Research On The Curriculum Reform And Development Of Basic Education In Finland Since World War ?

At the beginning of the 21st century,Finnish students began to achieve exceptionally good results in international assessments,such as the International Student Assessment Scheme(PISA),which assesses "the extent to which 15-year-old students acquire critical knowledge and skills near the end of compulsory education",these knowledge and skills are essential for full participation in modern society.In 2000,2003,2006 and 2009,Finnish students ranked among the top in mathematics,scientific literacy and reading ability.Finland not only scored well in assessments such as PISA,but also in the OECD's Adult Skills Survey(PIAAC)in 2016.This survey measures the performance of some key skills such as literacy,numeracy,and problem-solving in 16-65-year-old,which are very necessary in the social and work environment,even in "full integration and participation in the labour market,education and training,and in social and civic life ".Each of these skill in Finland ranks in the top three.Moreover,Finns with low parental education are far less likely to have low literacy and numeracy levels themselves than their international peers.The success of basic education in Finland has attracted worldwide attention,which is inseparable from the success of previous curriculum reforms in Finland.Since the 1970s,Finland has undergone five curriculum reforms,which are divided into three stages.The restructuring and establishment period of basic education curriculum reform(post-world war ?--mid-1980s),the exploration and deepening period of curriculum reform(mid-1980s--late 20th century),and the innovation period of curriculum reform(late 20th century--present).First:the reorganization and establishment period of the basic education curriculum reform(post-World War ?--mid-1980s),during which Finland reformed the education system under the unified command of the National Board of general Education,and the"Comprehensive School" system was initiated,which children aged 7-16 years were able to enter regardless of their origin,and the first national curriculum was issued.Thus,Finland achieved "The social equity and justice" in education under the centralized educational governance model.In the 1980s and 1990s,with the recovery of Finland's economy,the arrival of neoliberalism,and the reflection on the problems existing in the last stage of curriculum reform,Finland entered the period of exploration and deepening of curriculum reform reform.In this stage,Finland carried out two curriculum reforms,1985 curriculum reform and 1994 curriculum reform.In 1985.the curriculum reform adopted the educational governance mode of "decentralization",that is,decentralization of power,and on curricular setting,in addition to the emphasis on fairness of curriculum,more emphasis was placed on the "differentiation" and "individuality" of students.However,the curriculum reform in 1994 was a further deepening of the curriculum reform in 1985,which further decentralized the management power,and adopted the "flexible"curriculum to meet the further needs of society for high-quality talents.Between 2001 and 2004,Finland was rated three times by the World Economic Forum as the world's most competitive economy,which shows that "the country has a very high level of human capital,extensive use of information and communication technologies and the redesign of educational and research institutions to promote innovation and cutting-edge research and development".At this time,the cultivation of the future talents needed in the 21st century has become a common issue all over the world,and Finland is no exception.In the third stage--the innovation period of curriculum reform,in 2004,the curriculum reform re-strengthened the national management and control of the right to education.On the curricular setting,the concept of "comprehensive" and "cross-course subject" are proposed.However,the curriculum reform in 2014,began to seek a balance between "decentralization" and "centralization",and continued to choose the path of "decentralization".But unlike the previous decentralization,the curriculum reform in this period not only brought in the strength of all sectors of society,but also optimized the curriculum through the open website to collect suggestions,forming a "integrated" collaborative curriculum reform system.As for the idea of this curriculum reform,the 2014 curriculum reform inherited and developed the reference of "cross-course theme" in 2004,and put forward the concept of"cross-disciplinary literacy",that is "thinking and learning ability,multicultural cognitive ability,social interaction and self expression,the life and the self management ability,comprehensive quality,information technology and communication skills,employment and entrepreneurship ability and consciousness of sustainable development and social participation ability"--seven core literacy,and the corresponding curriculum framework is designed,including subject task,goal,subject setting and class time allocation,multiple evaluation criteria and "phenomenon teaching" support system.In this period,the curriculum is more concerned with the sustainable development of students in the 21st century,and they have greater pursuit of high quality and excellent education.In general,the previous curriculum reforms in Finland shows the characteristics and trend of "from highly centralized to decentralized" and "from social equity to individual excellence" in governance mode and educational concept.In the course of curriculum reform,Finland pays attention to multi-party participation,participatory curriculum and increased the flexibility of curriculum,but lacks a uniform and objective evaluation criteria.These successful experiences and shortcomings have valuable reference to the curriculum's direction of basic education in China.