US vs. Finnish Education: Addressing Poverty, Culture, and Outcomes - Essay Sample

Introduction

This research will compare the student poverty and educational issues present in the United States and Finland. The United States passed legislation that enables schools to emphasize more on preparing learners for test-taking (Taylor, 2019). The education system in Finland centers more on what students may need to learn; teaching less and learning more. Both Finland and the United States have their own designed systems of education to meet student needs. Several critical factors such as poverty, culture, and diversity would need to be considered if America needs to implement the educational system of Finland. The education system of Finland has been outstanding in the 21st century (Olszewski, 2019). Their good reputation for having good test scores is one reason for standing out. The education system of Finland does things differently from that of the United States. They include having no homework, focusing on learning more than teaching, and having shorter school days.

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United States Education

The comparison between the education system of the United States and Finland is a topic that has come up since Finland schools started to achieve good test scores as compared to the United States. Why do the learners in Finnish schools score better than in the United States? The long history of the United States education started in the 19th century when the public school system was created by Thomas Jefferson (Sahlberg, 2016). More people got involved with the urge to achieve a better education. Initially, education in the United States could be offered to affluent individuals but it was noted later on that good citizenship could arise as a result of education. It was also noted as a way of preventing crime and poverty reduction. Jefferson believed that the government should control education so that it can be offered to all students no matter what their ethnicity, race, and status. This made the government pass the No Child Left Behind legislation that led to testing on schools and schools to compare the testing scores of their students. The legislation entitled No Child Left Behind has been the main contributor to the problems being faced by schools in the United States until today. The schools could risk losing federal Title I money on failure to adhere to the act. Title I money offers educational agencies the needed financial support but the only beneficiaries are the successful students (Matias, 2017). It offers support to low-income families to meet the state academic standard challenges.

The other difference between the United States and Finland is that education program focuses more on which teachers or schools are doing better but not on how to meet the needs of students. The United States education system focuses on comparing the academic scores of learners with each other but not the individual student. The learners in the United States have been performing poorly in schools as compared to other developed nations since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. The U.S. government does not care much about learners living under the poverty line. Most of the support from the government goes to schools that pose higher academic achievement. The effects of poverty on learners are complex. Poverty leads to a wide range of diverse challenges for students and their families even though the United States economy seems to have higher improvements.

Despite the United States being among the developed nations, it has the highest rate of childhood poverty worldwide. Children raised in poverty face challenges that include low ability to concentrate in schools, insecurity suffrages due to their economic status, and motivation reduction. Lower test scores are mostly experienced by students who come from lower-income families. These children are also at a higher risk of dropping out of school. The most severe effect of poverty on the education of about 23 % of learners in the United States is that the readiness gaps the poor children face when they enter schools continue to grow as they grow older (Kaylan, 2019). The children fear the consequences of their poverty, feel alienated from society, get angry at the inability of their society to help in their struggles, and also endure the feeling of powerlessness. Poverty not only affects children in their early stages of life but changes their entire lives.

Finnish Education

Schools in Finland are much more different in numerous ways as compared to those in the United States. The education system of Finland, as compared to the United States, it is different with less poverty and offers much more support to the learners. The education system of Finland does not have a long history as compared to the United States but it has a comprehensive school system, Peruskoulu, that originated in the late 1960s (Goodall, 2016). The government of Finland allocated a lot of resources to its school system for learners to achieve better academic performance in schools. In Finland, the responsibility of the government is not only to offer the opportunity to learners but also to provide support to the citizens in their quest for desirable living standards, higher education, and all needs listed as a collective responsibility.

The poverty rate of children in Finland is about 4%, thus very few students in Finnish schools suffer from poverty impacts as compared to the students in the United States (Matias, 2017). About a third of Finnish basic school learners get special education of a certain kind. All pupils in Finland schools are gathered for with healthy school lunch and also get offered snacks in the afternoon. The government provides psychological help, dental care, and comprehensive healthcare free of charge to the pupils while at school. All through basic education, learners receive access to high-quality services of special education in individual schools.

Finland takes education assessment very seriously although it is not inspired by measuring education. It is since the definition of school success is understood differently in Finland as compared to the United States. Finland's government considers a successful school as one that is capable of helping all children to learn and fulfill their aspirations (Saunders, 2016). The success of the school is a subjective thing that differs from one school to the other. The responsibility of school teachers and principals in assessing the schools is given a foremost priority. The teachers report to the parents and authorities how the commonly set goals are being achieved in their schools. Teachers and principals are made liable for the achievement of individual learners in schools. there is a difference between holding every teacher accountable for the achievement of their learners and the social responsibility for the learning of all children through the available data. This makes one to easily identify the differences between Finnish education and United States education. The education system in Finland focuses on teacher evaluation to high-quality assurance as compared to the United States which focuses on standardized tests.

Conclusion

The Finnish education system receives a higher rating since it has impacted schools significantly. Before the United States could consider adopting the education system of Finland, factors such as diversity and poverty must be addressed. The United States can change its system of education to become more child-centered but not focus on direct teaching. The education system of Finland which is known for teaching less, and learning more implies that teachers spend less time in the classroom by allowing learners to conduct more explorations than permitting teachers to talk more. The United States should put the needs of students into consideration to enable them to become successful. The poverty rate for children in Finland is approximately 4% since the government spends money on programs for low-income families as compared to the United States which spends more money on best-performing schools.

References

Goodall, C. A. (2017). An Analysis of the Educational Systems in Finland and the United States: A Case Study. eCommons.udayton.edu. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/uhp_theses/118/.

Kaylan. (2017). The Effects of Poverty on Education in the United States. https://www.childfund.org/Content/NewsDetail/2147489206/.

Matias, S. (2019). Comparison of the U.S. and Finland’s Educational Systems on Students’ Academic Achievement. Digitalcommons.csmumb.edu. https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1684&context=caps_thes_all.

Olszewski, P., & Corwith, S. (2017). Poverty, Academic Achievement, and Giftedness: A Literature Review. Gifted Child Quarterly, 62(1), 37–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986217738015

Sahlberg, P. (2016). Four questions about education in Finland. PasiSahlberg.com. https://pasisahlberg.com/four-questions-about-education-in-finland/.

Saunders, D. (2016, April 22). Finland's fighting inequality with education, and winning. What's their secret? TheGlobeandMail.com. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/how-finland-is-fighting-inequality-with-education-andwinning/article29716845/.

Taylor, K. (2019, July 25). Poverty's Long-Lasting Effects on Students' Education and Success. https://www.insightintodiversity.com/povertys-long-lasting-effects-on-students-education-and-success/.