Is Finnish Higher Education a Model or a Myth? The Case Study of Erasmus Mobility from Italy to Finland

That the Finnish school system placed first in the major international surveys creates a real myth of efficiency and effectiveness in Italy, and keeps it far removed from the Italian situation. Despite the PISA results, Finland’s educational system is not a real model for Italy to import as the cultural or geopolitical differences identify an unbridgeable gap rather than a fine approach to apply. Paradoxically, the Italian image of the Finnish education system makes it too perfect to transfer or to use as a model in Italian schools and universities. Erasmus Student Mobility is a plain example. The top ranking of Finland in OECD’s statistics seems not to affect the destination choices of Italian students going abroad. Finnish leadership in Higher Quality Education seems neither a significant aspect nor a decisive element in choosing to study in Finland. The purpose of this paper is to understand the reasons for Italian lack of interest in an education system that successful joins quality and equity, pedagogical attention and organizational effectiveness. With analysis of national data on the movement of Erasmus students and with qualitative research among Italian students who chose Finland as their Erasmus destination this paper will show the gap between the reality of Italian universities and the perfect model of the Finnish School System. The Finnish model of excellence shows the impossibility of all comparisons with Italy because the two are opposite