Investing in our Teachers:
" Evaluation of student outcomes is the responsibility of each Finnish teacher and school. Decentralized education management and increased school autonomy, education authorizes adn political leaders have been made accountable for their decisions making implentation of policies possible (Sahlberg, 2007)".
"Investing in the preparation and development of high-quality teaches, while taking steps to elevate the status of the entire profession to a higher level of respect and regard (Pain & Schleicher, 2010)".
The following are important points that should be considered when re-evaluating and improving our current school improvement plan.
Student Learning Emphasis:
The focus of teaching in Finland is learning centered rather than test preparation. Different teaching methods are employed without fear of failure throughout the school system. However, the U.S. educational system is centered on test preparation followed by focusing on student learning. Within the state of Missouri, there is a great push toward professional development and examining creative ways to promote student learning.
Teacher Profession Valued:
There needs to be a high value placed on the teaching profession and eduction. Active involvement of the parents, and community in the student's education is also vital in their future success.
Empowering and trusting the judgement of the teacher is very important. Teachers in Finland are required to have a Master's Degree in order to have a permanent position in the primary school. Teachers are highly valued and the profession is well respected in Finland. Teachers in the U.S. are under attack for fear of losing their job and are held accountable for the success and/or failure of students regardless if their is any parental or other support systems utilized by the student.
Resource Distribution based on Need:
In Finland, the disadvantaged schools tend to have a lower teacher:student ratio with the assumption that children from less economically advantaged neighborhoods and cultures shoud have more and better teachers. In contrary to many U.S. schools partly because school systems are locally financed with tax rates based on the value of local homes, etc...
