers for different grade levels. 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