Finland
The title is yet to be official; however, according to a recent survey, Finland has the world’s best education system. The country has been in the limelight since the year 2000 and successfully made it into the year 2018.
In fact, when five new parameters were added in the year 2017 for the categorization of best education systems worldwide, Finland managed to perform well and gave strong competition to South Korea and Japan. The country ranked higher on indicators, like;
- Teachers to student ratio
- Number of passing students in primary schools
- Number of passing students in secondary schools
Power Ranking score: 114
Why does Finland rank as the Top Education System in the World?
- Finland offers free education to citizens with no dead ends.
- The country has been a top performer on every program for International Student Assessment Survey.
- Finland follows American education research and philosophers. (Ex: John Dewey), and are inspired by them
Finland's education system is celebrated in great esteem and is considered one of the best education systems in the world. For years, this country outperformed the United States in science, math, and reading.
What are the Major Principles outlaying Finland’s Education System?
There are a couple of facts behind this:
- They have shorter school days(190 days per year)
- Certain core principles are underlying the education system of Finland.
- Students are free to choose their educative path
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Let’s see how the Education System works in Finland
Finland’s early education system is laid around the concept of learning through play. Until the age of 6, students aren’t required to attend school.
They provide basic education when the child turns 7. For the next nine years, they follow a single structure education. They take special steps to revise and revamp their curriculum to meet the needs of each individual.
The Finnish National Agency for Education promotes self-evaluation for both teachers and schools to help them improve them. Also, Finland does not incorporate national standardized testing, but they do evaluations for testing learning outcomes. One of the other striking features is the free meals.
The upper secondary education is split into two- General and Vocational.
In general education, students have all the freedom to choose their study schedules, and in the end, they need to attend a matriculation exam. And these scores are counted for their college applications.
Vocational education is job-focused, whereas school learning and apprenticeships go hand in hand. Students achieve competence-based qualifications after this.
Higher secondary education is also completely free. Students need to pay only for their books, transportation, and other school supplies.
The colleges of Finland are divided into two- Universities and Universities of applied sciences.
The Universities in Finland focus on applied sciences, whereas the Universities of applied sciences stress practical applications.
How is Finland able to provide universal and comprehensive education to all citizens?
The Finnish people value education and put their time into building a system that adheres to the best education research.
2. Japan
Like Finland, Japan has also maintained its second position for three years. Despite such tough competition by South Korea and other countries, it has been bragging the second position without fail. The main indicator contributing to its success has been developing an understanding of students between the age of 5 to 14.
Power Ranking score: 104
South Korea
South Korea has been a three-time winner of the poll (World’s 20 education systems), and it has successfully earned the third position every time. It has given strong competition to Japan for the second position.
After Japan, only South Korea has worked well in the sector of bringing immense development in students aged 5 to 14 years. As per surveyors, the country would have been a strong contender for the 2ndposition, but a few indicators made it lose.
A few indicators which denied South Korea second position in the poll are-
- Fall in test scores of high school students (calculated annually)
- Fall in test scores of graduation students (calculated annually)
Power Ranking score: 101
4. Denmark
Denmark has never been a celebrated country for its ranking in the poll, yet it has been known for its developed education system among elites.
Earlier, Denmark was in position 8, but due to passing the five newly included indicators, it has taken a giant leap from 8th position to 4th.
The indicator that helped Denmark jump on the 4th position is an increased teacher-to-student ratio for secondary and primary schools.
Power Ranking score: 94
5. Russia
No matter whether Russia has gained the 5th position, it should be applauded for being in the top 5 countries with the world’s best education system. Russia’s education system is known for preparing students’ workspace ready. It also has a good teacher-to-student ratio.
If we talk in numbers, then Russia has a ratio of 1 teacher to 9 students approximately.
Power Ranking score: 91
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