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Finland: A Structure of Trust

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Education and Democracy in the Nordic Countries

Part of the book series: Educational Governance Research ((EGTU,volume 21))

Abstract

The Finnish education system is characterized by a high level of trust. There are no school inspections, textbook controls, or standardized national tests. Instead, quality is assured through practitioners’ high qualifications, knowledge, expertise, commitment, and responsibility. The educational system structure can be understood as a multilevel educational leadership model with influences from the transnational level, national legislation and guidelines, and decentralized municipal leadership responsible for planning, implementing, and self-evaluating education at the local level. The demands on principals in Finland are significant, and their responsibilities and workloads are increasing. Principals are both the administrative and pedagogical leaders of schools. As pedagogical leaders of the school, principals must have insight into teaching theory to understand and analyze the teaching principles included in the national curricular guidelines. As education and curricula are reformed, the demands on and expectations of principals must also change. Consequently, universities have taken action to support the needs of principals and their work through various initiatives. In-service training, education programs, and an increased emphasis on research regarding educational leadership are some of the concrete measures that have been emphasized to support the work of principals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, Department of Pedagogical Leadership and Development Work, Åbo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland

    Alex Mäkiharju & Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund

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  1. Alex Mäkiharju
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  2. Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund
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Correspondence to Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Ann Elisabeth Gunnulfsen

  2. Centre for Principal Development, Department of Political Science, Umea University, Umea, Sweden

    Helene Ärlestig

  3. Municipality of Svendborg, Svendborg, Denmark

    Merete Storgaard

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Mäkiharju, A., Smeds-Nylund, AS. (2023). Finland: A Structure of Trust. In: Gunnulfsen, A.E., Ärlestig, H., Storgaard, M. (eds) Education and Democracy in the Nordic Countries. Educational Governance Research, vol 21. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33195-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33195-4_3

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