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🇫🇮 Finland /Economy & Trade

Reader's Opinion: The knowledge base for education must be developed collaboratively

From Helsingin Sanomat · (2d ago) Finnish

Translated from Finnish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Finnish National Agency for Education (Karvi) produces diverse data on basic education, guided by a four-year plan developed with input from the education sector.
  • Karvi's assessments focus on developmental progress and holistic educational functioning, avoiding school-specific rankings, and emphasizing student well-being, inclusion, and equality alongside learning outcomes.
  • The article argues for strengthening collaboration between national and local levels in education, developing and utilizing data together to build a system focused on shared understanding and sustainable development rather than just measurement.

As a reader of Helsingin Sanomat, I feel compelled to address the critical need for a more informed approach to educational development in Finland.

The development of education takes place simultaneously at several levels: in classrooms, schools, municipalities, and nationally.

— Hannele Seppälä, Director, Salla Venäläinen, Unit DirectorContext explaining the multi-level nature of educational development.

While there's broad agreement that decisions must be data-driven, the crucial question remains: what kind of data do we truly need, and how should it be utilized? The National Agency for Education (Karvi) does commendable work in producing comprehensive data on basic education, guided by a robust, sector-wide consultation process. Their commitment to assessing educational functioning holistically, rather than resorting to divisive school rankings, is a vital principle that upholds our values of student well-being, inclusion, and equality.

The central starting point for assessments is development and a holistic view of educational functioning, not the comparison of individual actors.

— Hannele Seppälä, Director, Salla Venäläinen, Unit DirectorExplaining Karvi's assessment philosophy.

However, simply increasing the volume of data is insufficient. The real challenge lies in ensuring this data actively supports local development efforts and helps us understand the interconnectedness of educational phenomena across different levels. The article rightly points out that declining learning outcomes are not due to insufficient testing, but rather the widening disparities in children's backgrounds and environments. Addressing these complex issues requires a comprehensive, multifaceted data foundation that fosters collaboration between education, social services, and broader societal policies.

This is a conscious value choice. It reflects the view that the goals of basic education are not limited to learning outcomes. It is also about students' well-being, inclusion, and equality.

— Hannele Seppälä, Director, Salla Venäläinen, Unit DirectorHighlighting the broader goals of education beyond test scores.

This is why the call for strengthened collaboration between national and local levels is so crucial. We need a more dynamic dialogue where data is not just produced but interpreted and applied collectively. Educational providers and schools must be empowered with the time, expertise, and structures to leverage assessment data for their own development, moving beyond mere compliance with external demands. Ultimately, Finland must decide whether it wants a system that prioritizes measurement above all else, or one that uses data to build shared understanding and foster sustainable progress for all our children.

The next step in development is strengthening cooperation. Closer dialogue is needed between the national and local levels: the data base must be developed in cooperation, data must be interpreted together, and above all, used together.

— Hannele Seppälä, Director, Salla Venäläinen, Unit DirectorEmphasizing the need for collaborative data utilization.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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