Dr. Sakari Karjalainen's position was enviable. As Director General of the Ministry of Education in Finland, he represents one of the leading educational systems in the world today and as such, his lecture was eagerly awaited at the Van Leer Institute's Education conference in Jerusalem.
Ten Director Generals of Ministries of Education from countries with successful education systems were invited by the Van Leer Institute to assist Israeli academics and educational policy-makers to examine the gap between educational vision and its implementation in Israel. The Van Leer Institute conducts academic research and public policy analysis on issues of education, culture and society in Israel.
In view of the on-going debate on quality of education in Israel, Finland's successful Pisa results have awoke much interest. What stands behind this success? "We don't know exactly what the reasons for our success are", Dr. Karjalainen was quoted in an interview in Haaretz newspaper. "We believe that one of the reasons is the structural reform which brought about a comprehensive educational system, from grade 1 to 9, which does not filter students to different tracks. We try to push everybody forwards".
In a much appreciated lecture hosted by Prof. Nimrod Aloni and the Kibbutz College of Education in Tel Aviv, Dr. Karjalainen talked about the status of education as an integral value in society. "In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Our educational policy is based on equal opportunities, efficiency and internationalism". Dr. Karjalainen pointed out that a critical component in Finland's educational success is the quality of teachers. "Today each teacher is requested to hold a second degree and only 10-15% of the candidates for teacher's training are accepted. The local authority and teachers have great autonomy. Our system is built on trust".
Dr. Karjalainen's lecture was inspirational and left the audience with a sense of empowerment.
