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Period: Jan 1, 1200 to
Finland was part of Kingdom of Sweden.
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Jan 1, 1300
Introduction of the first school in Finland (13 th)
Education was governed by the Church; education was provided in monastic schools and in the cathedral school established in Turku in the 13th century. -
The first Finnish university, (16th)
The Lutheran Reformation of the 16th century introduced the idea of vernacular education and the first ABC book in Finnish language. The first Finnish university, Turku Academy, was established in 1640. -
Before coming to classroom.
In 1809 Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire. The official language of Finland at this time was still Swedish. The most important means of education for ordinary Finnish speakers took the form of travelling schools organised by the Church, in which farmhouses and log cabins were used as classrooms. -
Finnish language of the majority as an official language.
The nationalist movement in the 19th century strove to establish the Finnish language of the majority as an official language. The movement’s other goals included national public education taught in Finnish. The study of Finnish as a language became part of the curriculum in the secondary schools that led up to a university education in 1843. -
National school system independent of the church.
A national school system, independent of the Church, was set up in 1866. Three years later, a Supervisory Board of Education was established under the Ministry of Education to inspect, monitor and govern the school system in Finland. -
Beginning of the vocational education in Finland.
In the 19th century, vocational education began to emerge in Finland for the needs of the rapidly growing industry and construction activities. A decree issued in 1898 contained an obligation for the local authorities to provide all school-aged children with an opportunity for schooling. -
Period: to
Education system of Finland
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Finland became independent from Soviet union.
Finland became independent in 1917. Extension of education to all citizens and all parts of the country and the continuous efforts to increase the level of education constituted a policy for the young nation from the very beginning. -
General compulsory education was prescribed by law.
In the Constitution, enacted in 1919, an obligation was laid down to provide for general compulsory education and for basic education free of charge. Moreover, the public authorities were to maintain or support general education, vocational education, applied art and scientific higher education, as well as university education. General compulsory education was prescribed by law in 1921. -
Focused on the primary school curriculum .
In 1945, focused on the primary school curriculum, and offered a compelling vision of a more humanistic, child-centred school, in contrast to the Germanic, syllabus-driven model of schooling that characterised most Finnish schools. This commission also conducted field studies in 300 schools
as part of its work, offering an example of how research might guide the development of policy. -
Growth in the private schools.
Most of this growth took place in the private schools, which in the 1950s began to receive government subsidies and come more under public control. In the postwar decade, parliament created three successive reform commissions, each of which made recommendations that helped build public support and political will to create an education system that would be more responsive to the growing demand for more equitable educational opportunities for all young people in Finland. -
Enacted legislation create a new basic education.
In November 1968 parliament finally enacted legislation, by a substantial majority, to create a new basic education system built around a common, comprehensive school for grades 1-9. -
Compulsory education.
In the 1970's, a nine-year compulsory school common to the entire age group, i.e. the comprehensive school, was created on the basis of the folk school and lower secondary school. -
The expansion of universities and polytechnics.
The network of universities expanded gradually after the Second World War to cover the entire country. During the 1990's, a non-university sector of higher education, consisting of almost 30 polytechnics, has been created parallel with the university sector. -
Finland is seen as a major international leader in education.
Since the publication of the first PISA results in 2001, Finland is now seen as a major international leader in education. It has consistently ranked in the very top tier of countries in all PISA assessments over the past decade, and its performance has been especially notable for its remarkable consistency across schools. -
Period: to
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