PISA in Finland: An Education Miracle or an Obstacle to Change?
Keywords:
Education policy, Education reform, International student assessment, PISA
Abstract
The present article discusses the role and impact of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in Finland. PISA has created a new geography of education policies and reforms by shifting global interest away from Anglo-Saxon education systems to Asian countries, as well as to Finland and Canada in the West. The article describes how PISA has become evidence of the successful education reforms in Finland carried out since the 1970s, but at the same time has created a situation where the continuous renewal of the Finnish education system has become more difficult than before. The conclusion is that PISA is an
important global benchmarking instrument, but that policy makers and the media need to make better use of the rich data that have been collected together with information about students’ academic performance.
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References
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Bautier, E., & Rayon, P. (2007). What PISA Really Evaluates: Literacy or Students’ Universes of
Reference? Journal of Educational Change, 8(4), 359–364.
Bracey, G. (2005). Research: Put Out Over PISA. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(10), 797.
Dohn, N. B. (2007). Knowledge and Skills for PISA. Assessing the Assessment. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 41(1), 1–16.
Elley, W. B. (Ed.) (1992). How in the World do Students Read? Hamburg: Grindeldruck GMBH.
Fullan, M. (2009). Large-Scale Reform Comes of Age. Journal of Educational Change, 10(2-3), 101-113.
Fullan, M. (2011). Choosing the Wrong Drivers for Whole System Reform. Seminar Series 204.
Melbourne: Centre for Strategic Education.
Goldstein, H. (2004). International Comparisons of Student Attainment: Some Issues Arising from the PISA Study. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 11(3), 319–330.
Grubb, N. (2007). Dynamic Inequality and Intervention: Lessons for a Small Country. Phi Delta
Kappan, 89(2), 105–114.
Hargreaves, A., Halasz, G., & Pont, B. (2008). The Finnish Approach to System Leadership. In B.
Pont, D. Nusche & D. Hopkins (Eds.), Improving School Leadership, Volume 2: Case Studies on System Leadership (pp. 69–109). Paris: OECD.
Hautamäki, J., Harjunen, E., Hautamäki, A., Karjalainen, T., Kupiainen, S., Laaksonen, S., Lavonen, J., Pehkonen, E., Rantanen, P., & Scheinin, P., with Halinen, I., & Jakku-Sihvonen, R. (2008). Pisa06 Finland. Analyses, Reflections and Explanations. Helsinki: Ministry of Education.
Kupari, P., & Välijärvi, J. (Eds.) (2005). Osaaminen kestävällä pohjalla. PISA 2003 Suomessa
[Competences on Solid Ground. PISA 2003 in Finland]. Jyväskylä: Institute for Educational
Research, University of Jyväskylä.
Linnakylä, P. (2004). Finland. In H. Döbert, E. Klieme, & W. Stroka (Eds.), Conditions of School
Performance in Seven Countries. A Quest for Understanding the International Variation of PISA
Results (pp. 150-218). Munster: Waxmann.
Martin, M. O., Mullis, I. V. S., Gonzales, E. J., Gregory, K. D., Smith, T. A., Chrostowski, S. J., Garden, R. A., & O’Connor, K. M. (2000). TIMSS 1999 International Science Report: Findings from IEA’s Repeat of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study at the Eighth Grade. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College.
Mortimore, P. (2009). Alternative Models for Analysing and Representing Countries’ Performance in PISA. Paper Commissioned by Education International Research Institute. Brussels: Education International.
New York Times (2011). Pa. Joins States Facing a School Cheating Scandal. Retrieved 11. 09. 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/education/01winerip.html?pagewanted=all.
OECD (2001). Knowledge and Skills for Life: First Results from PISA 2000. Paris: OECD.
OECD (2004). Learning for Tomorrow’s World. First Results from PISA 2003. Paris: OECD.
OECD (2005). Equity in Education. Thematic Review of Finland. Paris: OECD.
OECD (2007). PISA 2006. Science Competencies for Tomorrow’s World. Vol. 1. Paris: OECD.
OECD (2008). Trends Shaping Education. Paris: OECD.
OECD (2010a). PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know and Can Do. Student Performance in
Reading, Mathematics and Science. Vol. I. Paris: OECD.
OECD (2010b). Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education. Lessons from PISA for the United States. Paris: OECD.
OECD (2010c). PISA 2009 Results: Learning to Learn. Student Engagement, Strategies and Practices. Vol. III. Paris: OECD.
Ofsted (2010). Finnish Pupils’ Success in Mathematics. Factors that Contribute to Finnish Pupils’
Success in Mathematics. Manchester: The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.
Prais, S. J. (2003). Cautions on OECD’s Recent Educational Survey (PISA). Oxford Review of
Education, 29(2), 139–163.
Prais, S. J. (2004). Cautions on OECD’s Recent Educational Survey (PISA): Rejoinder to OECD’s
Response. Oxford Review of Education, 30(4), 569–573.
Riley, K., & Torrance, H. (2003). Big change question: As national policy-makers seek to find
solutions to national education issues, do international comparisons such as TIMSS and PISA create a wider understanding, or do they serve to promote the orthodoxies of international agencies? Journal of Educational Change, 4(4), 419–425.
Robitaille, D. F., & Garden, R. A. (Eds.). (1989). The IEA Study of Mathematics II: Context and
Outcomes of School Mathematics. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Sahlberg, P. (2010). Rethinking Accountability for a Knowledge Society. Journal of Educational
Change, 11(1), 45–61.
Sahlberg, P. (2011). Finnish Lessons. What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland. New York: Teachers College Press.
Schleicher, A. (2007). Can competencies assessed by PISA be considered the fundamental school knowledge 15-year-olds should possess? Journal of Educational Change, 8(4), 349–357.
Schleicher, A. (2009). International Benchmarking as a Lever for Policy Reform. In A. Hargreaves & M. Fullan (Eds.), Change Wars (pp. 97-115). Bloomington: Solution Tree.
Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Kerr, D., & Losito, B. (2010). ICCS 2009 International Report:
Civic Knowledge, Attitudes and Engagement among Lower Secondary School Students in Thirty-Eight Countries. Amsterdam: IEA.
Välijärvi, J., Kupari, P., Linnakylä, P., Reinikainen, P., Sulkunen, S., Törnroos, J., & Arffman, I. (2007). Finnish Success in PISA and Some Reasons Behind It II. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä.
Published
2011-09-30
How to Cite
Sahlberg, P. (2011). PISA in Finland: An Education Miracle or an Obstacle to Change?. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 1(3), 119-140. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.418
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