Overview of Primary Education (Finland)

Basic education encompasses nine years of universalist basic education and caters for all those between 7 and 16 years. Every student is allocated a place in a nearby school, but they can also choose another school with some restrictions. All school follow a national core curriculum, which includes the objectives and core contents of different subjects. The education providers, usually the local education authorities and the schools themselves draw up their own curricula within the framework of the national core curriculum. (Kalalahti, Silvennoinen, Varjo & Rinne 2015.) A key feature of the national education culture is to ensure equal opportunities for all. Individual support measures are in place to guarantee that every pupil and student can reach their full potential. Differences between schools are small and the quality of teaching is high all around the country. The education system does not have any dead-ends which would affect an individual’s learning career.Peer reviewe