Finnish perceptions of PISA Success: Previous Research, Part Eight - National Curriculum

The Finnish National Curriculum entrusts teachers with great freedom in teaching.  Teachers, with their established academic prowess and high skills, have earned a great deal of trust from the Ministry of Education and the Board of Education, municipalities, and schools for their quality of work.  The National Curriculum allows teachers to teach in the manner they see fit.  

The National Curriculum, born in the 1990s, allows for municipal, school, and teacher autonomy.  The advent of the National Curriculum also increased the responsibility of teachers over their own teaching, and encouraged them to design their own lessons.  

The National Curriculum is the background of Finland's flexible education system.  It also illustrates the trust from the national level in the local level in administering teaching and learning.  No national tests exist, nor do league tables.  Schools do not compete with each other.  National assessments occur only by sampling and only to identify areas to improve within the education system.